The state of Handley Judges football program

[VerizonSportsFan]

2015 is the 1st team ever to go 0-10.

Unbelievable of the comments I personally heard through out the community about the coaching staff and what they were not doing. I would always reply to those individuals, well if you have so many answers, why don't you go up there and help them?

The James Wood game saw a little glimpse of what is to come as several freshmen were playing.

With the Daniel Morgan Middle School program being re-instituted, hopefully within the next 2-3 years, the Handley Judges varsity program will see the affect of that middle school program.

Some folks most likely did not see it, but there was progression with the Judges this year.

 

[shauntclair]

I've seen some bizarre moves. I know that Chancellor went to starting 8 freshmen 2 years ago. Juniors and Seniors were unhappy. They did very poorly for two seasons but they had Bob Oliver as a Coach and he's a legend. Fans and Admin trusted.......barely. But they now have a dangerous playoff team and an outstanding young QB supported by a Charger Defense that is always aggressive.

Now Handley has a history that makes this season unimaginable because it is unprecedented. The Administration needs to make a decision and it is a long term one. Stay the course with what they think is the right Coach or move forward with a new direction. My experience is to go with young, smart, hungry and let them run. Unfortunately, new hires are almost always done by committee, so therefore almost guaranteed to be wrong. A Giraffe is a horse built by committee.

Let Handley be. Trust the Coach. Let him build a program. Do not "Judge" this group prematurely.

 

[Snookasuperstar]

Alot of truth to this statement. I look at what Fluvanna has done in the past and question our decision by these panels.

 

[schoolboard]

Rule #1. Never listen to parents and fans in the stands. They don't know anything. Football is the worst, but I personally witnessed a parent getting in the face of a coach who had just won back-to-back state championships(and was on the way to a 3-peat) in GIRLS TENNIS. Telling the coach that she didn't know what she was doing. If my young ones ever play high school sports, I will only be allowed to come on Senior Night, because I don't want to be one of the idiots in the stands(high probability)

 

[Reason is Lost]

Parent and fa

Rule #1. Never listen to parents and fans in the stands. They don't know anything. Football is the worst, but I personally witnessed a parent getting in the face of a coach who had just won back-to-back state championships(and was on the way to a 3-peat) in GIRLS TENNIS. Telling the coach that she didn't know what she was doing. If my young ones ever play high school sports, I will only be allowed to come on Senior Night, because I don't want to be one of the idiots in the stands(high probability)

Couldn't agree more... Parents and fans can be awful at times. It's easy to jump in when the talent pool is low. They've had some pretty special teams in the past and I wouldn't be surprised if there were fans who questioned when they were winning. Maybe it's time to change, who knows""

 

[VaPrepsRod]

Parent and fa

Couldn't agree more... Parents and fans can be awful at times. It's easy to jump in when the talent pool is low. They've had some pretty special teams in the past and I wouldn't be surprised if there were fans who questioned when they were winning. Maybe it's time to change, who knows""

I was once at lunch with a multiple-time state championship coach whose team had lost in the state semifinals a few weeks earlier.

Three times during that one hour at lunch, he was approached by people who either asked him "what happened?!?!" or who presented their ideas to him about what they "should have done".

His team was 13-1 that season.

 

[Tom Potter]

2015 is the 1st team ever to go 0-10.

Unbelievable of the comments I personally heard through out the community about the coaching staff and what they were not doing. I would always reply to those individuals, well if you have so many answers, why don't you go up there and help them?

The James Wood game saw a little glimpse of what is to come as several freshmen were playing.

With the Daniel Morgan Middle School program being re-instituted, hopefully within the next 2-3 years, the Handley Judges varsity program will see the affect of that middle school program.

Some folks most likely did not see it, but there was progression with the Judges this year.

What sort of youth football leagues exist in the Winchester area?
Western Loudoun has the ULYFL. This League is responsible for a lot of the success that Loudoun Valley & Woodgrove continue to enjoy. Of course the Head Coach and staff play a huge part in the success of the program.

 

[HS-SportsFan]

Locally to Handley, there is the Winchester/Frederick County Youth Football League and the Clarke County Youth Football League. Both do inter-league play with the Youth Football League in Front Royal. Pretty well structured youth leagues with aggressive scheduling.

 

[Tom Potter]

Locally to Handley, there is the Winchester/Frederick County Youth Football League and the Clarke County Youth Football League. Both do inter-league play with the Youth Football League in Front Royal. Pretty well structured youth leagues with aggressive scheduling.

