Predictions

If Robbins and Adams had changed teams 2 weeks ago PV would have won. BETTER coaching.

Do you even know Phil??
I have known him longer than you say you have been alive. Long enough to know who kept the team going for so long. I know VERY few people who have anything good to say about the man.

I went to a PV/Pound game several years ago and saw something I will ALWAYS remember. Several ex PV players were standing close enough for Phil to hear and did nothing the whole game but hurl insults, laugh at him and call him names. These were not the bench warmers. Most of these were starters 2 years before and played on back to back state championship teams. That should tell even you something.

so explayers being immature and hurling insults makes a man a bad guy?


keep hating, he will keep winning

My take on it is this. Phil has in some ways been a caretaker of the program in some aspects. But, he did install the I as his offense of choice early on. Barry put in his choice of D. Those choices were instrumental in each of PVs State Titles. Furthermore, in 3 of the 8 Title games PV won, they didn't have superior talent, but proved to have the superior team. So, that has to be chalked up in some aspects to coaching and instilled discipline. In addition, Phil and his staff stramlined the P-Nut, JV and Varsity programs to where all were running the same basic offense...and the Defense progressed until varsity, where you were expected to know the simpler defenses and learn B. Jones's more complicated D...That too is coaching. But, the determination of Phil's players in the early days wasn't really coaching or talent..it was determination, and it made all the difference between 0 for 3 in State Finals and 3-0. Coaching calls hurt PV last week and have in the past before then as well. But, IMO Phil has more talent on the field with this team than he has had in decades...and they still stump their toes quite often..So, if Phil only won with superior talent, you would have to say they would be undefeated or have only one loss this year..which is not the case. It comes down to the kids...if they want it bad enough they'll get it provided they put forth the effort. With this bunch Phil should be able to do what he wants whether it be run or pass. And I am among those who feel the run would better suit PV, and there may be some failure to recognize that by some. But, to totally dismiss Phil as a coach who can't win unless he has more talent is erroneous as well.

Well said. No team has ever won a championship at any level without both talent and good coaching.

But the GOOD coach went to Great City a few years ago.

I played for Coach Jones as well...and he is a great coach, but he never called one play on offense. So, you can't blame the lack of O on his dearture.

NOPE. You are exactly right. The O, or the lack of it, is the responsibility of The Great One.

Barry is a Very good coach and a Very good man. I have known him for almost as long as I have known Phil and we have always been friends. He had the respect of the players. Not every coach at PV can say that.

IMO, the thing most sorely lacking for PV the past few years is the absence of on-field leadership from their seniors. Whether that is a result of inadequate coaching, I don't know. I do know that true team leadership begins away from the field and is then transferred to the field.

Ok lets get back to the predictions....Phil is a good coach..but not that great

I hate Phil and I can't believe I'm going to say this. Phil Robbins was a great coach. Probably one of the greatest in the LPD. But for the last several years Phil Robbins has not been coaching at PV. I don't know what you call it, but it ain't coaching. Superior talent can't win $hit without good coaching. He didn't do [censored] before PV? Well look what he had to work with. Nothing. Just as superior talent needs good coaching, good coaching also needs superior talent. He knew how to use what he had and won 7 titles because of it. The talent pool at PV has dropped to some degree, but so has the coaching ability. Don't get me wrong, I played on the bench for Phil and I'm not tring to lash out because of that. I believe he was a great coach. And that tastes like vomit in my throat to say that. I just think Phil has gotten a bit too old for what he's doing. But the coaching problem doesn't constrain itself to just one school. The only schools right now that have good coaching are JIB, JJK, and Clintwood. Adams is the best coach in the district at the moment. He's damn good. But he's nowhere near great. The LPD has been on the decline for a long time now. And while we're fiercely loyal to our favorite schools, I also believe we'll never see another trophy in SWVA until consolidation occurs. Our coaches are either too stupid or too old to do what it takes to win with what they have. And I'm not saying I could do better. No way in hell I could. But I gotta believe somebody could. As a former PV player(bench warmer) and a supporter of the Appalachia Bulldogs I really do wish they'd prove me wrong.