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The Death of Breathitt Football
#1
Will the once powerhouse program ever recover ??...thoughts and opinions....
#2
It will if folks don't give up. Prestonsburg, Pikeville, and especially Paintsville have each had periods similar to what Breathitt Co. is experiencing.

Just have to lower expectations temporarily so enjoyment can be taken from watching younger, more inexperienced, or lesser talented teams progress.


:popcorn:
#3
Every program everywhere has rough times. The master has failed more times than the novice has ever tried.
#4
The school board take over was huge and the biggest blow was Breathitts feeder system basically being abandoned.

Too much pride to stay down forever but if the Bobcats hope to return it begins at the grassroots level
#5
When Holcomb left it set the program back big time. As someone who played for Holcomb his brillance was player development which started in grade school he put a lot of effort into those feeder programs that kept a constant supply of talent. Kyle moore who I played 3 years with in late 90s IMO does not have the fire it takes to compete at the level breathitt is used to. Kyle makes a great OC but is not a good head coach.
#6
It will be hard for them to reach that level. They set the standard awful high.
#7
It will be an interesting game on the River Bank Friday when Holcomb rolls into town. I see Letcher by at least 3 td
#8
Kyle does a good job with what he has. You have to remember wolfcat, Holcomb had grade school football for the young kids. Now we went from having 4-5 grade school teams now to 1 travel team. So the middle school back in the late 90s was getting 44 to 55 starters from the grade schools to the middle school if they all played. Now the middle school is getting 11. That's it. It all starts at the young level and comes up. Holcomb saw the writing on the wall when the state come in. He knew things were about to get ugly. Shutting down grade school football was the first thing they did basically. Well all grade school sports. If Kyle can get it back to having those 44 to 55 kids comin. Into middle school wanting to play then that would boost the program back up. Not all 44 to 55 kids will play but the majority will. The bobcat tradition is still there. Just needs the pieces to put it back altogether. It'll get back there eventually. Kyle works hard and wants the program to get back to the ranks it was before.
#9
bobcatsfan Wrote:Kyle does a good job with what he has. You have to remember wolfcat, Holcomb had grade school football for the young kids. Now we went from having 4-5 grade school teams now to 1 travel team. So the middle school back in the late 90s was getting 44 to 55 starters from the grade schools to the middle school if they all played. Now the middle school is getting 11. That's it. It all starts at the young level and comes up. Holcomb saw the writing on the wall when the state come in. He knew things were about to get ugly. Shutting down grade school football was the first thing they did basically. Well all grade school sports. If Kyle can get it back to having those 44 to 55 kids comin. Into middle school wanting to play then that would boost the program back up. Not all 44 to 55 kids will play but the majority will. The bobcat tradition is still there. Just needs the pieces to put it back altogether. It'll get back there eventually. Kyle works hard and wants the program to get back to the ranks it was before.

I agree, Coach Moore doesn't have the talent that has been there in the past, but there is enough talent, to field a competitive team. I don't expect this team to compete with the likes of Belfry, Bell County, and Corbin, but there is no reason why they shouldn't be competing for a district championship, in one of the weakest districts in the state. At this moment, I don't see them playing within 3 touchdowns of Estill County. I know the program has a lot of external factors that have come into play, with the decline of the program, but lets face it, the coaching staff needs to be held accountable as well. Good luck to the Bobcats on the remainder of the season!!
#10
wolfcat Wrote:When Holcomb left it set the program back big time. As someone who played for Holcomb his brillance was player development which started in grade school he put a lot of effort into those feeder programs that kept a constant supply of talent. Kyle moore who I played 3 years with in late 90s IMO does not have the fire it takes to compete at the level breathitt is used to. Kyle makes a great OC but is not a good head coach.

Holcomb leaving is not really what set the program back. The program was set back, because the State took the school system over and basically eliminated football in the lower ranks and placed no resources at the high school level. I don't think the program would be in any better shape if Holcomb was still there. It will take a lot of work to overcome the damage done by the takeover.
#11
wolfcat Wrote:When Holcomb left it set the program back big time. As someone who played for Holcomb his brillance was player development which started in grade school he put a lot of effort into those feeder programs that kept a constant supply of talent. Kyle moore who I played 3 years with in late 90s IMO does not have the fire it takes to compete at the level breathitt is used to. Kyle makes a great OC but is not a good head coach.

Cat Daddy Wrote:I agree, Coach Moore doesn't have the talent that has been there in the past, but there is enough talent, to field a competitive team. I don't expect this team to compete with the likes of Belfry, Bell County, and Corbin, but there is no reason why they shouldn't be competing for a district championship, in one of the weakest districts in the state. At this moment, I don't see them playing within 3 touchdowns of Estill County. I know the program has a lot of external factors that have come into play, with the decline of the program, but lets face it, the coaching staff needs to be held accountable as well. Good luck to the Bobcats on the remainder of the season!!

Hold the staff accountable? LOL Hold them accountable for what? I think those guys are doing a good job with what they have to work with. Its very easy to sit in the stands and have all the answers, but its a very different thing to actually have to do it. Unless you have extensive coaching experience or see something we have all missed, you might be better off not commenting on accountability with coaches.
#12
School Admin. Wrote:Holcomb leaving is not really what set the program back. The program was set back, because the State took the school system over and basically eliminated football in the lower ranks and placed no resources at the high school level. I don't think the program would be in any better shape if Holcomb was still there. It will take a lot of work to overcome the damage done by the takeover.

