Nelson county leaving Dogwood, not eligible for playoffs.

[AdvocateOfMany434]

Read this article today. I think this is a good move for them. Many coaches wont humble themselves so they can build a solid program. They are coming out of Dogwood that will prevent them from playoffs even if they are 10-0 next season. I applaud the new coaching staff and AD (whom i know personally, Appomattox product) for this move. Maybe some of the kids will stay in Nelson county and not attend Amherst (oops, did i say that? Thats coming from a coach that knows where kids live in Nelson). Nelson have not been relevant for 15-20 years. Somebody in that community has to step up and start a youth league program. These kids end up playing for Amherst youth league. It starts there. Somebody has to step up in that community. Thoughts?
http://www.newsadvance.com/sports/h...cle_08d53d66-fa5e-5ced-ab84-6205c1d68f3c.html

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

The youth program is alive again and playing in the Augusta County QB club league. Big things from humble beginnings. It is my understanding the gentleman put a good bit of his own money into starting this back up. Not a large group of "Senior" players but the other two divisions had a very good turnout. Great group to deal with and they are at least giving these youngsters an opportunity some wouldn't have otherwise. Not sure what anyone's take on the Spartan program is but it decimated some of the leagues around Charlottesville. Great coaching and very interested individuals but at some point they are gonna play with the "rec" kids so I personally think it's a joke.

 

[Lineheart]

Read this article today. I think this is a good move for them. Many coaches wont humble themselves so they can build a solid program. They are coming out of Dogwood that will prevent them from playoffs even if they are 10-0 next season. I applaud the new coaching staff and AD (whom i know personally, Appomattox product) for this move. Maybe some of the kids will stay in Nelson county and not attend Amherst (oops, did i say that? Thats coming from a coach that knows where kids live in Nelson). Nelson have not been relevant for 15-20 years. Somebody in that community has to step up and start a youth league program. These kids end up playing for Amherst youth league. It starts there. Somebody has to step up in that community. Thoughts?
http://www.newsadvance.com/sports/h...cle_08d53d66-fa5e-5ced-ab84-6205c1d68f3c.html

Maybe the AD should've told you that they got a youth program.I talked to Youth director about 2 months ago and its a uphill battle with the support from NC(I said that not him).6 of their best players on J.V I personally coach and they have a good bunch.

 

[AdvocateOfMany434]

Maybe the AD should've told you that they got a youth program.I talked to Youth director about 2 months ago and its a uphill battle with the support from NC(I said that not him).6 of their best players on J.V I personally coach and they have a good bunch.

I saw the AD today and spoke to him at the JV game. I didnt have a convo with him due to the volleyball game in appomattox going on (they are 18-1) and I wanted to check that out after the game. Im glad to hear the youth program is up and going!!! Appo JV put it on them tonight 57-8 though. I think the coach left the dogs in a bit too long, but it is what it is. I wasnt in agreement. I watched the game and there is some talent on JV. #2 #11 and #6 showed some promise. I was amazed at the size of the JV players on the OL. They should turn that program around soon.

 

[Gunz41]

The youth program is alive again and playing in the Augusta County QB club league. Big things from humble beginnings. It is my understanding the gentleman put a good bit of his own money into starting this back up. Not a large group of "Senior" players but the other two divisions had a very good turnout. Great group to deal with and they are at least giving these youngsters an opportunity some wouldn't have otherwise. Not sure what anyone's take on the Spartan program is but it decimated some of the leagues around Charlottesville. Great coaching and very interested individuals but at some point they are gonna play with the "rec" kids so I personally think it's a joke.

Yes the guy that started their little league program over at Nelson did ALOT of work and most of the other leagues did things to help them out as well. And from my understanding the new coach is 1000% behind them and helped them out a lot as well. And as for the Spartans, I know a lot about the goings on with them and why the Augusta Spartans came to be, and I completely agree with you

 

[HS-SportsFan]

There are a lot of really bad teams around the state that should do exactly what Nelson is doing. The Bull Run District has Rapp County which doesn't play a district schedule. Many more teams should do the same. No reason why teams like this should be playing solid teams which always end in blowouts, let them play lesser competition or private schools. Benefit to us fans would be that the better teams would have fewer of these bad teams to schedule and thus have to schedule solid teams for their games.

