sixcat

It was my understanding, LCA's agreement with VHSL was that each student counts as one and one-half towards VHSL ADM figures to offset their being allowed to recruit. LCA is home to 812 students in 9th through 12th grades. In order to compete at the 4A level, it chose a multiplier to make up for the deficit of facing schools with larger populations. Each student will count as one-and-a-half to make up for that deficit. The above quote is from the Lynchburg News and Advance on May 20, 2015. It doesn't appear to be printed or worded correctly. I understood the rule to be each student in grades 9-12 would be counted as 1.5 students to offset LCA's ability to recruit. The link provided by the OP has LCA at 738 so their official VHSL ADM would be 1107 (738 x 1.5 = 1107). Which would place them in the upper limit of Class 3 with only six Class 3 schools larger than 1107. Am I not understanding the agreement correctly? Edit to add: I completely agree with your first thought. Given the volume of fluctuation for some schools between classifications, it seems like a 5 class system may be a little less volatile.

Carroll County will drop to Class 3 for the next cycle having already fallen well below the threshold for Class 4. Grayson County is already very close to the Class 1 threshold and could possibly drop. Grayson had 680 students for the 2002-2003 school year. According to the link provided by the OP, they are now sitting at 489 with an 8th grade class roughly 26 students smaller than the current senior class. I expect to see Grayson in Class 1 next cycle.

The same link I provided earlier shows Grayson County High School having an enrollment of 680 for the 2002-2003 school year. So, yes, It is shocking! For the record, I grew up in Fries and graduated from Grayson.

The numbers fluctuate regardless of school district so, if that was sent home to parents, it may be more reflective of current enrollment figures. All-in-all, I think it will be a positive thing for Grayson County to be 1A. They will be competitive on a state level in 1A in a lot of different sports.

The 502 number is the official Virginia Department or Education figure, date effective November 16, 2017. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/enrollment/fall_membership/report_data.shtml Click on the link for "School Totals By Grade".

Grayson is currently sitting at 502 according to VADOE. The current 8th grade enrollment is 95 while the senior class enrollment is 121. A reduction of 26 students, at face value, places them at 476 this fall. In all likelihood, 1A will be in the cards for the next cycle. I can't see Grayson gaining enrollment anytime soon. If they do, it would be bucking a 20 year trend. The most likely scenario will be Grayson losing a few more than the 26 student difference between the senior and 8th grade classes. Grayson County families are moving away. Those moving in are over 50, retired, no kids or empty nesters. The over 50 demographic is rising while the under 18 set is shrinking.

The last sentence is a distinct possibility given the decline in system enrollment over the past decade. Grayson has averaged nearly a 8% decline in school system enrollment every two year cycle over the past decade. As for the rest, playing down in competition hurt the basketball team significantly come playoff time. They lost a relatively noncompetitive game to Union in the first round. But Grayson is 1A program currently to be honest without the benefit of playing in the 1A postseason.

Folks in Grayson County are very upset not to have made the Regional tournament in softball after finishing with a record of 13-6. By choosing not to enter the SWD and remain in the MED, 12 of their 19 opponents were 1A. This will only continue for other sports as well as long as they play down in competition. Didn't several folks on this forum predict such an outcome? I think maybe I was one of them!

I was under the impression Harner had resigned to pursue other possibilities. Is that not accurate? Maybe hearing the Mount Airy rumors among other things led to some misinformation getting spread around. Mount Airy hired JK Adkins to replace Kelly Holder. Adkins is a nice pick-up for them to replace a living legend in Holder. Holder averaged 10.26 wins per season over 19 years at Mount Airy! Adkins took over an East Wilkes program in 2013 that had won 4 games in 7 years and won 13 games by his third season. He turned that program into a perennial playoff contender in the toughest small-school conference in North Carolina. No way Harner was getting that job over Adkins.

This Braves team reminds me of the 2015 Cubs. Stockpiled with young, aggressive, immensely talented kids who don't know they aren't supposed to compete for division titles yet. They will be fun to watch over the next few years if the organization can surround them with the right mix of pitching and veteran leadership while keeping them all healthy. With that said, my Cubs are showing why it's a double edged sward to have that amount of young talent win that early. They get arrogant, over confident and take that talent for granted. Example, the most gifted middle infielder of my lifetime, Javy Baez, leads MLB with 8 errors through 30 games. He's never had more than 11 in any previous season.

The Mountain Empire will be dominated by the usual suspects. If Grayson can replace two extremely productive receivers, they will win the district. Virtually everyone else returns from a playoff team that came on late last season. Galax will actually be a bit better than the past couple of years in my opinion. Fort Chiswell keeps improving under a young coaching staff. George Wythe will be breaking in a new coach....again. The community seems to be a bit divided. That's a tough situation to step into and win immediately. Grayson Galax Fort Chiswell George Wythe Rural Retreat Auburn Bland

Always the first full week of August. This year it will be the 6th - 11th.

