[Football1]

It all starts with the feeder schools and flag football leagues. If you can get these kids in 1st grade to start playing flag football then you've made a football player out of them. Anyone who plays football for eight years before they even play a snap of high school football will probably be a pretty darn good ball player.

Coaching also plays majority of the role in a good football program. Any coach who is dedicated 365 days of the year to ensure that their players are in tip-top-shape are the ones who coach the teams that go deep in the playoffs.

The off-season is also where winners are separated from the losers. If you can have 3/4's of you actual team in the weight room all off-season then you are going to have some kids that can play 48 minutes off football without really missing a step. Another advantage for teams is having a track & field program at your school. A lot of Prestonsburg's football players run track and they go into camp in shape.

Last but not least, you have to have full support from your community. Look at all the top football programs across the Bluegrass, they each have a overwhelming amount of support from their fans. Whether that's holding fundraising events, cookouts, etc. Just basically anything to get the folks involved and to get everyone in your community to come out each and every Friday night to support their team.

Well said. Knox did not have a junior football program until 8 years ago. The difference in our program has been felt by having players come to HS who have been strapping it up since K.

[horst muhlmann]

I agree that a good feeder system is probably the most important of all the factors mentioned in this post. Some kids mature much later than others and if they are pigeon-holed into not being a great football player at a young age they may choose another sport. The Jr. football league in Ft. Thomas, with its emphasis on playing time for all kids, is a great example.

[charlie22]

Horst, I agree with your thoughts on the importance of the youth league and BCA, I agree with your thoughts on the importance of community support.

Which is why I think coaching is the most important. And by coaching, I don't mean just calling the right plays or putting the right players in the right positions.

The Ft. Thomas Jr. Football League was started by Homer Rice, then the Highlands head coach, and two others. Since it's start, the FTJFL has always had significant involvement by the Highlands coaches to make sure it is ran in a way that it ultimately provides significant benefits to the high school program (and actually some other near by high school programs). Since the Highlands football program technically has no control over the FTJFL, it's critically important that Highlands always have the right kind of coach that can provide input to the administrators of the FTJFL without alienating them. I'm aware of youth programs that have little involvement from the high school head coaches in the area. Sometimes that's a result of the high school coaches not wanting to spend their time on being involved in the youth leagues and sometimes that's a result of the youth leagues' administrators having egos and being so power ****ry that they won't let the high school coaches have any input. When that happens, the youth leagues do not maximize their positive influence on a high school program.

The right coach is also very important in the community support area. You need someone that is willing and able to be an Ambassador for the football program out in the community. Attend civic clubs meeting, be accessible to the community and media, etc. Not all that long ago, Highlands had a very good Xs and Os coach that was terrible in the PR department. He hated doing those things and placed no value on doing those things, so he pretty much refused to do them. He had a very gruff and condescending demeanor. As a result, community support for the program was hemorraging in the community. Fortunately, the school administration realized what was going on and changes occurred. Right now I'd say community support and financial support for the program is as high or higher than it has ever been. I don't think it's coincidence that Highlands football program is enjoying some of its most consistent and highest level of success.

So in my opinion, without the right head coach, a youth league might not be as influential in a high school's success as it should be and community support might be much harder to generate. Coaching is still my number one thing needed to build a successful program.

[rocket01]

Commitment,Discipline,Attitude,Positive Fan Base,Athleticism,Physically and Mentally ready for every 48 minute contest on a friday night.

[sstack]

Well said. Knox did not have a junior football program until 8 years ago. The difference in our program has been felt by having players come to HS who have been strapping it up since K.

You mentioned a track program as an advantage. I think it is the opposite; I think a track program benefites from a football coach who pushes kids to participate in track and field. At Highlands the track team was embarrassing this year with only about 6 athletes. Their track program always challenged for the regional title until recently, when football players stoped running/throwing/jumping. I am not saying the coach discourages football players from track, but he is definietly not encouraging.

[Cats02]

A good feeder program Bell Co. starts at the age of 5 in full paids with about 10 to 13 games a yr.

[4real]

Coaches, players, parents, and community, key components to a great football program. But it takes 110% from all mentioned.

