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Any initial thoughts on the new alignments for the 2016-2017 season?
While it will water down the state titles, in the end that kid is a state champion a reward for his hard work and effort. No one is hurt and no one less of an athlete. I think it will help our sport grow. Just my two cents.
Thank you Jimmy! Good to see you are still involved.If adding 1 more state champ helps our state, why not add 2 or 3 more. Imagine what that would do if adding 1 more helps.
I just think it diminishes what a state champion is. We might as well become Upward Wrestling and give everyone a trophy.
I understand the reasoning those in favor of adding 1 more are stating. Coaches also get to brag more because now they have a chance at another state champ. But I do not see this growing our sport.
These kids should be facing each other, best against best. If anything we should be consolidating to only 2 state champs. IMO.
Amen JerseyFresh, one individual tournament with 6 places awarded is all our small state needs. Only one kid per weight needs to be a champion of a state - isn't that what "State Champion" implies?5 divisions is nonsense, lets all be honest. 1 State title is all you need. Not everyone needs to win a state title.
Personally I think there needs to be a team champion for every division. a 1A school just can't compete with a 4A school for several reasons but primarily lack of enrollment which limits the potential pool of prospective athletes.Then do it for all sports
Two reasons. Its not difficult to figure out. 1) Football drives our state. Football A.D.'s made this decision. The HSL didn't consider wrestling or Girls Tennis when doing this. Football is king because they generate a lot of money.....2) Economics. More state titiles = more ticket purchases, sales, etc.
I've always wondered if football generating a lot of money at the SC high school level is perception rather than reality, WinFew. I would love to see the actual revenue to output numbers for SC schools. Seems to me, at least around where I live, they spend a great deal of money equipping the 80+ athletes on a football team, but I often see stadiums that are filled to half capacity at best.
I'm not saying wrestling generates money - I am not delusional - but let's remember high school athletics is not about making money, it is about giving students the opportunity to participate. Don't confuse high school sports with the twisted, perverse world of college athletics.
Besides, I think the SCHSL would save money with one individual tournament - think of all the cheaply produced medals they would save.
What is more troubling and misunderstood than anything where football is concerned is the false belief that because football brings in so much money, the coaches and their staff are paid so much more. What most people do not realize is that in most districts, ticket sales do not supplement coaches salaries. They are a budgeted item paid for by tax dollars....by people like you and me. The money taken in at the gate is often times used to supplement equipment for non-revenue sports, but certainly not to the extent of the cost of running a football program.
What is an even greater shame, and another little tidbit that most don't realize are the situations where districts have implemented the "pay to play" system. So every athlete pays a set amount to play that year, or in my case it is $100 per sport. Yes, a three sport athlete will pay $300 this year just to participate.
Here's where it gets really crazy.... Scenario....
Cross Country... 100 kids in the program. Total Pay to Play income..$10,000
Football Team...100 kids in the program. Total PTP income...$10,000
Coaches Salaries:
Cross Country..Two Coaches paid a total of $3,000
Football.....10 Coaches paid a total of $68,000.
Wow....looks like someone is getting a hell of a deal with that CC program, or many others like it, such as wrestling, track, swimming, lacrosse, etc...
So where tax dollars are concerned....why is the FB coach so much more financially valuable than the wrestling, track, baseball, softball, or CC coach?
If it were based on ticket sales, then it's a no brainer. But, it's not.
So that age old tired a*** excuse of "FOOTBAW makes all da money", is from a time long ago passed, when they had one bar on the helmets and took salt tablets to cure cramps.
What is more troubling and misunderstood than anything where football is concerned is the false belief that because football brings in so much money, the coaches and their staff are paid so much more. What most people do not realize is that in most districts, ticket sales do not supplement coaches salaries. They are a budgeted item paid for by tax dollars....by people like you and me. The money taken in at the gate is often times used to supplement equipment for non-revenue sports, but certainly not to the extent of the cost of running a football program.
What is an even greater shame, and another little tidbit that most don't realize are the situations where districts have implemented the "pay to play" system. So every athlete pays a set amount to play that year, or in my case it is $100 per sport. Yes, a three sport athlete will pay $300 this year just to participate.
