Youth Football- HS and Younger (2 Viewers)

[Chadstroma]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

 

[Chadstroma]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

Yup. Mt. Carmel. The semi-final had coaches from pretty much all the Southside Catholic schools... I also saw coaches from Brother Rice and Marist.

The current QB? I think I saw that he committed to Vandy recently.

 

[Chadstroma]

Our matchup for the Championship game should be interesting. They have the same regular season record as us (5-1). I am pretty sure (without doing all the math) that they have scored the most in regular season and certainly so in the playoffs. We have the most shut outs and least amount of points scored against us. So, it appears to be the best offense in the league vs the best defense in the league.

I watched the two playoff games that the team we are playing Sunday played the last two weeks. They run a version of a Beast offense. Run, run and run... then when they have sucked the defense in, a PA targeting their TE on a go route seems to be their dagger move. Thet consistently move the chains with good yardage picked up. I am guessing we move our stud on the strong side of their formation and I asked my son and it seems like they are going to keep him at Mike exclusively. We really haven't seen an offense like this so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Of course, they haven't had to go against a kid like our stud on the line as well. I think we match up well and as long as our boys stay disciplined then we should be able to keep them in check.

Defensively, I didn't see anything that was special really but not bad by any stretch as well. They had a couple of shut outs during the season and shut out the team they played in the semi-finals which was the team that handed them their loss during the season. The fact that our offense is a little different now with my son in it versus the regular season won't really matter much as we didn't see them then and there really wouldn't be much tape to look at for them. The last two playoff games, our offense was tweaked with not a lot of 'we have to watch out for this' tendencies. Prob the only thing we have kept consistent in our offense is that we like putting our WR in motion where we will run anything from a jet sweep, to a dive, to a PA etc. With my son added into the skill position, they have got more creative with the formations where during the season we pretty much kept to 22 or 31 personnel.

On ST, I didn't see them punt... which might be a good thing.... if they aren't use to punting we could get in there and get yet another punt block. On kickoffs they do a squib kick apparently hoping that can bounce it off one of the up men and recover it. Their kicker seems pretty good at kicking the extra points.

At this point, we are seeing an 80% chance of rain. I am not really sure who that favors... I want to say it favors us but it isn't like they are passing heavy so we shall see.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

Yup. Mt. Carmel. The semi-final had coaches from pretty much all the Southside Catholic schools... I also saw coaches from Brother Rice and Marist.

The current QB? I think I saw that he committed to Vandy recently.

The qb I am speaking of is a sophomore has 35-40 offers from all over the country. I assumed he was the current starter, since he has offers.

 

[Chadstroma]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

Yup. Mt. Carmel. The semi-final had coaches from pretty much all the Southside Catholic schools... I also saw coaches from Brother Rice and Marist.

The current QB? I think I saw that he committed to Vandy recently.

The qb I am speaking of is a sophomore has 35-40 offers from all over the country. I assumed he was the current starter, since he has offers.

You had me curious so.... I see two QB's on the roster, one Sr and one Jr.

Jack Elliot is the starter now who is a Senior, and I did see that he did indeed commit to Vandy. Emmit Dowling is the Junior. I did not see any Sophomores with a QB designation. That is using MaxPreps because the school roster does not give position designations.

Maybe they have him at another position while this Vandy commit is starting? Or maybe starting JV? I dunno

 

[mdstarnes]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

Yup. Mt. Carmel. The semi-final had coaches from pretty much all the Southside Catholic schools... I also saw coaches from Brother Rice and Marist.

The current QB? I think I saw that he committed to Vandy recently.

The qb I am speaking of is a sophomore has 35-40 offers from all over the country. I assumed he was the current starter, since he has offers.

I think you're thinking of the kid from Carmel Catholic...not to be confused with Mt. Carmel. Two different high schools...kind of strange that their names are so similar, confuses people all the time. We've had soccer parents go to Mt. Carmel for tournament games when they were supposed to be at Carmel Catholic. The kid (Trae Taylor) is apparently a stud. Offers from everywhere...Michigan, Bama, LSU, the big boys. Was supposed to go to the same high school my kids go/will go to, but made the switch to Carmel. Not sure if they moved or if he's on a long bus ride every day. Carmel recruits for their varsity sports, and we live within the sixty (or whatever it is) miles of their campus, so kids from around me can go there and face no IHSA eligibility issues. I see a Carmel bus picking up kids every day on my way to work.

For you IHSA folk, don't sleep on the Fox Valley Conference when it comes to football. Cary Grove beat East St. Louis in the state championship last year and is ranked highly again. Both Cary Grove and Prairie Ridge have a long history of football success...We're talking 5A & 6A, so not as big as Mt. Carmel, but really solid football nonetheless.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

I talked to the Mom of the stud player.

Essentially the conversation with the coach of the school he wants to go to which is pretty much a perennial top 5 ranked team in Illinois went very well. They basically told him that they want him and for him to keep working hard. What I really liked was that they also told him to play more than just football for sports and to have fun.

As I mentioned before, this was a big goal for this kid and a huge reason why he transferred to our school. I am so very happy for him that it looks like it will happen for him.

Mt. Carmel?

My son played against their QB a few years ago, the kid has offers from everywhere. I think he even got an offer from Maryland in 8th grade.

Yup. Mt. Carmel. The semi-final had coaches from pretty much all the Southside Catholic schools... I also saw coaches from Brother Rice and Marist.

The current QB? I think I saw that he committed to Vandy recently.

The qb I am speaking of is a sophomore has 35-40 offers from all over the country. I assumed he was the current starter, since he has offers.

I think you're thinking of the kid from Carmel Catholic...not to be confused with Mt. Carmel. Two different high schools...kind of strange that their names are so similar, confuses people all the time. We've had soccer parents go to Mt. Carmel for tournament games when they were supposed to be at Carmel Catholic. The kid (Trae Taylor) is apparently a stud. Offers from everywhere...Michigan, Bama, LSU, the big boys. Was supposed to go to the same high school my kids go/will go to, but made the switch to Carmel. Not sure if they moved or if he's on a long bus ride every day. Carmel recruits for their varsity sports, and we live within the sixty (or whatever it is) miles of their campus, so kids from around me can go there and face no IHSA eligibility issues. I see a Carmel bus picking up kids every day on my way to work.

For you IHSA folk, don't sleep on the Fox Valley Conference when it comes to football. Cary Grove beat East St. Louis in the state championship last year and is ranked highly again. Both Cary Grove and Prairie Ridge have a long history of football success...We're talking 5A & 6A, so not as big as Mt. Carmel, but really solid football nonetheless.

Yep that's the one, I guess I assumed they were both the same school. Here is the kids 247 write-up, he is first offer was in 8th grade from Maryland.

Trae Taylor, Carmel Catholic , Quarterback

Trae Taylor is a 6-2, 175-pound Quarterback from Mundelein, IL.

247sports.com

 

[Chadstroma]

I think you're thinking of the kid from Carmel Catholic...not to be confused with Mt. Carmel. Two different high schools...kind of strange that their names are so similar, confuses people all the time. We've had soccer parents go to Mt. Carmel for tournament games when they were supposed to be at Carmel Catholic. The kid (Trae Taylor) is apparently a stud. Offers from everywhere...Michigan, Bama, LSU, the big boys. Was supposed to go to the same high school my kids go/will go to, but made the switch to Carmel. Not sure if they moved or if he's on a long bus ride every day. Carmel recruits for their varsity sports, and we live within the sixty (or whatever it is) miles of their campus, so kids from around me can go there and face no IHSA eligibility issues. I see a Carmel bus picking up kids every day on my way to work.

For you IHSA folk, don't sleep on the Fox Valley Conference when it comes to football. Cary Grove beat East St. Louis in the state championship last year and is ranked highly again. Both Cary Grove and Prairie Ridge have a long history of football success...We're talking 5A & 6A, so not as big as Mt. Carmel, but really solid football nonetheless.

I bet Loyola was not happy that he went to Carmel Catholic. The profile says 'from Mundelein' I guess a 10 min or so commute versus a 45 min or so commute doesn't make sense when you already have a gazillion offers. Really, the only school north of the city on my radar as been Loyola. I went over to the IHSA wiki to look up something and saw they had the 'most state championships' for each sport. For football, it was the old school undisputed powerhouse (Joliet Catholic) and then newerish powerhouse of Mt Carmel tied. I think Loyola is making a good push too. But yea, the top three programs in Illinois seem to be East St Louis, Mt Carmel and Loyola right now and in recent years fairly consistently.

That East St Louis program is legit so beating them is a big thing. They just played IMG and took them to OT and lost by 1. The coach from IMG said that they were the best team that they have played.

