[kyfan]

I'm pretty sure that in Phelps' last game of the season they had a total of 12-13 players. They had I believe 6 seniors. It's not a good situation to play freshmen who are probably not ready against the likes of Pikeville, Paintsville, Pike County Bowl, etc. Numbers have been a problem at Phelps for a few years and everyone associated with the program knew that after this year it would be tough to field a team. As of right now, Coach Jones is still working at the school. I wish that his family lived a little closer because he is a good man and a good coach.

[blitz43]

Did Jones quit or what?

[bluegrassballa]

I'm pretty sure that in Phelps' last game of the season they had a total of 12-13 players. They had I believe 6 seniors. It's not a good situation to play freshmen who are probably not ready against the likes of Pikeville, Paintsville, Pike County Bowl, etc. Numbers have been a problem at Phelps for a few years and everyone associated with the program knew that after this year it would be tough to field a team. As of right now, Coach Jones is still working at the school. I wish that his family lived a little closer because he is a good man and a good coach.

I was at his last game and Phelps did only have 13 players. But I hope this isn't true because it will be bad for the players that actually want to play.

[PHS#1]

Did Jones quit or what?

RUMOR has it at the end or toward the end of this year he is leaving and going back closer to his family... hope Jones the best of luck wherever he does.... and yes thatis bad for those boys who want to play this year if they do not... i think allen is no longer interested due to the numbers being so low

[blitz43]

Can't imagine going to a school that didn't offer football !! That's like ordering a Cheeseburger without cheese on it....

[rojas]

You can play at another school IF your school does not offer a particular sport. I have a family member that attends private school that does not have football and he is allowed to play for the county's middle school.

The KHSAA does not govern middle school.

[stat__katt]

This is ashame and disgrace if this happens to the Phelps Hornets Football program!!!there are kids there who love this game and for most it's the only sport they participate in.
last year was the same thing ..practice started, no coach. it was a mess .we love coach Jones and will always appreciate his actions for stepping in to help out..and the kids will miss him. BUT from the beginning these kids knew that it was a "play it by ear" situation coaching wise. and yes the numbers are low .but if you knew that your head coach wasn't sticking around wouldn't your attitude be .."why bother"?? it's ashame that it has come to this.
NO, we don't have the best program.NO, we don't have the coverage needed to help some of these kids get to college....
BUT what we do have is some fine young men who love the game of football and will put out the dedication needed!
so Mr.Superintendant. board member, politician....PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN !
.....NOTHING BUT THE KIDS......REMEMBER????

[kyfan]

This is ashame and disgrace if this happens to the Phelps Hornets Football program!!!there are kids there who love this game and for most it's the only sport they participate in.
last year was the same thing ..practice started, no coach. it was a mess .we love coach Jones and will always appreciate his actions for stepping in to help out..and the kids will miss him. BUT from the beginning these kids knew that it was a "play it by ear" situation coaching wise. and yes the numbers are low .but if you knew that your head coach wasn't sticking around wouldn't your attitude be .."why bother"?? it's ashame that it has come to this.
NO, we don't have the best program.NO, we don't have the coverage needed to help some of these kids get to college....
BUT what we do have is some fine young men who love the game of football and will put out the dedication needed!
so Mr.Superintendant. board member, politician....PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN !
.....NOTHING BUT THE KIDS......REMEMBER????

Good post. But if Mr. Superintendant, board member, politician were concerned, this years seniors would not have had three coaches in four years. I do agree it would be hard for the players have the right attitude when they know the coach is leaving. But, if Coach Jones had received everything he was promised, from the board, he wouldn't be going anywhere.

[stat__katt]

Good post. But if Mr. Superintendant, board member, politician were concerned, this years seniors would not have had three coaches in four years. I do agree it would be hard for the players have the right attitude when they know the coach is leaving. But, if Coach Jones had received everything he was promised, from the board, he wouldn't be going anywhere.

thanks fan
and like i said....Mr. Superintendant, Board member, politician.......DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN !!

[NEXT]

thanks fan
and like i said....Mr. Superintendant, Board member, politician.......DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN !!

Vote for someone else in Nov. then......

[phs1986]

This needs to be kept on topic.... This one is close to being CLOSED!!!

[warriorpride]

I Hope that the Phelps adminastration can get this fixed soon. It would be a shame to see these boys not be able to play football. I know alot of guys over there some of them are very good friends of mine and I know how they would feel if they didnt have a team.

[phs1986]

Nice post WarriorPride.... !!

[kyfan]

What people are failing to realize is that there are not enough boys who want to play. If there is no team, it isn't because there is no coach. It is because there are not enough boys who want to dedicate themselves to play football. The last game of the season, there were 13 players on the team. I believe 5 or 6 were seniors. That leaves 7 or 8 players returning. I just can't see how the administration can fix that for next year. The answer is not to put 3 or 4 freshmen out on that field who aren't ready. Bringing in a new coach doesn't mean automatically having more players come out.

The first thing people will say is that it's the coaches fault numbers are low. These kids don't want discipline. They don't want to work hard. They don't want to be constructively criticized. They don't want to be told what to do. It's EASIER to not play.

Simple fact. Phelps' numbers continue to drop. Phelps was left out of any consolidation plan by the board in previous years and now you see the results.

[phs1986]

I agree with kyfan that you don't want to put freshmen who aren't ready on the field. BUT as my son would be a freshman this year I can name about 10 or more boys who have been playing football since the 3rd grade! Granted high school ball is a total different calibar of play but to say they would be inexperienced wouldn't be true. They are some VERY talented kids who can play the game if they would just come out and do so.

