How and why has Pulaski County sports fallen so far?

[Amgis]

First of all, congrats to Blacksburg on winning the Wells Fargo cup after moving from Class 3 to Class 4.
Note Pulaski County's standing in Class 4, #46 out of 52 schools. My question is this, how can the county produce a better showing on the court and on the field across ALL sports?

There is available talent in the county, how can it best be utilized? How did the county fall this far?

I ask because I would like to see the county do better.

Blacksburg, Auburn claim VHSL Wells Fargo Cup championships

 

[DinwiddieProud]

I don't know the situation in Pulaski, but it is essential to have a Superintendent and administration that values the contribution that athletics plays in the educational experience.

Not, "win at all cost", nor "athletics are unimportant", but somewhere about middle way.

Administrative apathy may not be the primary problem in Pulaski, but I would be willing to bet that it is a significant factor.

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Good thread topic @Amgis. I’m interested as well.

 

[catchtds]

I don't know the situation in Pulaski, but it is essential to have a Superintendent and administration that values the contribution that athletics plays in the educational experience.

Not, "win at all cost", nor "athletics are unimportant", but somewhere about middle way.

Administrative apathy may not be the primary problem in Pulaski, but I would be willing to bet that it is a significant factor.

Great post, most don't understand how big of a factor support from superintendent all the way down, plays a huge role in high school athletics.

 

[greyfox60]

I know a lot of Pulaski fans that would like the answer to that! I being one of them.

 

[Amgis]

Before all of the regional realignment, Robert Anderson of the Roanoke Times wrote an article and in it he was touting the strength of the River Ridge district. He noted that all of the teams with the exception of one had won a state title within a ten year timeframe. The lone exception being Pulaski County.
Blacksburg has won a state title in something every year for the past five years. Salem seems to win a state title at least once every three years. Hidden Valley, Christiansburg, Cave Spring, I could go on and on. Pulaski County should at least win a district title in a sport but we have not delivered. The track team has been a bright spot the past few years but that has not spread to other sports.

I’m not here to bash any particular coach or administrator, I just want to know what the other schools are doing so that we can emulate it and bring some semblance of success back to the county.

 

[tommythecpa]

Pulaski has seen a loss of jobs and people moving out. It is a large county with mountains which does not help. PC became a AAA school in 1974 when one hs school was built for the whole county with great athletic facilities.

 

[19GHS87]

I think community support is huge for athletics.

 

[wikki]

I think community support is huge for athletics.

Me too, I’ve always said that

 

[86CulpGrad]

Not sure of the situation there, but even if the Super isn't 100% behind all sports, you should still be able to be successful if you have good coaches. I'm assuming at some point recently your school finished higher in the cup standings? What has changed since then in the system? In my mind coaching is the key. If the kids like/love the coach, the team will be successful.

 

[60 minute man]

I may be wrong, but I think PC has only one state title in any sport in the schools history. Considering the success of numerous schools in counties bordering Pulaski, I don't think it's a job loss or economics issue. Administration, Coaching, or poor feeder programs through rec departments, or a combination of all.

 

[Scagmowers]

I may be wrong, but I think PC has only one state title in any sport in the schools history. Considering the success of numerous schools in counties bordering Pulaski, I don't think it's a job loss or economics issue. Administration, Coaching, or poor feeder programs through rec departments, or a combination of all.

It's a big county with only one high school. Carroll County is very similar and right next door and has only one state title in all sports. It seems the most successful are in a compacted area (city schools)

 

[VolNation85]

I agree with @86CulpGrad. Coaching is the most important piece to the puzzle. I know EC Glass doesn’t have much support from administration yet they seem to be very successful in all sports expect softball and girls basketball. They have won at least one state championship in a sport every year since 2012 including 3 just this school year (girls indoor/outdoor track and boys Lax). The second most important piece is $$$! “If you build it, they will come.”

 

[bulldog1150]

It's a big county with only one high school. Carroll County is very similar and right next door and has only one state title in all sports. It seems the most successful are in a compacted area (city schools)

Great point. It is hard to get kids to and from practice when the student body is spread over large geographic area. I would think that this might negatively impact participation, even down to the youth leagues. It's awful hard for a kid who doesn't drive to get to practice or offseason conditioning when they live 25 miles from the school. At the very least, it creates a challenge for the coaches and players.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

Again, I can't even begin to judge Pulaski, but I have a strong opinion about what is needed to improve, (and sustain), county high school athletics.

Yes, it is essential to have good coaches. But hiring good coaches starts with an administration that values athletics.

There is a, (single high school, large county), that I know of personally that under-archives in overall athletics continuously. The reason is very obvious to everyone on the outside looking in. Politics. They don't make an effort to identify and hire a coach that has a plan and a vision to improve athletics. They are stuck on hiring buddies, and friends of buddies that mostly have their own self interest in their forefront.

