Appomattox vs Staunton River
- Thread starter moto138
- Start date
No, they are around smith mountain lake area in Bedford county
Someone more familiar would have to give details. I just seen a fairly successful coach not there and the replacement not there after just a few games at the start of the season. This was either last year or the year before but it’s been a struggle to get back on track. Not sure enough of particulars to comment any further. The 3A board has some information if you want to search.
The successful coach retired, and some on the 3a board accused him of not being genuine about his reasoning to stop coaching, saying that the reason was that he knew his talent was graduating.
Previous coach retired after 2017 season when all the talent graduated. OC got the job with hopes of continued success. After starting 0-2 in 2018, spineless principal and inept AD decided it was in their best interest to let a handful of parents call the shots and fired the new coach and the defensive coordinator. Program has been in free fall ever since. Single-wing offense was scrapped and "Fear the Wing" slogan abandoned. Visionless administration has done irreparable damage to the program. Those types of decisions ripple for years and years. Sad.
I have no intention with this post to denigrate or embarrass any of the Staunton River faithful, especially the few who have frequented this forum in the past. However, perhaps a little historical perspective will help. If one looks at SR’s football program from its beginnings, those three years as a “powerhouse” are a total aberration. The program started in 1964. Go look at the Golden Eagles’ history on fourseasonsfootball.com. You’ll see a lot of 0-10 seasons, and a lot of ‘Ls’ strung together, from the very beginning to the present day. Basically, SR football has always been in a perpetual state of free fall. The program’s all time win-loss percentage is .299. In light of that knowledge, the fact that those stellar teams of 2015 to 2017 managed to post a collective record of 34-8 (.810) seems nothing short of miraculous. Remove those three seasons, and SR’s all time win-loss percentage drops to .259. Put succinctly - and I don’t think this is unduly harsh or unkind - 2015 to 2017 was a total fluke for Staunton River football.
Which is not at all to say that the teams of those three seasons weren’t that great, or didn’t earn those wins. I’m not saying or implying that in the least. I’m just intrigued by how it even happened at all. I see something of a parallel with Christiansburg. C’burg is a similar size school, with somewhat similar demographics, though probably more suburban in nature than Staunton River. C’burg’s overall football record, though better than SR’s, is a below-average one; the Blue Demons have won forty-five percent of all the games they’ve played. And yet, for the four seasons of 2009 to 2012, the program soared to a collective record of 42-12 (.778), and - just like SR - finished as state runner-up one year. In Division 4 no less, narrowly losing to one of those great Briar Woods teams.
So - how is it that a football program whose past has been almost nothing but one deep valley suddenly experiences a dizzying peak for a few seasons - and then flatlines again? In both Christiansburg’s and Staunton River’s case, I think this phenomenon can be attributed to the school getting an unprecedented influx of athletic talent. Both schools have had great athletes come through at certain times in the past, of course. But each of them, for whatever reasons, experienced a two- to three-year flow of high-level talent that is extremely rare for schools of their size, in their locations. However it occurred, C’burg from ‘09 to ‘12, and SR from ‘15 to ‘17, had as many college-level players suit up in those short time spans as they would ordinarily see over fifteen to twenty years. And groups at both schools were centered around a transcendent, D1 quality-talent: Grayson Overstreet at SR, and Brendan Motley at C’burg. Good quality coaching was obviously involved, and served as a key component to the Blue Demons’ and Golden Eagles’ unprecedented success during their respective runs of glory. However, IMHO, the primary reason for those great years had to have been a never-before (or since) seen collection of talent that must have made those coaches giddy.
I just find it an interesting study, and I’m sure we could find other examples of teams experiencing “brief success from nowhere” sprinkled throughout the annals of Virginia high school football. Anyway, I do wish Staunton River football and its faithful well, and hope the Golden Eagles can soon find their way back to that rarefied air.
Which is not at all to say that the teams of those three seasons weren’t that great, or didn’t earn those wins. I’m not saying or implying that in the least. I’m just intrigued by how it even happened at all. I see something of a parallel with Christiansburg. C’burg is a similar size school, with somewhat similar demographics, though probably more suburban in nature than Staunton River. C’burg’s overall football record, though better than SR’s, is a below-average one; the Blue Demons have won forty-five percent of all the games they’ve played. And yet, for the four seasons of 2009 to 2012, the program soared to a collective record of 42-12 (.778), and - just like SR - finished as state runner-up one year. In Division 4 no less, narrowly losing to one of those great Briar Woods teams.
So - how is it that a football program whose past has been almost nothing but one deep valley suddenly experiences a dizzying peak for a few seasons - and then flatlines again? In both Christiansburg’s and Staunton River’s case, I think this phenomenon can be attributed to the school getting an unprecedented influx of athletic talent. Both schools have had great athletes come through at certain times in the past, of course. But each of them, for whatever reasons, experienced a two- to three-year flow of high-level talent that is extremely rare for schools of their size, in their locations. However it occurred, C’burg from ‘09 to ‘12, and SR from ‘15 to ‘17, had as many college-level players suit up in those short time spans as they would ordinarily see over fifteen to twenty years. And groups at both schools were centered around a transcendent, D1 quality-talent: Grayson Overstreet at SR, and Brendan Motley at C’burg. Good quality coaching was obviously involved, and served as a key component to the Blue Demons’ and Golden Eagles’ unprecedented success during their respective runs of glory. However, IMHO, the primary reason for those great years had to have been a never-before (or since) seen collection of talent that must have made those coaches giddy.
I just find it an interesting study, and I’m sure we could find other examples of teams experiencing “brief success from nowhere” sprinkled throughout the annals of Virginia high school football. Anyway, I do wish Staunton River football and its faithful well, and hope the Golden Eagles can soon find their way back to that rarefied air.
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It had more to do with a good talented group of kids graduating.
Absolutely had a part in it, that’s why I said someone more familiar would have more details. I just know from 1.5 hours away they had a pretty good run there for a few years, nothing more and nothing less.
All the more reason to retain those who helped get them to that level of play! Whether that level of success is or isn't possible every year, they had guys there who were alumni and wanted to be there for the long haul. Even if they have traditionally been bad, scrapping the identity and mantra that helped them succeed when they had better talent isn't going to make things better. It takes years for a transition to a new system to take root. Combining that with lesser talent definitely makes it harder to be successful. That handful of parents is no doubt seeing that their strongarm of the principal has not paid off.
Those parents who ran over the principal where not interested in the program but only if there kids where getting to play.
They don’t care if the program is successful as long as there sons are playing.
These parents had problems with previous coaches because those actually expected the kids to come to practice everyday. Principal supported parents in the fact that the principal wasn’t concerned if kids miss practice.
This was also a problem with some assistant coaches who didn’t believe the coaches should have to come to every practice & meetings to prepare for games.
They don’t care if the program is successful as long as there sons are playing.
These parents had problems with previous coaches because those actually expected the kids to come to practice everyday. Principal supported parents in the fact that the principal wasn’t concerned if kids miss practice.
This was also a problem with some assistant coaches who didn’t believe the coaches should have to come to every practice & meetings to prepare for games.
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