Building a successful program

[tornado99 345]

In reading many of the threads, especially the scheduling related banter, I have enjoyed reading much of the history behind the posts and thoughts on future scheduling. It got me thinking about throughout the years when certain programs have developed years of consistency. I'm not sure of the scheduling effect in that success, and will acknowledge that a tougher schedule prepares you better. However, for an up and coming program in the building stage are you better off not being so ambitious? With that said, in thinking about the ingredients for success, many factors come to mind, such as coaching, demographics, location, and simple talent. In my Richlands experience, I do remember a time when Tazewell was very solid and always seemed to beat Richlands pre-Vaught and Mance. There is a notable difference in the culture at Richlands since that time. We expect to win and often overachive according to our talent. What makes or made other programs successful? Some examples I think are: Powell Valley and Appalachia of the 90s,

Graham 90s and early 00s, Gate City, Giles,Bluefield.

Present examples Richlands, George Wythe, Honaker, and Galax.

I'm anxious to hear your feedback, and hope to learn examples from before my time. I also won't be offended by controversial reasons such as recruiting and holdback because I know it has been going on for years. Feel free to PM as well. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[Olebluedev 13]

Having a strong feeder program, youth football. Is a great start.

[tornado99 345]

Having a strong feeder program, youth football. Is a great start.

Is Gate City's town, city, or larger association like Richlands Midget Football League?

[SXSW 557]

Gate City's success, until recently, had to do with continuity. The program basically grew players, the Little League selected the players and taught them how to tackle and hit on defense and on offense had the same playbook as the high school team did. Take into account that every good athlete in the school played football, and it followed the old saying, boring is beautiful. But I really believe that the key to developing anything in sports starts with the basics. Gate City's program is second to none in football tradition and the records speak for themselves. Coaching is also the key they have had only four coaches in the last fifty years and two of those are Hall of Famers. Richlands was an average program, until the got above average coaches and the last two they have had have been great. PV had a run of a athletes that no matter where they went to school would have won state titles, they had some of the best high school O-lines I ever saw. Appy benefited from the split of divisions but had one of the best in game coaches ever in Tom Turner and always had his teams ready to play. Graham and GC in AA were the standard bearers for years and PV and Appy in A ( man those GC-Graham games were something to watch)  To be good and to be consistent ,everything has to align for you a program can't be built quickly, but they can fall apart quickly if not cared for. I hoped I helped a little.

[Olebluedev 13]

I don't know anything about Richlands midget football league.

[Ryan4VT 4,557]

I don't know anything about Richlands midget football league.

Consists of 2 teams from Richlands, one from Cedar Bluff, Twin Valley, Grundy, Honaker, Hurley, and Lebanon. I thought I saw somewhere that Tazewell may come back next year. Not sure about that, though.

[Olebluedev 13]

No we have a league where we have 8 teams total, 4 varsity 4 JV. Both varsity and JV plays each team twice. They just entered a league where they combine those teams together and travel to play teams like Daniel Boone, Dobynse Bennett,Science Hill feeder programs.

[sixcat 2,922]

Galax had absolutely zero athletic history outside a few golf state championships and girls tennis prior to Mark Dixon's hiring in 2010.  They had a football playoff record of 2-5 prior to Dixon.  He equaled that playoff win total in his first season. 

 

First, what Dixon did was reestablish the sandlot program by convincing the recreation center to go to 8-man football and only allowing 10-11 players per team.  No neighboring county wanted to be a part, saying it was doomed to fail, so Galax circled the wagons and does everything within the confines of the city.  Participation is WAY up to the point of having 4 teams per age/grade level with 10 to 11 players per team.  Prior to 8-man, Galax fielded a younger team and an older team with about 15-18 players per team.  8-man guarantees more playing time due to shear numbers.  Sandlot coaches are forced to develop less talented kids they can no longer hide under the bench.  A lot of those kids are obviously dropping football prior to high school for various reasons but many are sticking it out who might otherwise, not have.  The biggest reason for dropping football in my opinion, is the demand on time generated by "The Breakfast Club".  The younger teams consist of 3rd and 4th graders while the older team consists of 6th and 7th graders.  The 5th graders are divided between the older and younger teams by size, age and ability.

