Today’s News-Leader has a couple of stories under the banner “What Took The Air Out of Springfield Football?“. The Springfield Public Schools football teams have a combined record of 3-27 on the season. Glendale football is 1-5. The feature, of course, includes the obligatory soccer hurts football angle:
When [Paul] Mullins was a coach at Greenwood, he said he saw interest in football decrease when the soccer program started.
“Soccer has come on strong and taken away from the skill positions,” he said, meaning football’s quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.
Later in the story…
[SPS athletic director Mark] Fisher conceded that, while participation in football in the city is up, the won-lost records don’t lie. “When you look out there, the big, strong, athletic kids, they’re not out there,” Fisher said. “That’s not a knock on our kids, but the numbers don’t lie.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Even the ‘Mighty Mites’ in Nixa run the same
offense (though not as complex) as the varsity
at Nixa High. That’s what Springfield R-12 is
missing, in my opinion. Also, I’m not sure the
varsity head coaches have any control over who
is coaching the middle school programs. That
needs to be changed. Pershing needs to be a
Glendale feeder school only instead of mixing
with Kickapoo. Columbia Rock Bridge has a
great quarterback in Logan Gray, who’ll be
playing big time SEC football come next fall.
We don’t have that sort of talent in the city
at this time. I still say this current ‘the
sky is falling’ attitude is over-the-top based
on the success of Kickapoo, Hillcrest, and
Glendale in recent seasons. Glendale and
Kickapoo could still win a district title this
year, even with their under .500 regular
seasons. Plus, a district title means A LOT
MORE than a conference title these days. I
say the Falcons end on a four-game winning
streak, capture a district title, and head
into the state playoffs for the first time
since 2003.
In all fairness, the article attributes the decline to a number of factors, all of which, were in existence when Kickapoo was a final four team in 2001.
Columbia Rock Bridge is ranked 8th in the Southwest region of the country in football and is receiving votes in the latest state soccer poll, so you can field quality teams in both sports.
I think success can be self-perpetuating. I have no doubt that families move into certain districts or school systems to play for certain teams or coaches in virtually every sport.
The specialization issue is true in Springfield, but less so in area communities. A lot of soccer players have specialized in one sport, but basketball coaches are probably the worst in terms of demanding that players specialize.
Springfield will never have the football culture that pervades area towns. If the high school varsity at an area high school runs the single-wing, I guarantee you that the junior high will run the single-wing, and you might well see it in elemetary school football.
I’m also not certain that the youth football opportunities in Springfield (re: Mighty Mites) is advanced as the youth football programs in the area and it is certainly nothing like Pop Warner. I know that starting last Spring, there was a Spring middle school football program started outside the school system that will likely help football, but probably at the expense of middle school track.
Of course they blame the decline in football talent on soccer. The better athletes in our area play soccer and basketball. That’s just how it is. Too bad the funding for the programs doesn’t reflect the talent in those activities.
It’s funny how soccer didn’t hurt Kickapoo
from going to the state semifinals in ’95 and
’01 or Glendale from winning three consecutive
district titles between ’96-’99! R-12 football
is just having a down season and I think
people really need to calm down. Kickapoo went
16-4 over the last two years and Glendale had
been on a three-season winning streak (19-12).
Parkview football has been WAY DOWN since 1995
and Hillcrest is having problems with size
at this point in time. Next season, things will
improve, at least at Kickapoo it will.
All-Time Win-Loss records for R-12 Football:
http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/PREPSSPORTS/61012020/1002