What about the middle school program?
Is that organized and funded by the school system?
Would the middle school program effect the pay leagues participation numbers?
There is no way LoCo will ever have a middle school football program; Hell the school board threatens to axe Freshman programs every budget cycle!

 

[HS-SportsFan]

Daniel Morgan Middle School, the lone middle school for City of Winchester schools, just restarted their football program this year. They play in a middle school league against teams from the Frederick county middle schools. Frederick county does not have freshmen teams either, no idea if Handley does or not. I believe kids can participate in both the youth league teams while playing on a middle school team, but not sure of that. Someone else would have to answer that one.

 

[Tom Potter]

Good luck with your program going forward.

You have a beautiful stadium!
I wonder if putting lights in there and playing every game at night might help the team?

Of course making the other team play in the daytime could be an advantage I suppose.

 

[ClarkeFan83]

2015 is the 1st team ever to go 0-10.

With the Daniel Morgan Middle School program being re-instituted, hopefully within the next 2-3 years, the Handley Judges varsity program will see the affect of that middle school program.

Some folks most likely did not see it, but there was progression with the Judges this year.

The fact that the middle school program was cut was the BIG reason that Handley has faltered. I'm glad they saw the error in their ways and re-instituted the program.

And if Handley's smart, they'd move the Middle School Band Director up to the HS Band Director's position. (Greg's a friend of mine!)

 

[ClarkeFan83]

Good luck with your program going forward.

You have a beautiful stadium!
I wonder if putting lights in there and playing every game at night might help the team?

Of course making the other team play in the daytime could be an advantage I suppose.

They should install lights and play on Friday night, but I think a certain former state senator who is a big Handley fan is keeping that from happening.

 

[VolNation85]

What sort of youth football leagues exist in the Winchester area?
Western Loudoun has the ULYFL. This League is responsible for a lot of the success that Loudoun Valley & Woodgrove continue to enjoy. Of course the Head Coach and staff play a huge part in the success of the program.

I'm curious as to how has the ULFYL has contributed to the success of Woodgrove and Loudon Valley? Do the youth teams run the same O and D as the high schools? I'm curious because the youth program is one of the problems here in Central Va. There are so many teams in the HCYL (Hill City Youth League) that there is no true youth feeder program(s) for E.C. Glass and Heritage High. In addition to the many youth teams, they all run different systems than the middle school teams. So, by the time they get to the high school level, they have to learn completely new systems again. Thanks in advance for the insight. Just trying to find out how youth programs are run in other areas of the state.

 

[aw19752]

Let's revisit this in a year or two. With the middle school program being reinstated and Handley going young this year it may be unfair to judge them at the moment. With the success this coaching staff has had over the years I'm not convinced it's totally the coaching. If the same group of 9-10 graders they had on varsity this year were on the JV team we would be saying how great of a JV team they were and the future is looking bright for Handley. But those kids were rushed into varsity duty early and took their lumps. I'm not ready to say they are a losing program by a long shot.

 

[VaPrepsRod]

I'm curious as to how has the ULFYL has contributed to the success of Woodgrove and Loudon Valley? Do the youth teams run the same O and D as the high schools? I'm curious because the youth program is one of the problems here in Central Va. There are so many teams in the HCYL (Hill City Youth League) that there is no true youth feeder program(s) for E.C. Glass and Heritage High. In addition to the many youth teams, they all run different systems than the middle school teams. So, by the time they get to the high school level, they have to learn completely new systems again. Thanks in advance for the insight. Just trying to find out how youth programs are run in other areas of the state.

It's usually not so much running the same systems as it is just getting the kids used to playing the game and understanding the fundamentals and the physical nature of football.

You don't want to start with 9th graders who are 2-3 years behind kids at other schools.

 

[Lineheart]

I'm curious as to how has the ULFYL has contributed to the success of Woodgrove and Loudon Valley? Do the youth teams run the same O and D as the high schools? I'm curious because the youth program is one of the problems here in Central Va. There are so many teams in the HCYL (Hill City Youth League) that there is no true youth feeder program(s) for E.C. Glass and Heritage High. In addition to the many youth teams, they all run different systems than the middle school teams. So, by the time they get to the high school level, they have to learn completely new systems again. Thanks in advance for the insight. Just trying to find out how youth programs are run in other areas of the state.

