All area coaches and fans need to read this!

[phatbeaver 10]

This was in today's Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Thank You Mr. Akers for being so honest and observant. God Bless.

 

http://bdtonline.com/letters/x780406998/State-schools-should-play-each-other

[VHSLhelper 571]

oh, please. You did see that word MANDATE, right? And how much revenue would that bring in?

 

Yes, it would "look nice" if Blfd played PV, but the Panthers aren't exactly on Blfd's level. Know what happened when that was pushed for over here? 51-6 & 62-14. Did that REALLY benefit EITHER team? Did that boost community/team spirit/pride, or was it just an embarassment to everyone in the county? There's REASONS some teams don't play each other.

 

How about a REAL solution... change the ratings system so a loss is worth SOME points instead of zero. That STILL won't guarantee 10 games or that those 2 will play, but it'll more than likely cut down the number of Charlotte teams on the schedule.

 

Oh, and did the BoE REALLY pay for the trip to Charlotte?

[GMan 3,569]

Get 'im...

[BatCaveBeaver 10]

I like the fact that Bluefield plays the schedule they play. The better the competition the better you become. Look at Martinsburg, they play half their games against out of state teams and then we they do get in the playoffs it shows. If Bluefield can play up to their out of state opponents then you know they will be a force in the WV playoffs. They can loose 2-3 games every year and still make the playoffs with that schedule. Look at 2009 2 losses but everyone knows what happened at the end of the season. Even Coach Simon said on on the radio broadcast before the CCD game that "he and his staff have really learned a lot from the CCD game tapes". Quite frankly I would just as soon see them Freelance and play anybody that wanted them. Quite frankly, I think everyone will agree that this Bluefield team is not as talented as some of teams the last several years.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

I like the fact that Bluefield plays the schedule they play. The better the competition the better you become. Look at Martinsburg, they play half their games against out of state teams and then we they do get in the playoffs it shows. If Bluefield can play up to their out of state opponents then you know they will be a force in the WV playoffs. They can loose 2-3 games every year and still make the playoffs with that schedule. Look at 2009 2 losses but everyone knows what happened at the end of the season. Even Coach Simon said on on the radio broadcast before the CCD game that "he and his staff have really learned a lot from the CCD game tapes". Quite frankly I would just as soon see them Freelance and play anybody that wanted them. Quite frankly, I think everyone will agree that this Bluefield team is not as talented as some of teams the last several years.

 

To play Devil's Advocate, Martinsburg is on the panhandle (75 minutes away from me), quite a distance away from a good many schools in WV. It's just easier to play MD/VA/PA teams than it is to hike 3+ hours to play WV teams.

[BeaverHokie 35]

UVaObserver has a point there. With Martinsburg, they aren't close to as many WV schools as Bluefield is. Bluefield could make another 9-10 game schedule (above the current one) with all the AA teams south of Charleston that will not play them.

 

I don't like a "mandate" solution, but perhaps a conference, and then mandatory games within the conference is the right path. It's been this way a long, long time. Heck, as long as I can remember, Bluefield has played a lot of out-of-state teams. Of course, we've always played Graham, but used to play Tazewell a lot, Richlands, Pulaski County, I even remeber playing Sullivan South (from Tennessee, right?).

 

Current schedule: 9 games

 

Out-of-state teams: 4 (Graham, Gate City, Charlotte Latin, CCD)

WV AAA teams: 2 (Princeton, Greenbrier East)

 

Actual, honest-to-goodness, WV AA teams: 3 (Oak Hill, James Monroe, Wayne)

 

It's pitiful, really. I think VHSLHelper nailed it...most of the WV AA teams simply don't want to take the automatic "L" each year. So Bluefield does exactly that, in scheduling the Charlotte teams.

[BeaverHokie 35]

Oh, and did the BoE REALLY pay for the trip to Charlotte?

 

Maybe, if they DID have to pay for it (I assume they did, somebody foots the bill), maybe that will encourage the BoE to put a little pressure on Benny and the gang over at Pike View to schedule the local team, so they can stop paying for another local team to make 2 hour trips to fill their schedule.

[BeaverHokie 35]

Since this topic includes the Charlotte issue, I have a couple of questions for the folks...

