Last night my son’s HS football team was beaten 52-14. The game wasn’t even that close. They scored first and then proceeded to give up 52 points before scoring again in deep garbage time. They have become a deep garbage program over the past few years and I don’t see any way the thing turns itself around. The problems are notoriety and access to players. The talented ones who can afford to make the trip to Brophy, and play for a team that is constantly competing for a state championship. Then there is the lure of Mountain Pointe, who chose to bus kids in from a different town when Desert Vista refused to do so. It was that moment of refusal that triggered the fall. It was that moment of a school deciding they wanted to be insular and not attract the sort of kids who would make them successful that led to all sorts of kids leaving. In fact, almost every MP starter began at Desert Vista. Many of the Brophy starters live in the DV area. Academically the school is good (not Brophy good). The track team is consistently a state competitor. Yet football has become a black hole over the past decade, marred by 5 head coaches in 5 years. The first retired. The rest all quit. This new one has never coached as a HC before and the inexperience not only shows on the field, but from what I’ve been told in parent interactions and generally in the way the team is failing to attract new talent.
So, what do we do? The kid is a starter. He’s good enough to be a starter anywhere he goes. The issue is what it takes to get him out of there and then where he goes. If he stays he has a real chance at racking up a lot of city-level awards. That will help him get noticed, and the schedule will help him get noticed. He won’t win at the HS level, but is that the goal? Or is the goal to show that you can be a really good player no matter the situation. On the other hand, is he merely showing that he is a really good player on a bad team?
It is a lot for me to consider, but in the end it comes down to doing what is best for the kid and his future. If he does leave it needs to be to a place where the academics are good, the culture is solid, and the opportunities run long. It is not about being a starter. I expect him to earn that no matter where he winds up. It is about the opportunity to get better and give himself a chance to reach the next level: D1 college ball.
Some Thoughts:
- Speaking of D1, the kid at Drake had a good game and a good win. The team looked solid defensively. They need to clean up the offense because they face an undefeated next week.
- Alabama is no longer undefeated. Vanderbilt fixed that up.