 

Second, he established "The Breakfast Club" and everyone in the community has bought in.  "The Breakfast Club" is a weight lifting and film study program that begins at 6am every morning throughout the year.  It has nearly a 100% participation rate among football players.  Those who can't cut it generally drop out of football as a result but the kids hold each other accountable.  Galax also has built in advantages in this aspect due to the size of the city and ease of access to the high school from almost anywhere within the city limits.  Many players live within walking distance.  What has been amazing, is seeing the older kids so willing to pass along the "tradition" and "work ethic" to the middle school kids under Dixon's watchful eye.

 

Third, he has significantly beefed up the scheduling.  In his tenure, Dixon has scheduled home-and-home series with Altavista, George Wythe, Giles, and Glenvar all during their state championship seasons as well as playing home-and-homes with Radford and Covington during that same time.  The thought process being the more often you play "big games" the more prepared you will be to play "big games".

 

Forth, Dixon believes in building from the inside out.  That may not seem like the case given the rushing numbers that have been put up through the years but he develops offensive and defensive line play and lets everything else come together around that.  His OL's are some of the most impressive units I have ever seen at the high school level, especially for 1A.  His offensive zone blocking techniques are more complex by nature than some college programs run.  And those kids run it to perfection.

 

The success was immediate for Galax.  As I stated before, Galax had a 2-5 playoff record prior to 2010.  Dixon equaled that playoff win total in his first season and made a state championship appearance in his second.  Dixon has a playoff record of 18-5.

 

The talent has always been here, the organization, film study, weight program and coaching has not.  As long as certain administrators don't ruin a great thing, the future is VERY bright.  In my humble opinion, the middle school team has the potential to win multiple state championships.  That is a special group of athletes!

[tornado99 345]

Gate City's success, until recently, had to do with continuity. The program basically grew players, the Little League selected the players and taught them how to tackle and hit on defense and on offense had the same playbook as the high school team did. Take into account that every good athlete in the school played football, and it followed the old saying, boring is beautiful. But I really believe that the key to developing anything in sports starts with the basics. Gate City's program is second to none in football tradition and the records speak for themselves. Coaching is also the key they have had only four coaches in the last fifty years and two of those are Hall of Famers. Richlands was an average program, until the got above average coaches and the last two they have had have been great. PV had a run of a athletes that no matter where they went to school would have won state titles, they had some of the best high school O-lines I ever saw. Appy benefited from the split of divisions but had one of the best in game coaches ever in Tom Turner and always had his teams ready to play. Graham and GC in AA were the standard bearers for years and PV and Appy in A ( man those GC-Graham games were something to watch) To be good and to be consistent ,everything has to align for you a program can't be built quickly, but they can fall apart quickly if not cared for. I hoped I helped a little.

Thanks for the info. As far as PV is concerned they were very blessed with talent. I know having the Jones brothers helped with 4 of those titles.

[EH31 2,518]

Sixcat- your post is too long to quote but wonderfully written.

 

If any other team in the area wants to have continued success then I'd look no further than Mark Dixon to copy.

[Mountain Football 1,532]

Does Galax get many transfers from other schools or "recruits"?

[GC Oldtimer 3]

Does Galax get many transfers from other schools or "recruits"?

 

Just ask Alleghany (NC). Spurlin obviously being the biggest.  I think at least one from George Wythe also. 

[tornado99 345]

Galax had absolutely zero athletic history outside a few golf state championships and girls tennis prior to Mark Dixon's hiring in 2010. They had a football playoff record of 2-5 prior to Dixon. He equaled that playoff win total in his first season.

 

First, what Dixon did was reestablish the sandlot program by convincing the recreation center to go to 8-man football and only allowing 10-11 players per team. No neighboring county wanted to be a part, saying it was doomed to fail, so Galax circled the wagons and does everything within the confines of the city. Participation is WAY up to the point of having 4 teams per age/grade level with 10 to 11 players per team. Prior to 8-man, Galax fielded a younger team and an older team with about 15-18 players per team. 8-man guarantees more playing time due to shear numbers. Sandlot coaches are forced to develop less talented kids they can no longer hide under the bench. A lot of those kids are obviously dropping football prior to high school for various reasons but many are sticking it out who might otherwise, not have. The biggest reason for dropping football in my opinion, is the demand on time generated by "The Breakfast Club". The younger teams consist of 3rd and 4th graders while the older team consists of 6th and 7th graders. The 5th graders are divided between the older and younger teams by size, age and ability.