Ouch.... what a difference if you went to Carmel Catholic and supposed to be Mt Carmel or vice versa. "Sorry Coach, we are missing the tournament today"

 

[The Z Machine]

How'd the playoff game go?

 

[Chadstroma]

How'd the playoff game go?

Championship game in an hour and 15 from now. Here is to a great update later today!

 

[Chadstroma]

It wasn't the day we wanted. 0-6 loss. Our Varsity also lost.

As you can tell from the score, out defense did well. The difference largely was all about field position. They have a couple of short fields and took advantage of one with a couple of chunk plays and then pushed it in though our boys did have a goal line stance earlier in the game to shut them down. My son was mostly at Mike again though they moved him to DT for one series. They ran a version of the best offense and are well coached.

Our offense put together a couple of good drives but just couldn't finish them off with points. My son had a couple of 20+ runs to get us moving but then they would take him out of the game (sure, give him a breather since he was playing all defensive and special teams plus the long carries) but I think they should have put him back in as he was the one that we consistently were getting movement out of.

Special teams wise.... the kick off was beautiful.... flew over the heads of the deep returners and went right down basically resting on the TD line. That could have been a huge play if we had just a couple inches less on it. They also had a punt block and we mishandled another punt- both of which fed into the field position issues we had.

We had one great play in the 4th... a pitch to the RB who use to be our starting QB and then he passed to our WR who caught it, turned with a step or two then goes down and the ball is on the ground- they recover and it was really the death kneel. I videoed the play and zoomed in, looking frame by frame and at first I thought it was not a fumble that the ground caused the fumble.... but then I looked at it and it does appear the ball is coming loose before (hard to tell zooming in so much it is like deciphering the Zapruder film). It felt like that was the momentum play we needed and the energy turned... but then turned right back when they ruled it a fumble with their recovery.

My son had a 'good' game but he certainly didn't feel like it. He did have one huge mistake in pass pro in he didn't pick up a bandit off the edge that was clearly his responsibility and went in to double some guy that got some penetration giving up a sack.
7 Tackles, 2 Assists
12 carries for 90 yards

Football is over for the year. My son easily was the second best player on the team after our stud. He made an impact all season long on defense and then in the playoffs basically carried our offense while still being a force on defense. Bummed for the boys and my son but they all did well and we got to the championship game with only one loss before that game. Next year, we will likely be lucky to make playoffs as our upperclass is a small one. When our boys were in 3rd, we won a couple of games. Then as the upperclass in 4th we went undefeated, which was followed up with a winless season as underclassmen 5th graders. After this season, we will be the underclass again and it is likely to be a down year again.

 

[The Z Machine]

Good summary, @Chadstroma . Pretty rare for a youth game to end with a single digit win.

Were there any standout players on the other team?

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

Well, our season too came to an end on Friday, lost to the #5 ranked team in the state. My son played a lot due to an injury to one of the other linemen. Did a pretty good job all in all, had one slip up that resulted in a qb sack. It was very loud un the stadium he heard the incorrect play, he thought he had helped and steered the d lineman in that direction but the help wasn't there. Other than that error he did pretty good. Saturday drove to Purdue for a gameday visit for recruits. Really cool experience.

Now on to workouts and training with a little rest for the body prior to starting.

 

[The Z Machine]

Best of luck to your boy, @Fantasy_Freak . Keep us updated on his progress and the recruiting.

 

[Chadstroma]

Well, our season too came to an end on Friday, lost to the #5 ranked team in the state. My son played a lot due to an injury to one of the other linemen. Did a pretty good job all in all, had one slip up that resulted in a qb sack. It was very loud un the stadium he heard the incorrect play, he thought he had helped and steered the d lineman in that direction but the help wasn't there. Other than that error he did pretty good. Saturday drove to Purdue for a gameday visit for recruits. Really cool experience.

Now on to workouts and training with a little rest for the body prior to starting.

I feel for the linemen.... they don't get the glory of the TD's and they get the automatic blame for the sacks (whether it was them or not) or not getting a running game going. I asked my son after the semi-final "Did you thank and give props to the linemen after your TD?" I explained that when you get the TD that everyone tells you how great you did but no one does that for the line. You see what happens when they don't open a hole for you- you can't do anything and then you see what happens when they give you that opportunity. You have to be the one that deflects the praise on them, thank them and make them the heroes because beyond it being the right thing to do, when you do, they will fight harder for you.

On the sack my son gave up, I didn't see that that was his responsibility live. When I went back and reviewed the tape, I saw the blitz off the edge and asked him "was that your responsibility?" and he said "yes, I screwed up."

Let us know how the Purdue trip goes and please keep updating here about the recruiting process!

 

[Chadstroma]

Good summary, @Chadstroma . Pretty rare for a youth game to end with a single digit win.

Were there any standout players on the other team?

It was only the third game all season long in regular and playoffs that we gave up any points. On the other side, they scored 42 a couple of times, 37, and a couple of mid 20's through games. So our defense still did a great job against the best offensive team in the league.

There were sevreral good players but none that I would put on the same level as my son or our stud. The best player was their QB who ran well but that was more about their scheme and blocking that was on point and kept opening up big holes. Mostly the holes were opposite of our stud on the line and then either my son cleaned up but they would have had 2-4 yards before he got there or on their big chunks my son got lost in the wash (part of their scheme really) and one play where he actually got blocked really well.

There was one kid who made a couple of pays for them too... their wideout.... but that kid should be thanking God today but I don't know if he knows how close to death he came. He got held up after a quick pass to the flat. Our stud came flying in full steam and at the very last second, this wideout turned just enough trying to break off and it was just enough for out stud to miss. If he connected.... ouch. Specially since he was a smaller kid. The next play, he slashed us for about 20 on another pass which eventually lead to their TD.

Their school is a bigger school (may be the biggest in the conference numbers wise but I can't say for sure). I can probably explain the difference better in basketball....Our class of 6 grade boys is larger than normal for our school. We have had three basketball teams since third grade because of those numbers which all of our other grades having two (maybe even one). They pretty much consistently have 3 teams and well stocked teams (our three have been 9/8 roster teams, they are more like 10 each) Their basketball teams for our grade are above average- most of their players range from good to better than average but they have no star level players. If we had an all-star team for the conference, they would not have anyone representing them but they are very deep. Only them and another team will have depth like our team will but they don't have the high end talent that our team has. I would say the football team is similar to that- no obvious superstar but very deep and they are very well coached and that 'beast' offense is a hard one to stop if you execute it well- which they did.

Our weakness all season long has really been about our offensive line. We managed to cover it up through dominant defense and special teams with just enough offensive production but they were able to make a couple of big plays where our line gave it up (and plus one where my son screwed up). My son playing RB and a little WR really did make our offense better but just wasn't enough. I will say that I like our coaches and think they did well but I do think that they could have rode my son more. It seemed to me the gameplan on offense was to mot rely on my son as much.... maybe thinking that the other team would key in on him from his big days in the playoffs. Most of his runs were.... I think the same play call.... basically an off-tackle run. They ran him on a pitch out and he got a big chunk but when he started driving the team down the field, they would take him out and the offense would sputter. I mean, he was running at a 7 yard average.... if I was coaching, I would have rode him more. But again, I think gameplan wise they designed and practiced more plays with our other guys the problem is that if our line didn't perform well, the plays would not work out well versus my son would still get a couple of yards pushing 4 of their guys when the line did not perform well. But I am not the type of father to criticize coaches... even more so in football as I could not do what they do. It is easy to play Monday morn QB and say what you would do differently when something doesn't work. It is much harder to actually do it.

The coaches and the boys did a great job over the whole season. You can't win them all even though you need to try.

 

[nirad3]

My son's team is on to the championship round. Well, they have an "A" bracket and a "B". I thought they were declared the "champs" if they won their bracket but it seems they have to play a doubleheader if they win the first game this coming Friday. I will, unfortunately, be on a business trip so I'll be missing the game(s). We are playing our "rivals" in the first game. Our team is absolutely rolling right now, so I wouldn't be shocked if we won the first game but lost the second since that will be against the team that won the "better" bracket.

Anyways, my kid straight-up tried to tackle a kid this past Friday night... in flag. He's been getting a little "aggro" in general and wrapped this kid up trying to get his flag(s). They had to blow the play dead... so uhh... good tackle?

His mom's reluctant to have him start playing tackle (two of his good buddies play in a tackle league) even next year. Maybe 8th.

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

 

[The Z Machine]

Good summary, @Chadstroma . Pretty rare for a youth game to end with a single digit win.

Were there any standout players on the other team?

