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Yep, you can thank the genius idea of the VHSL.....
Equal 3rds.
Biggest joke in VHSL sports. Doesn't matter how big the schools might be as long as you have the 3 classifications split in 3rds. Lord forbid we may have a few more AAA or AA schools than A.
I live in Southside VA and I can tell you that nobody laughs at the LPD. The LPD, from what I have heard, has four really good teams every year. I would go so far as to say that Clintwood would win several districts outside the LPD. There are some districts that are just weak. If I were the PV athletic director, I would bag the Seymour and Breathitt games and go on the road to Regions A & B. Challenge their better teams and just go for it. Talk about racking up power points. It would be a pain for the travel, but everybody would have a better feel for how Class A football is in the other parts of the state. As far as the coaching stuff, I don't know where I stand. The spread is like run and gun basketball. When it's going good, it's genius and when it stinks, people say they would bag it and run all the time. But, what concerns me most are some of the other posts concerning the one man coaching staff, or the QB not having to walk to the fieldhouse after practice. Those things really break morale on a team. Couple that with a tough schedule and there is the possibility for a rough year. I'd like to hear more from those who hang out at the practices and have a feel for the pulse of the program.
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Yep, you can thank the genius idea of the VHSL.....
Equal 3rds.
Biggest joke in VHSL sports. Doesn't matter how big the schools might be as long as you have the 3 classifications split in 3rds. Lord forbid we may have a few more AAA or AA schools than A.
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Yeah you are right...its pretty much a travesty...i don't know if any other state in the union could get away with it without a law suit. I'm thinking that still could happen or some of the small schoolers try to break away from the VHSL and have their own league within Virginia. The discrimination is absolutely unbelievable.
And that is where the laughing part comes in. The VHSL does the 3rds to help out the schools in the Eastern part.
It screws us over.
And the new setup coming in 07 will screw over more Division 1 teams.
We haven't kept up with the run and gun changes of offense and even with PV's spred and Burton's Jet offense, we still seem to be lacking.
The titles seem to be going more eastern. If i am wrong then look at the record books and see. Been a big swing lately.
I don't know about the division changes for 07. You can bring me up to speed on that. In my opinion, and I have been wrong before, the same teams do the same stuff pretty much year in and year out. GC, PV, Giles, Sussex, Franklin, WM Campbell, Manassas Park, Haysi, and some others seem to be around the playoffs every year. Some years are more successful than others. I can remember, as I'm sure most can, the days when there were only three state champions. I don't know if there is a quick fix. I'm afraid that the smaller schools will always get dumped on. As far as evolving with the game, I don't think Giles does anything really different than 20 years ago. I think the speed-oriented and spread out offenses are fads that depend on the athletes from year to year. I love watching them, but I would always worry about that one year where I didn't have a capable QB or receivers who could run a route.
What my friends from the teams in the eastern parts say. Is that we have developed what we were lacking. The things that made the LPD what it was.
Now remember the term was.
That was what struck me in talking to a friend of mine who helps out at Franklin Co. that they had spent years changing their mind set and attitude to what you all had in the LPD.
When i ask him about the was and had.
He said it straight out. That it is something that many say the LPD no longer has nor region D has.
That there has been a huge swing in the attitudes of the athletes from each area. That the east got a taste of winning titles regularly and are now hungry. Where as the LPD had years of domination, and forgot what it was all about to desire it.
Now that is from an assistant coach, who has been around the eastern schools, for 30 some years.
Like i said take a look since 98 see how many titles we have. How many have traveled eastward and northeast.
One in 2003. GC
but it is easier for a school the size of Gate City to beat a team the size of Burton which is what the VHSL has set up for any team from the West to be up against when it comes to State Title games 85% of the time or more
TIMES are 'a'changing',,, they have our train of thought of past sucess.. then the good ole LPD needs to change and stay ahead,,, can't live on past sucess,,, have to move forward.
But, that's why they have Division 1 & 2. The enrollments are pretty comparable. I know William Campbell has about 200 and they were always competitive in the AA ranks before they moved down. Not a football comparison, but an enrollment comparison. R-H has approximately the same enrollment as PV. R-H is the only high school in Charlotte County. I believe that the system is more fair for football, because of the divisions, and less fair in the other sports.
Times are changing. But, look at the past records and rankings and I believe that you will see that teams like PV, GC, and Clintwood will be pretty consistent. I did some checking and Manassas Park and JIB weren't really in the mix until a couple of years ago. The other schools I mentioned were in the upper echelon every year. Check out the Matt Gilliam rankings on VaPreps. You could say that MP and JIB are in the early stages of consistent success or you could look at what happens to teams like Pound. A couple of good years and nothing. Either way you look at it, I would rather have a consistent program that year in and year out is competing for some type of championship. I don't hear too many people questioning the lack of success in Hurley or Thomas Walker. I like PV's chances based on stats. But, the game is still played on the field and teenagers control the hopes and dreams of us adults. What a thought!