Auburn job open

[60minuteMan 44]

maybe just talk, but I heard Auburn has had over 20 people apply for the HC position. A little surprised that many would be interested at this time. I think they are taking applications through tomorrow, (Friday).

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

15 minutes ago, 60minuteMan said:

maybe just talk, but I heard Auburn has had over 20 people apply for the HC position. A little surprised that many would be interested at this time. I think they are taking applications through tomorrow, (Friday).

A lot of that in my opinion is the area and the school.  Highly desired area to live.  Beautiful area south of 81 out of the hustle and bustle, but close enough for a quick drive to C-Burg, B-Burg, Radford for stuff to do.  School system is outstanding.  Crime is low, homes are nice.  This is just my opinion, but I think many are interested because of these stated reasons above, and are willing to take a chance on tackling the "lack of football culture" once they get there.  But, this person may be in for a big surprise once they get there.  

 

[60minuteMan 44]

14 minutes ago, BandanaVTDavis4321 said:

A lot of that in my opinion is the area and the school.  Highly desired area to live.  Beautiful area south of 81 out of the hustle and bustle, but close enough for a quick drive to C-Burg, B-Burg, Radford for stuff to do.  School system is outstanding.  Crime is low, homes are nice.  This is just my opinion, but I think many are interested because of these stated reasons above, and are willing to take a chance on tackling the "lack of football culture" once they get there.  But, this person may be in for a big surprise once they get there.  

 

All in all, that's a pretty good theory, especially if some of the applicants are from a fair distance away. I would like to see someone come there looking to stay for at least 5 years, and not just hoping to build a resume to move to bigger and better things.  

[sixcat 2,919]

If the right person can get that community to buy-in on football, it could be a sleeping giant of a program. They have athletes coming out their ears in that area. I'm just skeptical because of the passion they have for the other sports. With good reason. They are dominant in virtually every sport but football on a small-school level.

[60minuteMan 44]

4 hours ago, sixcat said:

If the right person can get that community to buy-in on football, it could be a sleeping giant of a program. They have athletes coming out their ears in that area. I'm just skeptical because of the passion they have for the other sports. With good reason. They are dominant in virtually every sport but football on a small-school level.

I think you're right. Believe you said in an earlier response, they could be where Galax was a decade ago. The right guy might be able to get things turned around. It would be great to have another good team in the Empire, already the best 1A district, top to bottom in the state. IMO of course.

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

21 minutes ago, 60minuteMan said:

I think you're right. Believe you said in an earlier response, they could be where Galax was a decade ago. The right guy might be able to get things turned around. It would be great to have another good team in the Empire, already the best 1A district, top to bottom in the state. IMO of course.

Agree on Empire. I think the Northern Neck in Region A, Class 1 is also pretty good.

[SwvaOG 601]

7 hours ago, 60minuteMan said:

All in all, that's a pretty good theory, especially if some of the applicants are from a fair distance away. I would like to see someone come there looking to stay for at least 5 years, and not just hoping to build a resume to move to bigger and better things.  

I think most view it as a stepping stone and not a destination.  However, community relationships can always alter that.  If I were looking to elevate my coaching experience or "get into" coaching as a career, I'd jump on something like this. I'd approach the other sports head coaches and try to build a relationship with them.  I'd build the program from the weight room out and I'd build a strong relationship or even take over the track program.  I'd work on a more modern offense to attract those other sport athletes.  I'd also make sure I was involved in the feeder league (little league, etc.) to make sure I was planting the right crops for my future harvest and then I'd give it 4-5 years.  I'd build up a great Friday night game atmosphere and have a sweet social media presence.  But, I'm a progressive football, out-of-the-box type dude.

