[SportsKing]

Hopefully not sinking so low that people think that if we beat Paintsville we are overachieving. It will be more of the same if changes are not made.

Come on, I asked a simple question. The least you could do is try to answer in positive manner. Where are some specific areas that Pikeville needs to improve on the field and what should they do to improve in those areas?

[SportsKing]

How will everyone react if Copely is not rehired as coach?

I don't think most people really care one way or the other anymore at Pikeville!

Those few of you who didn't want him to start with will be glad and most will wonder why he was hired and then let go after one year, even with a winning record after one of the toughest non-district schedules in the history of Pikeville High School and making it to the regional finals. Well, that's my opinion anyway!

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

How will everyone react if Copely is not rehired as coach?

What do you mean? The plans for the TD club will go forward no matter what happens. I honestly dont think Copley is gonna get the boot after 1 year. He got his team to a region title game and lost to a team that gave Beechwood all they ever wanted in the state title game. Ill put it in simple terms Copely got us in 1 year to a place it took Jackson 3 years to get to with a far less talented team than ANY team that Jackson had.

[Batpuff]

How will everyone react if Copely is not rehired as coach?

Why wouldnt they rehire him?

[SportsKing]

Why wouldnt they rehire him?

They probably will, it's just the same 2 or 3 posters that didn't want him to start with for some personal reason, trying to stir up the smell again. But, who knows, at Pikeville nothing's a shocker with this administration.

The thing is, the AD teaches PE at the elementary school and his son is now in seventh grade at the high school and he wants to be at the high school teaching where his son is. Coach Copley, who teaches PE at the high school, will not be tenured until he gets his hire letter for the up and coming year. I'm sure you can figure the rest out yourself. It's no big secret around the community.

[jetpilot]

They probably will, it's just the same 2 or 3 posters that didn't want him to start with for some personal reason, trying to stir up the smell again. But, who knows, at Pikeville nothing's a shocker with this administration.

The thing is, the AD teaches PE at the elementary school and his son is now in seventh grade at the high school and he wants to be at the high school teaching where his son is. Coach Copley, who teaches PE at the high school, will not be tenured until he gets his hire letter for the up and coming year. I'm sure you can figure the rest out yourself. It's no big secret around the community.

If you think it's only one or two posters who are very unhappy with where the program is at, you are sadly mistaken and waaaaay out of touch with the fan base.

[jetpilot]

Come on, I asked a simple question. The least you could do is try to answer in positive manner. Where are some specific areas that Pikeville needs to improve on the field and what should they do to improve in those areas?

Getting all the talent out to play and keeping them on the team, harder and longer practices with people actually hitting each other, an offensive coordinator who knows how to mix it up, and an overall upgrade in the coaching staff, getting people who played at Pikeville involved more.

How's that for starters?

Here's what you got:

Superintendent: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Principal: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
AD: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Head football coach: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Last head football coach: Not from Pikeville, didn't get it done, just passing through.

This once proud program his been killed from top to bottom by outsiders. You can shoot the messenger all you want, but that is how things are perceived by 95% of the people who don't get a paycheck from the city school system. It will continue as long as the taxpayers of Pikeville allow it to.

[FOX SPORTS]

Coach Copley is not the reason Pikeville is not what they were in the past.

Pikeville Football has been on a downward trend they past 4 years.

There are a variety of reasons too numerous to mention on a message board but simply blaming the coach is not fair to him and is not honest with what is really going on with the program.

[State Champs]

Coach Copley is not the reason Pikeville is not what they were in the past.

Pikeville Football has been on a downward trend they past 4 years.

There are a variety of reasons too numerous to mention on a message board but simply blaming the coach is not fair to him and is not honest with what is really going on with the program.

Get Hillard Howard and his son Ben back at Pikeville and the Pikeville football program will come back to power.

[GloryDaize]

If there is going to be a change, then bringing the Howards back would be a good move. Doubt Hillard could get a position like the one he has now. Should be able to get Ben a teaching spot though. Would need to bring a defensive minded coach on board as well.

[jetpilot]

Coach Copley is not the reason Pikeville is not what they were in the past.

Pikeville Football has been on a downward trend they past 4 years.

There are a variety of reasons too numerous to mention on a message board but simply blaming the coach is not fair to him and is not honest with what is really going on with the program.

What do you blame for the downfall Fox? If the reasons are too numerous the top two or three reasons would be a good start.

[FOX SPORTS]

What do you blame for the downfall Fox?

This site does not have enough bandwidth to handle ALL of the reasons for the downfall.

It is not simply coaches, or administrators.
Parents have to accept alot of blame for raising spoiled kids who are given everything and told how great they are from the time they first pee in the toilet.