It was only the third game all season long in regular and playoffs that we gave up any points. On the other side, they scored 42 a couple of times, 37, and a couple of mid 20's through games. So our defense still did a great job against the best offensive team in the league.

There were sevreral good players but none that I would put on the same level as my son or our stud. The best player was their QB who ran well but that was more about their scheme and blocking that was on point and kept opening up big holes. Mostly the holes were opposite of our stud on the line and then either my son cleaned up but they would have had 2-4 yards before he got there or on their big chunks my son got lost in the wash (part of their scheme really) and one play where he actually got blocked really well.

There was one kid who made a couple of pays for them too... their wideout.... but that kid should be thanking God today but I don't know if he knows how close to death he came. He got held up after a quick pass to the flat. Our stud came flying in full steam and at the very last second, this wideout turned just enough trying to break off and it was just enough for out stud to miss. If he connected.... ouch. Specially since he was a smaller kid. The next play, he slashed us for about 20 on another pass which eventually lead to their TD.

Their school is a bigger school (may be the biggest in the conference numbers wise but I can't say for sure). I can probably explain the difference better in basketball....Our class of 6 grade boys is larger than normal for our school. We have had three basketball teams since third grade because of those numbers which all of our other grades having two (maybe even one). They pretty much consistently have 3 teams and well stocked teams (our three have been 9/8 roster teams, they are more like 10 each) Their basketball teams for our grade are above average- most of their players range from good to better than average but they have no star level players. If we had an all-star team for the conference, they would not have anyone representing them but they are very deep. Only them and another team will have depth like our team will but they don't have the high end talent that our team has. I would say the football team is similar to that- no obvious superstar but very deep and they are very well coached and that 'beast' offense is a hard one to stop if you execute it well- which they did.

Our weakness all season long has really been about our offensive line. We managed to cover it up through dominant defense and special teams with just enough offensive production but they were able to make a couple of big plays where our line gave it up (and plus one where my son screwed up). My son playing RB and a little WR really did make our offense better but just wasn't enough. I will say that I like our coaches and think they did well but I do think that they could have rode my son more. It seemed to me the gameplan on offense was to mot rely on my son as much.... maybe thinking that the other team would key in on him from his big days in the playoffs. Most of his runs were.... I think the same play call.... basically an off-tackle run. They ran him on a pitch out and he got a big chunk but when he started driving the team down the field, they would take him out and the offense would sputter. I mean, he was running at a 7 yard average.... if I was coaching, I would have rode him more. But again, I think gameplan wise they designed and practiced more plays with our other guys the problem is that if our line didn't perform well, the plays would not work out well versus my son would still get a couple of yards pushing 4 of their guys when the line did not perform well. But I am not the type of father to criticize coaches... even more so in football as I could not do what they do. It is easy to play Monday morn QB and say what you would do differently when something doesn't work. It is much harder to actually do it.

The coaches and the boys did a great job over the whole season. You can't win them all even though you need to try.

Makes sense that a well coached team that executes a solid game plan well, even without superstar players can beat a team with more top end talent that doesn't utilize that talent to the fullest.

You're probably right that the coaches should have had your son smash at their D all game long, running behind the stud lineman. Sounds like it would have been better to spell him on defense and keep him on offense if the team was not progressing without your son at RB.

What formation does your son's team run? These run oriented single wing formations are wild.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son's team is on to the championship round. Well, they have an "A" bracket and a "B". I thought they were declared the "champs" if they won their bracket but it seems they have to play a doubleheader if they win the first game this coming Friday. I will, unfortunately, be on a business trip so I'll be missing the game(s). We are playing our "rivals" in the first game. Our team is absolutely rolling right now, so I wouldn't be shocked if we won the first game but lost the second since that will be against the team that won the "better" bracket.

Anyways, my kid straight-up tried to tackle a kid this past Friday night... in flag. He's been getting a little "aggro" in general and wrapped this kid up trying to get his flag(s). They had to blow the play dead... so uhh... good tackle?

His mom's reluctant to have him start playing tackle (two of his good buddies play in a tackle league) even next year. Maybe 8th.

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

I started both my boys in 3rd grade. For the most part, 3/4 there really isn't impact that you have to really worry about injury. I think there is value in learning the sport in terms of how proper technique protects you and others as well as how to protect yourself. From all the games I have watched from my older son and then my younger sons first season, there has not been any injuries that went beyond being in pain for a little bit.

5/6 hits start to come to a level that you can start seeing some injury here and there. Usually not more than getting banged up with contusions or maybe rolling an ankle. Last year, we came out of the 5/6 season with no injuries. This season, we did have two boys that had concussions.

7/8 is when the hits start to come in hard and you start to see injuries really as part of he game. I am not sure there has been a year that no one has ended up with a broken bone or something (crazy thing is with our varsity team there are twin brothers on the team... not identical, in fact, you prob would not even think they were brothers let alone twins. One is a shorter kid with blondish hair and the other is a above average height with black hair.... they both ended up injuries this year on the same game.... one was wrist and the other was forearm). I am MUCH more nervous about my older son going into the 7/8th grade varsity teams than I have been for the last four years. The 'boys' are starting to become young men and they can hit hard. I saw up close on one play that one of our best players, who is a beast, demolished a kid. It was a good clean hit but just brutal. I felt really bad for the kid and he didn't get up for a long time and limped off the field after.

My nephew started in 8th grade because of his mother (my wife's sister) and my FIL basically didn't let my wife or any of the siblings play any sports (they all went to my kids school). He did very well that 8th grade year and is playing HS on the varsity team as a junior this year. They just lost in their playoff game Saturday. He has not had any injuries.

I get the nervousness of playing younger. I worry more about concussions than anything else as other injuries typically will heal while if there are too many hits to the head then that can cause real irreversible damage. But I do think that learning how to play when the hits aren't that big of a deal helps when they hits are hard. So, I would favor getting them in earlier than later. The other thing is that the concussion protocols have come a LONG way to protecting kids.

Overall, with our league, starting in 7th would be far better in my view because they basically would not play much and have a year to get use to the game and learn it before having more playing time in 8th. From my experience, I would be more nervous the older they are but at the same time there are countless examples of kids playing football for the first time in HS and doing well and flourishing.

 

[Chadstroma]

Good summary, @Chadstroma . Pretty rare for a youth game to end with a single digit win.

Were there any standout players on the other team?

It was only the third game all season long in regular and playoffs that we gave up any points. On the other side, they scored 42 a couple of times, 37, and a couple of mid 20's through games. So our defense still did a great job against the best offensive team in the league.

There were sevreral good players but none that I would put on the same level as my son or our stud. The best player was their QB who ran well but that was more about their scheme and blocking that was on point and kept opening up big holes. Mostly the holes were opposite of our stud on the line and then either my son cleaned up but they would have had 2-4 yards before he got there or on their big chunks my son got lost in the wash (part of their scheme really) and one play where he actually got blocked really well.

There was one kid who made a couple of pays for them too... their wideout.... but that kid should be thanking God today but I don't know if he knows how close to death he came. He got held up after a quick pass to the flat. Our stud came flying in full steam and at the very last second, this wideout turned just enough trying to break off and it was just enough for out stud to miss. If he connected.... ouch. Specially since he was a smaller kid. The next play, he slashed us for about 20 on another pass which eventually lead to their TD.

Their school is a bigger school (may be the biggest in the conference numbers wise but I can't say for sure). I can probably explain the difference better in basketball....Our class of 6 grade boys is larger than normal for our school. We have had three basketball teams since third grade because of those numbers which all of our other grades having two (maybe even one). They pretty much consistently have 3 teams and well stocked teams (our three have been 9/8 roster teams, they are more like 10 each) Their basketball teams for our grade are above average- most of their players range from good to better than average but they have no star level players. If we had an all-star team for the conference, they would not have anyone representing them but they are very deep. Only them and another team will have depth like our team will but they don't have the high end talent that our team has. I would say the football team is similar to that- no obvious superstar but very deep and they are very well coached and that 'beast' offense is a hard one to stop if you execute it well- which they did.

Our weakness all season long has really been about our offensive line. We managed to cover it up through dominant defense and special teams with just enough offensive production but they were able to make a couple of big plays where our line gave it up (and plus one where my son screwed up). My son playing RB and a little WR really did make our offense better but just wasn't enough. I will say that I like our coaches and think they did well but I do think that they could have rode my son more. It seemed to me the gameplan on offense was to mot rely on my son as much.... maybe thinking that the other team would key in on him from his big days in the playoffs. Most of his runs were.... I think the same play call.... basically an off-tackle run. They ran him on a pitch out and he got a big chunk but when he started driving the team down the field, they would take him out and the offense would sputter. I mean, he was running at a 7 yard average.... if I was coaching, I would have rode him more. But again, I think gameplan wise they designed and practiced more plays with our other guys the problem is that if our line didn't perform well, the plays would not work out well versus my son would still get a couple of yards pushing 4 of their guys when the line did not perform well. But I am not the type of father to criticize coaches... even more so in football as I could not do what they do. It is easy to play Monday morn QB and say what you would do differently when something doesn't work. It is much harder to actually do it.