 

[newleather]

I was talking to a Nelson coach (different sport) a while back, and he was hoping for a district change at that time. His contention was that the school is logistically challenged. For district games the closest school they play is Appomattox at roughly one hour away. Dan River is the farthest at well over 2 hrs. This move seems to stem from a competition viewpoint, but his argument has validity. Obviously, the varsity football team plays Friday nights, but for the other sports and the junior squads they have some late nights. They are not the only team to have this challenge. But, I just found it worth noting

 

[topfan]

I've coached for several schools throughout VA for 30+ years and all schools / sports are different. What's important at one school is an afterthought at others. Football is the toughest sell at small schools because of the sheer lack of overall numbers in the school, plus Nelson Co. Is a spreadout county. Nelson doesn't really have one major area where they draw from. The size of numbers to draw from helps your chances of having more talented athletes out there and it helps if they live near the school as a whole.

In basketball you can have 1-2 very good players and you can be competitive every night. In baseball you can have 1 very good pitcher and you can be competitive in the games in which he pitches. In softball, it is all about having that 1 pitcher. In football you can have the best athlete on the field every night, but if you can't block or tackle as a team the other team can scheme to stop that one great player. The great player can put you over the top

 

[Lineheart]

I saw the AD today and spoke to him at the JV game. I didnt have a convo with him due to the volleyball game in appomattox going on (they are 18-1) and I wanted to check that out after the game. Im glad to hear the youth program is up and going!!! Appo JV put it on them tonight 57-8 though. I think the coach left the dogs in a bit too long, but it is what it is. I wasnt in agreement. I watched the game and there is some talent on JV. #2 #11 and #6 showed some promise. I was amazed at the size of the JV players on the OL. They should turn that program around soon.

Nelson was part of the Central Virginia Youth League with Appo,Rustburg,Brookville,Concord,Amherst(2 teams),AltaVista and William Campbell.For some reason they scratch their youth program and thought they would be fine without one.I believe Brookville sold Nelson their old uniforms and equipment to the youth program this year.Those kids on J.V don't have a chance cause they never played football before.

 

[AppoCrazy]

I hope Nelson makes a great comeback someday. As everyone has stated there are many reasons for the drop...No youth league is a very big one. In being totally honest it really falls on the community as not caring or being indifferent towards football(many of the same people who are diehard about going to Blacksburg or Charlottesville for college games need to invest in their hometown first)) . There are however many great things going on in Nelson; the Band, Soccer, FFA ,Drama Team, Volleyball and past years Basketball...Football just fell by the wayside and nobody cared. It has to start with a group of individuals championing the youth sport and providing experienced players to the schools. It is then up to the schools to make good hires and provide the resources to the team. Again the community has to push to make this happen unless Nelson is fortunate to have the right people in the school system that can control the finances, hiring and has the knowledge of the game and how to determine who is a qualified coach. Many people want the label but either lack the knowledge, experience, work ethic or a combination of the above. For instance the Appo. Head Coach and select staff spend all Friday night grading every play/player from that nights game. They then begin breaking down film on Saturday for the next game. On Mondays each player gets his grades on his last game's performance.We all can name schools(Appo included) who throughout the years have and have had great athletes only to see them wasted by having unqualified/unmotivated coaches. This doesn't mean you should win a championship every year but good coaches will have competitive teams most years. At the end of the day the Nelson community will either step up and embrace a youth football program and invest in the school teams or they will continue to flounder and eventually discontinue it.

 

[AdvocateOfMany434]

Nelson was part of the Central Virginia Youth League with Appo,Rustburg,Brookville,Concord,Amherst(2 teams),AltaVista and William Campbell.For some reason they scratch their youth program and thought they would be fine without one.I believe Brookville sold Nelson their old uniforms and equipment to the youth program this year.Those kids on J.V don't have a chance cause they never played football before.

sad because there is some talent on that team. hopefully when the youth league teams get to high school. Nelson will be competitive again.

 

[gtownfencecrew]

Nelson pitched the idea to the VHSL to join the Shenandoah district. Still some long drives to Luray, Page, East Rock, and Stonewall, but they would have been able to make it to Wilson, Draft, Gap, Riverheads, and Lee in about an hour. VHSL denied that move.

 

[Lineheart]

Nelson pitched the idea to the VHSL to join the Shenandoah district. Still some long drives to Luray, Page, East Rock, and Stonewall, but they would have been able to make it to Wilson, Draft, Gap, Riverheads, and Lee in about an hour. VHSL denied that move.

sad because there is some talent on that team. hopefully when the youth league teams get to high school. Nelson will be competitive again.