Many kids do not the intestinal fortitude to work for something and would rather become the king of the latest issue of Madden Football than actually work toward becoming part of a high quality team.
Many kids want to be the star rather than being part of a great TEAM.
Many kids are selfish and only want what makes them feel good about themselves and cannot handle being jumped onto by a coach who is trying to make them a better player and better person.

There are many other reasons but that is a start.

[jetpilot]

This site does not have enough bandwidth to handle ALL of the reasons for the downfall.

It is not simply coaches, or administrators.
Parents have to accept alot of blame for raising spoiled kids who are given everything and told how great they are from the time they first pee in the toilet.

Many kids do not the intestinal fortitude to work for something and would rather become the king of the latest issue of Madden Football than actually work toward becoming part of a high quality team.
Many kids want to be the star rather than being part of a great TEAM.
Many kids are selfish and only want what makes them feel good about themselves and cannot handle being jumped onto by a coach who is trying to make them a better player and better person.

There are many other reasons but that is a start.

I definitely know where you are coming from. But look at all the very good programs around here - Johnson Central, Prestonsburg, Hazard, Belfry, Breathitt Co., Letcher Central, Corbin, and several good programs nearby in WV and VA...how are those programs able to deal with the issues you brought up? Surely all the bad kids and parents didn't all end up in Pikeville. So what I'm saying is it's still up to the administrators and coaches to get it out of the kids...and if the parents don't like it they can take their kid elsewhere...I know it is easier said than done, especially from someone on the outside with very little knowledge of the inside...but again, other programs are getting it done, and so can we.

[HazzBeen]

This site does not have enough bandwidth to handle ALL of the reasons for the downfall.

It is not simply coaches, or administrators.
Parents have to accept alot of blame for raising spoiled kids who are given everything and told how great they are from the time they first pee in the toilet.

Many kids do not the intestinal fortitude to work for something and would rather become the king of the latest issue of Madden Football than actually work toward becoming part of a high quality team.
Many kids want to be the star rather than being part of a great TEAM.
Many kids are selfish and only want what makes them feel good about themselves and cannot handle being jumped onto by a coach who is trying to make them a better player and better person.

There are many other reasons but that is a start.

Amen Fox! You hit the nail on the head. This is happening everywhere though! I have layed back and read this thread wondering how in the world people could blame a coach for the way the kids are today. Pikeville High School is my home and will be for the rest of my life. It is in my blood and I will always root for Pikeville unless of course I am coaching against them. Here is what I think is the problem there right now.

1. Too many sports and parents wanting there kids to only play one sport. Single A schools need all the athletes they can get and adding a sport like soccer (even if it is beneficial to some) takes away potential football players. Watching the Pikeville basketball game the other night, I saw plenty of kids who could be very good football players and was told they were not allowed to play football. Parents, it is not your job to tell your kids what to play and what not to play. That is like telling them what they are going to be in life one day. From what I saw on the court the other night, none of them are going to be Division 1 basketball players. Let your kids play what they want in high school, not what you want.

2. Coaching. By this I do not mean Coach Copley. I like Coach Copley and believe he will do a good job at Pikeville, but he has to have help. They have no other coaches in the school system. This is the administration's fault period!

3. Everything that Fox Sports said. Kids are playing video games instead of playing tackle football in the evenings after school.

[FOX SPORTS]

...and if the parents don't like it they can take their kid elsewhere....

Maybe you hit the nail on the head...Maybe it is the parents at Pikeville.

Maybe they don't like there babies being talked mean to and tell them it is ok to quit or they need to focus on one sport.

[SportsKing]

Getting all the talent out to play and keeping them on the team, harder and longer practices with people actually hitting each other, an offensive coordinator who knows how to mix it up, and an overall upgrade in the coaching staff, getting people who played at Pikeville involved more.

How's that for starters?

Here's what you got:

Superintendent: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Principal: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
AD: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Head football coach: Not from Pikeville, not getting it done, just passing through.
Last head football coach: Not from Pikeville, didn't get it done, just passing through.

This once proud program his been killed from top to bottom by outsiders. You can shoot the messenger all you want, but that is how things are perceived by 95% of the people who don't get a paycheck from the city school system. It will continue as long as the taxpayers of Pikeville allow it to.

OK, although not very football specific, fair enough. Let's start with getting all the talent out. Who ? Matt Clevinger. Wes, Clarky, Patrick, the Evans kid, McDonald, and a few more I know for a fact have practically been begged to play each year. These kids may or may have not helped. I don't know.

