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I mean you take one of the old Pennington football teams and they would just whip Lee. Why is that? shouldn't you have the Pennington Gap kids plus all the other schools that were put together and have a really good team? do you think that might happen in Wise Co. when they consolidate? you would think PV & Appy would be a power house but could it backfire?
i've been told many times that there's a number of problems athletically at Lee. first many kids have to travel 45 minutes to an hour back and forth to practice. secondly pennington and jonesville still competes against each other in 8th grade sports. people claim that this prevents the varsity programs from growing and creates bitterness among teammates once they get to varsity age. thirdly and sadly is the drug problems of lee county as a whole.
JJK's 8th grade squad had a good little battle with Jonesville the other night. There are some athletes there no doubt. Lee always seems to have athletes,but never can put it together.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh_Jass
I think things might have been better if say Dryden, Flatwoods and Keokee just combined with Jonesville and Pennington. Thomas Walker and Jonesville may even have gotten a look at consolidation if you look at it from that point. A new school in between Ewing and Jonesville makes a lot more sense on that end of the county and then have Pennington and whoever get together on the other end of the county. That is just my opinion. There are a lot of other problems out there that I for sure do not know about... but this is just the opinion of an outsider looking in on the situation.
And I believe that Powell Valley and Appalachia would be a great school if consolidated... but for it to work like it really needs to..... I think you could do a little something like Harlan County High School did. When you first walk in to the school, they have a corridor strictly dedicated to the schools that now make up the new Harlan County High School. They have kept the traditions of the past (jerseys, helmets, some trophys, plaques, etc) of people and teams that came before them... as a reminder of the pride that all schools had before consolidation with a sign that says something like..."Remembering our pride and traditions of the past....." ........then you walk into the new part of the school and they have a new case built with a sign that says something like...."Being born into new pride and traditions of the future." And its just a subtle reminder to the students, parents and community as a whole that we arent forgetting where we came from......but we definitely know where we want to go in the future together... and I think that is pretty awesome. Its all about how you want to do things. If you choose to do it... you can do it.
so really Lee High should have been 2 schools instead of combined into 1, along with TW there shold really be 3 HS's in Lee Co? I've heard horror stories a bout kids being on the bus for hours.
I'm not saying that there should have been... I just think that Lee County might have been better off consolidating Jonesville and Pennington with the other schools in the county. Academically...it might have been a better thing for bus rides and everything.
Athletically... they were already pretty tough... plus... you'd have something like this.
Clinch Mountain
Jonesville* - possibly?... dont know what enrollment would be before consolidation... was in Cumberland before.
Pennington* - possibly?... dont know what enrollment would be before consolidation..was in Cumberland before
Virginia High
John Battle
Gate City
Lebanon
I think Jonesville and Pennington would fare pretty well in this district and in Region D as a whole.
Cumberland District
Coeburn
Thomas Walker
Twin Springs
Ervinton
Rye Cove
Castlewood
St. Paul
LPD
Powell Valley
Appalachia
Norton
Wise
Pound
Clintwood
Black Diamond
Hurley
Haysi
Council
Twin Valley
Honaker
I've always wondered the same about Lee. Lots of success early but lately has fallen off a lot. I still feel like they have potential. I'm just rejoining the area from a football stand point, but when I played they were always quick and big. Seeing their team, this year they've dropped off a lot athletically. Graham is a good and I mean good as in above average back. Size is not great. Speed was lacking. I've been told by players and coaches that there is a lot of behind the scenes issues, but ultimately they need to get over the Pennington, Jonesville, etc. issues and realize they are a team and represent Lee County. Until they can do this...well they'll still be somewhere around average. Consistency in leadership also couldn't hurt.
Actually the board looked at three options, one, build two new high schools and combine TW, Flatwoods, Jonesville into one (Approx 800 students 9-12) and one for Pennington, Dryden, Keokee (approx 900 Students). Two, build two new schools with Flatwoods & Jonesville + some from Penning area (500) Pennington, Dryden, Keokee (700) and leave TW alone (375). Three combine Flatwoods, Jonesville, Pennington, Dryden, & Keokee (1300 students the first year, down to 750+ now) and leave TW alone. I thought and always will that the three schools would have been beter. I think that Wise County is on the right track. And I also like the new Harlan High School way of handling consodidation I live the hallways!! Hindsight is always 20-20.
Pennington and Jonesville weren't always powers, of course, Lee was a strong program out of the gate coming off those good Pennington and Jonesville teams....they've also went through 6 different coaches from 2000-2009, hard to get really anything going with that and given some of the early hires, if anyone on here actually recalls some situations early on. In the past few years, after Sanders was hired, they have improved and certainly been competitive again after a slump for about 5 or 6 seasons, which I think were attributed to mainly coaching, coaching changes, and a talent drop off there for a short period of time...Lee's area they're drawing from is pretty spread out too and that does play a part (whether big or just a small one) also in decisions for some to play a sport. Politics, drugs (whatever that has to do with it), etc., nothing you won't find anywhere else, maybe more so or less, just depends. For the most part...didn't say entirely for sure, but I think the politics excuse is overblown and just that, and excuse, for either really just not wanting to play or mad because someone beat you out for that PT. Being one who used it at times myself, and finally hearing some things come out at times in the end, its a little easier saying that, haha.