The coaches and the boys did a great job over the whole season. You can't win them all even though you need to try.

Makes sense that a well coached team that executes a solid game plan well, even without superstar players can beat a team with more top end talent that doesn't utilize that talent to the fullest.

You're probably right that the coaches should have had your son smash at their D all game long, running behind the stud lineman. Sounds like it would have been better to spell him on defense and keep him on offense if the team was not progressing without your son at RB.

What formation does your son's team run? These run oriented single wing formations are wild.

The coaches did a great job through the season... even more so adjusting to my son not making weight when they believed (thanks to my son lying to them) that he was already under the limit and would be the focal point of the offense all season long.

I am not sure if spelling him on defense would have worked really. When they opened up the hole (which was on most running plays) it was usually my son that was able to get the stop. Without him on the field, I have to wonder if they would have scored more. And our other skill kids are good... but the problem is that they all are speed guys and the bad thing for us was that this team had more speed than other teams so when they put in one of our speed guys and they tried to get to the edge, the other team was able to get over there. With my son, he could punch through a bit (he had one great little juke step on one kid for one of his bigger runs) and when they did bring him down... it was usually 3 or 4 kids taking him down.

For most of the season, we almost exclusively were in 22 personnel with a lot of motion from our receiver and pretty much one jet sweep a game. With my son able to play skill position, they opened it up a bit more. The play that he got his receiving TD they were in 11 with him in slot, he went in motion for like three steps and then they snapped, he ran a post pattern and hit him. They ran the same a similar play yesterday but were in 21 and my son was open but our QB got demolished from his blind side before he could get it off. They also did a few 13 formations as well which was.... I can't remember what the formation is really called but basically an inverted wishbone with two full backs right up and the tailback behind them instead of a wishbone's one fullback and two split backs behind. That 22 was still the backbone of the offense but they got way more creative after my son was added to the skill positions.

The other team did have a couple of good blockers and they did a great job of sealing off the side that they were not attacking and that usually meant a double or triple on our stud which bottled him up more than he has ever been.... they even blocked my son on one or two plays one on one which is very unusual. So, props to them, they did well and beat us. I do think if we played them 10 times it probably would be 6 wins for us and 4 for them but on this day they were the better team.

 

[acarey50]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

 

[Chadstroma]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

That is a very good point. I would say that I am spoiled in our football program where our coaching staff has HS coaches, plenty of X college players including D1, guys who have been coaching youth levels for decades, etc throughout at all levels (our offensive line coach for our 5/6 team played D1.... I think Iowa). Being taught early the right way is gold.... being taught crap at any level is worse than not playing at all or playing flag- 100%.

 

[acarey50]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

That is a very good point. I would say that I am spoiled in our football program where our coaching staff has HS coaches, plenty of X college players including D1, guys who have been coaching youth levels for decades, etc throughout at all levels (our offensive line coach for our 5/6 team played D1.... I think Iowa). Being taught early the right way is gold.... being taught crap at any level is worse than not playing at all or playing flag- 100%.

Flag and it's fairly toxic culture cousin 7 on 7 can be very valuable for the receivers and DBs in learning proper route running, how routes can work together to get a player open, etc. and then defensively working on coverage. Obviously not an exact replica of tackle as the QB is not facing a blitzing LB and the defense knows it is a pass - at least in 7 on 7 and many flag leagues as you get older - but it can be useful to work on technique and footwork, etc. in a much lower contact environment.

 

[Fantasy_Freak]

Best of luck to your boy, @Fantasy_Freak . Keep us updated on his progress and the recruiting.

Will do.

 

[Chadstroma]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

That is a very good point. I would say that I am spoiled in our football program where our coaching staff has HS coaches, plenty of X college players including D1, guys who have been coaching youth levels for decades, etc throughout at all levels (our offensive line coach for our 5/6 team played D1.... I think Iowa). Being taught early the right way is gold.... being taught crap at any level is worse than not playing at all or playing flag- 100%.

Flag and it's fairly toxic culture cousin 7 on 7 can be very valuable for the receivers and DBs in learning proper route running, how routes can work together to get a player open, etc. and then defensively working on coverage. Obviously not an exact replica of tackle as the QB is not facing a blitzing LB and the defense knows it is a pass - at least in 7 on 7 and many flag leagues as you get older - but it can be useful to work on technique and footwork, etc. in a much lower contact environment.

I worded that poorly in making it sound like I was putting flag on the same level of getting taught incorrectly in tackle football. There is absolute value in flag and 7 on 7 too. You pointed out some of the pro's and con's of them versus tackle football. I think it is most useful for wide receivers and DB's as what they do in tackle and flag is almost the same. There is certainly different levels of value for different positions.

There is a big adjustment though from flag to tackle even coming from a skill position. We have one or two new kids coming over from flag into our program each year at different levels and universally it is a huge adjustment for them. They all do adjust and flourish but it is a whole new world for them, you can see them going through a learning curve. It isn't like playing 3 on 3 basketball and then playing basketball- the hitting and getting hit, the schemes, the complexity, etc is all almost making it a different game. Flag football and/or 7 on 7 is way better than playing tackle with a bunch of guys that are well meaning but do not have the knowledge to teach football properly. I am in full agreement with you.

Being taught proper tackle football is best, playing flag/7 on 7 with decent coaching next best and playing tackle football with poor coaching is the least. At least in my view but I am not the end all of all things football. If I was left alone to coach myself, I would be one of those well meaning guys not coaching properly which is why I saw myself as an "assistant position coach". It is easy to help when you have guys all around you that know what they are doing.

 

[Chadstroma]

Another thought...from your comment about toxic.... I find it funny that football, at least in our leagues, seems significantly less so than basketball. Which to me, goes against expectations. Maybe it is the distance difference of the sport.... basketball the fans are closer to each other and closer to the action and closer to the officials.

The sport with the least... basically I have not seen anything toxic yet.... is swim.

 

[acarey50]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

That is a very good point. I would say that I am spoiled in our football program where our coaching staff has HS coaches, plenty of X college players including D1, guys who have been coaching youth levels for decades, etc throughout at all levels (our offensive line coach for our 5/6 team played D1.... I think Iowa). Being taught early the right way is gold.... being taught crap at any level is worse than not playing at all or playing flag- 100%.

Flag and it's fairly toxic culture cousin 7 on 7 can be very valuable for the receivers and DBs in learning proper route running, how routes can work together to get a player open, etc. and then defensively working on coverage. Obviously not an exact replica of tackle as the QB is not facing a blitzing LB and the defense knows it is a pass - at least in 7 on 7 and many flag leagues as you get older - but it can be useful to work on technique and footwork, etc. in a much lower contact environment.

I worded that poorly in making it sound like I was putting flag on the same level of getting taught incorrectly in tackle football. There is absolute value in flag and 7 on 7 too. You pointed out some of the pro's and con's of them versus tackle football. I think it is most useful for wide receivers and DB's as what they do in tackle and flag is almost the same. There is certainly different levels of value for different positions.

There is a big adjustment though from flag to tackle even coming from a skill position. We have one or two new kids coming over from flag into our program each year at different levels and universally it is a huge adjustment for them. They all do adjust and flourish but it is a whole new world for them, you can see them going through a learning curve. It isn't like playing 3 on 3 basketball and then playing basketball- the hitting and getting hit, the schemes, the complexity, etc is all almost making it a different game. Flag football and/or 7 on 7 is way better than playing tackle with a bunch of guys that are well meaning but do not have the knowledge to teach football properly. I am in full agreement with you.

Being taught proper tackle football is best, playing flag/7 on 7 with decent coaching next best and playing tackle football with poor coaching is the least. At least in my view but I am not the end all of all things football. If I was left alone to coach myself, I would be one of those well meaning guys not coaching properly which is why I saw myself as an "assistant position coach". It is easy to help when you have guys all around you that know what they are doing.

Definitely agree on the big adjustment - taking that first hit is a great equalizer and kids will decide quickly if the sport is for them after that.

The only other knock about starting too young, is the wear and tear on the body taking hits that young. I'm a believer that the body can only take so many hits before something breaks down. In my line of work, I see the effects of cumulative work on the body - taking repetitive hits, even though they tend to not be as hard at the younger level, over a longer period of time is not good for the body.

