Jamey Hughes out at Rural Retreat

[Gridiron60]

https://heraldcourier.com/sports/high-school/football/high-school-football-jamey-hughes-steps-down-after-seven-seasons-helming-rural-retreat-indians/article_12cea23c-b652-11ef-b777-3be70e9d82d5.html?utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1PcIKI9IvpGUOO-TyIN72UJe5dlfUzd0Tz8-y5UnDurbznLOgTetXcZkI_aem_HOfQ-Gbj5CuodwuAprUBzw
 

I know there were some in the fan base very disgruntled with Hughes. We’ll see if they get someone they like better. 

[Dodgers]

Coach Hughes is a good man and good for the kids. He was always very helpful and humble the few times I interacted with him. I thought the RR football nonconference schedule was too demanding for a smaller school. Best wishes Coach Hughes!

[Jags52]

3 hours ago, Dodgers said:

Coach Hughes is a good man and good for the kids. He was always very helpful and humble the few times I interacted with him. I thought the RR football nonconference schedule was too demanding for a smaller school. Best wishes Coach Hughes!

I don't know a ton about Rural Retreat I know they usually are a tough well coached team. I would have to disagree on the tough non conference though. East Montgomery should be a win just about ever year. Fort Chiswell and George Wythe are not going anywhere because they are in the same county if nothing else you have to play them because of the easy travel. The only game that I would try to change is Grayson but they are going to have there down years too. The problem with changing Grayson is who do you replace them with? You are either going to have to play a class 2 school ( which Grayson basically is) or travel further than Grayson county. I am not sure that trade off is worth it. 

[Gridiron60]

I was thinking the beef was with Hughes but was told it was with OC for Rural Retreat. Anyway, best wishes to Hughes. Rural Retreat always seems to have a pretty solid season. He’s obviously not done a bad job with the Indians. 

[Dodgers]

22 hours ago, Jags52 said:

I don't know a ton about Rural Retreat I know they usually are a tough well coached team. I would have to disagree on the tough non conference though. East Montgomery should be a win just about ever year. Fort Chiswell and George Wythe are not going anywhere because they are in the same county if nothing else you have to play them because of the easy travel. The only game that I would try to change is Grayson but they are going to have there down years too. The problem with changing Grayson is who do you replace them with? You are either going to have to play a class 2 school ( which Grayson basically is) or travel further than Grayson county. I am not sure that trade off is worth it. 

Yes I do understand what you are saying. I'm just thinking on a yearly basis Grayson County, Lebanon, George Wythe, and Fort Chiswell are pretty tough teams for a small 1A school to play in addition to the Hogoheegee district schedule. Eastern Montgomery should be a gimme most years. I know this schedule makes them better but it can also cause injuries and losses which could keep a good RR team at home come playoff time. I guess it all depends on what the school prefers. Thanks for your insight.

[Jags52]

5 hours ago, Dodgers said:

Yes I do understand what you are saying. I'm just thinking on a yearly basis Grayson County, Lebanon, George Wythe, and Fort Chiswell are pretty tough teams for a small 1A school to play in addition to the Hogoheegee district schedule. Eastern Montgomery should be a gimme most years. I know this schedule makes them better but it can also cause injuries and losses which could keep a good RR team at home come playoff time. I guess it all depends on what the school prefers. Thanks for your insight.

I actually overlooked Lebanon because I forgot they jumped back up to 2A and the southwest district. I would say If you could replace Lebanon and Grayson you would be in good shape. The issue is being in the smallest division you cant play down only up. Bland and Auburn would be great additions to a schedule if you where looking for wins but there is no guarantee  you actually get to play them before they fold unless you play them very early but I would not schedule them if I was an AD. 

 

I've heard that this job was a step down or get let go sort of deal which explains the tone of the article talking about how 25 of his 37 losses came to teams that made it to the second round of the playoffs. Considering that this is a rare occurrence in this area (being let go for performance on the field) It makes me think they want to swing big for the next hire. I don't see a first time head coach getting a shot at this one. 

[bucfan64]

Hughes was a quality coach and he was good for the kids. RR has been competitive and a formidable opponent throughout his tenure. Wishing him nothing but the best!

[tornado99]

This among other changes are good examples of the changes in the world today associated with sports and coaching. Wins and losses are more important than ever. The overall stress of coaching is higher than ever. To be a coach at a high school is no longer about simply teaching, discipline, and molding young men. You must now be a politician, administrator, recruiter, strategist, etc or be able to delegate it to a staff. Rural Retreat and other places not strategically located, show this trend. I have not watched them recently, but throughout the years, they could simply beat you by having tough, disciplined, fundamentally sound kids compared to most schools in their division. Nowadays, the competition benefits more from geography and talent acquisition. We are already seeing “regional” teams succeeding by different ways of joining forces. Those losses are primarily to those teams mentioned in those posts either with much larger enrollments, better locations, structure, or all of the above. Good luck to coach Hughes and Rural Retreat in the future.

