[LaFlamaBlanca]

I've always had respect for Highlands and their proud tradition. I must ask, what is going on up there?

To be honest, I think it is a combination of a few things.

I hate to call classes "weak" because I think that can be interpreted as a personal attack, but recently the classes have been on the smaller side, physically. Although this year they do have some bigger kids, and bigger than the previous couple years, they still don't have the size that Highlands did when they were considered dominant. I don't think there is really anything that can be done about that. Some people will say that that means their off season program isn't cutting it, but I don't buy that for a second.

Another factor is Coaching/ Scheme Change. When Dale was there, and Wienrich as the DC, Highlands ran virtually the same offense and defense every year. Thus, a player was learning the same techniques for 4 years, and by senior year they were refined in the scheme. When Dale left, for whatever reason Weinrich felt the need to make schematic changes, which mainly impacted the juniors and seniors who had to learn an entirely new offense and defense in a relatively short amount of time. This year, at least on the defensive side, Highlands went back to the old defensive scheme that they ran while Weinrich ran while Dale was there. However, because the current Juniors and Seniors have never played with this scheme, they are learning it for the first time again.

I have personal gripes with some coaches on the staff, and their specific roles, but I will keep those private. However, I think there are some coaches that don't belong on the staff, or should not have as significant of a role as they currently do.

Overall, and its hard for me to say this after last night, I think Highlands will start trending int he right direction. It might take another year or so for anyone to believe that, but once they get some scheme/coaching stability and they are learning the same scheme from the same coaches for 4 years many of the physical "deficiencies" will be mitigated.