 

[acarey50]

Another thought...from your comment about toxic.... I find it funny that football, at least in our leagues, seems significantly less so than basketball. Which to me, goes against expectations. Maybe it is the distance difference of the sport.... basketball the fans are closer to each other and closer to the action and closer to the officials.

The sport with the least... basically I have not seen anything toxic yet.... is swim.

Every sport has toxic parents. Some are just worse than others. I've just found that the 7on7 culture seems to just breed it. Basketball/Soccer/Baseball is a little better but still not great in many cases, primarily at the AAU/club level.

I have often said that the worst part of youth sports is the parents. In fact, the fastest progress I have seen in the development of the kids I coach, as well as the most enjoyment they seemed to get in the games, was during Covid, when at games parents were not allowed in the gym. It was players, coaches, referees, a scorekeeper and one parent per team that was allowed to film/stream the game. No longer were their parents yelling at the refs, at their own kids, at the other teams parents, etc.

 

[Chadstroma]

What are folks' thoughts on starting kids in tackle? 7th grade? 8th? I've heard both.

More than happy to grab a beer and wax philosophical on this with you, as there are a few different perspectives.

The most important is to really know who the coaches are and to be absolutely sure your kid will be taught and have reinforced proper technique, etc. To a man, every high school coach I speak with has pretty much said they would prefer to get a kid as a freshman that has never played tackle so they can teach them properly, vs. get a kid that was taught poor technique and had that reinforced for several years. The former they can teach in the first couple weeks of training camp, the latter can take upwards of an entire season to break the bad habits and make the kid not a safety risk to themselves and others on the field.

For us, our youngest started last year in 7th grade as we knew the coaches (all high school varsity level coaches) and it was an amazing experience for him. He learned a ton, and once he stopped playing linebacker like a "basketball" player, he really turned the corner. Basically he'd get into the right position to make a play, but instead of delivering a blow, he'd more or less take a charge and absorb the impact while tackling. Once he learned how to make the hit, it was like a lightbulb going off. As you know he suffered the knee injury last year and couldn't play this year, but he's been chomping at the bit, especially since his team made their pop warner championship game this year and he was watching from the sidelines - they lost by one score.

That is a very good point. I would say that I am spoiled in our football program where our coaching staff has HS coaches, plenty of X college players including D1, guys who have been coaching youth levels for decades, etc throughout at all levels (our offensive line coach for our 5/6 team played D1.... I think Iowa). Being taught early the right way is gold.... being taught crap at any level is worse than not playing at all or playing flag- 100%.

Flag and it's fairly toxic culture cousin 7 on 7 can be very valuable for the receivers and DBs in learning proper route running, how routes can work together to get a player open, etc. and then defensively working on coverage. Obviously not an exact replica of tackle as the QB is not facing a blitzing LB and the defense knows it is a pass - at least in 7 on 7 and many flag leagues as you get older - but it can be useful to work on technique and footwork, etc. in a much lower contact environment.

I worded that poorly in making it sound like I was putting flag on the same level of getting taught incorrectly in tackle football. There is absolute value in flag and 7 on 7 too. You pointed out some of the pro's and con's of them versus tackle football. I think it is most useful for wide receivers and DB's as what they do in tackle and flag is almost the same. There is certainly different levels of value for different positions.

There is a big adjustment though from flag to tackle even coming from a skill position. We have one or two new kids coming over from flag into our program each year at different levels and universally it is a huge adjustment for them. They all do adjust and flourish but it is a whole new world for them, you can see them going through a learning curve. It isn't like playing 3 on 3 basketball and then playing basketball- the hitting and getting hit, the schemes, the complexity, etc is all almost making it a different game. Flag football and/or 7 on 7 is way better than playing tackle with a bunch of guys that are well meaning but do not have the knowledge to teach football properly. I am in full agreement with you.

Being taught proper tackle football is best, playing flag/7 on 7 with decent coaching next best and playing tackle football with poor coaching is the least. At least in my view but I am not the end all of all things football. If I was left alone to coach myself, I would be one of those well meaning guys not coaching properly which is why I saw myself as an "assistant position coach". It is easy to help when you have guys all around you that know what they are doing.

Definitely agree on the big adjustment - taking that first hit is a great equalizer and kids will decide quickly if the sport is for them after that.

The only other knock about starting too young, is the wear and tear on the body taking hits that young. I'm a believer that the body can only take so many hits before something breaks down. In my line of work, I see the effects of cumulative work on the body - taking repetitive hits, even though they tend to not be as hard at the younger level, over a longer period of time is not good for the body.

I understand where you are coming from but I am not sure I agree with wear and tear at the lower levels. I think the 7/8th grade levels is where there is some wear and tear going on. I just do not see any stress on body parts at the younger ages more so than any other sports. I am open to being swayed. My perspective is only from observation and an anecdotal perspective... I would be interested to see if there were any studies on this topic.

My body is broken down from wear and tear partly from sports and I never played tackle football. I don't think any of that wear and tear came from elementary age but junior and high school age. Part of the reason why I am ok with football is that my family was very much against football because of the injury angle. I never did, regret not playing and still ended up with a bad knee and bad back from biking, basketball and other activities that were 'safe'. Yea, football is obviously a higher level of risk but pretty much all sport has some level of risk. Heck, even swim which may be the safest sport where you actually exert yourself, can lead to repetitive injury.

 

[Chadstroma]

Another thought...from your comment about toxic.... I find it funny that football, at least in our leagues, seems significantly less so than basketball. Which to me, goes against expectations. Maybe it is the distance difference of the sport.... basketball the fans are closer to each other and closer to the action and closer to the officials.

The sport with the least... basically I have not seen anything toxic yet.... is swim.

Every sport has toxic parents. Some are just worse than others. I've just found that the 7on7 culture seems to just breed it. Basketball/Soccer/Baseball is a little better but still not great in many cases, primarily at the AAU/club level.

I have often said that the worst part of youth sports is the parents. In fact, the fastest progress I have seen in the development of the kids I coach, as well as the most enjoyment they seemed to get in the games, was during Covid, when at games parents were not allowed in the gym. It was players, coaches, referees, a scorekeeper and one parent per team that was allowed to film/stream the game. No longer were their parents yelling at the refs, at their own kids, at the other teams parents, etc.

I think baseball may be the most toxic.... at least from what I have heard from other parents. The stuff I have heard has made me happy that I never got around to getting my boys a try at baseball. Definitely different from when I was growing up and some of the stuff is absolutely insane from the politics to the behavior on the field.

I have been spoiled with basketball both for my kids and me coaching with our kids school in a Catholic league. Now, not to say it doesn't get toxic (I literally almost ended up in a fight at one of my daughters games.... it is a whole story of a thing but the short version is that some lady kept chirping all game at me because she didn't like how loud I was cheering my team on which I did not care about.... say whatever you want about me, doesn't phase me but then she got to verbally going after the girls and I told her to shut up... we shouted back and forth and some Gorillas from the other team came thumping their chest coming down the bleachers toward me. I made the decision that I am not fighting over a 7th grade girls semi-final championship no matter how nasty the person is, so I turned my back on them and figured either they would coldcock me and they would go to jail or it would end it. It ended it for a bit.... she kept in on me and I continued to ignore her but then she started in on one of the boys from our school sitting next to me and again, I wasn't going to let that happen... so I told her to shut up again, and the Gorillas came down again and I told them that I wasn't going to let her talk like that to kids. I think they realized it and then maybe the lady realized how ridiculous she was being because she finally shut up.) BUT other than that it has been a very good experience for me as a parent or coach and the my kids when they play. When coaching, all my parents are well behaved and act appropriately with their kids. The dynamics of being at a school where your kids play football, basketball, soccer, track, cross country, golf, volleyball etc together and the community of the school make that very different from AAU/club ball or probably even rec ball.

Swimming though.... I have never seen one single negative thing...... from kids to kids, parents to kids, parents to coaches, parents to officials, etc. The only thing I have seen is parents complaining about stuff like doing volunteer stuff or this person doesn't like this person, etc which I just stay the hell out of. It really is cool to be a part of a sport that on the regular, everyone, even from different clubs, will support and cheer on kids such as when a kid is struggling to finish an event. My son had that happen one time (because I am an idiot and put him in a 100 Fly event in his first season) and it was cool to hear the entire meet of several hundred people cheering him on to finish when he clearly wanted to give up and get out of the pool.

 

[Jayrod]

I wanted to put an update in here about my son's high school team. He's been getting some spot playing time at WR but never started a game; also he plays on 2 special teams. Still, as a senior, he's had an awesome experience being on a great team.