Yep

Holcomb's departure came in response to seeing the writing on the wall. It was a reaction, and not a cause.
#13
Maybe everyone else has got better. The game really has evolved the past couple years in this area. Plus, there hasn't been any players coming from the Detention Center in a while have they? Not saw any Warrens floating around in Jtown in some time. Wheres all the Haddix's at?
#14
As Great as coach Holcomb was at Breathitt he is not there digging and clawing to keep it going, Coach Moore is a man who is fighting for this program and tradition as i see it, give him time and the respect he needs to climb the ladder. will they ever be a power again who knows but when a sports program has been disarmed as much as this one it will take time to get it going
#15
All these programs, Pikeville included, that have suffered down years have many common denominators. But if Breathitt wants to be the proud program they were and still are. They must have the one thing that can make them or break them in this situation: STABILITY, from the top down. Pikeville had 4 Head Coaches in 4 years at one point and the program suffered immensely for it. Now that we have stability, our program is once again healthy. But it wasn't easy and it took time. Just something to think about for the Breathitt faithful.
#16
Hazard has had stability for years and years.
Perry County has no stability at the elementary or Middle School level. Well High School either.
#17
School Admin. Wrote:Hold the staff accountable? LOL Hold them accountable for what? I think those guys are doing a good job with what they have to work with. Its very easy to sit in the stands and have all the answers, but its a very different thing to actually have to do it. Unless you have extensive coaching experience or see something we have all missed, you might be better off not commenting on accountability with coaches.

I'm not going to get on here and "bash" Coach Moore, because I have a ton of respect for him, on and off the football field, but I will not back down from my original statement about holding coaches accountable. Speaking of coaches, outside of Moore and Beeder, who are the assistants?
#18
bearcat88 Wrote:Will the once powerhouse program ever recover ??...thoughts and opinions....


Bolz, here is what I would do. You have to pump life into your program (Like Fatpat). Win or lose, the fans have to stand behind the programs (Like Fatpat). I would find a "fatcatfan" and tell the Bobcats it's Time to Rise (Like Fatpat).

Now, ole Fatpat is just giving some neighborly advice. Good luck with your program. If you support it, it will rise again.

[Image:

]

More mash taters please!
#19
Bahahahha. He is right bolz!
#20
I love Kyle and having been in the huddle with him he knows football but does not have the personality to be a elite HC. As far as on the field he needs as good DC as the defense has been horrible in past few years. IMO he has relied too much on Collins resulting in younger players not getting reps. As far as elementary programs when I came thru Holcomb kept them running by getting former players to coach the teams free of charge. Playing a weak schedule like breathitt has the past couple years a really good Coachella be worth 6-7 wins alone. Kyle would make a great OC but is no HC at this point. Look at John Paul Chapman great DC but not a good HC
#21
The problem at breathitt is a sum of many parts. The state take over being #1. There are some nice young players which are showing promise for the future but it will take some time. The upperclassmen are in some ways hit and miss. There's a lack of confidence around and within the program right now and that hurts. In the holcomb days the bobcats stepped on the field and EXPECTED to win. Heart, fire, and hard work were the building blocks of those teams. That is missing right now and when you are dealing with HS aged kids/young men as one goes so do the rest. One bad play and guys heads drop. Fixing breathitt football will take some time but I can almost guarantee that Kyle is the guy and when these freshman get some age on them they will return the bobcats to their former glory.
#22
At the end of the regular season, this will not be an issue. Breathitt has simply played better teams out of the gates. They will probably lose this weekend, but I will not be shocked one bit to see them reel off 5 straight en route to winning their district championship & a very respectable 5-5 record through 10.

This is not a complicated system people. It's Jimmy's and Joe's. Breathitt doesn't have them right now like most all of us are used to seeing. Kyle Moore knows football, plenty of it & ability to communicate with the kids is even better than that.

I can understand the frustration over the Central game. I understand that. Cincy Christian and Prestonsburg, however, are just better. LCC will, be too & then I think you are going to see a drastic turnaround.
#23
State take over and not a very good youth league program.
#24
And what team do you coach Wolfcat? The GREAT DC, gave up 40 points to South Floyd last week am I correct? Maybe Breathitt County is lacking players. Plain and Simple. Its not the X's and O's, its the Jimmies and Joes. Breathitt had plenty of Jimmies and Joes back in the day. But I do think a lot of time was put into those kids when they were in Elementary school and on up.
#25
The state took over Breathitt for miss use of funds and practice football during school day.. Basic cheating and funds miss used...
#26
Another Friday night another embarrassing loss. D is historically awful. We made no adjustments after the half. Breathitt was out coached most of 2nd half.
#27
Wolfcat calm down alittle bit. Like I said before. No feeder system...this is what you will get. Some kids never play football until they are freshman in high school. Our little lumberjacks is a great thing. But at the same time when we were playing for state titles back in the day we had 4-5 grade school teams with 20 kids on each team. Grant it that it was the 90s and parents didn't baby kids as much as they do now seems like. It is about the Jimmy's and Joes and not the Xs and Os. When kids don't get to learn any football until middle school and our middle school program has been pretty bad a few years now but will get better. One thing I do agree with though. Our D is terrible. That was embarrassing to get ran on like that. Kid had some wheels though that's for sure. Anybody gets his final stats. He ran it a lot for a lot.
#28
Breathitt will certainly be back. Every team will have seasons where they are down from time to time unless they just get a ton of transfers year in and year out that keeps them loaded. Way too much history and pride from that team to stay down long. Get the young kids working and staying together as a group is the way to get the ship back in the right direction and Breathitt will get there.
#29
Who is breathitt s DC now that Shorty is no longer with them
#30
Holcomb was breathitt

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