[cherokee]

why would they drop 1a hazard and play 1a frankfort?

not frankfort but franklin county (4a) two different schools

[cougarpride08]

Alot of the season depends on what they do in the offseason and what they can do to build these kids desire and will to win. Also depends on who all comes out during spring practice which is in a month.

[False Hope]

Mike knows his stuff, give him time and they will be a very good team.

[COUGARMAMA]

Unfortunately - False Hope is probably all they can have for next year.

[cougarpride08]

I hope you are right.

[Paul Crewe]

Are you saying you hope they can't right the ship.

It is very hard to follow a Great Coach like Howard. Always compared and hard to live up to the standard.

[cougarpride08]

No, I was referring to the both before that about Coach Whitaker. I should have quoted it, but was kinda in a hurry. I do hope he can turn it around.

[False Hope]

Unfortunately - False Hope is probably all they can have for next year.

If he leads and they follow, LC will be good. Mike is a very intellegent coach.

[cougarpride08]

It also helps to have a good assistants the kids look up to.

[COUGARMAMA]

I too hope that things will be better next year. However, everybody knows all about what went wrong this year. Hillard was these boys hero and they miss him. He cared about them and cared about senior night and football banquets and trophies and other things that are important to them.It's a shame that the seniors looked forward to their last year of high school football and have to leave on such a sour note. It's too late for them and the damage has been done.

[cougarpride08]

I really hope that some of what caused the damage will be fixed, because old wounds heal longer, and the longer you let it fester and not take care of it, the worse the old wounds get. If we don't fix this problem soon, this program will go down hill. I hope cougarama comes back to ermine, and bring back what we started two years ago.

[charlie22]

I too hope that things will be better next year. However, everybody knows all about what went wrong this year. Hillard was these boys hero and they miss him. He cared about them and cared about senior night and football banquets and trophies and other things that are important to them.It's a shame that the seniors looked forward to their last year of high school football and have to leave on such a sour note. It's too late for them and the damage has been done.

That may be true, but every head coach puts his own stamp on his program. When Mueller came to Highlands back in 94, he put his own stamp on a program long on tradition and success. He got rid of some long standing traditions (and he was a graduate of Highlands whom had partaken in the traditions). Rather than the faithful and the players resisting the changes, they went along with them (admittedly in a begrudging manner at first) and trusted in Mueller. Things have worked out pretty well at Highlands.

I'd encourage every fan of and player at LCC to accept what the current coaches are doing. Backbiting and second guessing of coaches by fans, supporters and players is the fastest way to ruin a program. It's hard enough to follow a legend; criticizing a coach every time he does something different than the legend will not help matters one iota. It will make the task much tougher.

[False Hope]

That may be true, but every head coach puts his own stamp on his program. When Mueller came to Highlands back in 94, he put his own stamp on a program long on tradition and success. He got rid of some long standing traditions (and he was a graduate of Highlands whom had partaken in the traditions). Rather than the faithful and the players resisting the changes, they went along with them (admittedly in a begrudging manner at first) and trusted in Mueller. Things have worked out pretty well at Highlands.

I'd encourage every fan of and player at LCC to accept what the current coaches are doing. Backbiting and second guessing of coaches by fans, supporters and players is the fastest way to ruin a program. It's hard enough to follow a legend; criticizing a coach every time he does something different than the legend will not help matters one iota. It will make the task much tougher.

Great Post!!:Thumbs:

[Brooks4Prez]

I really hope that some of what caused the damage will be fixed, because old wounds heal longer, and the longer you let it fester and not take care of it, the worse the old wounds get. If we don't fix this problem soon, this program will go down hill. I hope cougarama comes back to ermine, and bring back what we started two years ago.

It started before then. The '07 team won 11 games.

[cougarpride08]

The year we played Pulaski co in my opinion was the best chance for a regional time. We had the talent to win the game, but just didn't play like we have been playing all year. Can't wait to see what we are going to do this year.

