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Low Numbers in HS Football


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1 hour ago, UVAObserver said:

This is the article to which I was referring.  I apologize for misquoting the article (though the truth of the matter is actually worse than I originally quoted).  Hard to tout Norton as an exception when it’s the definition of the rule.

I meant that they were towns/cities of resistance in comparison to towns like Pound, Appalachia, Coeburn, etc. where citizens of those towns typically go to Wise and Norton to do stuff.

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On 8/2/2019 at 6:59 AM, SXSW said:

the next round of change for SW Virginia is further school consolidations. One high school for Wise, Russell, Tazewell, Buchanan  counties.

I believe something will eventually happen in Bristol/Washington County as well. Abingdon sorta makes any kind of consolidation tricky, because they are one of those spots of resistance that you mentioned.

Bristol is already working to consolidate all four elementary schools into one school. 

I’m not exactly sure how Holston or PH would/could factor in, but some sort of consolation is going to happen one day.

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On 8/2/2019 at 6:59 AM, SXSW said:

Like I have posted on here twenty times, if you draw a line on the map from Gate City to Abingdon anything north of that line is dead or dying, some places quicker than others. Unless oil is discovered in Southwest Virginia or a gold strike, it going to like Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, a few spots of resistance but that will be it...the next round of change for SW Virginia is further school consolidations. One high school for Wise, Russell, Tazewell, Buchanan  counties.

I have to agree with a couple of others in reference to Tazewell County. I don’t see us going to one high school anytime soon. They’ll close down and/or consolidate elementary & intermediate schools first and possibly move 8th graders to high school. Neighboring Bland Co. has 7-12 in high school while K-6 in elementary. I can see things like that happening before the high schools are consolidated. 

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20 hours ago, Bearcat Dad said:

I believe something will eventually happen in Bristol/Washington County as well. Abingdon sorta makes any kind of consolidation tricky, because they are one of those spots of resistance that you mentioned.

Bristol is already working to consolidate all four elementary schools into one school. 

I’m not exactly sure how Holston or PH would/could factor in, but some sort of consolation is going to happen one day.

I would think Abingdon would rezone itself so that it would allow more students to attend John Battle and lower Abingdon's enrollment to that of Class 2.  Both JB and Abingdon would be Class 2.  If you consolidate Holston and PH,  you also would have another Class 2 school.   That would make three good size schools for Washington County. 

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1 hour ago, BlueDevil4Life2008 said:

I would think Abingdon would rezone itself so that it would allow more students to attend John Battle and lower Abingdon's enrollment to that of Class 2.  Both JB and Abingdon would be Class 2.  If you consolidate Holston and PH,  you also would have another Class 2 school.   That would make three good size schools for Washington County. 

That is a good idea.

If I’m not mistaken, Abingdon has a very big Special Ed. program that affects their enrollment total as well. I haven’t actually researched that, but I have been told that by more than one Abingdon resident.

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8 hours ago, BlueDevil4Life2008 said:

I would think Abingdon would rezone itself so that it would allow more students to attend John Battle and lower Abingdon's enrollment to that of Class 2.  Both JB and Abingdon would be Class 2.  If you consolidate Holston and PH,  you also would have another Class 2 school.   That would make three good size schools for Washington County. 

Abingdon will never agree to that, too many doctor an lawyer money to keep it the way it is. Besides they like to outdo the smaller schools an add to their trophy case. I dont understand how they put schools in the districts, JB, VHS, Marion, PH are very close in numbers an mileage yet are in different districts, seems like the VHSL tries their best to keep things messed up.

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16 hours ago, Gridiron60 said:

Bland County numbers looking unfortunately very low. Not sure they even have a dozen. 

Two of the Bland players have transferred as of today. One went to Princeton and the other to Rural Retreat, I don't see them being able to have a team but maybe I"m wrong. Very sad for the few that wanted to play.

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18 hours ago, FootballFan67 said:

Two of the Bland players have transferred as of today. One went to Princeton and the other to Rural Retreat, I don't see them being able to have a team but maybe I"m wrong. Very sad for the few that wanted to play.

Hate to see it if it plays out that way.  Also no beuno for the teams shorted a game right here at the start of the season.

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On 8/4/2019 at 10:08 PM, grandpaw trojan said:

Abingdon will never agree to that, too many doctor an lawyer money to keep it the way it is. Besides they like to outdo the smaller schools an add to their trophy case. I dont understand how they put schools in the districts, JB, VHS, Marion, PH are very close in numbers an mileage yet are in different districts, seems like the VHSL tries their best to keep things messed up.

Ignorance is bliss. The principals voted to accept Abingdon in the district. I would go out on a limb and say that the kids that walk the halls at all four county schools aren't too different. 

Yes, Abingdon does have a bigger special education department but it is not big enough to really reclassify them. 

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1 hour ago, Real Sasquatch said:

Unfortunate for the kids at Bland, if they want to play, they may have to transfer.  Doesnt seem that long ago that there was no football in the county.  May be back to those days again.  

If Bland Co. has to cancel their season, Roanoke Catholic may be getting some phone calls.  I know I read that 5 teams on their schedule dropped 11 man football and they're still looking to fill out their schedule.  They may be about to get a tour of SWVa A and AA football.

