The Slow Demise of High School Football in South Carolina

[5thqtr]

No days off!

no vacations or going to the lake. It's like a more than full time job

the first day of football use to be a time of excitement. The first day of pads even more so! Now it's ho hum, another day, another workout

Once when Independence won one of their 6 or 7 titles in a row, they boarded the bus, went back to the school and had a coaches meeting on next years depth chart. No celebration. Lifting resumed on Monday

Great example of "what the extra mile looks like"! Back to workouts on Monday after a championship is right; staying ahead of the competition isn't easy but is the price of being the best.
I think depending on the coaches though it can be done still with as much accountability as it always has. How 5th? By going to the college model where you break up the year. Most notably: "off season duties"! Task it to whoever is going to stay on top of the program(there should be trust involved they will). Allow others to take vacations at different phases of the year! Burn out is a real thing and it happens - it just has to be managed differently in 2019 and beyond. It's not just coaches - just about every job is wanting more work from less people - which translates to longer hours! W/O going into detail let's just say - I can vouch for that 1st hand. More with less isn't going to go away; but it has to be managed in such a way that the same desired results still happen. At work it means, "doing a good job with who you bring in"! Making sure it's people who can and get why they must carry their own weight! You also have to be more efficient with the assets you do have. More efficient with the time you have. No wasted movement. Everything has a purpose and goes toward the end goal!

[5thqtr]

In Rock Hill - we use to have Barry Byers(the late great BB)! He was passionate about Friday Night Football and it showed with the work he put in. Bret McCormick stepped in and did a really good job! I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought of our local paper though. Here in Rock Hill and anywhere where it's a McClatchey newspaper or online news articles you suffer from generic at best efforts about anything local. About every other day you see articles about U of Non-Compliance in our Rock Hill paper as if somebody cared on a large scale. I know it's due to budget cuts and news editors are looking for articles they can just "plug in" that are property of Mcclatchey. You may get 1 H.S. article from 1 area school and that's it. You might get the score or you might not on Saturday mornings edition. This coming from being able to grab a paper or read it online and having a "Box Score" of almost all area games! Huge difference because sometimes in a football game the final score doesn't tell the whole story! The final score tells the most important, yes, but not the whole story!
I have seen linked articles on here or through google searches where other areas aren't having this issue. Count your blessings and consider yourself lucky if you are still getting H.S. sports coverage done well. The crew we have at our local paper seem to have minimal to no interest in it.
Some of you know this term: you might play well enough to GET YOUR NAME IN THE PAPER! It use to be a big deal and still would if it was happening! Is McClatchey from some northeastern state where football is just "blah"? Because down here we are a lot more passionate about H.S. Football than the coverage we are getting! I guess they put in some of the local colleges trying to appease just enough people; because they switch from Clemson, S. Carolina, NCSU and sometimes Wake. The editor is perhaps more into college than he is H.S. therefore they assume everyone in the area is too. WRONG!
Many people are more into H.S. Same reason some people don't like the NFL there are others who don't like college b/c of some of the "under belly" of it. They prefer H.S. where it's a little more pure.
Oh well, I am cancelling my online subscription as I didn't realize Brett had moved on. He moved on for a better opportunity and was replaced with someone with the motor of a snail!

[Fan4awhile]

Great article that has inspired some great post on this Thread. So many valid points and really enjoyed reading them. Not sure who mentioned law suit, but that is exactly why 8 quarter rule is gone. Its CYA by school districts and if not mistaken started in Indiana? Could be wrong about that, somebody on here will know. One solution would be to play JV on Monday, been considered but regions haven't made it happen yet. Also I will throw in AAU/travel ball as reason #'s are down in football. Go play a tournament on the weekend and didnt have to practice all week......heck of a lot easier than practicing FB

[Penguin]

In Rock Hill - we use to have Barry Byers(the late great BB)! He was passionate about Friday Night Football and it showed with the work he put in. Bret McCormick stepped in and did a really good job! I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought of our local paper though. Here in Rock Hill and anywhere where it's a McClatchey newspaper or online news articles you suffer from generic at best efforts about anything local. About every other day you see articles about U of Non-Compliance in our Rock Hill paper as if somebody cared on a large scale. I know it's due to budget cuts and news editors are looking for articles they can just "plug in" that are property of Mcclatchey. You may get 1 H.S. article from 1 area school and that's it. You might get the score or you might not on Saturday mornings edition. This coming from being able to grab a paper or read it online and having a "Box Score" of almost all area games! Huge difference because sometimes in a football game the final score doesn't tell the whole story! The final score tells the most important, yes, but not the whole story!
I have seen linked articles on here or through google searches where other areas aren't having this issue. Count your blessings and consider yourself lucky if you are still getting H.S. sports coverage done well. The crew we have at our local paper seem to have minimal to no interest in it.
Some of you know this term: you might play well enough to GET YOUR NAME IN THE PAPER! It use to be a big deal and still would if it was happening! Is McClatchey from some northeastern state where football is just "blah"? Because down here we are a lot more passionate about H.S. Football than the coverage we are getting! I guess they put in some of the local colleges trying to appease just enough people; because they switch from Clemson, S. Carolina, NCSU and sometimes Wake. The editor is perhaps more into college than he is H.S. therefore they assume everyone in the area is too. WRONG!
Many people are more into H.S. Same reason some people don't like the NFL there are others who don't like college b/c of some of the "under belly" of it. They prefer H.S. where it's a little more pure.
Oh well, I am cancelling my online subscription as I didn't realize Brett had moved on. He moved on for a better opportunity and was replaced with someone with the motor of a snail!

