[EKUAlum05]

A few thoughts:


1. Belfry's staff has proven that they are devoted to trying to get their kids names out there and get them the chance to continue playing football. There is probably no other program in EKY history that has sent more players to the D-1 level in a ten year stretch then Belfry did and probably no school in Eastern Kentucky history that sent players to have a chance to play collegiately on the whole like Belfry has in that window.

2. With that said, the criticism is not that Belfry isn't making the effort to get their kids noticed, it is that Belfry's persona is outdated and to that I agree. Pikeville has marketed their program as well as anyone in Kentucky in two ways. One is via the "hip" factor of social media, uniform launches, and multimedia technology (shoutout to Panther Thunder who has played a big role in this). The other is by investing in facilities (training, practice, and locker room) that also market themselves.

As I said earlier in this thread, Pikeville has accumulated and used money better than Belfry (and for that matter almost everyone in KY). Anyone who works in business management these days knows, and this is not a negative or criticism, but the mindset of the younger generation is completely different than the mindset of even the millennials or Gen Z folks. Whether it is work or practice, you have to market to that generation a different way and the landscape of the world has changed with technological advancements.

To be blunt.. Belfry is behind... way behind.... in that capacity. Belfry already has a narrative to overcome that they play "old school", outdated, and borderline boring football ( I disagree but we are talking perception). When your marketing and facilities game is also trialing behind it doesn't help especially if they are already starting from behind due to perspective.


3. On the David Jones subject. This shouldn't surprise anyone. Jones clearly had his eyes on being a Head Coach and has did what he could to do just that including a tenure in purgatory at Phelps to get his foot in the door. Jones has has taken over schools and upgraded the talent by the means necessary at every location and he is doing the same now. Belfry knew this day would come, it is just he has came back right in the middle of the eye of the storm.  As jetpilot said, Mingo Central won't be a factor if you do what you do and win.

There is a reason the first thing Jones does is talk about wanting back in the Pike County Bowl.  Mingo Central can win the next three State Titles and the consensus will still be they are a "less than" program to Belfry and Pikeville. West Virginia small school football is just very weak and when Mingo Central played Pikeville after winning a title they got ran off the field.  As long as Mingo Central is kept as a secondary tier program and as long as Belfry and Pikeville continue to play for titles then Jones will always just be looking to pick off disgruntled players or block families who may try to relocate to Belfry or Pikeville at the feeder level. That's a lot of effort because he has to actively fight and keep his teams as a dominant force across the river just to play defense against the two powerhouses in the Bluegrass State. It's doubtful that is a sustainable endeavor as Jones has not proven capable of anything other than beating lower competition in the regular season to this point.

4. It's a bad situation, but the sky hasn't fell yet. It's time for a wake up though. Belfry still has a load of talent if they can keep it from leaving. Some of the talent that has left could foreseeably come back in a year as well. Don't burn the bridges.. understand why they left and what needs to change. The football program has overcome big hurdles before. They needed a weight training complex so they built one. They needed better facilities so they got them. They needed a youth system consolation and overhaul so they did it. They needed to play better competition other than regional teams in Middle School so they did it. The High School needed to set bigger goals so they did it.

What I do know is right now the Belfry football staff isn't crying "whoa is me" and sulking. The problem is this latest issues are bigger than just them. It's going to require organization, pressure, and not just change but innovation.

5. The very first thing this wakeup call should teach Belfry is to get their ducks in a row in terms of financials and boosters. I dont know what the pivots are that are about to occur... but most pivots need money to fund them. The latest turf fundraising and subsequent "drama" that has played out shows that Belfry has to get a better plan and a better organization to what it takes to get that fundraising train organized and generating additional revenue streams. Times have changed. You used to be able to throw a rock in the stands and hit someone with capital that ran a coal mine, part of the railroad, or something associated with the coal industry who had a checkbook that they could open. Money may still be out there, but it is going to take a lot more effort and organization to generate it.

Regarding thought number 2. I do agree but the younger coaches on the staff at BHS have done a better job with the social media aspect of things. Gary Runyon does a good job at it and Belfry finally went to Nike uniforms not too long ago and got a brand new uniform that had its own video unveiling. I think Belfry will be fine this season and wouldn’t surprise me to see them beat Pikeville. Pikeville graduated a lot of really good football players who many had started for 3 seasons. David will get a couple here and there to Mingo but anyone with any knowledge knows WV high school football and KY high school football is completely different when it’s comes to competition. How many kids in the last 10 years from any WV high school has had a D1 scholarship out of high school and stayed at that school longer than 2 years?

Sadly, this is par for the course for Appalachia in general though.

I wont throw that rock in a glass house. Belfry has had success stories, more than most .. Cole, Big A, and David Jones specifically. Belfry has also had probably had 200% + more guys who went to a D-1 school to not end up there in two years. A couple of those stories were sad like Ray Horton and Cameron Catron.. both guys I think would have played all four years as well.... but for each of those stories you have guys who either went from D-1 to a much lower level or just quit playing football entirely. This has been a problem with Appalachian athletes for decades.

True but you could probably count more kids I’m speaking of from the 15th region in football last 10 seasons than any WV school within 2 hours of BHS. The Belfry kids you mentioned. Lash Daniel, Grant Bingham, pretty sure the Phelps kid that played with Kash went to Wofford and graduated. Isaac Dixon is still on the team at UK.

Definitely!

The geography of the area was a burden for the longest time and the advent of internet has helped get exposure and given these kids chances to be noticed.

It has gotten better for sure.. for probably 25-30 years you wouldn't see D1 coaches darken the hallways of schools in Appalachia unless there was a Tim Couch type of undeniable talent. Lots of stereotypes and misnomers on top of the shear inconvenience of how long it took to get to these places.