Getting All The Games In Proving Problematic
October 2, 2021 at 4:51 a.m.
Getting All The Games In Proving Problematic
By Chip Davenport-
They’ve been affected by schedule adjustments due to COVID, and COVID contact tracing for the most part.
Sub-varsity (JV and freshman teams), however, will have a greater frequency of lined-out dates on their ink-printed schedules this year. While it seems COVID and COVID contact tracing might have a domino effect on these programs there is much more to these frequent cancellations, and the subsequent rescheduling by the affected opponent.
I’m beginning to wonder if this is something we’ll see continue for a few more calendar years, though.
I received a text (mid-day Friday) regarding yet another cancellation of a regularly scheduled varsity opponent’s sub-varsity game, JV level this time.
Wawasee’s cancellation of today’s scheduled JV football game versus Warsaw neither surprised nor shocked me because Coach Reutebuch has been quoted in almost every game about meeting the challenge to compete in this season’s upcoming Class 4A sectionals with a roster size the equivalent of an IHSAA Class 2A/3A program.
I’m speculating among the numerous reasons for the Warriors’ program as well as for other programs’ headcount issues are due to athletes’ interest in being part of the program, and how effective the weight room and conditioning are for a starting point.
Let’s add Goshen and Plymouth, with the latter’s recent woes among multiple sports, to the list of recent Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) teams with a concerning run of poor football won-loss records.
All three programs could not put together a freshman team due to an insufficient number of available athletes to comprise a full and useful game day roster. Those freshmen who are on board have been ushered into junior varsity or varsity action due to athleticism and attrition.
It all breaks my heart because I would like to see the return to an increased slate of tough outs in NLC football. Warsaw in decades past, had a few spans of time being a conference doormat, too. I fully realize it.
The Tigers currently, on the other hand, will probably spend the next few years writing their sub-varsity schedules in pencil. They have the numbers and the continued health (from my lips to God’s ears) at all levels, and head coach Bart Curtis is willing to hustle to fill an eleventh-hour opponent by reasonable and resourceful means because each level of football needs its nine regular season games for the sake of developing the program.
How can Goshen, I ask, with 170 fewer high school students than Warsaw, draw less than 50 players, less than a dozen freshmen to boot, yet Warsaw is dressing at least 70, and dressing over 50 freshmen battle-ready freshmen each week?
The RedHawks kept a futility count on the gridiron of 15 and running last Friday versus the Tigers.
When I see injury-riddled teams I believe injuries on the field, barring hits to the head and the knees, are a function of what you do in the weight room. The Warsaw program integrates flexibility and endurance in its pre-dawn and period one strength sessions. These days it’s the only way to survive at least ten weeks of constructively violent action
Another important ingredient is the ability to limit the impact of injuries by employing the two-platoon system. The Tigers have done so, and it took some program building to do it. Coach Curtis discussed this approach in his first season in the Lake City.
The two-platoon system is a program’s ability to compete each game day without any individual athlete starting on both sides of the ball. If a starter is hurt, you’re only back-filling one position, not two.
NorthWood (the smallest NLC high school enrollment – 905) seems to be the only program in recent years whose two-way players seem to get stronger as the game progresses. The Panthers have won two of the last three clashes against the Tigers by one point each.
Warsaw, among the previous three Curtis-era teams, had skill players on offense who doubled in defensive backfield positions: Blake Marsh, Jack Williamson, Keagan Larsh, Caden Silveus, Luke Adamiec, Julius Jones, and Jackson Dawson each saw action on both sides of the ball in past seasons.
Warsaw beats down most of its opponents’ offensive and defensive lines because if you’re a Tiger lineman or linebacker, you work from one side of the football. You need numbers and quality athletes developed in the weight room to do this.
Finally, it’s interesting to see how many kids wind up transferring from Warsaw to the other area schools seeking more playing time, but even when they have moderate success, they’re usually getting their noses punched at an inferior level of competition at least four times each season.
In the meantime, watching a good chunk of high school football games these days is comparable to the child who’s face… only a mother could love. This might explain why some our visiting stands have about twice as many fans sitting in them as players dressed for action. Something only a mother could love.
The strong are getting stronger because they’re paying attention to a by-product of the pandemic, the effective COVID protocols, and taking care of business with an all-year focus on weights and conditioning and creating a contagion of interest from continued winning... it usually begins in the weight room.