Great post, great points as well. Here in Beaufort, our local outhouse quality publication cut back to 2 publications per week before finally being bought out by McClatchey. The end of all relevant local news is print presentation. Guys like the great Barry Byers are few and far between. Barry reached out to me many times for my thoughts about the games. He and I became friends. I have to admit, his probing me for information and thoughts increased my desire to see more games, watch more teams, and really enjoy the atmosphere and excitement of the games. My wife an I would travel all over the state on Friday nights to catch big games and see star players. We also went to a lot of "dives" to see not-so-good teams and games. I give all credit for my love of this sport to Barry. His legacy is still alive and well, but it is dying out, just as this thread has indicated. Times are changing, and I can say that technology isn't always a good fit for everything. Thanks 5th for reminding me of a better time with special folks.

[CITYSLICKER]

PINKY BEFORE HE DIED BARRY USED TO CALL ME TO HEAR ME TELL HIM, HOW I BEAT CANCER, HE WAS FUN FOR SURE CALLED HIM BERNIE, GO DOWN AMD LISTEN TO GENE KNIGHTS LOSERS POST, HE MENTIONED YOU ION HIS PICKS

[Penguin]

PINKY BEFORE HE DIED BARRY USED TO CALL ME TO HEAR ME TELL HIM, HOW I BEAT CANCER, HE WAS FUN FOR SURE CALLED HIM BERNIE, GO DOWN AMD LISTEN TO GENE KNIGHTS LOSERS POST, HE MENTIONED YOU ION HIS PICKS

Slick, I have to admit that I miss Barry more than I ever thought. If not his voice, definitely his words. He got me on their football website for a while, you know, you were there as well. I don't know if you ever met him, but the guy who went by Krock on the sites, he was another one of those guys who lived and breathed football. He was actually a JV coach at Conway. I spent a weekend with him at Myrtle Beach and at the school one summer. Met some great folks up there. I never did meet Tigeriffic, but he is another one of us old folks who love the game just for the game. You stopped calling me. I always looked forward to talking with you. My health doesn't allow me to get out much any more, and my wife is now a nightime manager, so I don't even have transportation to go to games. Just writing all of this stuff makes me remember the good old days when Friday nights were the highlight of my week. Take care old friend, and stay in touch

[Onion Rings]

In Rock Hill - we use to have Barry Byers(the late great BB)! He was passionate about Friday Night Football and it showed with the work he put in. Bret McCormick stepped in and did a really good job! I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought of our local paper though. Here in Rock Hill and anywhere where it's a McClatchey newspaper or online news articles you suffer from generic at best efforts about anything local. About every other day you see articles about U of Non-Compliance in our Rock Hill paper as if somebody cared on a large scale. I know it's due to budget cuts and news editors are looking for articles they can just "plug in" that are property of Mcclatchey. You may get 1 H.S. article from 1 area school and that's it. You might get the score or you might not on Saturday mornings edition. This coming from being able to grab a paper or read it online and having a "Box Score" of almost all area games! Huge difference because sometimes in a football game the final score doesn't tell the whole story! The final score tells the most important, yes, but not the whole story!
I have seen linked articles on here or through google searches where other areas aren't having this issue. Count your blessings and consider yourself lucky if you are still getting H.S. sports coverage done well. The crew we have at our local paper seem to have minimal to no interest in it.
Some of you know this term: you might play well enough to GET YOUR NAME IN THE PAPER! It use to be a big deal and still would if it was happening! Is McClatchey from some northeastern state where football is just "blah"? Because down here we are a lot more passionate about H.S. Football than the coverage we are getting! I guess they put in some of the local colleges trying to appease just enough people; because they switch from Clemson, S. Carolina, NCSU and sometimes Wake. The editor is perhaps more into college than he is H.S. therefore they assume everyone in the area is too. WRONG!
Many people are more into H.S. Same reason some people don't like the NFL there are others who don't like college b/c of some of the "under belly" of it. They prefer H.S. where it's a little more pure.
Oh well, I am cancelling my online subscription as I didn't realize Brett had moved on. He moved on for a better opportunity and was replaced with someone with the motor of a snail!

amen preach it brother!