Last night they won a class 6 (largest in MO) quarterfinal against the only other undefeated team in the class, Lee's Summit North (KC suburb).

It was the most intense game I've ever watched my kid play in. We went into halftime down 14-17. Then the 2nd half was a defensive battle and we got the ball down 14-20 with 2 minutes left and drove it 79 yards to score on a 19 yd TD pass with 10 seconds left. Best play of the drive was a 31 yard QB scramble. I'm still a bit stunned as we went scoreless for a long time.

We now get to host a state semifinal next Saturday and it is going to be bananas. Parents are planning a massive pre-game tailgate and I expect the place to be standing room only as long as weather is decent...and we have maybe the largest stadium around.

Earlier this year I was weighing the pros and cons of my son playing at a school where he would be a starter vs being a role player on a great team. If they pull off a state championship (would be first in school history and 1st class 6 ever from our region), I dont think my son would trade it for anything. He's been a part of something great already and he'll never forget last night.

 

[Chadstroma]

I wanted to put an update in here about my son's high school team. He's been getting some spot playing time at WR but never started a game; also he plays on 2 special teams. Still, as a senior, he's had an awesome experience being on a great team.

Last night they won a class 6 (largest in MO) quarterfinal against the only other undefeated team in the class, Lee's Summit North (KC suburb).

It was the most intense game I've ever watched my kid play in. We went into halftime down 14-17. Then the 2nd half was a defensive battle and we got the ball down 14-20 with 2 minutes left and drove it 79 yards to score on a 19 yd TD pass with 10 seconds left. Best play of the drive was a 31 yard QB scramble. I'm still a bit stunned as we went scoreless for a long time.

We now get to host a state semifinal next Saturday and it is going to be bananas. Parents are planning a massive pre-game tailgate and I expect the place to be standing room only as long as weather is decent...and we have maybe the largest stadium around.

Earlier this year I was weighing the pros and cons of my son playing at a school where he would be a starter vs being a role player on a great team. If they pull off a state championship (would be first in school history and 1st class 6 ever from our region), I dont think my son would trade it for anything. He's been a part of something great already and he'll never forget last night.

Being on a winning team is something... even if you aren't a starter. I have seen it with my basketball teams that the kids who aren't the stars are just as excited for winning a championship as the starters/stars. Same for our football team, even though they lost the championship game, even boys who barely played loved the entire season and would not trade it for anything.... except for maybe having won the championship.

Best wishes for a big win on the semifinal to get to that championship game and bring home the first banner for the school in football. Please do keep us updated!

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Another thought...from your comment about toxic.... I find it funny that football, at least in our leagues, seems significantly less so than basketball. Which to me, goes against expectations. Maybe it is the distance difference of the sport.... basketball the fans are closer to each other and closer to the action and closer to the officials.

The sport with the least... basically I have not seen anything toxic yet.... is swim.

Every sport has toxic parents. Some are just worse than others. I've just found that the 7on7 culture seems to just breed it. Basketball/Soccer/Baseball is a little better but still not great in many cases, primarily at the AAU/club level.

I have often said that the worst part of youth sports is the parents. In fact, the fastest progress I have seen in the development of the kids I coach, as well as the most enjoyment they seemed to get in the games, was during Covid, when at games parents were not allowed in the gym. It was players, coaches, referees, a scorekeeper and one parent per team that was allowed to film/stream the game. No longer were their parents yelling at the refs, at their own kids, at the other teams parents, etc.

I think baseball may be the most toxic.... at least from what I have heard from other parents. The stuff I have heard has made me happy that I never got around to getting my boys a try at baseball. Definitely different from when I was growing up and some of the stuff is absolutely insane from the politics to the behavior on the field.

I have been spoiled with basketball both for my kids and me coaching with our kids school in a Catholic league. Now, not to say it doesn't get toxic (I literally almost ended up in a fight at one of my daughters games.... it is a whole story of a thing but the short version is that some lady kept chirping all game at me because she didn't like how loud I was cheering my team on which I did not care about.... say whatever you want about me, doesn't phase me but then she got to verbally going after the girls and I told her to shut up... we shouted back and forth and some Gorillas from the other team came thumping their chest coming down the bleachers toward me. I made the decision that I am not fighting over a 7th grade girls semi-final championship no matter how nasty the person is, so I turned my back on them and figured either they would coldcock me and they would go to jail or it would end it. It ended it for a bit.... she kept in on me and I continued to ignore her but then she started in on one of the boys from our school sitting next to me and again, I wasn't going to let that happen... so I told her to shut up again, and the Gorillas came down again and I told them that I wasn't going to let her talk like that to kids. I think they realized it and then maybe the lady realized how ridiculous she was being because she finally shut up.) BUT other than that it has been a very good experience for me as a parent or coach and the my kids when they play. When coaching, all my parents are well behaved and act appropriately with their kids. The dynamics of being at a school where your kids play football, basketball, soccer, track, cross country, golf, volleyball etc together and the community of the school make that very different from AAU/club ball or probably even rec ball.

Swimming though.... I have never seen one single negative thing...... from kids to kids, parents to kids, parents to coaches, parents to officials, etc. The only thing I have seen is parents complaining about stuff like doing volunteer stuff or this person doesn't like this person, etc which I just stay the hell out of. It really is cool to be a part of a sport that on the regular, everyone, even from different clubs, will support and cheer on kids such as when a kid is struggling to finish an event. My son had that happen one time (because I am an idiot and put him in a 100 Fly event in his first season) and it was cool to hear the entire meet of several hundred people cheering him on to finish when he clearly wanted to give up and get out of the pool.

Right on with swimming Chad. My daughter swims and plays water polo. We’ve seen a few skirmishes with water polo — very rarely — but zilch with swimming. I think it helps that kids don’t physically interact with each other AND much like running, the results are basically objective. You either swim faster or you don’t. You don’t really commit infractions (99.9999% of the time) that impact other swimmers. There is a simplicity to it all that makes it pure.

 

[Chadstroma]

Another thought...from your comment about toxic.... I find it funny that football, at least in our leagues, seems significantly less so than basketball. Which to me, goes against expectations. Maybe it is the distance difference of the sport.... basketball the fans are closer to each other and closer to the action and closer to the officials.

The sport with the least... basically I have not seen anything toxic yet.... is swim.

Every sport has toxic parents. Some are just worse than others. I've just found that the 7on7 culture seems to just breed it. Basketball/Soccer/Baseball is a little better but still not great in many cases, primarily at the AAU/club level.

I have often said that the worst part of youth sports is the parents. In fact, the fastest progress I have seen in the development of the kids I coach, as well as the most enjoyment they seemed to get in the games, was during Covid, when at games parents were not allowed in the gym. It was players, coaches, referees, a scorekeeper and one parent per team that was allowed to film/stream the game. No longer were their parents yelling at the refs, at their own kids, at the other teams parents, etc.

I think baseball may be the most toxic.... at least from what I have heard from other parents. The stuff I have heard has made me happy that I never got around to getting my boys a try at baseball. Definitely different from when I was growing up and some of the stuff is absolutely insane from the politics to the behavior on the field.

I have been spoiled with basketball both for my kids and me coaching with our kids school in a Catholic league. Now, not to say it doesn't get toxic (I literally almost ended up in a fight at one of my daughters games.... it is a whole story of a thing but the short version is that some lady kept chirping all game at me because she didn't like how loud I was cheering my team on which I did not care about.... say whatever you want about me, doesn't phase me but then she got to verbally going after the girls and I told her to shut up... we shouted back and forth and some Gorillas from the other team came thumping their chest coming down the bleachers toward me. I made the decision that I am not fighting over a 7th grade girls semi-final championship no matter how nasty the person is, so I turned my back on them and figured either they would coldcock me and they would go to jail or it would end it. It ended it for a bit.... she kept in on me and I continued to ignore her but then she started in on one of the boys from our school sitting next to me and again, I wasn't going to let that happen... so I told her to shut up again, and the Gorillas came down again and I told them that I wasn't going to let her talk like that to kids. I think they realized it and then maybe the lady realized how ridiculous she was being because she finally shut up.) BUT other than that it has been a very good experience for me as a parent or coach and the my kids when they play. When coaching, all my parents are well behaved and act appropriately with their kids. The dynamics of being at a school where your kids play football, basketball, soccer, track, cross country, golf, volleyball etc together and the community of the school make that very different from AAU/club ball or probably even rec ball.