Again, this may not be remotely what is going on in Pulaski, but it is nearly impossible to have any widespread success in athletics without leadership at the top that embraces the value of athletics in the overall scheme of educating our kids.

VolNation, you are right, money is a key ingredient. But, whenever the community gets behind an idea, the money usually follows. And I'm not talking about donations. When elected and administrative officials see the community seriously clambering for something, they usually come around, and then come up with appropriate funding.

Bulldog, I hear you. But Dinwiddie is 507 square miles, and a single high school county. I cannot recall a coach ever complaining that kids won't participate in athletics because they can't get to or from practice. I just don't know if I can buy into that as a reason. I'll admit, the hilly, mountainous nature of Pulaski is not as easy to traverse as our mostly flatland, but is it a big enough hinderence to make it a serious deterrent?

 

[wikki]

Again, I can't even begin to judge Pulaski, but I have a strong opinion about what is needed to improve, (and sustain), county high school athletics.

Yes, it is essential to have good coaches. But hiring good coaches starts with an administration that values athletics.

There is a, (single high school, large county), that I know of personally that under-archives in overall athletics continuously. The reason is very obvious to everyone on the outside looking in. Politics. They don't make an effort to identify and hire a coach that has a plan and a vision to improve athletics. They are stuck on hiring buddies, and friends of buddies that mostly have their own self interest in their forefront.

Again, this may not be remotely what is going on in Pulaski, but it is nearly impossible to have any widespread success in athletics without leadership at the top that embraces the value of athletics in the overall scheme of educating our kids.

VolNation, you are right, money is a key ingredient. But, whenever the community gets behind an idea, the money usually follows. And I'm not talking about donations. When elected and administrative officials see the community seriously clambering for something, they usually come around, and then come up with appropriate funding.

Bulldog, I hear you. But Dinwiddie is 507 square miles, and a single high school county. I cannot recall a coach ever complaining that kids won't participate in athletics because they can't get to or from practice. I just don't know if I can buy into that as a reason. I'll admit, the hilly, mountainous nature of Pulaski is not as easy to traverse as our mostly flatland, but is it a big enough hinderence to make it a serious deterrent?

So true in all of your statements

 

[DanvilleSportsHead]

Again, I can't even begin to judge Pulaski, but I have a strong opinion about what is needed to improve, (and sustain), county high school athletics.

Yes, it is essential to have good coaches. But hiring good coaches starts with an administration that values athletics.

There is a, (single high school, large county), that I know of personally that under-archives in overall athletics continuously. The reason is very obvious to everyone on the outside looking in. Politics. They don't make an effort to identify and hire a coach that has a plan and a vision to improve athletics. They are stuck on hiring buddies, and friends of buddies that mostly have their own self interest in their forefront.

Again, this may not be remotely what is going on in Pulaski, but it is nearly impossible to have any widespread success in athletics without leadership at the top that embraces the value of athletics in the overall scheme of educating our kids.

VolNation, you are right, money is a key ingredient. But, whenever the community gets behind an idea, the money usually follows. And I'm not talking about donations. When elected and administrative officials see the community seriously clambering for something, they usually come around, and then come up with appropriate funding.

Bulldog, I hear you. But Dinwiddie is 507 square miles, and a single high school county. I cannot recall a coach ever complaining that kids won't participate in athletics because they can't get to or from practice. I just don't know if I can buy into that as a reason. I'll admit, the hilly, mountainous nature of Pulaski is not as easy to traverse as our mostly flatland, but is it a big enough hinderence to make it a serious deterrent?

Great post DP. I don’t know about Pulaski but I know that Halifax has these participantion problems. Kids live so far away from school, they just don’t come out for sports.

 

[DinwiddieProud]

I've heard the same explanation of travel distance about Franklin County.

 

[wikki]

I've heard the same explanation of travel distance about Franklin County.

Sad actually. I like it when you have a school that has the administration and community support.

 

[Amgis]

Great point. It is hard to get kids to and from practice when the student body is spread over large geographic area. I would think that this might negatively impact participation, even down to the youth leagues. It's awful hard for a kid who doesn't drive to get to practice or offseason conditioning when they live 25 miles from the school. At the very least, it creates a challenge for the coaches and players.

I really don't know if this is a problem that coaches face at Pulaski County. I can't discount it but I have not heard a coach mention this.

I know that when you drive into Radford City from exit 105, there is a sign up listing all of the state championships won by Radford High. I know that Salem has a similar sign as well. Like @60 minute man said earlier, most of the surrounding schools are successful.
Why can't Pulaski County be successful as well?