[Onion Rings]

bring back 8 quarter rule and jv/9th on Monday sounds like it will work. If not in SC then where? From reading some papers it looks like the game in Georgia and Alabama are doing fine. Wonder what the difference is

[upstateguy]

This is more a general commentary on the state of high school athletics than it is just football.

I believe we are starting to see some trickle down from the college ranks specifically in regards to the whole notion of "my time is now". More parents and kids are looking for the "golden ticket" as it were to either a.) star quickly or b.) be part of an already existing successful program. This certainly makes it difficult in certain districts to build contenders. Not impossible necessarily but definitely an uphill battle.

The WWW has definitely made it so that parents and kids can be more informed. That is not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time it gives parents and kids a false reality in some cases. Too many highlight films on youtube of the kid winning and not enough videos of the hours of work it took to be great enough to have a highlight video.Too often we focus on the baby and not the labor.

Coaching has become a side hustle in some instances. There was a time 40-50 years ago where if you as a male teacher couldn't coach a sport or two you were not going to get a teaching job. Even PE jobs that were once strictly aligned with coaching duties have begun to be filled by non-coaches. The irony here is that PE has become a critical needs area in SC. Just like Math, Science, SPED and Foreign Language.

Overall remember that the teaching / education profession is always under attack making it less and less attractive. I told my father who taught for 41 years that I and other classmates of mine went into education because they (my dad and his fellow teachers) made it look fun. It truly appeared that they were having a good time doing what they were doing. Coaching as well. All too often now I do not see myself or my colleagues giving off that same vibe.

I had a discussion with a fellow veteran bball coach not too long ago (few weeks ago) about the demise not of high school football but high school athletics in general. Our assertion is that in probably 10-15 years (15 may be too generous tbh) you'll see the complete take over of the interscholastic athletic experience by outside resources. At first it'll just be your top tier kids choosing to play club over high school which will still result in high school competition but a watered down version of it. At that point you'll see high school's begin to make financial decisions about whether to offer sports period and well there you have it.

This is all moving in the direction of privatizing education along with turning high school sports into a more European / Asian model where sports teams are not tied to the school the child attends but are exclusively club oriented.

[Penguin]

This is more a general commentary on the state of high school athletics than it is just football.

I believe we are starting to see some trickle down from the college ranks specifically in regards to the whole notion of "my time is now". More parents and kids are looking for the "golden ticket" as it were to either a.) star quickly or b.) be part of an already existing successful program. This certainly makes it difficult in certain districts to build contenders. Not impossible necessarily but definitely an uphill battle.

The WWW has definitely made it so that parents and kids can be more informed. That is not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time it gives parents and kids a false reality in some cases. Too many highlight films on youtube of the kid winning and not enough videos of the hours of work it took to be great enough to have a highlight video.Too often we focus on the baby and not the labor.

Coaching has become a side hustle in some instances. There was a time 40-50 years ago where if you as a male teacher couldn't coach a sport or two you were not going to get a teaching job. Even PE jobs that were once strictly aligned with coaching duties have begun to be filled by non-coaches. The irony here is that PE has become a critical needs area in SC. Just like Math, Science, SPED and Foreign Language.

Overall remember that the teaching / education profession is always under attack making it less and less attractive. I told my father who taught for 41 years that I and other classmates of mine went into education because they (my dad and his fellow teachers) made it look fun. It truly appeared that they were having a good time doing what they were doing. Coaching as well. All too often now I do not see myself or my colleagues giving off that same vibe.

I had a discussion with a fellow veteran bball coach not too long ago (few weeks ago) about the demise not of high school football but high school athletics in general. Our assertion is that in probably 10-15 years (15 may be too generous tbh) you'll see the complete take over of the interscholastic athletic experience by outside resources. At first it'll just be your top tier kids choosing to play club over high school which will still result in high school competition but a watered down version of it. At that point you'll see high school's begin to make financial decisions about whether to offer sports period and well there you have it.

This is all moving in the direction of privatizing education along with turning high school sports into a more European / Asian model where sports teams are not tied to the school the child attends but are exclusively club oriented.

I like this viewpoint.......so much in fact that I said practically the same thing way back in this thread. Local School Boards are bowing to parental pressure to put academics back to the forefront and put athletics back into their proper place. Kids today need that college degree more than ever and the days of High Schools being NFL and NBA player factories are ending. When the money for the athletic departments dwindle, so does the on field and on court product. Again, great viewpoint.