Agree with you on this. The kids have to have a “want to” factor. But some kids are just out there to be with their buddies and joke around the whole time. You can look at the baseball team which is almost always on the field 365 days out of the year. The basketball team usually is even playing in the summer. Meanwhile the football team only has a handful of players even coming to workouts. Starting a dynasty program requires a couple of things. Great coach and solid group of close athletes.
If the kids aren't willing to put the work in for football, baseball and basketball is all they will have. Football just isn't a seasonal sport anymore. Without exception, the teams that play in December are the teams working in March.
Look don’t shoot the messenger just telling you all the things I’ve heard. But playing guys who are already hurt. They could have had a decent season if it wasn’t for everyone not being able to play the rest of the season (think there was a total of 11 players out for the year and almost half were during practice). Not saying that’s on him at all. It’s just super unattractive to all of the other athletes at the school when they walk in each day and one of their buddies is hurt.
Injuries will happen during football. Proper weight training and conditioning can reduce that number but never completely eliminate them. I can see frustration surrounding a coach if he hasn't implemented a proper training routine. With that said, the kids have to buy-in and participate. Weight training and conditioning isn't something you can fake and make in relation to football.
I know a few programs where a proper training program was in place but only a handful of kids participated on a regular basis, which ultimately hurt the team. A couple of those instances, coaches were blamed by the community but the coaching staff can't force kids to participate. It almost always comes back to "want to" on the part of the kids in the school system. Reading between the lines, it sounds like maybe there is some of that going on here.
I’ve had many conversations with Fant over the years in track. I usually work shot-put and discus for the home meets at Giles. She is a good discus thrower with a great attitude and is very respectful.
Phoebe participates in Cross Country, Marching Band, Swim & Dive, Concert Band, Jazz Band, MACC, Scholastic Bowl, Track & Field and volunteers 20 hours a week at a local nursing home. All that and I'm certain I'm missing a few others.
She's also the senior class president and will likely be valedictorian. Very bright future. Phoebe and my oldest daughter are good friends.
I would say the same for Allen. He likely inherited a great program; however, it is very hard to win a state championship.
Lots of chatter in years past that Allen benefited from Dixon’s players. Winning a state title in year 4 seems to place that logic on its head.
In my opinion, location, location, location applies to athletics as much as it does real estate. Coaches fit some localities better than others. I think that’s very much the case with Allen in terms of Tazewell and Galax. Our communities in SWVA tend to be quite insular but in different and unique ways. From an outsiders perspective, Tazewell and Galax would seem very similar. But to those of us who have spent decades here, the differences can be glaring.
53-49 overall record with a state championship and two state runners-up. Sort-of a chicken and egg situation if you ask me. Was he a good coach all along or did he become a good coach working under Mark Dixon for 3 years?
I will say this, Dixon told me himself, the Galax defense between 2017-2019 was entirely Shane’s. Dixon had very little input.
It's not football related but these kids work hard and deserve to be recognized somewhere.
Mia Llamas from Galax is starting on the swim team at California Baptist University in Backstroke, Freestyle and IM. Mia was a 6-time VHSL State Champion. Four consecutive 200 Meter Freestyle and two consecutive 100 Meter Backstroke. CBU is a member of the Western Athletic Conference and compete at an elite D1 level with numerous Olympic level performers throughout their lengthy history. She has appeared in every event so far in her freshman year. Her dad was a professional MMA fighter.
Phoebe Fant from Galax has accepted a partial Rowing scholarship at UVA. She will likely graduate Valedictorian in a few months. Incredibly bright young lady with a future in medicine. Stands over 6 feet tall and is the most impressive, well-rounded athlete I've seen in my time here. She's also the drum major for the Maroon Tide Marching Band and captain of the MACC team.
District calendar linked below. Last couple of games haven't been updated but they were both victories as listed above. Maxpreps got me on the Pipestem game (rookie mistake) but everything else checks out. Auburn has not lost an MED game.
Auburn hasn't lost in district. They have played a ridiculously tough schedule though, and are currently 7-6. My guess is, the Roanoke Times mistakenly thought Auburn is in the Three Rivers with Alleghany.
I was not at all impressed with Graham last week against a mediocre Galax team. Off night or is that the extent of what 2D has to offer? If the later, 2D is pretty weak.
Carroll County is legit, good. They are 10-0 with impressive wins over some traditionally talented schools.
71-48 over East Wilkes NC
51-21 over Radford
71-52 over Narrows
91-61 over Alleghany
81-61 over Glenvar
I thought Alleghany would be the main competition for the TRD crown. It looks like CC may just run away from everyone else in the district. CC also has only 3 seniors on the roster.
He might be a nice guy I have no idea. It just seemed harsh to go in so hard on a HS team for a news outlet, even if it’s the hometown team. Quoting the coach is totally inbounds and was fine, but repeating those adjectives in your own context just seems rough for a group of HS kids.
I’m not disagreeing with you at all. He goes pretty hard at Pulaski in every sport. IMO, he should probably wait several hours after a particularly poor performance before writing anything. It doesn’t come off well. Especially in the context of this being a game played by children.
Carroll County has an excellent head coach with a lengthy AAU track-record. I'm not surprised to see them trending upward. I think the Three Rivers is a two-horse race between Carroll and Alleghany.
GW was able to get Dorman into a 3-point shooting contest rather than them using their massive size advantage. Poor coaching on the Dorman staff to be honest. Great win for GW and certainly put Lancaster (and the rest of the state) on notice. GW still only has 2 seniors on the roster. Bright future in Wytheville.
Dorman shot 31% from the field, 21% from 3 and 45% from the free throw line.
GW shot 46% from the field, 47% from 3 and 61% from the free throw line.
A few simple things from CityData.com tell the story.
The Town of Wytheville has a population of 8,241 as of 2021. An increase of 5.6% since 2000. One of the few localities expanding in southwest Virginia.
The median age of a Town of Wytheville resident is 47.2 years.
The median age of a Virginia resident is 38.8 years.
Wytheville, much like Galax, has seen an influx of transplants from outside the area over the past two decades. People moving to the area after retirement rarely (if ever) have children in tow. In short, the 20-somethings leave the area and raise families someplace else while retirees from Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut move into Wytheville. The population rises slightly, but so does the median age of the residents.
.png.01bb665814ffc257795fe158cb2045c7.png.8a531ac878a82772b21014d7a6167582.png){kind=logo}
Taylor stepping down at Lebanon
in SWVA Football
Posted
If the kids aren't willing to put the work in for football, baseball and basketball is all they will have. Football just isn't a seasonal sport anymore. Without exception, the teams that play in December are the teams working in March.