The others can’t put together teams on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays… even among some of the larger schools.
They’ve been affected by schedule adjustments due to COVID, and COVID contact tracing for the most part.
Sub-varsity (JV and freshman teams), however, will have a greater frequency of lined-out dates on their ink-printed schedules this year. While it seems COVID and COVID contact tracing might have a domino effect on these programs there is much more to these frequent cancellations, and the subsequent rescheduling by the affected opponent.
I’m beginning to wonder if this is something we’ll see continue for a few more calendar years, though.
I received a text (mid-day Friday) regarding yet another cancellation of a regularly scheduled varsity opponent’s sub-varsity game, JV level this time.
Wawasee’s cancellation of today’s scheduled JV football game versus Warsaw neither surprised nor shocked me because Coach Reutebuch has been quoted in almost every game about meeting the challenge to compete in this season’s upcoming Class 4A sectionals with a roster size the equivalent of an IHSAA Class 2A/3A program.
I’m speculating among the numerous reasons for the Warriors’ program as well as for other programs’ headcount issues are due to athletes’ interest in being part of the program, and how effective the weight room and conditioning are for a starting point.
Let’s add Goshen and Plymouth, with the latter’s recent woes among multiple sports, to the list of recent Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) teams with a concerning run of poor football won-loss records.
All three programs could not put together a freshman team due to an insufficient number of available athletes to comprise a full and useful game day roster. Those freshmen who are on board have been ushered into junior varsity or varsity action due to athleticism and attrition.
It all breaks my heart because I would like to see the return to an increased slate of tough outs in NLC football. Warsaw in decades past, had a few spans of time being a conference doormat, too. I fully realize it.
The Tigers currently, on the other hand, will probably spend the next few years writing their sub-varsity schedules in pencil. They have the numbers and the continued health (from my lips to God’s ears) at all levels, and head coach Bart Curtis is willing to hustle to fill an eleventh-hour opponent by reasonable and resourceful means because each level of football needs its nine regular season games for the sake of developing the program.
How can Goshen, I ask, with 170 fewer high school students than Warsaw, draw less than 50 players, less than a dozen freshmen to boot, yet Warsaw is dressing at least 70, and dressing over 50 freshmen battle-ready freshmen each week?
The RedHawks kept a futility count on the gridiron of 15 and running last Friday versus the Tigers.
When I see injury-riddled teams I believe injuries on the field, barring hits to the head and the knees, are a function of what you do in the weight room. The Warsaw program integrates flexibility and endurance in its pre-dawn and period one strength sessions. These days it’s the only way to survive at least ten weeks of constructively violent action
Another important ingredient is the ability to limit the impact of injuries by employing the two-platoon system. The Tigers have done so, and it took some program building to do it. Coach Curtis discussed this approach in his first season in the Lake City.
The two-platoon system is a program’s ability to compete each game day without any individual athlete starting on both sides of the ball. If a starter is hurt, you’re only back-filling one position, not two.
NorthWood (the smallest NLC high school enrollment – 905) seems to be the only program in recent years whose two-way players seem to get stronger as the game progresses. The Panthers have won two of the last three clashes against the Tigers by one point each.
Warsaw, among the previous three Curtis-era teams, had skill players on offense who doubled in defensive backfield positions: Blake Marsh, Jack Williamson, Keagan Larsh, Caden Silveus, Luke Adamiec, Julius Jones, and Jackson Dawson each saw action on both sides of the ball in past seasons.
Warsaw beats down most of its opponents’ offensive and defensive lines because if you’re a Tiger lineman or linebacker, you work from one side of the football. You need numbers and quality athletes developed in the weight room to do this.
Finally, it’s interesting to see how many kids wind up transferring from Warsaw to the other area schools seeking more playing time, but even when they have moderate success, they’re usually getting their noses punched at an inferior level of competition at least four times each season.
In the meantime, watching a good chunk of high school football games these days is comparable to the child who’s face… only a mother could love. This might explain why some our visiting stands have about twice as many fans sitting in them as players dressed for action. Something only a mother could love.
The strong are getting stronger because they’re paying attention to a by-product of the pandemic, the effective COVID protocols, and taking care of business with an all-year focus on weights and conditioning and creating a contagion of interest from continued winning... it usually begins in the weight room.
The others can’t put together teams on Saturdays, Mondays, and Thursdays… even among some of the larger schools.
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