Good. Their stadium won’t be able to hold the number of people coming.
Early 4a west rankings. My opinion
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GW has all of their "toughest" games at home this year besides Dinwiddie. Amherst, JF, Glass, Halifax and Magna Vista all have to visit J.T. Christopher Stadium this season. The deck is definitely stacked in the Eagles favor when it comes to travel.
Hopefully the fans come support them. 20 fans for the Dinwiddie game and they had maybe 40 at the Pulaski game last year. Danville fans are bipolar when it comes to cheering for the team.
I agree. I was at the Amherst game this year and it wasn't hardly anyone their. Amherst might have had as many fans as GW.
Yep. If not for the band and the 15 or so bucket brigade members, if you closed your eyes you could invision yourself at the Master's tournament with someone about to tee off.
Are we really talking about attendance at games 120 miles (PC) and 140 miles (Dinwiddie) away for GW? People work and games are at 7 PM these days, do the math here on why Friday rush hour interstate traffic may not be conducive to attending games 2+ hours away on time.
You want to complain about poor attendance if the game is 20 minutes away that's one thing, but cmon, that's just not a reasonable take otherwise.
You want to complain about poor attendance if the game is 20 minutes away that's one thing, but cmon, that's just not a reasonable take otherwise.
I was referring to home game crowd. It was def. more people than 20 to 40 for both Dinwiddie and PC games. Parents do a great job of supporting and cheering, but very little support in general from the community as far as home game attendance.
Yea, that's fair play then. FWIW from what I recall the Salem/GW game in Salem was pretty well packed, I believe.
GW played Pulaski in Danville in the playoffs. Pulaski fans tripled what GW had. The Dinwiddie game I counted 10 people for kickoff and about 10-15 showed up as the game progressed. GW has great parent support but their fan base does not follow them unless it’s a championship game. The Salem game a few years back is a good example. They were 12-0 so there was a lot of support. When the basketball team won state this year GW fans nearly doubled Jefferson Forest and Louisa fans. Basketball games usually sell out, but football is a different story. It’s really sad, and if GW had Salem’s or Franklin County’s community support for football games, I think the program overall would be a lot better.
GW used to have plenty of support at home and on the road just like EC Glass and many others. Times have changed which contributes to current situation. Danville, like other Southside cities, has been affected to some degree by economics. However, the larger part of the problem lies with the Central Administration and the GW administration. They wished to deemphasize football and they did. A series of marginal to bad hires, limited institutional financial commitment and a host of other poor decisions have gutted GW both athletically and academically.
It is no accident that the GW athletic programs are mere shadows of their former selves. The fact boy's basketball and football to a lesser extent still make some competitive noise is a reflection of the athletic talent and the respective booster clubs. There was a time when whatever GW team played you got a solid squad be it track, baseball, etc.. That is no longer the case and evidence of systemic weakness in the Danville Public School System much more than due to poor public support. The declining public support is a reflection of community dissatisfaction with the system.
I don't know....if the public demanded/wanted it, the school system would have to act. I'm assuming they are elected officials.
They are. All is true of what Cutnjump is saying. Harsh reality is most of the black fans want Anderson out. The fans criticize and spread all types of junk. Danville is majority black and the community’s view is the football team is for the white fans and the basketball team is for the black. It’s a backwards way of thinking but it’s reality. After the Pulaski game I thought Anderson was gone. Make no mistake about it I’m black and I love Coach. Not all have these views but a very good number.
I obviously need to clarify. It was not my intention to imply nor do I have a belief on any racial angle to this. My observation was purely in terms of mismanagement and incorrect thinking of the leadership. It also was not about Coach Anderson. He inherited the situation and the die was cast long before his arrival. Anybody knows from a budgetary standpoint that strong football and basketball provides revenue for all school athletic programs and raises community support and buy in. It is not a windfall just an investment in building community support.
Oh I know you wasn’t implying that I was just adding that. Most people are afraid to dive into race relations but it’s a sad and harsh reality in Danville.
I'm not afraid to dive in or address that angle if I feel I have knowledge but, I am not familiar enough to even try to address that part. I will give you an example of recent nature of a red flag. Recently the State Board was invited to review the system to offer recommendations. A prudent and reasonable step when issues exist. Those services are expensive if provided by private contractors so the State is probably a better cost proposition and probably has more familiarity with best practices across the State. However, when the public justification is that it is better to invite the State in because it makes it easier to negotiate as opposed to the observations just provided above it really raises questions, in my opinion, as to what the goals for the project really might be. Are they truly interested in improving the system for the kids or checking some box or meeting some metric that keeps their paycheck coming and might generate a bonus? Also, I have questioned the Administration but, as 86CulpGrad correctly observes the Board and the public, including parents of students also have responsibility to demand accountability and results. Education begins with a strong commitment in the home, something often missing given a lot of family situations today.