 

Second, he established "The Breakfast Club" and everyone in the community has bought in. "The Breakfast Club" is a weight lifting and film study program that begins at 6am every morning throughout the year. It has nearly a 100% participation rate among football players. Those who can't cut it generally drop out of football as a result but the kids hold each other accountable. Galax also has built in advantages in this aspect due to the size of the city and ease of access to the high school from almost anywhere within the city limits. Many players live within walking distance. What has been amazing, is seeing the older kids so willing to pass along the "tradition" and "work ethic" to the middle school kids under Dixon's watchful eye.

 

Third, he has significantly beefed up the scheduling. In his tenure, Dixon has scheduled home-and-home series with Altavista, George Wythe, Giles, and Glenvar all during their state championship seasons as well as playing home-and-homes with Radford and Covington during that same time. The thought process being the more often you play "big games" the more prepared you will be to play "big games".

 

Forth, Dixon believes in building from the inside out. That may not seem like the case given the rushing numbers that have been put up through the years but he develops offensive and defensive line play and lets everything else come together around that. His OL's are some of the most impressive units I have ever seen at the high school level, especially for 1A. His offensive zone blocking techniques are more complex by nature than some college programs run. And those kids run it to perfection.

 

The success was immediate for Galax. As I stated before, Galax had a 2-5 playoff record prior to 2010. Dixon equaled that playoff win total in his first season and made a state championship appearance in his second. Dixon has a playoff record of 18-5.

 

The talent has always been here, the organization, film study, weight program and coaching has not. As long as certain administrators don't ruin a great thing, the future is VERY bright. In my humble opinion, the middle school team has the potential to win multiple state championships. That is a special group of athletes!

Thanks sixcat. Great explanation!

[tornado99 345]

My reference to recruiting came from stories I had heard in the past pre-1980 about businesses bringing talent via job offers. I don't know if it's true, but heard Olin in Saltville used to do that.

[sixcat 2,922]

Does Galax get many transfers from other schools or "recruits"?

Yeah, the Galax, Grayson, Carroll kids have been going back and forth for as long as I can remember.  It isn't a big deal and nobody is bothered by it until one school starts winning regularly.  For instance, my brother lived in Galax and played basketball at Grayson 20 years ago.  I would imagine that would be no different for any other locality with multiple schools.  In 2011-2012, all three local QB's, Conner Lundy (Carroll), Austin Pack (Galax) and Max Rodgers (Grayson) along with Salem QB, Matt Hill lived just around the corner from each other before Matt's dad took a job in Salem. 

 

As for Caleb and Josh Spurlin, their father is a teacher in the Galax school system as well as being the varsity wrestling coach so, I'm sure that plays a role.  The kid who transferred from George Wythe mentioned above is a product of divorced parents with his father living in Wytheville and mother living in Galax.  He attended Galax schools from kindergarten through 8th grade, George Wythe in 9th and 10th grade before returning to Galax last year.

 

The only "recruit" I have been concerned about is the current QB.  Not to go to far in-depth but he lives in Sparta, NC and has not been a positive addition to the community.  I won't go any further publicly.

[Union_Fan 2,155]

Thanks for the info. As far as PV is concerned they were very blessed with talent. I know having the Jones brothers helped with 4 of those titles.

94 and possibly 95 couldn't have been won without Thomas, but 97 and 98 teams were so good I believe Julius could have sat on the bench and they still would have won. "Joneses" aside though...

 

I think it all starts with a solid youth program. These kids knowing the fundamentals prior to HS is a huge advantage. Could you imagine teaching someone to read when they don't even know the alphabet or what sounds each letter makes? Having good 8th and 9th grade coaches build upon that.

 

Being dedicated to an instructive and thorough weight program. Kids have to lift. No other choice. Games are won along the LOS and the LOS is won in the weight room. I also think that every FB player should participate in the track program to help build speed, agility, and flexibility. Wrestling wouldn't be bad either as it builds endurance.

 

Need to have fundamentally sound coaches in all areas.

 

A head coach that is capable of managing, directing, and overseeing all of these aspects. It's all a pyramid, and if that total program isn't complete the program isn't going to win games against equal or better competition.

