What in the World.... The 757

[springer76]

The Eastern Region (The 757) once dominant in football has been Shut out!
No Tidewater area team came home with a State Title. ...and the Northern Region as well.
Both areas were typically the state's strongest.The North and the East were taken down in Class 5 and Class 6 by the 804. Phoebus and Lake Taylor were dropped in the Finals as well.
Thoughts? Comments?

 

[Forge_Nation]

Woodgrove did win one for the North so there’s that..although it’s not what it once was..I think the 757 will be fine with Smith, Lakes etc. I think the real shame is the drop in play in the Peninsula specifically..granted Phoebus had a great year but there’s been an obvious downgrade in the level of play in what used to be easily the best area for football in the state

 

[Littlematty]

Maybe you should do research before you post.....Woodgrove is in northern Virginia. If you meant D5 and D6 you are right. I believe Woodgrove moves up to D5 next year. I can speak to northern va. on this. The majority of schools are D6 because of the large population in N. Virginia. The schools that are D5 up here are not real good football schools. D5 is real weak, Stonebridge is the exception. In D6 Westfield has been the obvious power winning 3 straight state titles, but there are more competitive teams in D6. They just have not beat Westfield to break through. Many Westfield "people" told me this team was not nearly as good as the last 3 state championship teams yet they still got to the state semi's. I have been following this a long time, it always runs in cycles. This could be the Richmond area's cycle of state champs?

 

[springer76]

Maybe you should do research before you post.....Woodgrove is in northern Virginia. If you meant D5 and D6 you are right. I believe Woodgrove moves up to D5 next year. I can speak to northern va. on this. The majority of schools are D6 because of the large population in N. Virginia. The schools that are D5 up here are not real good football schools. D5 is real weak, Stonebridge is the exception. In D6 Westfield has been the obvious power winning 3 straight state titles, but there are more competitive teams in D6. They just have not beat Westfield to break through. Many Westfield "people" told me this team was not nearly as good as the last 3 state championship teams yet they still got to the state semi's. I have been following this a long time, it always runs in cycles. This could be the Richmond area's cycle of state champs?

Northern Virginia has plenty of D5 talent. Stone Bridge, Broad Run, John Champe, Tuscarora, Massaponax, North Stafford, Stafford, Brook Point... they just can't get past Stone Bridge or Tusky!!
Woodgrove was an oversight on my part.... sorry for my low awareness! I made a little slippidoo! Oops!
Still, my main point was the 757's shutout "again"!

 

[springer76]

Maybe you should do research before you post.....Woodgrove is in northern Virginia. If you meant D5 and D6 you are right. I believe Woodgrove moves up to D5 next year. I can speak to northern va. on this. The majority of schools are D6 because of the large population in N. Virginia. The schools that are D5 up here are not real good football schools. D5 is real weak, Stonebridge is the exception. In D6 Westfield has been the obvious power winning 3 straight state titles, but there are more competitive teams in D6. They just have not beat Westfield to break through. Many Westfield "people" told me this team was not nearly as good as the last 3 state championship teams yet they still got to the state semi's. I have been following this a long time, it always runs in cycles. This could be the Richmond area's cycle of state champs?

This could be the Richmond area's cycle of state champs? In D 5, it's been every year for the past 7 straight.

 

[CRF4Dan]

Maybe you should do research before you post.....Woodgrove is in northern Virginia. If you meant D5 and D6 you are right. I believe Woodgrove moves up to D5 next year. I can speak to northern va. on this. The majority of schools are D6 because of the large population in N. Virginia. The schools that are D5 up here are not real good football schools. D5 is real weak, Stonebridge is the exception. In D6 Westfield has been the obvious power winning 3 straight state titles, but there are more competitive teams in D6. They just have not beat Westfield to break through. Many Westfield "people" told me this team was not nearly as good as the last 3 state championship teams yet they still got to the state semi's. I have been following this a long time, it always runs in cycles. This could be the Richmond area's cycle of state champs?

It definitely is a time for football from the 804 but I think there is more to it than a cycle. I spoke with a friend that covers the Richmond area yesterday and we discussed how the realignment of 2013 changed the dynamics. For decades the Richmond Region schools were playing up... 2011 Hanover v. South County being an example... The Richmond Region did themselves no favors by playing up and now that schools are playing in their proper classes you are seeing the Richmond schools have more success.

You see it in Class 3 with Thomas Jefferson winning in the playoffs the past two years. TJ playing in Class 5 like they once did would have never made the playoffs and if they had they certainly would not have been much match for schools in Class 5 at that time.