[charlie22]

You mentioned a track program as an advantage. I think it is the opposite; I think a track program benefites from a football coach who pushes kids to participate in track and field. At Highlands the track team was embarrassing this year with only about 6 athletes. Their track program always challenged for the regional title until recently, when football players stoped running/throwing/jumping. I am not saying the coach discourages football players from track, but he is definietly not encouraging.

And from what I know, you would be totally wrong on your last sentence. One of the asst football coaches at Highlands is one of the track coaches. He obviously was encouraging the football players to run track. From what I know, the rest of the football coaching staff does indeed encourage the football players to run track (and play baseball too by the way). I know that since my son was one of the very few football players that participated on the track team and he was heavily encouraged do do so by the football coaches. He is also very good friends with the football players that didn't run last year but had done so in the past. He almost begged them to come out for track. Some were just very tired and worn out from the long football season and wanted to take some time off. A couple that were going on to play college football wanted to concentrate on lifting to get bigger for college. One very fast senior had a bad arm injury and wanted to concentrate on his rehab and getting ready for college football. Some of the younger ones wanted to concentrate on getting ready for the football team this year and they felt it would be better to not come out for track. I spoke with the fathers of the core group of kids that had ran track the prior year but were not going to run track last year. It had nothing to do with the football coaches not encouraging them to run track. It had everything to do with the kids themselves making the decision for various reasons not to do so.

I'm sorry to be offensive, but from my the experience of my son and what he's told me, I don't think you know what you are talking about on this point. Do not make the quantum leap in logic that just because the football players don't come out for track (or baseball), it's because the football coaches are either discouraging or not encouraging enough the football players to play other sports.

[Gitback Coach]

One quality that I think is essential to a really quality program is a focused, organized and ongoing effort to maintain contact with the team's departing seniors and all alumni.

Let's face it, sometimes the game can become a very prominent part of a kid's self-image, and when suddenly that part of his life is no longer there, he can sometimes make some wrong decisions. The more a program can help kids transition to the next stages of their lives, whether it continues to include football or not, the better.

[RunItUpTheGut]

1. NUMBERS, you can have the best coach in the world a million dollar facility and the best weight program anybody has ever seen but if you dont have any kids or talent to use it then it dont help you at all.

2. Good coach, A coach who will relate to the players and not talk down to them, and only correct them when there wrong. Also, a coach who is passionate about everything he does.

3. One way players. To have an entire offense and defense that plays one way is rare, especially in the mountains, but if you can find the talent to do this your players are not gonna be hit by fatigue and will more than likely pull a lot of games out at the end.

4. Support. When you constantly have a community and school bragging on you for your accomplisments, it makes it a lot easier for a kid to want to play football and want to be part of a team.

5. Facilities. If you have all the intangables to be successful and the means to use them whenever you want as a team, its only going to make the players better.

[RunItUpTheGut]

A good feeder program Bell Co. starts at the age of 5 in full paids with about 10 to 13 games a yr.

I agree, it is the reason why Bell is so strong every year. The kids play together there whole careers and maintain that bond that is hard to come by. Whitley has a problem with keeping kids in the program when they get older. I know a couple of years ago one of the elementary schools in the school district alone had almost 50 football players on its 5th and 6th grade team alone, and there are 6 elementary schools in the county, but after years of falling off, when it comes times for each year there may be only 7 or 8 seniors on a team. I believe encouraging these kids to keep playing is a big deal.

Also, at bell, i believe they start teaching the young kids the ways of a high school offense, what makes this hard at a school system like Whitley is that there are 6 elementary schools alone, but, they are competing against each other which means each school is teaching different things.

[Rebelmom14]

I have watched Boyle for several years. And yes a good head coach means alot of difference, so does all of the other things mentioned in this thread. My thoughts really come the program, Boyle has had great coaches since little league. These Boyle seniors pretty much all started together. They played against each other as little leaguers and gain respect from other team members and built on the fun and trust they gain from each other. Some of these kids don't have Dads around at all, some very little. The coaches have always been there for each kid at any age. It's security that builds a good team. Our seniors are like brothers, unbelieveable. They could call any player on the team and they would be there. Players leadership will go along way, too.