[ryanparker]

Most of the posts in this thread have already touched upon what I think is the main priority for Russell to succeed next year, the offseason workout program. Judging from what we've witnessed on the field, this is where Ashland and even Raceland seem to have passed them by over the last couple of years. Russell has enough skilled players to field a competitive team next year. The question is will they be competitive with Ashland, Ironton, Mason County, Raceland, and top class 3A playoff teams?

Everyone goes on and on about how Ashland is suddenly fielding class after class of athletes that are quicker and more explosive than Russell and I simply refuse to believe they just had the fortunate genetic pool during these years. After all, Ashland's senior class, which destroyed Russell on the football field this year, lost to Russell 4 years ago in the Kiwanis Bowl. Something drastically changed in those 4 years.

You can call me crazy if you wish (and I know FBall will :biggrin, but I would be willing to bet Ashland has included the Vertimax sport specific training program in their regimen. It promises faster 40 times, better vertical leaps, and a quicker first step (http://www.dailyindependent.com/localspo...ory)...the very things we have witnessed Ashland utterly dominate Russell with over the past 2 years! Also, David Apts, the owner of the facility that houses this equipment, is listed as the official Ashland football team physical therapist. There is a reason Ashland is suddenly becoming the dominant team in our area and it's not just a "down cycle" of talent at Russell.

I'm not saying Russell needs to go out and purchase Vertimax machines or even Fitness World memberships for their players, but it is becoming clear something needs to be done if they want to continue having fun and exciting games with packed houses against the best of the local area teams and if they want to be playing football right now instead of watching Raceland play.

If Russell can come up with about 20 or so guys per year (that's about how many I figure they need to be truly competitive because they are always going to need numerous guys to play both offense, defense, and special teams) who dedicate themselves to becoming better athletes on a year round basis using whatever training resources are available to them (lifting at the field house, running the track, running the stairs, using the equipment at Fitness World or the Y, doing the Vertimax, doing P90X, eating right, and/or taking supplements), then we will likely see a potentially great Russell team next year. If not (or if only a handful are dedicated to it as it appears has been the case the past couple of years), then we will continue to see average Russell teams because their top-notch coaching staff, the system they implement, and the execution they demand will continue to be worth a few wins a year over the "also ran" teams. For them to consistently be a dominant team, though, they need to have a top-notch offseason training program.

I realize it's ultimately up to a few players to come together and decide this is something they want to do and commit to, but surely some sort of standards could be enforced by the staff??? I would think Russell could find some motivated players. They're not that far removed from getting to see and experience what a state title is like for the school and community. Is it really that much more motivational for the Ashland players to come out every season in better shape than Russell knowing their season is going to end in round 1 or 2 of the playoffs to Highlands no matter what they do??? Is it more motivational for Raceland players to come out in better shape than Russell knowing they've never even won a regional championship or sniffed a state title game??? Please.

As for the shabby field house facilities at Russell, I've never understood why we don't have the "Billy Ray Cyrus Field House" sitting behind the scoreboard stocked with state-of-the-art equipment. Between himself and Hannah Montana, this guy should have enough money in his petty cash drawer to build something like this and give something back to his alma mater.

That's all I have to say about the Russell 2010 football team. They've got some potentially great players like Davidson, Spradlin, Korzep, Dehoff, Cooper, etc. We'll see what they do.