I think the last really good kid came out of Nelson County was my cousin B.J Cabell,who played at UVA.

 

[RedPrideNation_RollPride]

I think RE Lee coming into that district may have impacted that also. That would have made for a ten team district so that would have led to scheduling wars as I would imagine some teams would likely want to still have 3 out of district games. Just my two cents

 

[GilesRules06]

Now living in Knoxville after being from Giles, the school where my kids go (not in Knox) is terrible in football. In the '15 season they scored 2 TDs and gave up an average of nearly 70 ppg. The coach of that team quit in the middle of spring practice. It took awhile to get a new coach, who was inexperienced. For whatever reason he was dismissed a few days before the season started, too late to find a replacement. The school cobbled together a patchwork staff, just to field a team.

The kids playing are small and inexperienced.Most suffered concussions last season, putting the season in jeopardy week to week. Despite the odds, the '16 team is improved, just not by a whole lot.

As you may know, Giles is a small school in a rural setting, but with a strong feeder system and absolutely great fans who follow the team wherever. The TN team was told that if they dropped out of the district, they'd have to drop out for basketball too. An appeal is set in about 3 weeks. Most of the other sports are good to very good.

It starts with a strong coach, community involvement and the guts to stick thru the lean years. Good luck to Nelson Co and other schools which are not there yet.

 

[Captain Cavman]

Any idea if they have a full schedule or if they are still looking for games?

 

[AdvocateOfMany434]

Any idea if they have a full schedule or if they are still looking for games?

I would contact AD Kevin Walker. He is a great guy. Appomattox product that went to VT for track. He actually was the QB of Appomattox in early mid 90s.

Now living in Knoxville after being from Giles, the school where my kids go (not in Knox) is terrible in football. In the '15 season they scored 2 TDs and gave up an average of nearly 70 ppg. The coach of that team quit in the middle of spring practice. It took awhile to get a new coach, who was inexperienced. For whatever reason he was dismissed a few days before the season started, too late to find a replacement. The school cobbled together a patchwork staff, just to field a team.

The kids playing are small and inexperienced.Most suffered concussions last season, putting the season in jeopardy week to week. Despite the odds, the '16 team is improved, just not by a whole lot.

As you may know, Giles is a small school in a rural setting, but with a strong feeder system and absolutely great fans who follow the team wherever. The TN team was told that if they dropped out of the district, they'd have to drop out for basketball too. An appeal is set in about 3 weeks. Most of the other sports are good to very good.

It starts with a strong coach, community involvement and the guts to stick thru the lean years. Good luck to Nelson Co and other schools which are not there yet.

It amazes me year after year how Giles puts a good football team on the field with a student population of 400 or so. I have a lot of respect for the community there to get behind that team year after year (minus Train Horn Guy). I hope to see yall in Appomattox in the playoffs. That community is like something you see on a football movie or TV show. Great atmosphere there for football. You are right! starts with coach and a great feeder program (which includes youth sports).

 

[Marshall-Dillon]

Nelson pitched the idea to the VHSL to join the Shenandoah district. Still some long drives to Luray, Page, East Rock, and Stonewall, but they would have been able to make it to Wilson, Draft, Gap, Riverheads, and Lee in about an hour. VHSL denied that move.

From my understanding, it was the Shenandoah District (ADs and Principals) who nixed the request, or did at the request of the District. They also "probed" the Bull Run but were told to not waste their time. Didn't Altavista do the same thing a while back?

 

[HS-SportsFan]

No way the Bull Run would want Nelson County, it's bad enough with William Monroe and the travel time to and from that school for the northern schools in the Bull Run, such as Clarke and George Mason. Those trips are close to 3 hours on the buses for the kids. Adding Nelson would make it even worse.

 

[Marshall-Dillon]

Did you not read that I said they were told to not waste their time? I do not think it ever reached the serious inquiry stage anyway. The Bull Run already has Rappahannock County -- that is more than enough. William Monroe will not be in the BRD next cycle. They are going to the Northwest (I think that is the name).

 

[HS-SportsFan]

I read what you wrote Marshall, I was only emphasizing on what you had written. It's an open forum blog, so be open to what others write.

And it's the Northwestern District.