Galax is famous for it's Fiddlers Convention. The next generation is in pretty good hands! This is my daughters band. They have been together since November. No member is older than 13 and none have been playing longer than 3 years. They are playing a 45 minute set at MerleFest this Saturday which features Jamey Johnson, Brandy Clark, The Mevericks, Kris Kristofferson and Steve Martin's band.

I didn't dive too deeply into the political aspects for similar reasons. It would appear, you and I have like-minded ideas of race and affirmative action.

Virginia Tech struggles at times to meet state mandated standards for affirmative action. Quotas are not a popular topic for discussion and the powers that be have done everything within their power to change the "buzz words" but it does exist. Some interesting reading you may find helpful. https://ballotpedia.org/Affirmative_action_in_Virginia On an interesting note, 2006-2007 VHSL State Baseball Player of the Year, Wes Self from the state championship team at Grayson County is the Head of Infectious Diseases and Critical Illness at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

They did, 5-3 very early on. I missed it and it has been updated on the school schedule.

Galax has impressed with a 6-1 start to the season. The only loss was 2-0 at Glenvar. Galax has wins over Glenvar 10-5, Grayson County 9-8, Fort Chiswell 11-1 (5 in.), Carroll 7-5, Bland 25-1, (5in.) and George Wythe 1-0. Very young team gaining confidence and play very well.

It may not mean as much in far SWVA as it does in this area. I would have loved for my former high school coach and mentor, Fred Jennings, to have been interviewed for the podcast series Ryan is putting together. You guys would have loved listening to him as much as I have for the past 40 years. He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86. I would love for more people to hear his stories. For example, at one point just following WWII, four of his older brothers were in the starting five of the Lees-McRae Bobcat basketball team. All five starters were graduates of Fries High School and had fought in WWII. They postponed completion of high school to serve their country, completed high school upon their return, all became college graduates and high achievers in life. It was a different time and they were symbolic of "The Greatest Generation"! Fred was a veteran of the Korean Conflict and lost 70% of his hearing in the process. He was awarded the Silver Star for his efforts. Fred attended every single Virginia Tech home football game from 1958 through 2016, not missing a single one. He was honored on the field for his contributions to the university on several occasions. Fred built a full-court basketball court and Olympic sized pool at his home to keep "his kids" (us) out of trouble. He never had children of his own but had hundreds he taught and coached through the years. He was my baseball coach, football coach, Algebra teacher, mentor and friend. For most of the past 11 years, Fred would come to my office every few months and just talk...for hours. His wife passed away a few years ago and he hasn't been the same. He is, in all honesty, the single greatest influence on my life. He took an interest in me when I was 4 years old, taught me the value of life and passed his love of math on to me. He is the reason my username on this board, Twitter and Instagram handles will never change. He is partially responsible for the moniker. His brother, Allen "Birddog" Jennings was a teacher and coach at Virginia High in the 60's. He wrote a fabulous book several years ago called "My Day to Wear the Underwear". Birddog passed away March 8th at the age of 92. Rest in peace Mr. Jennings. You were loved and will be missed.

Later this afternoon, I will be attending a visitation for the single greatest influence on my life. A man I couldn't begin to thank for all he has done for myself and the Fries community as a whole. As a result, I started typing out some thoughts pertaining to this man I have loved for 40 years. Surely others have a "Fred Jennings" in their lives. Let everyone on this site share in your greatest memories of those who have influenced you in ways you can't begin to quantify. I will begin.

I was watching! I was also watching yesterday when Happer hit the first pitch of the 2018 season 400 feet.

I can certainly see where some might find this to be somewhat obnoxious. However, I feel it's entirely warranted under the circumstances. My feedback would be, carry on good sir! For future reference, you could add "Go Non-litigious Liberty" or even "Go Liberty that didn't sue VHSL for admittance" to your repertoire.

Teams are going to be digging deep into the roster for arms and batting averages/ on-base percentages should reap the rewards.

Galax has two fairly impressive wins so far this season over Carroll (7-5) and Glenvar (10-5). They are expected to be better than in recent years but still have a relatively young team with only 4 seniors.

Mike Scharnus took Carroll to the playoffs 3 times in his 4 years at Carroll while a member of the old New River District that was made up of many current River Ridge programs. Dave Haynie was successful at Carroll as a member of the Southwest District. As long as current leadership in Carroll teaches inferiority, that’s exactly what they will be. It’s a school of 1,200 students playing in a District with the second largest school being half that size. Good luck with that “Blacksburg kid, Blacksburg job” ideal!

I wish I could. At the moment, I’m cleaning up breakfast from seven 13 year olds. I believe this is gonna take a while.