While not quite Hayfield like measures, expectations need to be realistic on the amount of effort needed to create an elite team and elite results. I have no clue on how Rye Cove have turned things around or  how sustainable, but kudos to them.  
 

For championships, you almost have to be all-in to compete with the rest of the state that has greater advantages. Graham is bearing the standard for SWVA and has all facets in place for now. Lebanon is working on it, and frankly if it were to receive an enrollment advantage like Grayson and George Wythe in Class 1 during the QB window, especially with rumored talent moving to join them, they would be hard to beat.

[Liam McPoyle]

I just hope the next person knows how to coach the “Dean Rhea Way” 

[redtiger]

20 hours ago, tornado99 said:

This among other changes are good examples of the changes in the world today associated with sports and coaching. Wins and losses are more important than ever. The overall stress of coaching is higher than ever. To be a coach at a high school is no longer about simply teaching, discipline, and molding young men. You must now be a politician, administrator, recruiter, strategist, etc or be able to delegate it to a staff. Rural Retreat and other places not strategically located, show this trend. I have not watched them recently, but throughout the years, they could simply beat you by having tough, disciplined, fundamentally sound kids compared to most schools in their division. Nowadays, the competition benefits more from geography and talent acquisition. We are already seeing “regional” teams succeeding by different ways of joining forces. Those losses are primarily to those teams mentioned in those posts either with much larger enrollments, better locations, structure, or all of the above. Good luck to coach Hughes and Rural Retreat in the future.

While not quite Hayfield like measures, expectations need to be realistic on the amount of effort needed to create an elite team and elite results. I have no clue on how Rye Cove have turned things around or  how sustainable, but kudos to them.  
 

For championships, you almost have to be all-in to compete with the rest of the state that has greater advantages. Graham is bearing the standard for SWVA and has all facets in place for now. Lebanon is working on it, and frankly if it were to receive an enrollment advantage like Grayson and George Wythe in Class 1 during the QB window, especially with rumored talent moving to join them, they would be hard to beat.

Believe it or not RC is all home grown(as far as I know, no transfers). Just a once in a generation group, much like their 2000 team. 

[tornado99]

30 minutes ago, redtiger said:

Believe it or not RC is all home grown(as far as I know, no transfers). Just a once in a generation group, much like their 2000 team. 

That’s awesome! My question and skepticism is concerning the sustainability part of my post. Are the coaches, who are obviously very good, there for the long haul? Or, is this a scenario where you have a golden opportunity to do something with a talented group that you make the best of during a brief window? I’m thinking Wise Central and Ridgeview of a few years ago who briefly nudged ahead of Union in the Mountain 7 before falling behind again for comparison. Both of those coaches are gone, whether voluntarily due to the greater stressors that it takes to win, or pressure from not winning titles during those windows. (This post is still meant to address the higher expectations and shortened coaching tenures compared to yesteryear, not suggesting subpar performance.)

On a related note, I am curious to see the fortunes of our Russell County neighbors. Is Norris a great long-term coach to build a program or there for a brief window to cash it all in for a title? How about Honaker who appeared to be in the same boat last year before the turbulent season and offseason? They have a talented younger group. Time will tell. For the most part like college and pro, the off-season is almost as active as the seasons.

[KW23]

4 straight years of 5-5 regular season record.  He seemed like a nice enough guy.  But the team had obviously peaked as much as they were going to under him.   Consistently not getting plays in on time...waisting timeouts.  Going for extra pts when we never had a consistent kicker should have gone for two every time. Constantly losing one score winnable games every year was getting old.  New coach whomever it is may come in and stink it up.  But 5-5 every season and the predictability was getting stale.  Think rural retreat could have a good season this year with many seniors returning.  Looking forward to something different this season even if it ends up being worse.   Doing the same thing over and over again with same results wasn't cutting it

[Union_Fan]

1 hour ago, KW23 said:

4 straight years of 5-5 regular season record.  He seemed like a nice enough guy.  But the team had obviously peaked as much as they were going to under him.   Consistently not getting plays in on time...waisting timeouts.  Going for extra pts when we never had a consistent kicker should have gone for two every time. Constantly losing one score winnable games every year was getting old.  New coach whomever it is may come in and stink it up.  But 5-5 every season and the predictability was getting stale.  Think rural retreat could have a good season this year with many seniors returning.  Looking forward to something different this season even if it ends up being worse.   Doing the same thing over and over again with same results wasn't cutting it

With the exception of 5-5, all of this sounds very familiar.

[1inStripes]

This group at RC was a fun bunch to watch all through youth and with the work they have put in in the weight room and such they are hitting their potential.  Just finish one play here or there and they would have been playing for all the marbles this week.  Hard to be disappointed in that scenario.  

The 8th grade class had 18 or 19 kids in it I believe.  Got some really good athletes in that class.  If they work like the older kids have, and I expect they will, things should be sustained with them at least.