 

1. Should Bluefield continue to schedule the Charlotte teams? So far, Bluefield is batting an 0-fer against them. That would assume, of course, that there are teams to replace them on the schedule (teams that are not squatting in the corner, quivering). Is the benefit greater than the cost (in losses, travel, injuries, etc)?

 

2. What is the secret of the Charlotte schools? Not that it's a secret, but what is their formula for success? The kids aren't terribly big (if Bob Redd can be believed, Latin only had a handful of kids over 200 pounds), don't have large rosters (again, Redd said 20-some to 30-some on the roster), and they aren't big schools. Are they recruiting? Better athletic training facilities? Kids who participate in a lot of off-season training? Is it just a different type of football, a fast game geared toward a lot of passing, with fast players at every position? Smaller and quicker has been Bluefield's claim to fame for a while.

 

3. About size...why is it that Bluefield doesn't have any large linemen? Are there no big kids in Bluefield? Or, do they just generally not go out for football? Places like Princeton, Tazewell, and Richlands (especially Richlands) always seem to have a bucket-load of kids over 275 pounds. Bluefield is the biggest community of the group, yet neither Bluefield seems to have many big kids playing.

[BatCaveBeaver 10]

I was at the Latin game and they had a total of 33 players on the roster and only 6 of them were over 200 lbs. Bob Redd was correct. They did have some height advantages. They had a guy (receiver and back up QB) 6 ft 7 in tall but he only weighed 185 lbs. They probably had 5-7 players that were over 6 ft 3 inches tall or more. I will say this much, Bluefield was well represented at the game and believe it or not probably had as many fans there as Latin did. I talked to a few people during the game from Latin and they were impressed with the Bluefield turnout.

[hokie07 11]

Since this topic includes the Charlotte issue, I have a couple of questions for the folks...

 

1. Should Bluefield continue to schedule the Charlotte teams? So far, Bluefield is batting an 0-fer against them. That would assume, of course, that there are teams to replace them on the schedule (teams that are not squatting in the corner, quivering). Is the benefit greater than the cost (in losses, travel, injuries, etc)?

 

2. What is the secret of the Charlotte schools? Not that it's a secret, but what is their formula for success? The kids aren't terribly big (if Bob Redd can be believed, Latin only had a handful of kids over 200 pounds), don't have large rosters (again, Redd said 20-some to 30-some on the roster), and they aren't big schools. Are they recruiting? Better athletic training facilities? Kids who participate in a lot of off-season training? Is it just a different type of football, a fast game geared toward a lot of passing, with fast players at every position? Smaller and quicker has been Bluefield's claim to fame for a while.

 

3. About size...why is it that Bluefield doesn't have any large linemen? Are there no big kids in Bluefield? Or, do they just generally not go out for football? Places like Princeton, Tazewell, and Richlands (especially Richlands) always seem to have a bucket-load of kids over 275 pounds. Bluefield is the biggest community of the group, yet neither Bluefield seems to have many big kids playing.

 

1.) I like seeing Bluefield playing ONE Charlotte team. Like it has been pointed out, Bluefield would love to win the game, but win or lose, it is one of the most valuable learning experiences the Beavers get all season. Loading up with 2 or more, whether it is by choosing to schedule the game or having to schedule the game to get a near full schedule, is dangerous though. If Bluefield doesn't take care of the other games on their schedule, then they face a serious chance of missing the playoffs. While this year's Bluefield team may not be as talented as those past or those to come, they are still one of the better AA teams in the state and could make a little noise in the playoffs. Sadly, they may never get that chance. Personally, I'd like to see Bluefield try to schedule a few teams around Roanoke if they are have to play out of state teams. Pike View and several of the other regional AA teams in the area should stay off the schedule. Bluefield's JV team probably plays tougher teams.

 

2.) Charlotte's "secret" or recipe for success is nothing more than being a product of population. The actual city of Charotte has over 731,000 residents; almost 12x the amount of Mercer County as a whole. The Charlotte Metropolitan area boasts a population of around the ENTIRE STATE of West Virginia. Talk about being out-manned. In addition, both Charlotte schools are private, which allows them to recruit and draw talent from surrounding areas. Also, private schools are historically much more financially sound than are public schools, especially in Southern WV.