The realignment of 2013 leveled the playing field and some regions benefited and some did not.

 

[Jeff M.]

Demographics also have changed in NOVA. Does no good to have 2,300 kids in a school when 1,200 of them have no interest in football. Soccer different story.

 

[springer76]

Demographics also have changed in NOVA. Does no good to have 2,300 kids in a school when 1,200 of them have no interest in football. Soccer different story.

It all starts in the 9-10 years old league football programs, middle school feeders, then High School...I know nothing about those things in NOVA, but what I do know is, HSHS's feeder system is very strong!!! The coaches from the Leagues and Middle Schools are very "familiar" with the High Schools in those areas and lots of those kids are groomed to play at the high school level with tons of experience! This is why HS, Manchester, Bird, Henrico and Hermitage have always been strong programs in the Richmond area!
Highland Springs for instance, has roughly 1,800 students and from what I hear, they usually get around 150 to 200 kids trying out for football.

 

[300 Strong FB]

It all starts in the 9-10 years old league football programs, middle school feeders, then High School...I know nothing about those things in NOVA, but what I do know is, HSHS's feeder system is very strong!!! The coaches from the Leagues and Middle Schools are very "familiar" with the High Schools in those areas and lots of those kids are groomed to play at the high school level with tons of experience! This is why HS, Manchester, Bird, Henrico and Hermitage have always been strong programs in the Richmond area!
Highland Springs for instance, has roughly 1,800 students and from what I hear, they usually get around 150 to 200 kids trying out for football.

On the peninsula the youth football scene is what has shifted the demographic of football. Neighborhood youth football is all but dead and there is no continuity from youth football to high school ball. High school coaches cant really build a relationship with their local feeder programs because teams have kids from all over the city playing with them. The youth coaching has changed where there are some good coaches but there is way too many fathers coaching and hampering the development of the other kids on the team whether their son can play or not almost all the daddy's kids play two position running back or quarterback hmm. The high schools have complained that they try to encourage the 8th graders to play JV to give them a redshirt experience (once a PD blueprint for success since there is no middle school football) but the youth coaches try to keep the kids as long as possible to chase trophies. The high school coaches are not as connected to the communities as the older generation of coaches like a young Mike Smith/Koz/Dee/Newsome and there is almost a civil war between youth coaches and high school coaches where the youth coaches feel that they know more than the high school coaches and the high school coaches feel they are too above the youth coaches to build a relationship with them. Plus live itself it taking over on the peninsula, less blue collar homes and jobs means more single parent homes and economically depressed households with less of a male influence to push them into physical demanding sports like football. The PD will return once the high school coaches become stable (Bethel is looking for a coach they should be a factor in D5 every year 3 state champs and enclosed feeder programs with talent but no vision since Koz left). Phoebus is one good weight room off season away from winning a championship and Hampton will have to look at what to do once Smith retires. Kecoughtan has good coaches just need stability to change the culture. Kecoughtan has never won a team state title ever in anything. Warwick is getting better but still a long way away and Woodside has solid coaching but the youth scene in Newport News is in a bad state. Nothing but travel ball options in Newport News. Heritage has other issues but there is talent and Menchville and Denbigh are programs that have cultural problems. Newport News has never really been a football city despite the individual talent and success of some players. The PD has some good talent coming up in the the next few years class of 2021/2024/2025 and beyond should lift the PD up.

 

[springer76]

On the peninsula the youth football scene is what has shifted the demographic of football. Neighborhood youth football is all but dead and there is no continuity from youth football to high school ball. High school coaches cant really build a relationship with their local feeder programs because teams have kids from all over the city playing with them. The youth coaching has changed where there are some good coaches but there is way too many fathers coaching and hampering the development of the other kids on the team whether their son can play or not almost all the daddy's kids play two position running back or quarterback hmm. The high schools have complained that they try to encourage the 8th graders to play JV to give them a redshirt experience (once a PD blueprint for success since there is no middle school football) but the youth coaches try to keep the kids as long as possible to chase trophies. The high school coaches are not as connected to the communities as the older generation of coaches like a young Mike Smith/Koz/Dee/Newsome and there is almost a civil war between youth coaches and high school coaches where the youth coaches feel that they know more than the high school coaches and the high school coaches feel they are too above the youth coaches to build a relationship with them. Plus live itself it taking over on the peninsula, less blue collar homes and jobs means more single parent homes and economically depressed households with less of a male influence to push them into physical demanding sports like football. The PD will return once the high school coaches become stable (Bethel is looking for a coach they should be a factor in D5 every year 3 state champs and enclosed feeder programs with talent but no vision since Koz left). Phoebus is one good weight room off season away from winning a championship and Hampton will have to look at what to do once Smith retires. Kecoughtan has good coaches just need stability to change the culture. Kecoughtan has never won a team state title ever in anything. Warwick is getting better but still a long way away and Woodside has solid coaching but the youth scene in Newport News is in a bad state. Nothing but travel ball options in Newport News. Heritage has other issues but there is talent and Menchville and Denbigh are programs that have cultural problems. Newport News has never really been a football city despite the individual talent and success of some players. The PD has some good talent coming up in the the next few years class of 2021/2024/2025 and beyond should lift the PD up.