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Just to clear the air, I wasn’t calling you out in any way or saying that you afraid of the issues. My wording is bad.
No problem. I did not think that. I just wanted to clarify what I was saying and from what perspective I was saying it.
As for last year you bring up a lot of valid points
There are a few that were worth revisiting
Because of the hurricane many of the GW players
Had no power at their homes for five days or more
The Eagles had to play a tues match up with Magna Vista and a Friday match up with Franklin
County then the Halifax game got moved to Sat afternoon also Halifax had not played prior to the GW game GW was rolling along pretty good before that all hit Danville
There are a few that were worth revisiting
Because of the hurricane many of the GW players
Had no power at their homes for five days or more
The Eagles had to play a tues match up with Magna Vista and a Friday match up with Franklin
County then the Halifax game got moved to Sat afternoon also Halifax had not played prior to the GW game GW was rolling along pretty good before that all hit Danville
Also there were several days during that period of time where GW could not practice they had to get
Special permission from the Superintendent to have those practices also some streets were blocked by fallen trees and some players could not get to practice others the coaches had to go pick them up if you know anything about HS kids they can get distracted very easily and when your first
Concern is your family’s well being which it should be you can understand also the GW locker room
Got flooded and all the equipment had to be moved several players went out of town to stay with relatives because they had no power
Many kids could not charge their cell phone
So they could not call or be reached it was a tough time for Danville
Special permission from the Superintendent to have those practices also some streets were blocked by fallen trees and some players could not get to practice others the coaches had to go pick them up if you know anything about HS kids they can get distracted very easily and when your first
Concern is your family’s well being which it should be you can understand also the GW locker room
Got flooded and all the equipment had to be moved several players went out of town to stay with relatives because they had no power
Many kids could not charge their cell phone
So they could not call or be reached it was a tough time for Danville
The same flooding issues were going on in Halifax County, except for the flooded school basement. I do believe during those hurricanes and flooding that Halifax also missed numerous weeks to flooding and played on short weeks. I think they played Tunstall on a Friday, but had not been in school Monday-Thursday. They also were unable to practice many days and had to get special permission and when they were able to practice, attendance was very sparse due to travel issue for players and players not being able to be reached due to dead phones.
Leading up to the GW game, Halifax played Magna Vista on a Friday, then Franklin Co on Monday and then the GW game that Saturday. Easily the 3 toughest teams in the district last year in a span of 8 days.
Leading up to the GW game, Halifax played Magna Vista on a Friday, then Franklin Co on Monday and then the GW game that Saturday. Easily the 3 toughest teams in the district last year in a span of 8 days.
The reasons Blacksburg was out-yarded by Amherst last week were: (1) a 71-yd Amherst catch-and-run TD late in the game, and yards racked up late against the Bruins’ second and third string defenses late in the game, and (2) Blacksburg had 210 yards in kick-off returns, which meant the offense had short fields much of the night. I’ve learned not to put too much stock in the total yards stat because it can, at times, be misleading.
The GW school administration and central administration support the football program. The central office did try to wreck athletics during the mid 2000s during the aftermath of Dan River closing and the demise of the Danville economy. The lady school superintendent was told to retire. They did screw up Bobby Martin s contract and lost him. Danville got darn lucky to get Nick Anderson. Given the circumstances, best thing that happened to GW since Alger Pugh came to town in 1964.
All facts. Nick Anderson gets a bad rep by the community but he’s a great man. I love him like a father.
All Nick Anderson has done is win, win and win. Yes, the Eagles need to come up with a big signature win in November; but I can give you the name of dozens of super coaches in different sports of all levels who struggled early on in this regard. The intellectually lazy phrase "can't win the big one" has been applied to Dean Smith, John Madden, Tom Landry, Lenny Wilkins, Bobby Bowden, Scotty Bowman, Bobby Cox, and many others.
As someone who has been involved with the program since 1989 I can tell you that the current players' academic and behavioral achievements are as good as ever. And they're still winning.
As someone who has been involved with the program since 1989 I can tell you that the current players' academic and behavioral achievements are as good as ever. And they're still winning.
my poll is based on some inside info i have from a bunch on people that know football.