I agree with you on the longer practices, I did watch several practices this year and there was alot of "hitting" and smashmouth football. If you remember, Pikeville started the season with 45 players and ended with "the dirty 30." The biggest reason that I heard as to why kids quit, "it was too hard and took up too much time." Pikeville had to run half-line in practice from about midway through the year in order to keep seniors from beating around on freshmen every practice.

Copley was the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. I think he should be able to concentrate on the defensive side of the ball more, but it was his offense that was implemented and I'm sure he wanted to run it this year. I believe it will work with time(JC and Belfry do pretty good with it). As an upgrade in the coaching staff, I don't know, the staff in place seems to work hard and put in the time, and they definatley know football.

I know that Bob Shurtleff, Greg Hackney, Jody Brown, and Matt Branham have all been asked to help in any way they could with the program, even at the little league level. Who else that "played at Pikeville" would you know that would be interested in coaching besides McNamee, because I think he's coached there on two different occasions. I thinked they even asked Chad Slayers to help the last couple of years, even though he didn't "play at Pikeville."

As for "what you got", you might as well elaborate some more.

Principal: Royce Mayo- Belfry

Asst. Principal: Dave Thomas-Indiana

Football: Michael Copley-Lawrence County
Mark Wheeler-Cereda Kenova
Michael Roberts-Virgie
Cyrus- Paintsville

Middle school f-ball:Johnny Webb- Prestonsburg

Little league f-ball Director: Bryan Johnson-Virgie
Coaches:Kenny Williams-Virgie
Tim Campoy-Johns Creek
David Martin-Prestonsburg
Tim Burke-Virgie
Lynn Cross- not Pikeville

Boys basketball:Bart Williams-Johnson Central
Todd May-Virgie
Denny May-Belfry
Adam Collins-Paintsville
Boys middle school basketball: Billy Rowe-Virgie
Dwayne Porter-West Virginia or Virginia

Little league B-ball Director: Bryan Johnson-Virgie
Coaches:Shawn Dials- Virgie
Darryl Pugh- Paintsville
Johnny Webb-Prestonsburg
AAU basketball 5-6: Bryan Johnson-Virgie
Sammy Hamilton-Johns Creek
Kenny Williams-Virgie
AAU basketball 3-4: Tim Burke- Virgie

Girls Basketball: Cindy Stewart-Belfry

Girls Middle school B-ball: Dwayne Porter- West Virginia or Virginia

Baseball: Steve Priode-Paintsville

Girls softball: Sheila Schull- I think Illinois

Girls volleyball: Sheila Schull- I think Illinois

I don't think the Boys and Girls soccor coaches are from Pikeville either.

Boys golf: not sure

Girls golf: Cindy Stewart-Belfry

[FOX SPORTS]

As for "what you got", you might as well elaborate some more.

Principal: Royce Mayo- Belfry

Actually, Royce Mayo is a Prestonsburg product.

[GloryDaize]

Hillard was from Whitesburg, Allara was from West Virginia, Mahan was from out of town(not sure). The whole argument about outsiders is a little crazy since nearly every coach that has coached at PHS has been as outsider. Keno Trivette, Chris Mcnamee, Gene Davis, Jason Howell and Libby White are the only ones I can recall actually graduating from Pikeville and coming back to coach here. How many PHS graduates are out there that are qualified to coach here? Ben Howard and Brian Mahan are the only two I can think of. Anyone else? It would be nice if some former players would help out in the junior high and/or little league but it is hard some working people with families to volunteer their time when they have so much going on.

[SportsKing]

Hillard was from Whitesburg, Allara was from West Virginia, Mahan was from out of town(not sure). The whole argument about outsiders is a little crazy since nearly every coach that has coached at PHS has been as outsider. Keno Trivette, Chris Mcnamee, Gene Davis, Jason Howell and Libby White are the only ones I can recall actually graduating from Pikeville and coming back to coach here. How many PHS graduates are out there that are qualified to coach here? Ben Howard and Brian Mahan are the only two I can think of. Anyone else? It would be nice if some former players would help out in the junior high and/or little league but it is hard some working people with families to volunteer their time when they have so much going on.

Also, forgot about Chapman!

[SportsKing]

Alot of sayers, not many doers.

[GloryDaize]

Yes, Chapman is from Breathitt Co. The point I was trying to make is that nearly EVERY coach that has coached here is not FROM here (every sport). Whats the big deal? I would bet that every school district in the state is like that. Chase Gibson is another one that is teaching and coaching. Some may consider him an outsider since he did not go to elementary school here. Don Paul Branham is also coaching but I am not sure if he is a certified teacher. There may be more but Im not sure.

[Chuck Taylor]

Maybe you hit the nail on the head...Maybe it is the parents at Pikeville.