Interesting to hear this, I had no idea! I am surprised that there is no Middle School football? Are you kidding me!? All I can sa y is WOW! I can tell you this (and I really don't know much about other areas of Metro Richmond). Eastern Henrico County where you have Highland Springs, Varina and Henrico High Schools has really strong youth football programs that are run well! The Middle School football teams are very competitive as well. By the time these kids get to one of these 3 high schools, they are well schooled in the game!! This is why the strongest football right now is in Eastern Henrico. I'm not including Chesterfield County right now, because I don't know a thing about their programs! I have heard their youth and Middle School programs are strong too. Bird and Manchester will continue to do well, I guarantee!
As you know Richmond area is basically Class 5! Next year, only 3 class 6 teams will be in Richmond area.
This year your top 3 Class 5 Richmond area teams were #1 HSHS, #2 Henrico and #3 Varina... All 3 of these schools have kids that have been playing football with each other since they were 8-9 years old!!!! Lots of talent and they all know how to play the game! The high school coaches that guide them to the next level are doing an awesome job!!! Highland Springs' coaching staff is head and shoulders ahead of them all and will continue to do the AWESOME job that they have been doing!!! I guarantee it!!

 

[Gillismarkus]

Interesting to hear this, I had no idea! I am surprised that there is no Middle School football? Are you kidding me!? All I can sa y is WOW! I can tell you this (and I really don't know much about other areas of Metro Richmond). Eastern Henrico County where you have Highland Springs, Varina and Henrico High Schools has really strong youth football programs that are run well! The Middle School football teams are very competitive as well. By the time these kids get to one of these 3 high schools, they are well schooled in the game!! This is why the strongest football right now is in Eastern Henrico. I'm not including Chesterfield County right now, because I don't know a thing about their programs! I have heard their youth and Middle School programs are strong too. Bird and Manchester will continue to do well, I guarantee!
As you know Richmond area is basically Class 5! Next year, only 3 class 6 teams will be in Richmond area.
This year your top 3 Class 5 Richmond area teams were #1 HSHS, #2 Henrico and #3 Varina... All 3 of these schools have kids that have been playing football with each other since they were 8-9 years old!!!! Lots of talent and they all know how to play the game! The high school coaches that guide them to the next level are doing an awesome job!!! Highland Springs' coaching staff is head and shoulders ahead of them all and will continue to do the AWESOME job that they have been doing!!! I guarantee it!!

@springer76 Great win on Saturday!!! Well deserved. To piggy back on what @300 Strong FB stated, in Loudoun County our middle schools do not have football as well and our youth programs are not showing the same enthusiasm as in the past. For instance, I helped my frat brother coach the Freshmen team at one of the local high schools and after polling the kids over 80% never played football before and were only playing now b/c they wanted to be apart of something b/c they were new to high school. Normally we would teach new techniques and schemes at that lever but we found ourselves teaching fundamentals (how to tackle) and rules of the game. In addition, over 5,000 homes were scheduled to be built in 2018 alone which led to the opening of 2 new high schools in Loudoun County in 2019 (Independence HS and Lightridge HS) not to include the opening of Rock Ridge HS and Riverside HS a few years ago. These new schools and new school zones pulled kids from previous powerhouses like Briarwoods and diluted the teams. With Amazon coming to Chrystal City bosting 25,000 new jobs there may be more changes on the way!!

Although SB did not win on Saturday my son #5 enjoyed the experience and is now looking forward to signing day on 12/19 and beginning his winter workouts in preparation for his next chapter!