I do know Amherst and other teams in our League run the same offense or something like it throughout Little League..Some of the high school coaches actually coach on some of the teams at Amherst..I've reached out to Nelson County to try to install a program in Nelson but the School has no interest..

 

[Tom Potter]

I'm curious as to how has the ULFYL has contributed to the success of Woodgrove and Loudon Valley? Do the youth teams run the same O and D as the high schools? I'm curious because the youth program is one of the problems here in Central Va. There are so many teams in the HCYL (Hill City Youth League) that there is no true youth feeder program(s) for E.C. Glass and Heritage High. In addition to the many youth teams, they all run different systems than the middle school teams. So, by the time they get to the high school level, they have to learn completely new systems again. Thanks in advance for the insight. Just trying to find out how youth programs are run in other areas of the state.

ULYFL teaches the kids the basics of football: How to tackle, block, carry the ball, throw the ball, the hole #s for O line, Defensive positions and responsibilities, angles of pursuit, playbooks, special teams play, game day preperation, and many other fundemental football skills.

All of this stuff is learned by the kids as they progress thru the years.
Once they get to high school the coaches have young men who know the game and are not afraid to hit somebody.
The coaches can start teaching the kids the schools system and advanced position tecniques and skip teaching a lot of the rudimentary skills for the most part.
There will always be the occassional kid that does not play youth league football that starts playing football in high school, most of these kids will see limited playing time unless they are huge and lineman worthy OR they are fast runners.

The ULYFL A, B, C & D flag football teams run various offenses that do not neccessarily mirror the high school offenses due to the kids typically going to Loudoun Valley or Woodgrove High Schools.

Football basics are universal and the earlier they are learned the quicker they are engrained in the kids and become automatic on that field come Friday night!

 

[VolNation85]

I do know Amherst and other teams in our League run the same offense or something like it throughout Little League..Some of the high school coaches actually coach on some of the teams at Amherst..I've reached out to Nelson County to try to install a program in Nelson but the School has no interest..

I believe that plays a huge part in the fact that the varsity program at Amherst is on the rise again. From what I understand, Salem runs that same system youth all the way through the varsity.

 

[danbeatty65]

It's usually not so much running the same systems as it is just getting the kids used to playing the game and understanding the fundamentals and the physical nature of football.

You don't want to start with 9th graders who are 2-3 years behind kids at other schools.

I couldn't agree more--ULYFL does a fantastic job with the kids. The coaches are outstanding and the competitive nature of the games is fantastic. My youngest son has been in the ULYFL since 2013 and absolutely loves it. He fully intends to take it all the way through A League, and then use it to hit the ground running in high school. Very dedicated bunch of people involved in that league--can't say enough good about them.

 

[VolNation85]

ULYFL teaches the kids the basics of football: How to tackle, block, carry the ball, throw the ball, the hole #s for O line, Defensive positions and responsibilities, angles of pursuit, playbooks, special teams play, game day preperation, and many other fundemental football skills.

All of this stuff is learned by the kids as they progress thru the years.
Once they get to high school the coaches have young men who know the game and are not afraid to hit somebody.
The coaches can start teaching the kids the schools system and advanced position tecniques and skip teaching a lot of the rudimentary skills for the most part.
There will always be the occassional kid that does not play youth league football that starts playing football in high school, most of these kids will see limited playing time unless they are huge and lineman worthy OR they are fast runners.

The ULYFL A, B, C & D flag football teams run various offenses that do not neccessarily mirror the high school offenses due to the kids typically going to Loudoun Valley or Woodgrove High Schools.

Football basics are universal and the earlier they are learned the quicker they are engrained in the kids and become automatic on that field come Friday night!

Well said! Unfortunately, I don't think fundamentals are a big part of the HCYL as evident by 9th and 10th graders not knowing how to get in a three-point stand or knowing where the flats are on defense.

 

[Reason is Lost]

Same system or not, it comes down to exposure to fundamentals and having a lot of fun, especially at the youth levels. I went to a good friend's youth playoff game (his youngest son plays) and it was a blast. The kids were everywhere with team merchandise on display!! There were 4 local teams and not one of them runs what the HS runs. And, here's the kicker, most of them will end up playing together... The school district eliminated 7th and 8th grade football because of the size of local youth organizations and the shear number of kids who are involved through 8th grade. That same HS has had 5 coaches in the last dozen years or so. Some success recently but nothing to rant about... If I'm a youth coach, I'm not sure I want to follow that direction until it stabilizes. Does that sound crazy?