Maybe they don't like there babies being talked mean to and tell them it is ok to quit or they need to focus on one sport.

So now its the parents fault...

Same coach with the same system expect the same results...

[FOX SPORTS]

So now its the parents fault...

Same coach with the same system expect the same results...

That's the way I see it at a lot of schools...the spoiled students are the problem.
Does that place blame on the parents?
Where else should it be placed?

I visit somewhere between 25-35 schools a year and I talk to the coaches.
They will tell you the same thing.
It is not specific to Pikeville but many kids(and the number is growing every year) are babied and coddled and have very little mental toughness and discipline.

Same spoiled players with the same "my child can do no wrong" parenting the results will only get worse.

It's been going on for ten plus years and can be seen in the dropoff in athletic quality everywhere.

[mullinstiger55]

Pikeville will not be very good for the next few years!

[hammertime]

Pikeville will not be very good for the next few years!

Being from the Mullins area, you should know that this past season when the Pike Central JV team came to play Pikeville they were beat pretty handily. So what does this say about the team that Mullins and Johns Creek puts on the field after they leave these 2 respective schools? All I know is that Pikeville had a lot of young kids get a lot of experience this past season and I look for them to be much better next season. Thanks for your concern, but you might want to worry about your beloved Hawks instead of the Panthers.

[Beef]

Be careful you may step on the wrong toes.

Step on all the toes you want IMO. Those are probably the toes that have put the program where it is now and they need to get out of the way so Pikeville football can get back to some what of a power.

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

This site does not have enough bandwidth to handle ALL of the reasons for the downfall.

It is not simply coaches, or administrators.
Parents have to accept alot of blame for raising spoiled kids who are given everything and told how great they are from the time they first pee in the toilet.

Many kids do not the intestinal fortitude to work for something and would rather become the king of the latest issue of Madden Football than actually work toward becoming part of a high quality team.
Many kids want to be the star rather than being part of a great TEAM.
Many kids are selfish and only want what makes them feel good about themselves and cannot handle being jumped onto by a coach who is trying to make them a better player and better person.

There are many other reasons but that is a start.

I agree 150% Ive said before some of these parents need to let their boys play and learn at least a little of what it takes to be a man because they sure arent learning it at home.

[lil2coupe]

I don't know if I agree with the Culture, Economy, Soccer argument. Surely Pikeville isn't the only school around that has a slow economy, children playing XBox's, or soccer programs.

That is just an excuse. Everyone needs to step up their performance a notch or two. Quit blaming each other. Quit pointing your fingers at whomever you suspect is the cause.

Next time you want to find, or diagnose, what is wrong...try to find a solution before you open your mouth. And if YOU aren't part of the solution, then you must be a part of the problem. You will NEVER climb to the top by playing the blame game. This apparent problem will take a collective effort on everyone's behalf. (fans, coaches, students, school, community).

I just wanted to add my two cents to this topic. I'm not a PHS Alum. I am from Pike County though (originally) and even though I despised all things Pikeville HS, I always loved watching them play their smashmouth football. I even have a copy of the People Magazine article featuring the "Boys of Autumn (IIRC)". You could always count on Pikeville vs. Beechwood for another epic battle...Pike County Bowl games...Pikeville/Belfry...etc etc etc. PHS represented our town, county, and region very well. Those days can return again.

I hope you get it together and get back to Louisville (where you belong).

[NestDweller]

Being from the Mullins area, you should know that this past season when the Pike Central JV team came to play Pikeville they were beat pretty handily. So what does this say about the team that Mullins and Johns Creek puts on the field after they leave these 2 respective schools? All I know is that Pikeville had a lot of young kids get a lot of experience this past season and I look for them to be much better next season. Thanks for your concern, but you might want to worry about your beloved Hawks instead of the Panthers.

The gap is closing or has closed on the quality of football between Pikeville and PC and SV. I know you will go off on how playing either of these schools will not benefit your elite Panthers. BS! PC and SV have picked it up a notch and Pikeville has slipped a notch making these three pretty much equal. We will never know though because Pikeville will not play either school. We will just have to sit here and listen to the Panther loud mouths spout off about how great they are (were). Dont even bring up the jr. high. You came in 4th in a 6 team county conference.

[SportsKing]

-Pikeville has a very promising young group of kids on the High School team.
-They have started their Little League program in the right direction this year.
-They have alot of very good athletes in 3rd -6th grades coming through, especially football players.

Still haven't found out where I said anything about how talented Pikeville is from the LL all the way through Varsity!!! Maybe my eyes are getting badhh:
Like I said, Young group on Varsity- good.
LL- good.
What's so hard to understand about this? We can battle about this all you want, but there's really no need. I hope the kids have a great year.