 

[springer76]

@springer76 Great win on Saturday!!! Well deserved. To piggy back on what @300 Strong FB stated, in Loudoun County our middle schools do not have football as well and our youth programs are not showing the same enthusiasm as in the past. For instance, I helped my frat brother coach the Freshmen team at one of the local high schools and after polling the kids over 80% never played football before and were only playing now b/c they wanted to be apart of something b/c they were new to high school. Normally we would teach new techniques and schemes at that lever but we found ourselves teaching fundamentals (how to tackle) and rules of the game. In addition, over 5,000 homes were scheduled to be built in 2018 alone which led to the opening of 2 new high schools in Loudoun County in 2019 (Independence HS and Lightridge HS) not to include the opening of Rock Ridge HS and Riverside HS a few years ago. These new schools and new school zones pulled kids from previous powerhouses like Briarwoods and diluted the teams. With Amazon coming to Chrystal City bosting 25,000 new jobs there may be more changes on the way!!

Although SB did not win on Saturday my son #5 enjoyed the experience and is now looking forward to signing day on 12/19 and beginning his winter workouts in preparation for his next chapter!

@Gillismarkus Thank you! Congratulations to Stone Bridge too on another fine season! Finishing State Runner-up is nothing to sneeze at! That is one helluva accomplishment! You guys did play us hard and tough! Stone Bridge was definitely our toughest challenger.
With the demographics of Loudoun County forever changing, I don't know how many of the top programs up there maintain consistency . That might be why Eastern Henrico Co. has stayed as strong as it is (in football). Western Henrico is the "rich" side of the county and has grown in leaps and bounds while the East End has remained fairly stagnant . Not until recently (the past 10 to 15 years)has the East End started to boom. Eastern Hen.Co has had the 3 High Schools for many years! The other side of the county has 3 old schools, Freeman, JR Tucker and Hermitage. They have 3 newer schools on that side, Godwin, Deep Run and Glen Allen. Those schools took away from Freeman, Tucker and Hermitage.
The only thing new happening in the East End is Highland Springs is having a new school built! The old school will be Henrico County's Technical Center.
This is why Henrico HS, Highland Springs HS and Varina HS are all 3 rivals with each other. All of the kids playing football know each other, played little league with each other and attended Middle Schools with each other. They all get kind of scattered into the 3 East End High Schools...

 

[SportsJunkie32]

@springer76 Great win on Saturday!!! Well deserved. To piggy back on what @300 Strong FB stated, in Loudoun County our middle schools do not have football as well and our youth programs are not showing the same enthusiasm as in the past. For instance, I helped my frat brother coach the Freshmen team at one of the local high schools and after polling the kids over 80% never played football before and were only playing now b/c they wanted to be apart of something b/c they were new to high school. Normally we would teach new techniques and schemes at that lever but we found ourselves teaching fundamentals (how to tackle) and rules of the game. In addition, over 5,000 homes were scheduled to be built in 2018 alone which led to the opening of 2 new high schools in Loudoun County in 2019 (Independence HS and Lightridge HS) not to include the opening of Rock Ridge HS and Riverside HS a few years ago. These new schools and new school zones pulled kids from previous powerhouses like Briarwoods and diluted the teams. With Amazon coming to Chrystal City bosting 25,000 new jobs there may be more changes on the way!!

Although SB did not win on Saturday my son #5 enjoyed the experience and is now looking forward to signing day on 12/19 and beginning his winter workouts in preparation for his next chapter!

#5 played well, solid technique and not afraid to mix it up. Good luck with his future plans!

 

[300 Strong FB]

Interesting to hear this, I had no idea! I am surprised that there is no Middle School football? Are you kidding me!? All I can sa y is WOW! I can tell you this (and I really don't know much about other areas of Metro Richmond). Eastern Henrico County where you have Highland Springs, Varina and Henrico High Schools has really strong youth football programs that are run well! The Middle School football teams are very competitive as well. By the time these kids get to one of these 3 high schools, they are well schooled in the game!! This is why the strongest football right now is in Eastern Henrico. I'm not including Chesterfield County right now, because I don't know a thing about their programs! I have heard their youth and Middle School programs are strong too. Bird and Manchester will continue to do well, I guarantee!
As you know Richmond area is basically Class 5! Next year, only 3 class 6 teams will be in Richmond area.
This year your top 3 Class 5 Richmond area teams were #1 HSHS, #2 Henrico and #3 Varina... All 3 of these schools have kids that have been playing football with each other since they were 8-9 years old!!!! Lots of talent and they all know how to play the game! The high school coaches that guide them to the next level are doing an awesome job!!! Highland Springs' coaching staff is head and shoulders ahead of them all and will continue to do the AWESOME job that they have been doing!!! I guarantee it!!