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2 hours ago, SW_VA_boy said:

If Bland Co. has to cancel their season, Roanoke Catholic may be getting some phone calls.  I know I read that 5 teams on their schedule dropped 11 man football and they're still looking to fill out their schedule.  They may be about to get a tour of SWVa A and AA football.

Non- common out of district opponents may work too.

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Brian Woodson @BHCWoodson

Bland County Bears football won't play at all in 2019. The Roanoke Times reports that the Bears will not have a team this season. Local teams like George Wythe, Rural Retreat and Northwood had games scheduled with the Bears for this season.
 
Timesland @Timesland
FOOTBALL: Bland County High School has cancelled its 2019 varsity season because of lack of players.#timesland
 
great state
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1 hour ago, trublue said:

Brian Woodson @BHCWoodson

Bland County Bears football won't play at all in 2019. The Roanoke Times reports that the Bears will not have a team this season. Local teams like George Wythe, Rural Retreat and Northwood had games scheduled with the Bears for this season.
 
Timesland @Timesland
FOOTBALL: Bland County High School has cancelled its 2019 varsity season because of lack of players.#timesland
 
great state

The decision was made earlier this evening. They will still field a middle school team.  I believe they have 25 boys on middle school team. It so sad for the boys who wanted to play.

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On 7/14/2019 at 2:57 PM, Bearcat Dad said:

Bristol has become nothing short of a retirement community as well. With once thriving industrial parks becoming little more than ghost towns, young families have no choice but to move away from the area to find work that pays good enough to raise their children. At least we are working hard to become the retail capital of SWVA! (Sarcasm)

Even a respectable profession like education, is in a horrible state in SWVA. Teachers are grossly underpaid compared to the rest of the state and because of issues like declining population, cities like Bristol do not want to build new schools, they just want to slap band-aids on their decrepit old schools and build fancy shopping centers in hopes of mirroring our Tennessee brethren. 

We do have a superintendent that is fighting very hard to help the kids in Bristol, but as we all know, the powers that be in Richmond usually forget that the state does extend west past Roanoke.

Both of my kids have expressed interest in leaving the area when they receive their degrees. I hate it, but I can’t say I blame them.

Unfortunately, how can one afford to move out? Also, I'm sure there's a large amount of competition for those well paying positions for the cities from Roanoke to NoVa to Richmond to Hampton Roads.

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Another thing an a lot of us were talking at Battles media day is travel ball football, it has killed little league now starting to take its toll on football, rec football is gone. The league here we travel all the way to Pigeon Forge, then to Ridgeview an Union. A lot of kids parents can not make trips like that either because of work or maybe a car that might not make the trip so the kids cant play. That was brought up an we were told that parents had plenty of time to work out something, an what if their child gets hurt far away, so the kid does not play. If we want HS football to continue we have to have the feeder program.

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On 8/10/2019 at 2:17 PM, cavalieratmosphere said:

Unfortunately, how can one afford to move out? Also, I'm sure there's a large amount of competition for those well paying positions for the cities from Roanoke to NoVa to Richmond to Hampton Roads.

Speaking for young families in areas like Bristol, Va and Scott County, they head next door, across the state line to NETN to work in cities like Bristol, Tn, Johnson City, Piney Flats, Kingsport, and others, where there are a plethora of opportunities in the world of manufacturing. 

I turn 40 in a couple of weeks, I live in Bristol, Va, and in all of my working years, I’ve only spent four of those years working in Virginia. One year of which I worked in Va. Beach, when my kids were little, where I found out that I wasn’t made for living in a big city. There are just more opportunities in NETN, than in SWVA.

Definitely true about the competition for jobs in the rest of Virginia. Even with the Hampton  Roads area housing 1/4 of the state’s entire population, there is always work available, but there are plenty of people looking for work.

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Want to know about football in Scott County now? 

Gate City has 33 players but started with 27 players. 

Rye Cove 7th and 8th together for football has as many players as we do. The varsity has 23 players 

Twin Springs has 22 players on their varsity not counting 8th grade. 

Altogether that is about 80 players for the entire county playing football.  Gate City used to put out a team between 60 and 70 every year. 

You combine Rye Cove and Twin Springs together and they OUTNUMBER the Blue Devils in numbers. If you take how many GC started with (27) and TS and RC double our numbers.  Change is hard to see but not in this case.  It is right in front of our faces and not sure how people in the county plan to deal with it without trying to hurt peoples feelings or stomping on high society’s toes and hurting their feelings. 

So what will the future hold for not only the Blue Devils but the county in general?  

Ridgeview, Union, Abingdon are pretty much doubling our numbers.  Who would have ever thought.  

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I can't say I know alot about Gate City... But It might take a couple of years... But with the coach they have now..He will start laying a good foundation for the kids there and he'll talk it up in the classrooms also, then kids will start to see the good things he's doing and football numbers will start to go up!!

Just my thoughts on it....

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GC’s Little League program is in far worse shape than the varsity. Unfortunately it is illegal in Scott County for high school coaches to physically go to the elementary schools & put on a little presentation that might accidentally increase participation. There’s just nothing we can do. 🤷🏽‍♂️

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