[sixcat 2,919]

11 hours ago, SwvaOG said:

I think most view it as a stepping stone and not a destination.  However, community relationships can always alter that.  If I were looking to elevate my coaching experience or "get into" coaching as a career, I'd jump on something like this. I'd approach the other sports head coaches and try to build a relationship with them.  I'd build the program from the weight room out and I'd build a strong relationship or even take over the track program.  I'd work on a more modern offense to attract those other sport athletes.  I'd also make sure I was involved in the feeder league (little league, etc.) to make sure I was planting the right crops for my future harvest and then I'd give it 4-5 years.  I'd build up a great Friday night game atmosphere and have a sweet social media presence.  But, I'm a progressive football, out-of-the-box type dude.

This is exactly what the outgoing coach did. Modern offense, players loved him, tried to build up sandlot, and tried to reach the other coaches in the school system. The trouble with that approach for a community such as Riner, they are far more interested in Olympic sports, basketball and baseball than they have ever been interested in football. And they will not, in my opinion, allow year-round dedication to football reduce the success they experience in all those other sports.

In order to build the football program to rival the success of those other sports, those other sports would suffer. Again, Galax is a prime example. Galax won state championships in tennis, cross-country, baseball and basketball (twice) in the early 2010's. Now that the football program has the athletes committed year-round, those other sports are absolutely terrible. 

As I have said before, I play a little golf with some of guys from down that way. They aren't going to allow one sports to destroy what they have built in a dozen other sports. They don't care enough about football to tear down everything they have built in other sports.

[sixcat 2,919]

I will give you another Galax example. Galax won state championships in golf in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011 and finished second in 2003, 2009, 2012 and 2014. By the time the football team won the state championship in 2015, the golf program had exactly one player. Coming off a state runner-up finish and the golf program could only produce one kid!

All the kids who had grown up at Blue Ridge Country Club dreaming of doing what the older kids had done for a decade were recruited to play football. It decimated the golf program for nearly a decade. Now, football is sliding downward and the other sports are on the rise. Parents and kids are beginning to realize, there's more to life than high school football. Galax sold out to be dominant in football but that comes at a cost. It appears, that cost isn't worth the effort as we move forward. Interest is waning and coaches have driven this 50-week model to the point that kids (and parents) are pushing back in a hard way. Galax won't be what the have been in football going forward. At least not if this trend continues of players quitting to experience other sports and activities. 

[Pickett 28]

Galax no longer getting football tranfers that were MAJOR contributors either....

[60minuteMan 44]

16 hours ago, sixcat said:

I will give you another Galax example. Galax won state championships in golf in 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2011 and finished second in 2003, 2009, 2012 and 2014. By the time the football team won the state championship in 2015, the golf program had exactly one player. Coming off a state runner-up finish and the golf program could only produce one kid!

All the kids who had grown up at Blue Ridge Country Club dreaming of doing what the older kids had done for a decade were recruited to play football. It decimated the golf program for nearly a decade. Now, football is sliding downward and the other sports are on the rise. Parents and kids are beginning to realize, there's more to life than high school football. Galax sold out to be dominant in football but that comes at a cost. It appears, that cost isn't worth the effort as we move forward. Interest is waning and coaches have driven this 50-week model to the point that kids (and parents) are pushing back in a hard way. Galax won't be what the have been in football going forward. At least not if this trend continues of players quitting to experience other sports and activities. 

off topic from the post, but do think the drop off in golf, has anything to do with the "Tiger Phenomenon" dying off. I think in late 90's there was a huge amount of young and new golfers coming out. When Tiger's career and reputation started crashing, so did youth interest in the sport. 

[sixcat 2,919]

5 hours ago, 60minuteMan said:

off topic from the post, but do think the drop off in golf, has anything to do with the "Tiger Phenomenon" dying off. I think in late 90's there was a huge amount of young and new golfers coming out. When Tiger's career and reputation started crashing, so did youth interest in the sport. 

I don’t. Galax has always had a strong golf program with 7 team state championships and another 7 or 8 individual state championships dating back to the 1960’s.
 