As far as the discipline you are correct. BUT you find that everywhere... NOT just at Phelps. I blame that on mommies and daddys. When mine plays a sport he is to listen to the coach and do as he is told to do. IF that means running 15 laps around the field for something he has done that is wrong then by golly he is to do it! If a coach can't control the kids because the parents won't let them then this needs to be addressed with a parent meeting at the beginning of the season. If they don't like it then keep their kid at home! PERIOD!!

I also agree with you on the consolidation. WHY was Phelps the only school left out of the consolidation? Yes, they are in a rural area but so are some of the other schools who were consolidated. IMO those kids deserve as much as any other child in the county. Some are very good athletes, good students, and come from good families. WHY short change them for where they live. I can remember back when I was in school Phelps was able to contend with any of the school in the district:: Belfry, Mullins, Millard, Feds Creek, Johns Creek, and Elkhorn City. Especially in baseball and basketball. You can't put a single A school against a 2 or 3 A in football though. Oh well..... I have spilled enough but I do feel that the kids in Phelps deserve any and everything that anyone else in the county gets. Its only fair to the kids to do so.

[kyfan]

I agree with kyfan that you don't want to put freshmen who aren't ready on the field. BUT as my son would be a freshman this year I can name about 10 or more boys who have been playing football since the 3rd grade! Granted high school ball is a total different calibar of play but to say they would be inexperienced wouldn't be true. They are some VERY talented kids who can play the game if they would just come out and do so.

As far as the discipline you are correct. BUT you find that everywhere... NOT just at Phelps. I blame that on mommies and daddys. When mine plays a sport he is to listen to the coach and do as he is told to do. IF that means running 15 laps around the field for something he has done that is wrong then by golly he is to do it! If a coach can't control the kids because the parents won't let them then this needs to be addressed with a parent meeting at the beginning of the season. If they don't like it then keep their kid at home! PERIOD!!

I also agree with you on the consolidation. WHY was Phelps the only school left out of the consolidation? Yes, they are in a rural area but so are some of the other schools who were consolidated. IMO those kids deserve as much as any other child in the county. Some are very good athletes, good students, and come from good families. WHY short change them for where they live. I can remember back when I was in school Phelps was able to contend with any of the school in the district:: Belfry, Mullins, Millard, Feds Creek, Johns Creek, and Elkhorn City. Especially in baseball and basketball. You can't put a single A school against a 2 or 3 A in football though. Oh well..... I have spilled enough but I do feel that the kids in Phelps deserve any and everything that anyone else in the county gets. Its only fair to the kids to do so.

That was a very good post. I didn't mean to sound like Phelps was the only place that had trouble with discipline. All schools have it. You are correct that most of it is the fault of mommies and daddy's. But therein lies the problem. When there is a conflict, the kids are allowed to quit and because they have such a small school, there is no one to take their place. This is the biggest reason for the numbers problem.

I also didn't mean to imply that freshman didn't have the experience. I don't know how many 8th graders at Phelps were held back. I would venture to say not any. So now you potentially have a 13 year old playing football against a 19 year old. It's not an experience issue at all. It's a safety issue and not many parents are going to allow their children to risk injury and I don't blame them. It's one thing to be a 13 year old and spot play. It's another to be a 13 year old and play the entire 32 minutes of a football game.

My point goes back to I don't know what the administration at Phelps could do to get more boys to play football. My only suggestion would be to hire someone who will commit themselves to several years to build the program. Phelps was fine until the BOE started getting involved in the coaching process.

[EKY Sportster]

So which is it? A numbers problem or a coaching problem?

If football is popular at Phelps as it has been in the past, I would think they could put a team on the field if they wanted to bad enough. I know they are a small school, but they have more boys than that there.

[kyfan]

So which is it? A numbers problem or a coaching problem?

If football is popular at Phelps as it has been in the past, I would think they could put a team on the field if they wanted to bad enough. I know they are a small school, but they have more boys than that there.

I most definitely don't think the numbers problem is because of coaching. They were probably 2 boys, 3 tops who were walking the halls that should have been playing football. There are a couple of guys who have a chance at playing small college basketball and don't want to risk injury in football. There are also a couple of guys who can play small college baseball who don't want to take the same risk. I don't blame these guys for not playing. I would suggest if people think it's a coaching problem, apply for the job and see how difficult it is to get kids to play.

[timmy81]

phelps will have a team this year..

[TRAIN85]

I don't think it is fair for you to claim that Phelps will beat all of these teams on their schedule considering that they are one of the states ten worst teams. I am sorry but it is just fact and I don't mean to much disrespect.

[Capt. DH]

What people are failing to realize is that there are not enough boys who want to play. If there is no team, it isn't because there is no coach. It is because there are not enough boys who want to dedicate themselves to play football. The last game of the season, there were 13 players on the team. I believe 5 or 6 were seniors. That leaves 7 or 8 players returning. I just can't see how the administration can fix that for next year. The answer is not to put 3 or 4 freshmen out on that field who aren't ready. Bringing in a new coach doesn't mean automatically having more players come out.

The first thing people will say is that it's the coaches fault numbers are low. These kids don't want discipline. They don't want to work hard. They don't want to be constructively criticized. They don't want to be told what to do. It's EASIER to not play.

Simple fact. Phelps' numbers continue to drop. Phelps was left out of any consolidation plan by the board in previous years and now you see the results.

it seems like every year we hear rumors about phelps and other schools not having a team. But every year it seems they scrap together just enough players to play, so unless something strange happens this year, i expect the phelps hornets to put a team on the field on fridays this fall.