 

3.) Size is nice, but it isn't everything (that's what she said). My biggest testament to this is the 2004 team, which many people argue might be the best Bluefield team ever. Their starting guards were the Siers twins; both of whom were all of 5'9" 170 lbs soaking wet I'd say, regardless of what the program listed them. Bluefield has a great strength and conditioning program and most of the players are faster and stronger than their opponents, if they aren't bigger. Coach Simon and his staff do a great job with the bodies that they are given to work with.

[blufan04 12]

I don't mind Bluefield playing Charlotte teams or Virginia teams but there is no reason that they should have a 9 game schedule year in and year out. It's just not right. You would think with all of the teams around the area that something could be worked out for a 10th game. But not the case. I know if I was a highschool football coach in the area I would want Bluefield on the schedule every year simply because of quality competition which would make my team and my program better.

Edited September 26, 2011 by blufan04

[VHSLhelper 571]

Maybe, if they DID have to pay for it (I assume they did, somebody foots the bill), maybe that will encourage the BoE to put a little pressure on Benny and the gang over at Pike View to schedule the local team, so they can stop paying for another local team to make 2 hour trips to fill their schedule.

 

oh, boo-hoo... 2 hour trips. Grundy-Carroll Co., Richlands-Lee, Hurley-any non-BDD Va team... nothing unusual.

 

And some schools have their long trips "underwritten" by the boosters, not paid for with school money.

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

I would personally prefer Bluefield to play more Virginia teams such as Pulaski County, C'burg, Floyd County, Giles, etc. before playing WV teams such as PikeView, Westside, Summers County, etc. Any of the Virginia teams I mentioned would give Beaver a better game 9 out of 10 times, if not 10 out of 10, each year. I think traveling to Charlotte each year, as the schedule is now with two of those teams, is a little too much travel. However, in the long run it's more beneficial to play those teams and lose than blowout PV.

[BeaverHokie 35]

oh, boo-hoo... 2 hour trips. Grundy-Carroll Co., Richlands-Lee, Hurley-any non-BDD Va team... nothing unusual.

 

And some schools have their long trips "underwritten" by the boosters, not paid for with school money.

 

I'm not complaining about the team taking 2-hour trips. It seems that YOU were the one asking if the BoE was paying for the trip to Charlotte. So if the 2 hour trips are so common, why are you even worried if the BoE has to pay for Bluefield to bus it down to Charlotte? It seems that you are quite the pot-stirrer about issues you're not involved in. Right?

 

Look...it seems simple to me. You complain/ask about whether the Mercer County BoE has to pay to bus the kids to Charlotte, and when I suggest that perhaps if the BoE has a problem, that they strongly urge the other AA team to play Bluefield...you mouth off about it. I mention that it would save having to pay to bus the kids two states down...you mouth off about it. Tell me, do you have an interest in this, or just a bias against Bluefield, or are you just a know-it-all troublemaker?

[Guest king kone]

With most area's facing a declining tax base, and in the face of higher fuel costs how can schools afford the cost of these 2 hour trips?

[Guest king kone]

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/297886

 

Check out this article on travel costs, classification, and what is coming..........

[BeaverHokie 35]

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/297886

 

Check out this article on travel costs, classification, and what is coming..........

 

Part of the problem with southern WV and southwest VA, with declining populations, and (at least in WV) consolidation fever. Less schools, further apart. And for those in southwest VA, not many teams left in the AAA classification. In West Virginia, I know a lot of teams were consolidated...Athens & Oakvale into PikeView, Northfork, Welch, Gary, Iaeger, Big Creek, and plenty of other ones, I think. Didn't a school get folded into Oak Hill this year, too?

 

I know that it is hard to maintain community schools, but then, spending millions to build a new consolidated school doesn't seem to be a money-saver. Plus, not the idea of long rides to athletic events, but just the ride to and from school each day is getting crazy...some of those kids spend an hour or more each way on the bus.