Several of those kids that dropped golf in favor of perceived football glory in the mid 2010’s are members of my home golf club now. They regret dropping golf to play special teams and be otherwise anonymous so the football team could improve numbers. 
 

We’re back now. State runner-up finish in 2021 and team and individual state championships in 2022 without a contributing senior. 
 

It wasn’t just golf. I can name a dozen or so band students that dropped out of marching band to play football. The band numbers are just now beginning to rise back to pre-2015 numbers. Soccer is really the only sport the football program hasn’t negatively affected. 

[sixcat 2,919]

18 hours ago, Pickett said:

Galax no longer getting football tranfers that were MAJOR contributors either....

Besides the Spurlin brothers and the Vaught brothers, what other “MAJOR contributors” did they have?

[Pickett 28]

Denver Brown.....his brother ? Johnson played reciever I believe.  Hawks kid who played on LOS.  You mentioned 4 I just added 3 more.  There are several others.  At the 1A level 1 player can make a huge difference.  I think we would both agree Spurlin as 4 year starter had tremendous impact in many areas.   Add this with the presence of an excellent coach and translates into success.  Current staff has done  really good job but Dixon's departure is also starting to be felt.

[60minuteMan 44]

7 hours ago, sixcat said:

I don’t. Galax has always had a strong golf program with 7 team state championships and another 7 or 8 individual state championships dating back to the 1960’s.
 

Several of those kids that dropped golf in favor of perceived football glory in the mid 2010’s are members of my home golf club now. They regret dropping golf to play special teams and be otherwise anonymous so the football team could improve numbers. 
 

We’re back now. State runner-up finish in 2021 and team and individual state championships in 2022 without a contributing senior. 
 

It wasn’t just golf. I can name a dozen or so band students that dropped out of marching band to play football. The band numbers are just now beginning to rise back to pre-2015 numbers. Soccer is really the only sport the football program hasn’t negatively affected. 

you seem to know the impact on Galax high golf, but I mean overall. I recently had a conversation with a guy that was a club pro at a couple courses in the late 90's through about 2012. He said the impact of you youth programs and young adults taking lessons and joining clubs was enormous when Tiger came on the scene. After Tiger's injuries and personal troubles, those youth programs fell off, memberships started dropping off badly, and a lot of courses and country clubs have been struggling financially since.

[sixcat 2,919]

2 hours ago, Pickett said:

Denver Brown.....his brother ? Johnson played reciever I believe.  Hawks kid who played on LOS.  You mentioned 4 I just added 3 more.  There are several others.  At the 1A level 1 player can make a huge difference.  I think we would both agree Spurlin as 4 year starter had tremendous impact in many areas.   Add this with the presence of an excellent coach and translates into success.  Current staff has done  really good job but Dixon's departure is also starting to be felt.

Denver attended Galax from kindergarten through 7th grade before transferring to Fort Chiswell when his dad took a job in Wytheville and married Johnson’s mom. Then returned to Galax midway through his junior year. His dad, uncles and aunts all attended Galax. Two of his older brothers were starters in the 2015 state championship team. His grandmother has lived across the street from my mother for 25+ years. I would classify him as a transfer for Fort Chiswell before I would Galax. But that’s just me. 
 

I grew up with Isaac Hawks dad, uncle and cousins. They all went back and forth from Grayson to Galax depending on circumstances. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, Galax benefited from transfers and I agree, that well has dried. But it’s not like Grayson and Carroll aren’t seeing tremendous benefit from the transfer portal as well. The three Goad brothers live just off of Main Street in downtown Galax. Gillespie’s dad has been a teacher and coach at Galax for over 30 years and live in Galax. The Gosnell and Cox kids at Carroll. The Lundy kid at Carroll that played QB a few years ago lived in Baywood (Grayson County).
 

It happens everywhere and is cyclical. Grayson seems to be riding a superintendent willing to throw money in whatever direction he thinks will win a few games. We’ll see how that works out for him. 