I remember watching what I considered a part of the process shaping up when around 2014 when I started to attend the Lineman camps at Henrico with one of my young lineman at the time who was a 6th grader. I saw the commitment that the 804 had towards improving the game and with the success that Dinwiddie and L.C. Bird had accomplished at that time would trickle down to the rest of the region because games are won and lost in the trenches. Those coaches came together and did something for their kids and not concerned about any foolishness such as "Brand" or "recognition" or recruiting other peoples kids going on. When you remove the ego and ignorance out of the way progress takes place. The spring football programs like the CVA Hurricanes and East End Tigers have also helped progress the level of play in the 804. In the 757, spring football is still thought of as taboo as a whole. I've heard about the Lions youth program and how strong it is in that area. I congratulate Springs and the rest of those coaches in Richmond youth and high school for a job well done. I love 757 football and the talent is still here. The PD is experiencing a down cycle but as a whole the teams will get better but it will take a community effort to get back to the level that we are known for. VA football is so talented throughout the state that I'm proud to claim it as part of my heritage. Your football program tells a lot about your community, that is one of the main reason colleges covet a strong college football program no matter how strong their other sport programs are.

 

[Gillismarkus]

#5 played well, solid technique and not afraid to mix it up. Good luck with his future plans!

Thank you @SportsJunkie32

 

[Gillismarkus]

I remember watching what I considered a part of the process shaping up when around 2014 when I started to attend the Lineman camps at Henrico with one of my young lineman at the time who was a 6th grader. I saw the commitment that the 804 had towards improving the game and with the success that Dinwiddie and L.C. Bird had accomplished at that time would trickle down to the rest of the region because games are won and lost in the trenches. Those coaches came together and did something for their kids and not concerned about any foolishness such as "Brand" or "recognition" or recruiting other peoples kids going on. When you remove the ego and ignorance out of the way progress takes place. The spring football programs like the CVA Hurricanes and East End Tigers have also helped progress the level of play in the 804. In the 757, spring football is still thought of as taboo as a whole. I've heard about the Lions youth program and how strong it is in that area. I congratulate Springs and the rest of those coaches in Richmond youth and high school for a job well done. I love 757 football and the talent is still here. The PD is experiencing a down cycle but as a whole the teams will get better but it will take a community effort to get back to the level that we are known for. VA football is so talented throughout the state that I'm proud to claim it as part of my heritage. Your football program tells a lot about your community, that is one of the main reason colleges covet a strong college football program no matter how strong their other sport programs are.

I definitely agree.

 

[springer76]

I remember watching what I considered a part of the process shaping up when around 2014 when I started to attend the Lineman camps at Henrico with one of my young lineman at the time who was a 6th grader. I saw the commitment that the 804 had towards improving the game and with the success that Dinwiddie and L.C. Bird had accomplished at that time would trickle down to the rest of the region because games are won and lost in the trenches. Those coaches came together and did something for their kids and not concerned about any foolishness such as "Brand" or "recognition" or recruiting other peoples kids going on. When you remove the ego and ignorance out of the way progress takes place. The spring football programs like the CVA Hurricanes and East End Tigers have also helped progress the level of play in the 804. In the 757, spring football is still thought of as taboo as a whole. I've heard about the Lions youth program and how strong it is in that area. I congratulate Springs and the rest of those coaches in Richmond youth and high school for a job well done. I love 757 football and the talent is still here. The PD is experiencing a down cycle but as a whole the teams will get better but it will take a community effort to get back to the level that we are known for. VA football is so talented throughout the state that I'm proud to claim it as part of my heritage. Your football program tells a lot about your community, that is one of the main reason colleges covet a strong college football program no matter how strong their other sport programs are.

Springers have a deep connection to the Lions..... Lots of them occupy spots on every Springer team. Varina and Henrico also are dotted with Lions!

 

[mbonape1]

The chesterfield Falcons “Black” were unbelievable (black team is the tier 1 team). They actually had the number 1 QB already in the class of 2023 and several other kids you can already tell will play D-1 ball. Most of those kids will be playing for Manchester, Bird, or Dale unless Life Christian gets a hold of them. These kids have basically decided that football will dictate their educational choices and find ways into the high school of their choice. Also, chesterfield does not have middle school football and rec league football is hanging on by a thread with many local teams folding or combining