[Lambert #1]

Charlie22,
I agree with false hope, I think your post was a direct on target hit. I am first to admit that I was one of the fans that had the "if it's not broken don't try to fix it" attitudes. But when I sat back and looked at the situation after reading your post I think that we as the parents, fans, boosters, players of Letcher County Central need to realize that change isn't always bad and just hope that not only does it not need to be fixed but it may even get better given a little time. I do not personally know Mike Whitaker but from what I hear he is one of the most organized and detailed coaches out there and will put in the hours to make sure the job is done the right way. I do think that it has taken a year for the boys to accept the new expectations and philosophy of our new coach. From what am hearing the boys are coming around to his way of thinking and he has changed a little in his approach and starting to develop good relationships with the boys and that was lacking last year. I think Letcher County Football is going to get back on the right track and everyone will be happy again. Like you said, it's never easy to replace a legend. Hillard is gone and he isn't coming back so let's move on and support the 2011-12 version of the Cougars. NO coach defines a program whether it be Hillard or Mike, coaches come and go but when a tradition is built it lasts forever through the kids that are playing now, in the past and the future. So let's look at last year as a transition year and move on to better times from here on out building upon the tradition that Hillard started and trusted Mike enough to turn it over to him to build upon.

[charlie22]

Charlie22,
I agree with false hope, I think your post was a direct on target hit. I am first to admit that I was one of the fans that had the "if it's not broken don't try to fix it" attitudes. But when I sat back and looked at the situation after reading your post I think that we as the parents, fans, boosters, players of Letcher County Central need to realize that change isn't always bad and just hope that not only does it not need to be fixed but it may even get better given a little time. I do not personally know Mike Whitaker but from what I hear he is one of the most organized and detailed coaches out there and will put in the hours to make sure the job is done the right way. I do think that it has taken a year for the boys to accept the new expectations and philosophy of our new coach. From what am hearing the boys are coming around to his way of thinking and he has changed a little in his approach and starting to develop good relationships with the boys and that was lacking last year. I think Letcher County Football is going to get back on the right track and everyone will be happy again. Like you said, it's never easy to replace a legend. Hillard is gone and he isn't coming back so let's move on and support the 2011-12 version of the Cougars. NO coach defines a program whether it be Hillard or Mike, coaches come and go but when a tradition is built it lasts forever through the kids that are playing now, in the past and the future. So let's look at last year as a transition year and move on to better times from here on out building upon the tradition that Hillard started and trusted Mike enough to turn it over to him to build upon.

Now we're talking.

Tradition isn't things like requiring burr haircuts or requiring bicycles to be ridden (no riding in cars) during the summer (those were two long standing traditions at Highlands that Mueller got rid off); but rather tradition is an attitude, a belief and a desire to continue the success that others before you accomplished and to strive to exceed it.

[COUGARMAMA]

Change can be good and is often hard to accept. However, I hope you aren't turning this around to look like the boys were all the problem last year. Boys will play with their heart when they respect a coach and a coach respects them. Not showing game film the last half of the season or having the weight room open when it snowed or coaches always in a hurry to go home are the things that boys see as not caring about them. I hope the coach does have a better relationship with the boys and also that coaches have some respect for parents too.

[charlie22]

Change can be good and is often hard to accept. However, I hope you aren't turning this around to look like the boys were all the problem last year. Boys will play with their heart when they respect a coach and a coach respects them. Not showing game film the last half of the season or having the weight room open when it snowed or coaches always in a hurry to go home are the things that boys see as not caring about them. I hope the coach does have a better relationship with the boys and also that coaches have some respect for parents too.

Who is the "you" you are referring to? Certainly not me I hope as I've posted nothing about the players. Rather, my posts have addressed the criticisms of LCC's coach for doing things differently than the prior coach and getting rid of some past "traditions" at LCC. A few years back, CovCath hired a coach to replace the legendary Coach Ray. Fortunately for him, he won a state championship in his second year there (and then promptly left for Ohio). His replacement came in and changed some traditions of the school. When his team struggled (against a God awful schedule I might add) in my opinion the supporters, fans and parents attacked him like a starving wolf on an injured elk. Once that started, the players lost faith and confidence in the coach also. Then it was curtain time and that coach moved on also. CovCath has still not fully recovered from it in my opinion. Just because a coach doesn't continue some tradition is not grounds for the program's supporters turning on him, even if the team struggles. That's when real supporters support the coach, the program and the players even more. That's when they need you the most. Fans are people that cheer on the team when they win. Supporters are those that back the coach, the program and the players through wins and losses. I truly hope that things don't turn out at LCC the way they did at CovCath. That would be a shame.

