[EKUAlum05]

Was waiting for you to show up as you are the most common sense Belfry fan on this page and other other. Well you and Watusi.

As a Pikeville fan watching all this goes down brings some distant memories of our program.

Most in the know, know that athletics as a whole at Belfry isn’t taken seriously. Look at your other programs. Mediocrity and politics abound.

In your football program your unwillingness to not change, but adapt to your talent and times, both offensively and defensively, doomed you this year.

Your weight program and speed and agility program, or lack there of, is the biggest issue with injuries on the field.

Just talking to past and current players and parents, that pace sounds like it’s 1980 all over again.

This I going to sound weird coming from a Pikeville fan but I want to see Belfry be good, I know some those kids well and their parents.

I also want to say when we beat them, that we beat the best team in 3A and that they are the 2nd or 3rd best program in EKY.

You ability to keep those young kids at Belfry after this year will tell the tale.

A few things I will bring up.. I am going to be completely transparent and open, may step on a few toes along the way:

1. People forget Belfry is a small, rural, public, county school and not an independent. Much is made about "West Virginia" but it's not like what is waiting on the other side of the river is a major metropolitan area ripe with talent. It is just more rural Appalachia. The imaginary line at the Tug River is just that and nothing more. How many people have ever uttered how superior the State of WV is at athletic talent?  

How many rural Public County schools that have Belfry's enrollment are ultra successful in multiple sports? Shelby Valley has always been strong in basketball... but that's the end of that debate locally.  

You can't compare Belfry to an Independent School like Pikeville or even a school twice their enrollment nearly in Johnson Central. Money is limited. Belfry gets a little more because the community is so engaged by the football program, but by and large most public county schools are hamstrung by a budget and a pool of coaches they have to work within.

2. In terms of the outdated philosophies.. it is a double edged sword and you seem to focus on the negative end. It is a primitive form of football... no doubt. It does put Belfry at a major disadvantage if they are behind and needing to catch up and it makes them entirely easy to game plan for.  In the same breathe, it is a system that can be instilled at a very young age and also allows for interchangeable parts for the core of the positions. This makes it a very logical way to stay competitive even when you are handcuffed with a finite amount of talent. The side of the sword you don't mention is what this offense looks like when it is actually blessed with elite talent? There were not many people questioning that offense running the same plays in 2015 & 2016 when Belfry was mowing down State Champions from other states and classes.

Let's say that 2022 is the worst Belfry team in the past twenty years... which it may very well have been. They still were good enough to beat a team the caliber of Louisville Central and probably were at worst a Top 10-15 team in their class. Pike Central, Magoffin County, East Ridge, and on down the list of similar Public Schools of similar size struggle to be at that level once a decade. That's what that system ensures is a baseline to build off of.


3. I don't think the weight and speed/agility program specifically causes those injuries. Belfry does not have elite facilities or programs and I think that is a well deserved area for criticism.... but Belfry's facilities and programs are still better than probably 3/4 of the State. Weight training only goes so far in injury prevention.

Bout to hurt some feelings here... but I think Belfry needs to take their Athletic Training/Sports Medicine/and Rehab Programs much more serious. I have a ton of respect for the man who has selflessly donated his time for decades, but being an amazing pediatrician is not necessarily a qualification for being a cutting edge Sports Medicine or Athletic Training leader.

I know what a great athletic training/sports medicine focus looks like down here in Georgia. To me the way Belfry treats their athletic training and injury rehab is a hinderance. A great program actually makes this stuff an advantage over your competition. Granted... there aren't a ton of hungry trainers out there who are in driving distance of Pond Creek, but with effort and resources dramatic improvement can be found. A focus on proper hydration, nutrition, and proper injury recovery could really make Belfry stronger.

4. I don't get to see a ton of Belfry football these days. My focus is on my own young kids and my Fridays are devoted to watching my nephew right now. With that said, I see what an elite small school program looks like each week they take the field. Once again, their situation is apples to oranges to Belfry. A Private School, a good/growing population base, massive financial resources at their disposal, and an empowered administration able to get whatever they need for athletics. 

I watch them run an offensive philosophy that is literally the polar opposite of Belfry. 5-wide, zone blocking, rapid paced, no huddle, 90/10 pass to run ratio... they are the cutting edge right now. Belfry breaks you by 4 yard paper cuts and my nephew's team breaks you with 50 yard bombs when you are out of position or tired.

What is funny though is it doesn't make me depreciate what Haywood does. At the end of the day, what wins the game is when talent, execution, individual playmaking, and game plan preparation meet. You can run as many plays and formations as you want, but ultimately it always comes down to those things as to who wins. No denying, how you get to holding the trophy does matter. You can't keep kids if they aren't utilized. With that said, whether you run the ball 50 times or throw it 50 times, if you hoist the trophy it's all the same. 

For all the critiques of Belfry and their system, Haywood has figured out the secret sauce of winning in a situation most teams have struggled to keep consistent success. Build your feeder system, empower your youth coaches, instill community pride, and execution is the key. 



5. Now if you do want to pick a hole I will leave some bait... why is it that every time Belfry loses a big game it seems they turn it over 4+ times? That's not exactly execution is it? Even those dominant teams had some stinkers where they couldn't keep from fumbling.