 

I've been living in metro Atlanta for close to a decade, the trend is to split schools due to enrollment increasing. My daughter will, in a couple of years, be at the second smallest high school in her county, and it is about 2300 kids for grades 9-12. The school used to be over 3000, but in the last decade, they built a new high school (Peachtree Ridge) in the area to alleviate the crowding. That school, and at least two others (Chattahoochee HS and Johns Creek HS) are new schools, built to keep the other schools from turning into small colleges, size-wise.

 

As long as the population in southern WV and southwest VA continues to stagnante, it's going to get worse.

[GMan 3,569]

And for those in southwest VA, not many teams left in the AAA classification.

 

Actually, there are ZERO AAA schools in SWVA. Roanoke has two (William Fleming and Patrick Henry) but Fleming has bounced back and forth between AAA and AA some. There are only five AAA schools in the western half of the state...Fleming, Patrick Henry, Franklin Co., GW-Danville, and Halifax Co. The next closest are in either the Charlottesville area or the Richmond area.

 

And, just in case you weren't aware of it, there are only eight AA schools west of the Roanoke Valley...Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Pulaski Co., Carroll Co., Tazewell, Richlands, Marion, and Abingdon. Tazewell, Richlands, and Marion are really close to being Class A schools. Abingdon will be stuck on an island when those three schools drop to Class A.

[Falconman 44]

We would play them on one condition - they always come to Falcon Hill. We stay outta of West Va. :cool:

[UNIONFAN 10]

We would play them on one condition - they always come to Falcon Hill. We stay outta of West Va. :cool:

 

it dont matter if yall play them at Abingdon to West virginia or hell or anywhere else in between. bluefiled would beat abingdon like they owe them money

[redtiger 1,741]

Southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia are shrinking, thats a fact and theres really nothing to be done about it(the region was only as big as it was due to coal, coal is shrinking and so is the population). Its just not feasible to keep a bunch of schools w/ enrollments under 200 open. Take Dickenson County for example; right now Clintwood has an enrollment of 320, Haysi 280 and Ervinton 170. In the next 10-15 years those numbers would probably have dwindled to 280, 240 and 130. It wold have been just too expensive to keep schools that small open so the school board got an opportunity to consolidate and not have to pay the whole bill themselves and they jumped on it.

 

Its just the way things are. Look at other Mountain counties in VA; Bland and Craig for example dont have coal reserves and look at their populations and school enrollments compared to Dickenson and Buchannon Counties. Thats where DC and BC are headed imo.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

Southwest Virginia and Southern West Virginia are shrinking, thats a fact and theres really nothing to be done about it(the region was only as big as it was due to coal, coal is shrinking and so is the population). Its just not feasible to keep a bunch of schools w/ enrollments under 200 open. Take Dickenson County for example; right now Clintwood has an enrollment of 320, Haysi 280 and Ervinton 170. In the next 10-15 years those numbers would probably have dwindled to 280, 240 and 130. It wold have been just too expensive to keep schools that small open so the school board got an opportunity to consolidate and not have to pay the whole bill themselves and they jumped on it.

 

Its just the way things are. Look at other Mountain counties in VA; Bland and Craig for example dont have coal reserves and look at their populations and school enrollments compared to Dickenson and Buchannon Counties. Thats where DC and BC are headed imo.

 

Bland County has always mystified me. There's no reason for that county not to be infinitely more prosperous than it currently is...

[cityofRaven 2,449]

Abingdon will be stuck on an island when those three schools drop to Class A.

 

Give them something else to bitch about.

 

We would play them on one condition - they always come to Falcon Hill. We stay outta of West Va. :cool:

 

Oh you couldn't? You played Graham at Mitchell Stadium, right? Bluefield plays there too, dumb beak!

[Hacker 82]

Bland County has always mystified me. There's no reason for that county not to be infinitely more prosperous than it currently is...

 

Part of Bland's challenge is that 95% of the property in the county is in Jefferson National Forest. Another challenge has been lack of water and sewer, but that has been addressed along the Interstate corridor.

[ghs73 157]

Bland County has always mystified me. There's no reason for that county not to be infinitely more prosperous than it currently is...

 

they do not want progress there it took many years just to get permission to place the first cell phone tower in bland county. it is mainly a farming county and that is how they want it. the biggest employer is the bland correctional center in the county.