As for players playing hard when they respect the coach (and by corollary, not playing hard when they don't respect the coach), I have to admit I don't understand that line of thinking. I didn't respect my college football coach as a coach one bit. Nice guy but a real boob of a coach. That didn't impact my effort at all. I played every play as hard as I could in order to win and for those of my teammates doing the same as I.

[cougarpride08]

For those of you all who spend time with those kids, can anyone tell me if they feel ready to start this season?

[Lambert #1]

COUGARMAMA,
I am definitely not blaming the boys for last year. I just think it was a bad year all the way around and I do think it was mainly because of transition (Change) and it wasn't good for anyone. The coaches came in with a mindset and stuck to it regardless of how bad it got and it wasn't good for our kids. Our kids were used to a certain way of doing things and didn't respond well to the changes they were asked to make. It's OK for our community to dislike a certain way a coach coaches but I think that some of our community turned their backs on the kids along with the coaches and that was horrible for our kids. It was a mess and I for one would love to be able to go back and let it all start over again and maybe everyone would of handled it differently but we can't do that. Hopefully it will get better and back to the way it should be in Letcher County with our boys winning football games and loving the sport they way they used to love it. Hillard was a very hands on coach that spent most of his time developing personal bonds with the kids and let his coordinators worry about the X's and O's portion of it and Mike was not that kind of coach, he's more of an X's and O's type of guy that has a system and sticks to it and always wants to be hands on and have complete control of every aspect. I've known both types of coaches and seen both types do very well, it just didn't work for our guys last year. I do think that (some) parents not all would say things in front of their impressionable child and you know as well as I do that when a kid hears something from Mommy and Daddy they take it to heart and begin to have the same attitudes that they have towards their coaches, so if Daddy thinks that the coach is an idiot and says this in front of them the kid will also think the same and this makes it hard to coach the boys that feel this way. From what I have heard I think the players and coaches have learned an expensive lesson from last year and both sides seem willing to flex and work together this year. The ones that I feel sorry for is the senior's, they were a great bunch of kids that everyone loved but now they don't get a chance to see the changes that will hopefully be made.

[Paul Crewe]

Word again, the Sizemore kid to Hazard........true or rumor?

[58fan]

#58 being healthy will mean a whole lot this year...Mark my words.........LOL

[Lambert #1]

A healthy Michael Blair will help this team in many aspects. He's big, strong and extremely physical. I look for him to have a monster of a season and word has it that he may get to play a little bit of defense this year at the Nose Guard position when they go to a three or five front. I sure hope so because I think he would be a great run stopper up the middle.

[cherokee]

A healthy Michael Blair will help this team in many aspects. He's big, strong and extremely physical. I look for him to have a monster of a season and word has it that he may get to play a little bit of defense this year at the Nose Guard position when they go to a three or five front. I sure hope so because I think he would be a great run stopper up the middle.

I don't think people realize that Letcher had 18 seniors in 09 and in 10
Lost Micheal Blair starting center (INJURY played last 2 games)
Lost Sam Seargent starting linebacker (INJURY WENT OUT IN HAZARD GAME)
Lost Blake Knight who would have been a starting off lineman (INJURY SEAS)
Lost another big lineman that came from Knott (INJURY ENTIRE SEASON)
ADD SOME OFF THE FIELD PROBLEMS
I don't know many mountain teams that can lose 18 seniors and additional 4 or 5 starters and be very competitive the following year. Nobodys fault just reality

[yellojackets85]

Not exactly sure what transfer from knott County didn't play last year because of an injury. To my knowledge there was only 1 lineman from knott.

[gUrU]

Charlie22,
I agree with false hope, I think your post was a direct on target hit. I am first to admit that I was one of the fans that had the "if it's not broken don't try to fix it" attitudes. But when I sat back and looked at the situation after reading your post I think that we as the parents, fans, boosters, players of Letcher County Central need to realize that change isn't always bad and just hope that not only does it not need to be fixed but it may even get better given a little time. I do not personally know Mike Whitaker but from what I hear he is one of the most organized and detailed coaches out there and will put in the hours to make sure the job is done the right way. I do think that it has taken a year for the boys to accept the new expectations and philosophy of our new coach. From what am hearing the boys are coming around to his way of thinking and he has changed a little in his approach and starting to develop good relationships with the boys and that was lacking last year. I think Letcher County Football is going to get back on the right track and everyone will be happy again. Like you said, it's never easy to replace a legend. Hillard is gone and he isn't coming back so let's move on and support the 2011-12 version of the Cougars. NO coach defines a program whether it be Hillard or Mike, coaches come and go but when a tradition is built it lasts forever through the kids that are playing now, in the past and the future. So let's look at last year as a transition year and move on to better times from here on out building upon the tradition that Hillard started and trusted Mike enough to turn it over to him to build upon.

