2017 SWVA Coach of the Year

[Grapeape]

1. Turner - Tha U

Lost his starting QB and still fielded the best team in the region

2. Palmer - PH

Saw the rebels in a scrimmage against Bland; didn't think they would score this season 

3. Akers - GC

Able to overcome a historic lack of talent, a completely unsupportive community, and an unprecedented run of injuries (That were in no way related to his team management decisions) to lead the devils to victory over powerhouse Wise Central

 

Thoughts? 

[Deleted Account]

“Best team in the region” is still yet to be determined.  But I hope Union thinks they’re the best, and I hope they’re listening to the voices outside the locker room telling them that.

[Unionguy_2017]

35 minutes ago, UVAObserver said:

“Best team in the region” is still yet to be determined.  But I hope Union thinks they’re the best, and I hope they’re listening to the voices outside the locker room telling them that.

Nobody in the locker room is taking them lightly, I can promise you that. They know they have the chance to prove they are the best team in the region on Saturday afternoon. They know how talented Graham is. 

 

Back on topic, I think Grahams coach has to be in there. The #2 seed and 9-1 on the year with the only loss on that fumble at the one yard line. 

[Grapeape]

No doubt Graham can win. However, they are still underdogs to a team that had to scrap the spread when their QB went down. How many teams could lose their QB and still be the #1 seed? Of course, having #82 doesn't hurt, but still... 

[Dick_Vitale]

Mance

[Hillbilly]

Fred Simon hands down!  4-6 last year 12-0 this year.  

[Grapeape]

I'd throw Stone, Crist, and Carroll's names out there too. 

[Grapeape]

Just now, Hillbilly said:

Fred Simon hands down!  4-6 last year 12-0 this year.  

He's a great coach, but he doesn't coach in SWVA. 

[Ryan4VT]

9 minutes ago, Grapeape said:

He's a great coach, but he doesn't coach in SWVA. 

He’s a coach in this mesage boards jurisdiction. Monroe and Mercer counties in WV are part of this. 

My vote would be either Turner or Simon. Hands down. 

[IRISH-FAN18]

Throw Narrows coach in there. For a school that's not known for a great football program, they've had a good season and good shot at beating Galax. So hats off to Narrows coaching staff & players!

[Deleted Account]

48 minutes ago, Unionguy_2017 said:

Nobody in the locker room is taking them lightly, I can promise you that. They know they have the chance to prove they are the best team in the region on Saturday afternoon. They know how talented Graham is. 

 

Back on topic, I think Grahams coach has to be in there. The #2 seed and 9-1 on the year with the only loss on that fumble at the one yard line. 

For their sake, I hope they give Graham their due reverence.  I’m 99.99% sure that’s the message Turner is instilling in his boys, but if this board is any indication, there are people looking ahead to Appomattox a bit prematurely.

[Deleted Account]

You need only to look at Bluefield, Graham, Union, Chilhowie, Galax, and Narrows to get your finalists for this award...

[EH31]

5 minutes ago, Ryan4VT said:

He’s a coach in this mesage boards jurisdiction. Monroe and Mercer counties in WV are part of this. 

My vote would be either Turner or Simon. Hands down. 

McDowell too. But speaking of coaching, Mount View has a good young coach (around 28-29 years old) in my opinion. His name is Larry Thompson. He's originally from Louisiana but after Katrina moved around and ended up playing in college at Concord, then somehow ended up in Welch. Not saying he deserves a coach of the year award but he's got Mount View competitive in most games which was unheard of in the years before he took over.

[Suit Up]

One could mention Tazewells head coach. They didn’t have a record year by any means, but with the ridiculous youth they had and the injuries they sustained on top of that, I don’t know that any of the aforementioned coaches could’ve done a better job.This is obviously a far fetched reach, but not unreasonable in my opinion.

[ISOaPBR]

Tom Turner. End of discussion.

[Deleted Account]

6 minutes ago, Suit Up said:

One could mention Tazewells head coach. They didn’t have a record year by any means, but with the ridiculous youth they had and the injuries they sustained on top of that, I don’t know that any of the aforementioned coaches could’ve done a better job.This is obviously a far fetched reach, but not unreasonable in my opinion.

Good call.

[Deleted Account]

3 minutes ago, ISOaPBR said:

Tom Turner. End of discussion.

Overruled via incomplete data.  Discussion continues.

[IRISH-FAN18]

1 hour ago, UVAObserver said:

You need only to look at Bluefield, Graham, Union, Chilhowie, Galax, and Narrows to get your finalists for this award...

Feel free to remove Chilhowie from contention if you want. Lol

[EH31]

In my opinion I think a coach of the year award should be awarded to a coach with a great record who led their team to "overachieve." 

We all expect Bluefield, Union, Galax, & Graham to win 8, 9, or 10 games. What most didn't expect this year was Marion start out 8-0, Ridgeview host a playoff game at 9-1, or Narrows to have home field advantage throughout the state title game. 

Carroll from Marion, Mullins from Ridgeview and Lowe from Narrows would be my top 3. 

But I'd give my vote to Kelly Lowe at Narrows. They lost a player that went to play at VT and still went 9-1 and locked up home field throughout. 

[BearDawg]

52 minutes ago, ISOaPBR said:

Tom Turner. End of discussion.

If he were still alive, he would be in the mix lol. I’m guessing u meant Travis. 

[ISOaPBR]

3 minutes ago, BearDawg said:

If he were still alive, he would be in the mix lol. I’m guessing u meant Travis. 

Nope.

[BearDawg]

I’m bias obviously. But I’d have to say Turner. Regardless how the game with Graham goes. Having to retool the offense around his sons season ending injury and still keeping the team focused on the goal. I played for his dad, Tom. He had the ability to make you play bigger than you were. Believe that you were better than you really were. And we would run through a brick wall for him because we thought we could. My point is, Travis has this respect from his boys. They drink the kool aid and want more. He’s blended fierce rivals in Appy and PV through consolidation and Union is a solid program. This is my reason for Travis Turner as COY. 

[BearDawg]

2 minutes ago, ISOaPBR said:

Nope.

I stand corrected. Can’t say I don’t love your thought process on this. Tom it is!

[Gridiron60]

1 hour ago, UVAObserver said:

You need only to look at Bluefield, Graham, Union, Chilhowie, Galax, and Narrows to get your finalists for this award...

Agreed

[SWVA_HOKIE]

11 minutes ago, EH31 said:

In my opinion I think a coach of the year award should be awarded to a coach with a great record who led their team to "overachieve." 

We all expect Bluefield, Union, Galax, & Graham to win 8, 9, or 10 games. What most didn't expect this year was Marion start out 8-0, Ridgeview host a playoff game at 9-1, or Narrows to have home field advantage throughout the state title game. 

Carroll from Marion, Mullins from Ridgeview and Lowe from Narrows would be my top 3. 

But I'd give my vote to Kelly Lowe at Narrows. They lost a player that went to play at VT and still went 9-1 and locked up home field throughout. 

I agree.  Carroll at Marion or Mullins at Ridgeview.  I don't know enough about 1A to make an opinion, but I know that Marion and Ridgeview did more than was expected.