Swimming though.... I have never seen one single negative thing...... from kids to kids, parents to kids, parents to coaches, parents to officials, etc. The only thing I have seen is parents complaining about stuff like doing volunteer stuff or this person doesn't like this person, etc which I just stay the hell out of. It really is cool to be a part of a sport that on the regular, everyone, even from different clubs, will support and cheer on kids such as when a kid is struggling to finish an event. My son had that happen one time (because I am an idiot and put him in a 100 Fly event in his first season) and it was cool to hear the entire meet of several hundred people cheering him on to finish when he clearly wanted to give up and get out of the pool.

Right on with swimming Chad. My daughter swims and plays water polo. We’ve seen a few skirmishes with water polo — very rarely — but zilch with swimming. I think it helps that kids don’t physically interact with each other AND much like running, the results are basically objective. You either swim faster or you don’t. You don’t really commit infractions (99.9999% of the time) that impact other swimmers. There is a simplicity to it all that makes it pure.

I forgot I did see one single occasion where there was friction. It was coach to official. An official DQ'ed someone and their coach argued the DQ, this was a conference meet. I would describe the interaction as energetically trying to prove his point. There was no personal attacks or really anything negative said that I heard. That is literally the only negative or conflict oriented interaction I have ever seen in swim.

More and more I am an advocate of swim being a secondary sport for athletes. You can not beat the conditioning. There is NO other sport that provides better conditioning- and it isn't just endurance but builds muscle as well. It engages every single muscle group. It increases lung capacity. But also, it is so easy on the body. I think it might be the best sport to go from football on. Fall Football and then Winter Boys Swim (at least Illinois). You go from getting beat up to then getting in water with no impact, get our body stronger and better while letting it heal up as well. It also takes a lot of focus and determination, so it is mentally conditioning as well.

I actually went into AI and asked the best sports to cross train for football.... first one to come up was swim. Same for basketball. Same for soccer. Same for track. Yes, even over wrestling which I know is the traditional coach answer to that. I think wrestling is great but I agree with the AI that the top sport would be swim.

The downside is that to be competitive, it is a hard grind of a sport. Unlike football and basketball etc where you are around your friends and interact with them etc in swim, 95% of your practice you are just doing your thing in solitaire watery world. Meets can drag as well.... you wait hours for 3 seconds of excitement.

I wish my son enjoyed it more. He has tremendous potential in swim... perhaps more than any other sport, making state championships when he basically was doing swim half time (he ended 13th overall in the entire state of Illinois in the 50 fly last season.... but he also missed more practices than he attended- I can't imagine what he would do if swim was more serious for him). But I am pretty sure the clock it ticking on him bowing out of swim. I am just trying to keep him in as long as possible.

For you football parents, I would encourage you to get your sons in the pool. 100% it wil benefit them.

 

[Chadstroma]

Gonna have to fire this thread back up...

They just announced that our Catholic school league is starting a 7/8th grade girls football for this Spring. My daughter (8th grade), who expressed interest in playing flag football for HS next year wants to play which is cool because it gives her a few more months of school sports before it is officially done. Plus, she can see if she really wants to play. My daughter doesn't like running.... so.... plus, in HS it is a fall sport which volleyball is as well and that is her top sport. She might be able to do both but we will see if she really wants to do that after this season.

I dd sign up to help coach. Surprisingly, my daughter was good with that.

 

[Chadstroma]

Been somewhat anxious about this upcoming football season. My younger son only had 4 (including him) from his grade on the team last year and the 2nd grade class (team is 3/4) only had 8 boys total as a very small boy class. So, chances are not many from them if any. One of my friends a couple of weeks ago told me that only 3 boys signed up (I hadn't signed mine up yet) and all three of the boys were the same from last season.

I been using my interaction with the parents in the grade as a basketball coach and then also at soccer and seeing them around school and with our other kids at other sports to really recruit. I thought I had made a good amount of progress but was a bit disheartened when I was told none signed up. We can pull from two other Catholic schools nearby us that do not have football programs) as well as CCD. However, the other schools do not exactly push it and in fact one is supposedly trying to start it's own program which is absolutely ridiculous as they haven't even been able to support a basketball program let alone a football one. Also, for whatever reason, the person who runs the CCD program will not advertise it as well.

I talked to the AD tonight and asked for an update. He told me we had a 2nd grader sign up, two kids from one of the other schools in 3rd grade and then one of our boys. That boy is the son of the other HC for basketball for this grade and I pushed hard to get him. When then AD told me, he said that he was surprised as he was confident that they would not based on previous conversations because of the mother. I grinned and told him that was me!!! I had a big conversation with her at a soccer practice and apparently was convincing.

The news got better... I talked to that HC as we had basketball practice today for our summer league and he told me that a couple of other parents were going to sign up, parents I talked to and they indicated they would but I was thinking maybe that backed out, as well as another kid. So... we should have the 11. We really, obviously, need a few more boys though.

Some other goods news about it is that apparently a local club (a club basically a town over) folded and that is where the two new 3rd graders are coming from because they go to the other school. Our actual local club for our town has a waitlist to begin with so I am sure the parents are scrambling looking for all options. The 5/6 team was flooded from kids from there and apparently picked up a few more boys for our incoming 8th grade which is great because when my older son has been the underclassman with they have a very small upperclassman group of boys and went winless last year. Hopefully those boys plus the stud 6th grader being able to make weight and be RB will win us some games.

I am more hopeful we will have a 3/4 team next year (the anxiety being not knowing if we would and if not what to do with my son) and then gaining some older boys for my older sons teams.

 

[nirad3]

My son (12, finishing up 6th grade) just wrapped up his 5th (maybe 4th?) season of flag. He improved SO much this past season. The coaches usually give the kids a certificate or something, with a fun nickname or moniker that describes their play and what they mean to to the team. I would bet that he gets "most improved" or something to that effect.

We've been on the same team ever since we started, and they play 2 of the 3 "seasons" per year. They won't start up again until Fall for this league, so we signed my boy up for a different local league to give him something to do over summer. He's really enjoying it, asking me to go toss the ball around at least 4-5 days a week.

I'm somewhat nervous about him starting in a new league on a new team with new coaches, but it might be good for him.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son (12, finishing up 6th grade) just wrapped up his 5th (maybe 4th?) season of flag. He improved SO much this past season. The coaches usually give the kids a certificate or something, with a fun nickname or moniker that describes their play and what they mean to to the team. I would bet that he gets "most improved" or something to that effect.

We've been on the same team ever since we started, and they play 2 of the 3 "seasons" per year. They won't start up again until Fall for this league, so we signed my boy up for a different local league to give him something to do over summer. He's really enjoying it, asking me to go toss the ball around at least 4-5 days a week.

I'm somewhat nervous about him starting in a new league on a new team with new coaches, but it might be good for him.

He will be fine and unless the new coaches are douches he will develop more. I mean, things can always go sideways because of a million different reasons but I would say he has a 95% chance of having fun and getting better. Good for him and good luck to him!

 

[nirad3]

My son (12, finishing up 6th grade) just wrapped up his 5th (maybe 4th?) season of flag. He improved SO much this past season. The coaches usually give the kids a certificate or something, with a fun nickname or moniker that describes their play and what they mean to to the team. I would bet that he gets "most improved" or something to that effect.

We've been on the same team ever since we started, and they play 2 of the 3 "seasons" per year. They won't start up again until Fall for this league, so we signed my boy up for a different local league to give him something to do over summer. He's really enjoying it, asking me to go toss the ball around at least 4-5 days a week.

I'm somewhat nervous about him starting in a new league on a new team with new coaches, but it might be good for him.

He will be fine and unless the new coaches are douches he will develop more. I mean, things can always go sideways because of a million different reasons but I would say he has a 95% chance of having fun and getting better. Good for him and good luck to him!

Thanks! This summer league needs coaches, but I've never coached football and tend to travel 1-2 times a month so I told my wife I'd prefer not to. Plus I've been an anxious/stressed mess the past few months and this would just add to it. I'd rather just sit and watch my boy practice (we're talkin about PRACTICE!?!) and games.

I'm going to tell whoever his coach is that he excels at linebacker and would probably be OK with not even having an offensive position, unless it's running back.

Also - it's incoming 7th/8th so some of the boys (and girls) may be more physically adept than he is. He was pretty beefy for the 5th/6th league he just wrapped up.

 

[Chadstroma]

My son (12, finishing up 6th grade) just wrapped up his 5th (maybe 4th?) season of flag. He improved SO much this past season. The coaches usually give the kids a certificate or something, with a fun nickname or moniker that describes their play and what they mean to to the team. I would bet that he gets "most improved" or something to that effect.

We've been on the same team ever since we started, and they play 2 of the 3 "seasons" per year. They won't start up again until Fall for this league, so we signed my boy up for a different local league to give him something to do over summer. He's really enjoying it, asking me to go toss the ball around at least 4-5 days a week.