[GC_Quincy 582]

One of those years, GC "held" Thomas Jones to 89 yards in the first half. He finished with 300+....and that was with a good defense.

[redtiger 1,742]

Coaching is the most important factor.

 

Talent has to be developed at all ages. No favoritism or  "daddy ball" in little league/middle school, start doing what the varsity does in middle school(or a version of what the varsity does in little league). Teach them the right way to do things, not just blocking and tackling but how to approach practice, how to be part of a TEAM, how to face and overcome adversity - just generally developing the right attitude. Get lots of kids on the field(Galax doing 8 man ball is a GREAT idea) but get kids on the field all the way up (no hiding under the bench) and coach your 2nd and 3rd string guys just as hard as your studs(even if its in different ways with different goals).

 

Later on get them into the weight room - good teams are built. My Sr year we weren't very good but we didn't take any beatings either, I attribute that to the weight room. We had really good participation, especially with the linemen and NOBODY pushed us around. That goes a long way to being a successful team.

 

Coaches adjusting to talent is really important, I despise the idea of "this is my system", adapt to your talent. Power-I, Double Slot, 4 Wide Spread, Split Veer are all great Offenses but aren't silver bullets. Run what your kids can do, if theyre slow run it inside, if theyre fast run it outside. Defensively if your DBs aren't great don't run Man, if your D Line is small dont ask them to meet O linemen head on.  Don't ask the kids to do things that they cant do.

 

 

As far as scheduling, you have to be challenged during the regular season. Your kids will learn how to handle adversity and as a coach you will figure what does and doesn't work against quality opponents.

[dukey 31]

Put it simply......Galax has decided to outwork everyone else and reap the rewards......12 team championships for boys past 5 years....it is a testament to the coaches-kids-community etc.   Outstanding

[tornado99 345]

Union_fan,redtiger thanks for explaining the youth system, weight room, and coaching factors.

Dukey, I agree about working harder. As sixcat mentioned, I believe the geography helps quite a bit, being closer to work means less of a time sacrifice.

How about other advantages?

For the weight room work, are there paticular programs you feel as helped?

[Chappy 72]

My reference to recruiting came from stories I had heard in the past pre-1980 about businesses bringing talent via job offers. I don't know if it's true, but heard Olin in Saltville used to do that.

Saltville was a Company town ran by Olin. The school system was not part of Smyth County Schools, Olin provided everything for them including teachers and coaches salary's.  They provided housing or partial housing for employees.  We were always told that Olin would "recruit" fathers to come work for them and give them housing so their kids could receive good schooling and participate in sports after school.  FWIW A lot of people that were not natives of, or had family in Saltville moved there. lol

[tornado99 345]

Saltville was a Company town ran by Olin. The school system was not part of Smyth County Schools, Olin provided everything for them including teachers and coaches salary's. They provided housing or partial housing for employees. We were always told that Olin would "recruit" fathers to come work for them and give them housing so their kids could receive good schooling and participate in sports after school. FWIW A lot of people that were not natives of, or had family in Saltville moved there. lol

This explains clearly what I thought or heard. Thanks, Chappy.

[sixcat 2,922]

Saltville was a Company town ran by Olin. The school system was not part of Smyth County Schools, Olin provided everything for them including teachers and coaches salary's.  They provided housing or partial housing for employees.  We were always told that Olin would "recruit" fathers to come work for them and give them housing so their kids could receive good schooling and participate in sports after school.  FWIW A lot of people that were not natives of, or had family in Saltville moved there. lol

Funny, for generations, Galax was the exact opposite.  If dukey is a lifelong resident of this area and old enough to know of the family that owned the factories in Galax, he can attest to this.  That family controlled everything.  Who played, coached, taught classes, principal, mayor, superintendent, police, etc. etc. etc.  

 

Many of the old-timers talk about how they would dismiss the factory by department on election day with explicit instructions on who to vote for, especially for local elections.  

[dukey 31]

Yes and it was vary obvious to all

[02GW12 91]

For GW it starts with an amazing sandlot program. Follow that up with a fan base that will throw money at the football program. And the fact that we have top of the line facilities example our weight room. And getting a great turn out every year to play. Yes we still have athletes roaming the halls but we have a great turn out every year. On top of all that our fans don't care what we have to do it gets done. For any team to be successful they have to have support. And it doesn't hurt to simply have more talent than the other guy.