1. E. C. Glass
2.G. W. Danville
3. Blacksburg
4. Pulaski
5. Jefferson Forest
6. Halifax County
7. Amherst
8. Salem
1. E. C. Glass
2.G. W. Danville
3. Blacksburg
4. Pulaski
5. Jefferson Forest
6. Halifax County
7. Amherst
8. Salem
You must not have read the update from the salem faithful........ lol
You have got to be trolling bro haha no way Halifax and JF are better than Salem. Salem beat Amherst big as well.
Anderson is a ways down the list, if on it at all, related to problems at GW. He is not the problem IMO. I have already cast my vote as to where the primary issues lie. I will offer that another issue is dwindling enrollments and competition. The teams GW faces now both in the Piedmont and OOD are a far cry from GW's days as a perennial playoff contender in AAA and it's successor divisions. It is a substantially lower level of competition and talent quality. You got the tail end from about 1989 to the late 1990's. While GW has had some talent such as David Wilson it has been quite a while since they put a full team on the field comparable to those years and many years before.
not trolling just listening to the doom an gloom i hear from the salem faithful......lol
I will say that Wesley Graves, Willie Edmunds and Shawn Watlington have probably been the most talented guys GW has had since David. No knock on Tim and Clements, who obviously were good enough to play Power 5 football.
Yes, the Piedmont is not that challenging. But there is no way our OOD could be improved.
Remember, we are no longer a large AAA school (to use the old classification system.) A lot of people have not factored that in. The laws of probability and statistics dictate that you are going to have less overall talent once you have a smaller pool from which to draw. From 1970-1997, GW had one of the largest enrollments in all of Virginia; and the talent level and participation numbers reflected that. Then came precipitous enrollment drops, due both to Dan River and other industries phasing out---AND the formation of the Galileo School.
As a result, GW spent 12-15 years competing as a AA against AAA teams. That made for some mediocre records and some righteous ass-whippings when we played a powerful AAA team on the road.
Enrollment-wise, GW is competing exactly where they belong...as a AA team (old term). Geography dictates that we be in the Piedmont District. Yes, that doesn't do us much favors in football, but there is *nothing we can do about that.*
My point is that it is problematic to compare contemporary GW football teams with those of the past. Mostly because we are smaller and are playing at a different level of competition now---commensurate to our enrollment. It took me a while to start thinking of GW as a "medium-sized school" and not a large one. Some have not yet had that epiphany.
You really expect anybody to believe that Galileo had even a minor effect on the football talent at GW? Yes putting kids over at Galileo reduced GW's enrollment numbers but, very doubtful it has a significant, if any, impact on the GW talent. GW's problem is some poor coaching hires and a significant level of talent deciding to play at Dan River with Ferrell Edmunds. You take those DR kids with the existing GW talent and they compete just fine in any classification. The schedule can always be improved if there is a real desire to compete. Again, this is on the leadership in the Danville Public School System.
What is Malik doing now? Such a great kid in the few conversations I had with him!
He was signed by Detroit but something fell through. He was in Danville this summer a lot. I spoke to him and DSH at the Heritage scrimmage and he wasn’t sure what was next for him. If the NFL doesn’t work out then hopefully he can play in the XFL or CFL. He’s probably the nicest dude you’ll ever meet. You’d never know he was a football star.
@cutnjump other than the 3 Edmunds do you think any of the transfers from Dan River would’ve made a difference? I can only of Dee McMoore and Kimoni Fitz. Just a little fun. The 2013 GW football team which was my senior year would’ve looked like:
QB Hunter Byrnes- Davidson
RB Terrell Edmunds- VT/Steelers
WR Malik Clements- Cincinnati
WR Tim Glass- NC State/Liberty
TE Maleak Henderson- NC Central
MLB-Tremaine Edmunds/ VT/Bills
DT Curtis Brooks- Cincinnati
DE Kimoni Fitz- Cincinnati/Bears
CB Donald Smith- Hampton
Its insane how much talent we would’ve had if Ferrell was our coach.
QB Hunter Byrnes- Davidson
RB Terrell Edmunds- VT/Steelers
WR Malik Clements- Cincinnati
WR Tim Glass- NC State/Liberty
TE Maleak Henderson- NC Central
MLB-Tremaine Edmunds/ VT/Bills
DT Curtis Brooks- Cincinnati
DE Kimoni Fitz- Cincinnati/Bears
CB Donald Smith- Hampton
Its insane how much talent we would’ve had if Ferrell was our coach.
5 in 22 is a nice start. Possibly kids at GW that did not play as well. The increase in depth and the inability of opponents to zero in on a reduced number of game breakers all further strengthen the case. Chuck does a tremendous job and has provided a valuable service to the GW kids and their parents. He is correct that I have not had that epiphany or as I prefer to say I am not drinking the kool aid.