I'm somewhat nervous about him starting in a new league on a new team with new coaches, but it might be good for him.

He will be fine and unless the new coaches are douches he will develop more. I mean, things can always go sideways because of a million different reasons but I would say he has a 95% chance of having fun and getting better. Good for him and good luck to him!

Thanks! This summer league needs coaches, but I've never coached football and tend to travel 1-2 times a month so I told my wife I'd prefer not to. Plus I've been an anxious/stressed mess the past few months and this would just add to it. I'd rather just sit and watch my boy practice (we're talkin about PRACTICE!?!) and games.

I'm going to tell whoever his coach is that he excels at linebacker and would probably be OK with not even having an offensive position, unless it's running back.

Also - it's incoming 7th/8th so some of the boys (and girls) may be more physically adept than he is. He was pretty beefy for the 5th/6th league he just wrapped up.

I would maybe think of a prep for him mentally.... like, "Hey, you did great this season and really improved. I am proud of you. Going into this new league, just continue to focus on you and getting better. The competition may be a little harder to go against than before and that is ok, it will push you to improve and that is your goal. Get better every day."

The travel makes it hard. Beyond that, there is a ton of resources to get certified to coach flag now. I love coaching basketball and even helping out with football but I have to say I have really enjoyed being a spectator to my daughter playing flag football.

 

[nirad3]

My son (12, finishing up 6th grade) just wrapped up his 5th (maybe 4th?) season of flag. He improved SO much this past season. The coaches usually give the kids a certificate or something, with a fun nickname or moniker that describes their play and what they mean to to the team. I would bet that he gets "most improved" or something to that effect.

We've been on the same team ever since we started, and they play 2 of the 3 "seasons" per year. They won't start up again until Fall for this league, so we signed my boy up for a different local league to give him something to do over summer. He's really enjoying it, asking me to go toss the ball around at least 4-5 days a week.

I'm somewhat nervous about him starting in a new league on a new team with new coaches, but it might be good for him.

He will be fine and unless the new coaches are douches he will develop more. I mean, things can always go sideways because of a million different reasons but I would say he has a 95% chance of having fun and getting better. Good for him and good luck to him!

Thanks! This summer league needs coaches, but I've never coached football and tend to travel 1-2 times a month so I told my wife I'd prefer not to. Plus I've been an anxious/stressed mess the past few months and this would just add to it. I'd rather just sit and watch my boy practice (we're talkin about PRACTICE!?!) and games.

I'm going to tell whoever his coach is that he excels at linebacker and would probably be OK with not even having an offensive position, unless it's running back.

Also - it's incoming 7th/8th so some of the boys (and girls) may be more physically adept than he is. He was pretty beefy for the 5th/6th league he just wrapped up.

I would maybe think of a prep for him mentally.... like, "Hey, you did great this season and really improved. I am proud of you. Going into this new league, just continue to focus on you and getting better. The competition may be a little harder to go against than before and that is ok, it will push you to improve and that is your goal. Get better every day."

The travel makes it hard. Beyond that, there is a ton of resources to get certified to coach flag now. I love coaching basketball and even helping out with football but I have to say I have really enjoyed being a spectator to my daughter playing flag football.

Yeah I've been hammering it on him that he really improved this past season, and confirmed with him that he wants to stick to linebacker and running back. I think the coaches would eventually realize that's what he's best at, anyway.

The league said they had "resources" to bring rookie coaches up to speed, but I really just want to enjoy watching him play. I have WAY more experience with playing/reffing/coaching hoops so I was on board with coaching his basketball team. As much as I know fantasy football and football in general, I'd be pretty lost coaching flag.

 

[Chadstroma]

Son got some work in at receiver and DB at the HS that is probably the favorite for him to go to. The WR clinic was lead by Nolan Baudo, a alum and Ohio St Jr WR

 

[Chadstroma]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade for school and in the schools we play in sports, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

 

[The Z Machine]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

Went to state, as in running track?

 

[Chadstroma]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

Went to state, as in running track?

Yup. 2nd place in Illinois for 100M as a 6th grader running against 7th graders (no 6th grade category). Kid is a beast.

 

[The Z Machine]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

Went to state, as in running track?

Yup. 2nd place in Illinois for 100M as a 6th grader running against 7th graders (no 6th grade category). Kid is a beast.

woah. that's amazing. What was his time?

I remember the 2nd game I ever played as a freshman in HS football (JV team). I was DE and had outside contain. First play of the game, toss sweep comes my side. I totally misjudged the speed of the RB. He smoked me and my entire team for a 70 yard score. Was so fast that he did the last 5 yards into the end zone backwards looking at us trying to catch up.

This was the kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_McCullough. I didn't know until now that he actually got 1 NFL carry. So I can say I got burned badly by an NFL running back.

His older brother was even better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin_McCullough

LOL, thinking back, I also got trucked by this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fargas. He was a BEAST in high school. So I got worked by 2 NFL running backs as a JV player, lol.

 

[Chadstroma]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

Went to state, as in running track?

Yup. 2nd place in Illinois for 100M as a 6th grader running against 7th graders (no 6th grade category). Kid is a beast.

woah. that's amazing. What was his time?

I remember the 2nd game I ever played as a freshman in HS football (JV team). I was DE and had outside contain. First play of the game, toss sweep comes my side. I totally misjudged the speed of the RB. He smoked me and my entire team for a 70 yard score. Was so fast that he did the last 5 yards into the end zone backwards looking at us trying to catch up.

This was the kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_McCullough. I didn't know until now that he actually got 1 NFL carry. So I can say I got burned badly by an NFL running back.

His older brother was even better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin_McCullough

LOL, thinking back, I also got trucked by this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fargas. He was a BEAST in high school. So I got worked by 2 NFL running backs as a JV player, lol.

I don't have this time from state, not sure if it was his PR but on the top ten for the school history his PR is 12.1 on 100M (6th fastest with the rest of those times ahead of him from 8th graders). He is 4th on the 200M at 25.2. I would bet my money on him taking a couple of state championships and the school record by the time he is done in 8th grade. Their relay team is going to be dangerous next year. They missed going to state BARELY with an all 6th grade lineup (the only one at sectionals).

We (a couple of 8th grade boys) also placed 1st and 2nd in Hurdles with our 1st place being back to back Champion. (shout out to my son for being 9th fastest in school history with two years to move up that list and my niece for school record on hurdles, 4X2 and placing 3rd fastest in 100M and 5th in 200M as she graduates).

Back to the best... I am pissed that they F'd up him playing basketball. Basically he was riding the bench a ton (which to me was dumb) and then he got invited to the national team for a flag football program so made the decision to no longer play basketball. At a meet this year, I heard some parents confused and saying that he had to be an 8th grader even though he was running in the 7th grade... I blew their minds when I told them he was a 6th grader and that our entire relay was all 6th graders which just smoked their 7th graders like they were standing still.

Even though we went to the Championship game this year, the way that our teams work is two grades combined 3/4, 5/6. and 7/8. Our upperclass is a small class of boys so when our boys were in 3rd we only won a couple of games and when we were in 5th we went winless and didn't score until the last game of the season. Just not enough athletes in the older class and that 1 year makes a huge difference. The beast transferred in this year so we didn't have him before and he was over weight limit this year. However, he is focused on making weight to carry the ball and that will be a HUGE difference for us. All he will have to do is get past the line of scrimmage and he will be gone. No one in any of those schools secondary will be able take him down and no one big enough to take him down will be fast enough to get to him.

 

[Chadstroma]

I mentioned the stud player on my sons team before. Well... he just went to state with our school and finished 2nd. As a 6th grader in the 7th grade slot.

He is about the tallest in the grade, easily the strongest as well. Kid is a beast. He is focused on making weight next season so it will be fun as heck to watch him with the ball in his hand.

Went to state, as in running track?

Yup. 2nd place in Illinois for 100M as a 6th grader running against 7th graders (no 6th grade category). Kid is a beast.

woah. that's amazing. What was his time?

I remember the 2nd game I ever played as a freshman in HS football (JV team). I was DE and had outside contain. First play of the game, toss sweep comes my side. I totally misjudged the speed of the RB. He smoked me and my entire team for a 70 yard score. Was so fast that he did the last 5 yards into the end zone backwards looking at us trying to catch up.

This was the kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_McCullough. I didn't know until now that he actually got 1 NFL carry. So I can say I got burned badly by an NFL running back.

His older brother was even better: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin_McCullough

LOL, thinking back, I also got trucked by this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fargas. He was a BEAST in high school. So I got worked by 2 NFL running backs as a JV player, lol.

Wait.., you grew up in the Valley?