That sounds all peachy but do you realize how hard it is to put faith and trust in someone that doesn't even speak to you? Do you know how difficult it is to get fired up for someone with nothing to say to you? Do you know how difficult it is to bust your tail for somebody day in and day out who only criticizes you? Tradition is not even an issue at this point coach-player relationship is what is lacking. Those boys were used to change, their grade school days they were yellow jackets, pirates, cardinals, bulldogs, eagles, tigers, east cougars, west cougars, catamounts, jr high cougars, they had no bond with Hillard, Larry held the high school team together, Mike could have stepped in and put forth the effort and done the same as Larry. He never made the effort and now it's too late.

[NO XQSZ]

[quote=Lambert #1]Charlie22,
I agree with false hope, I think your post was a direct on target hit. I am first to admit that I was one of the fans that had the "if it's not broken don't try to fix it" attitudes. But when I sat back and looked at the situation after reading your post I think that we as the parents, fans, boosters, players of Letcher County Central need to realize that change isn't always bad and just hope that not only does it not need to be fixed but it may even get better given a little time. I do not personally know Mike Whitaker but from what I hear he is one of the most organized and detailed coaches out there and will put in the hours to make sure the job is done the right way. I do think that it has taken a year for the boys to accept the new expectations and philosophy of our new coach. From what am hearing the boys are coming around to his way of thinking and he has changed a little in his approach and starting to develop good relationships with the boys and that was lacking last year. I think Letcher County Football is going to get back on the right track and everyone will be happy again. Like you said, it's never easy to replace a legend. Hillard is gone and he isn't coming back so let's move on and support the 2011-12 version of the Cougars. NO coach defines a program whether it be Hillard or Mike, coaches come and go but when a tradition is built it lasts forever through the kids that are playing now, in the past and the future. So let's look at last year as a transition year and move on to better times from here on out building upon the tradition that Hillard started and trusted Mike enough to turn it over to him to build upon.[/QUOTE]

First let me say that I personally was told by Hillard that "he didn't much like this cat" but that he was what Anna wanted.

Second let me say that if this coach had been willing to put in the hours the boys could have lifted through the winter when there was no school. Instead you had some going up on their own and trying to get in to the weight room to lift and being harassed by school security. It's a shame that every dead beat in the county can have a key to go lift in our weight room but we cannot and that we didn't have not one single coach willing to put in the time to have the doors open for a few hours each day for those who could make it. Does that sound like a dedicated coach who is truly interested in the future of this program? Go and ask and you'll get a smirky, coach looking back at you telling you that you just need to grow up, toughen up, or give up, that is if he acknowledges you at all.

[mtntopblue]

GURU, you have got to be kidding do you know anything about football???? Some of those seniors should have crushed every thing in front of them but they didn't because they did not have any heart or dedication to play 100% but it is so easy to blame Mike, I was at just about every game and watched did you. In life do you think everybody is going to baby you??? You better get a clue, football is about building young men into someone that will not quit and give up when your down they step and give everything they got and some of those players did not do that and I guess you blame the coaching. Mike knows what he is doing and his record shows that, he has several D-1 players that has played for him. You are right about one thing Mike is not Larry. The last I herd that all the kids are working hard in the weight room and have never herd them talk bad about Mike. I was born and raised in Letcher and have seen alot of coaches come in go in my 55 years and last that I can recall is that we have only one Regional championship in the history of Letcher County football we have never been a football power house the way some of you all get on here and talk. We are not a Belfry, Bell they have history and what I mean by that is state titles. I support the Cougars and always will, give them time and they will get better. There numbers are down like only 35 that sucks. Over in Harlan they say they had about 90 out lifting weights. Cougars I hope you guys have a great season and I will be there to support you who ever is coaching go big blue.

[cougarpride08]

Couldn't said it better myself Guru. I hope this program gets back to what it once was.