Here's where it gets really crazy.... Scenario....
Cross Country... 100 kids in the program. Total Pay to Play income..$10,000
Football Team...100 kids in the program. Total PTP income...$10,000
Coaches Salaries:
Cross Country..Two Coaches paid a total of $3,000
Football.....10 Coaches paid a total of $68,000.
Wow....looks like someone is getting a hell of a deal with that CC program, or many others like it, such as wrestling, track, swimming, lacrosse, etc...
So where tax dollars are concerned....why is the FB coach so much more financially valuable than the wrestling, track, baseball, softball, or CC coach?
If it were based on ticket sales, then it's a no brainer. But, it's not.
So that age old tired a*** excuse of "FOOTBAW makes all da money", is from a time long ago passed, when they had one bar on the helmets and took salt tablets to cure cramps.
JYMF, two thumbs and both my big toes up! What do you think about districts that hire a head football coach to also be an athletic director so that they can pay him $106,000 a year? Conflict of interest? Or just a blatant disregard for all other sports?
So, How many kids go to college for football vs Basketball, baseball and the other sports. If more kids have the opportunity to go to college on football than any other sport, would we not invest more into that sport with higher coaches salaries and such. Just food for thought.
Actually the "work in the summer" is a bunch of BS. I have done research on this and presented to my school admin and district. The average length of season from opening practice to end of regular season is 14 weeks across the board. There may be a 1 week variance here and there. But if a coach chooses to spend his summer in the weight room or practice field, that's his business and not the responsibility of the taxpayer. Pay rates should be based on length of season, general participation numbers ( CC works with 100 kids and gets paid $1500 while girls basketball works with 13 kids and gets paid $6,000) ( Asst. FB works with 25 kids and gets paid $7,000...wrestling works with 50 and gets paid $2,000). Other considerations...experience, employment in the district ( 23 year old BB coach gets $6,000 while 26 year veteran baseball coach gets $2,000)In our district they justify football getting more because they work summer time (like other sports don't work in the summer time)!!! Actually heard way back in the 90s, Tim Whipple (Irmo Basketball Coach) did a study on amount of hours he worked vs Football and he was rewarded a pay raise so all our district basketball coaches got the same raise. So basketball gets more then wrestling and other "minor" sports. With it being open season almost year round now a days, you would think pay raises for all coaches should be there as well. We spend way more hours then we use to because kids are specializing more and the demand of running a program now requires year round attention.
Preachin to the choir brother. About ten years ago, I served on a committee to hire a coach of a non-revenue sport. We interviewed one person and she was given the coaching AND teaching job before she left the building.To your point jymf,
I have interviewed numerous times for Head football and wrestling jobs. Never had a committee interview me for a wrestling job but have sat in front of anywhere from 5 to 15 people at football interviews. How about those tax dollars being wasted on the football hire? Plus, there is usually more than one round. Anybody ever require a "2nd" interview to get a wrestling job? For that matter, anybody ever have multiple interviews and large committees to get a teaching job? Isn't that what most of us are employed to do first and foremost anyway?
TBowe
Considering some of these FB positions in my immediate area, $60,000 is low, although in the overall scheme of things; not a bad gig for coaching high school football.JYMF might just have become my favorite poster, after myself of course. Very well said.
Win2 or less, how many kids at your school have actually gotten a football scholarship over the years compared to the total number who have played? Doesn't really matter as JYMF explained.
Kimrey03, I had always heard from a prominent coach who I assisted that wrestling coaches were NOT paid for work during the Christmas holidays - that is why their supplements are low. Not sure if this is true or not, but as we all know, wrestling coaches put in a great deal of time over the holiday break.
I would also point out that it is much easier to get a position in football than it is in wrestling as has been pointed out. And this isn't just because football programs have soooooooo many coaches (a wrestling program should feel fortunate to have 3 supplements). Let's look at Union High. Their coach is a former quarterback for USC. I do not believe he has an education degree and am not sure that he even has a Bachelors, but Union created a position for him. I believe he makes in the neighborhood of $60k a year. No chance a school would create a position for a wrestling coach paying a 1/4 of that....