[More Cowbell]

While I do agree with this statement, this is middle school. Most kids don't know what they will love the most in middle school. You don't truly know what your ticket will be until your junior or senior year. At this level, you have to instill the love in them. They won't just automatically have it for the most part. We have had many basketball-first kids come through here only to leave and go on to play collegiate football. We had 8th grade night last week where I heard approximately 10 players being their first year ever playing football, never played a down before this year. Out of that number, the hope is you have 2 or 3 that can contribute somewhat and end up loving it. My point is you shouldn't give up on those who don't have football running through their veins at 12 years old. Especially at a small school like Shelby Valley. Those are guys that will save your program.

I'm not saying they don't get new kids. This year, out of those 20 we started with, 3 had never played before. They had been asked to come out for the team and try it to see if they liked it. One kid was a natural athlete, fell in love with the sport and became a starting tailback. Another enjoyed it, even though he only played sparingly as a backup lineman. The third is the one who eventually quit.

Thing is, adding those kids to the program only really offsets the ones who used to play but don't anymore. There are a couple 8th graders I know that had played in the past, but decided they didn't want to do it anymore. Trying to improve the numbers is like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. Again, I don't blame the coaches. They can't make someone like football if they've decided they'd rather concentrate on basketball (or fishing).