[sixcat 2,919]

2 hours ago, 60minuteMan said:

you seem to know the impact on Galax high golf, but I mean overall. I recently had a conversation with a guy that was a club pro at a couple courses in the late 90's through about 2012. He said the impact of you youth programs and young adults taking lessons and joining clubs was enormous when Tiger came on the scene. After Tiger's injuries and personal troubles, those youth programs fell off, memberships started dropping off badly, and a lot of courses and country clubs have been struggling financially since.

That was very true pre-Covid. It’s not now!!! I’m on the Board Of Directors at Blue Ridge Country Club. I can tell you with absolute certainty, we aren’t seeing a decline in youth participation or participation in general. The Galax golf coach is the GM/head pro and Carroll’s golf coach is the assistant pro. They did a clinic last fall for any students interested in golf and had 34 from Galax and 52 from Carroll show up. 
 

I just created a match-play bracket for our club championship that started last weekend. The top 32 players after 36 holes reach match-play. Of those 32 players to reach match-play, several are in high school. 
 

We currently have more applicants for membership than we’ve ever experienced. We are seeking stock-holders inactive in the club to buy back their stock. Of the hundreds of applications for membership we’ve taken over the past two years, two-thirds are under the age of 30. We have very little debt, just purchased 50 brand new electric golf carts, and are in the process of renovating our cart-paths to concrete. 
 

I think you’ll find with a simple Google search, golf around the globe is experiencing an explosion post Covid. 

[sixcat 2,919]

I would add, as a member of the BoD’s at BRCC, we are in constant communication with neighboring clubs in an attempt to stay on top of industry trends. As are neighboring clubs in communication with us. 
 

Blacksburg Country Club, effective January 1, 2023, doubled yearly dues to over $13,000 per year in an effort to reduce membership numbers. So far, they haven’t lost enough members to get below the 400 total they desire. They currently have over 700. They will likely continue sizable increases every year until the get below that 400 number. 
 

Great Oaks CC in Floyd has roughly a 10-year waiting list right now for new members. 
 

Draper, Cross Creek, Pilot Knob and Olde Mill run out of golf carts so often, they call us almost every weekend to see if we have space to take some of the congestion off their hands. 
 

New River CC was within a month of permanently closing its doors in 2019. Now, they are thriving and expanding. 
 

Im not sure what Covid did for golf but it’s greatly increased participation for virtually everyone. If anyone in golf is struggling right now, it’s a management issue as opposed to a lack of interest issue. 

[swvafbrespect 67]

2019 QB was a transfer i thought and his leading reciever? 

[Pickett 28]

Grayson Superintendent  is active in seeking transfers....those you mentioned above and several others.   Graysons baseball for years siphoned off Galax and Carroll talent.

[sixcat 2,919]

1 hour ago, swvafbrespect said:

2019 QB was a transfer i thought and his leading reciever? 

The 2019 QB was current VT TE Cole Pickett. Cole went to Galax from kindergarten thru graduation. 
 

The leading WR in 2019 was current Ferrum Safety Ian Ashworth. Also attended Galax from kindergarten thru graduation. 

[sixcat 2,919]

26 minutes ago, Pickett said:

Grayson Superintendent  is active in seeking transfers....those you mentioned above and several others.   Graysons baseball for years siphoned off Galax and Carroll talent.

Grayson has been recruiting the best baseball players from Galax since I was in school. I graduated from Grayson in 1992. 

[swvafbrespect 67]

Back to Auburn, what is the latest?

[Pickett 28]

Have they removed posting of job?  If so that is a pretty short window for a system that traditionally moves really slow.

[60minuteMan 44]

my understanding is they took applications through last friday April 14. heard they had 6 interviews scheduled 2 days ago on Tuesday. heard 19 total applicants, so don't know how many interviews are planned. from my understanding there is a school board meeting scheduled for May the 4th, and they are trying to have everything done so school board can vote to approve hiring at that time. This is all second hand news from a fairly reliable source. I'm not an insider to any of this.