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Drew Sharp has column in today's (Wednesday) FREEP about how population shift has affected Big Ten.

One thing he didn't mention is that Southern states have Spring football and northern states don't, so kids coming out of FL, LA, GA, TX etc. have equivalent of almost one more year's experience-development.

I feel like there is more correlation than causation with the population shift. Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York are still much larger states than Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. The population booms in Texas, Georgia and Florida are driven by retirees, immigration from outside the US and the relocation of skilled and educated workers. These are not groups that we would associate with having kids who play football at the elite power 5 level (although admittedly I've never seen data that parses the backgrounds of college football players at different levels of competition). My suspicion is that there is far more specialization in youth sports than there has been previously and that football in the sunbelt especially on the low end of the income scale is more prevalent for whatever reasons. Safety, 7 on 7, tradition, etc... Pick your explanation. But I don't see any compelling reason to believe football talent is migrating out.

IMO, it speaks more to the recent shift/movement in year-round training, increased practice time and army-style training regiments, more camps, etc.

That will obviously always favor the south because of warm weather and longer seasons.

(09-10-2014 10:17 AM)Hoekjeness Wrote:  IMO, not peaks more to the recent shift/movement in year-round training, increased practice time and army-style training regiments, more camps, etc.

That will obviously always favor the south because of warm weather and longer seasons.

Michigan is putting restrictions on practice and hitting that i am not sure u see in the south. Religion vs. Pass time.

Football number are down and will continue to fall in MI. As an examples Jenison and West Ottawa used to both have two middle school teams. This year they both have just 1 middle school team. The WO High school team has 40 kids .......down about 15-20 kids. the school has an enrollment of 2100.

Lots of fall sports options for kids these days but I have seen the growth of fall lacrosse, fall travel baseball (WO lost 3 stud varsity players to these two options) and the whole concussion awareness campaign as the primary causes.

The explosive growth of lacrosse and fall baseball will continue to take football players as will parent fear.

Enrollments, especially in bigger cities, has fallen dramatically, meaning there are fewer boys to play football. West Ottawa is an exception.

Almost 60% of Michigan schools have Pay to Play which discourages some kids from playing.

So does the early start to the season (three weeks before Labor Day-start of school) probably.

Plus football is hard.

(09-10-2014 10:47 AM)bronco89 Wrote:  Football number are down and will continue to fall in MI. As an examples Jenison and West Ottawa used to both have two middle school teams. This year they both have just 1 middle school team. The WO High school team has 40 kids .......down about 15-20 kids. the school has an enrollment of 2100.

Lots of fall sports options for kids these days but I have seen the growth of fall lacrosse, fall travel baseball (WO lost 3 stud varsity players to these two options) and the whole concussion awareness campaign as the primary causes.

The explosive growth of lacrosse and fall baseball will continue to take football players as will parent fear.

Numbers are down everywhere. People aren't popping out kids at the rate they used to, and the 20-30 age bracket are having a hard time finding quality work where they can afford children.

Quote:Almost 60% of Michigan schools have Pay to Play which discourages some kids from playing.

I think that would be a big part of it, if there Isn't a massive amount of potential-players around already.

Quote:Numbers are down everywhere. People aren't popping out kids at the rate they used to, and the 20-30 age bracket are having a hard time finding quality work where they can afford children.

Well, let's take a 20 year old in college football right now. When were the parents porking to make a little junior? Well, right now, he'd be born in 1994. So kids born in 1992-1996 would affect college football right now, as far as holding back the sperm to avoid making more kids due to affordability. The 90s were pretty good. Great in fact, of course. So I don't think that'd be an impact.

I think kids born in 2001+ would have more of that impact, which we may start to see in 10 years? However, you could say the pay-to-play thing -- or lack of encouragement to get kids off the streets but into sports would have a bigger impact in the now.

But also: Richer areas breed less children. So kids coming from the 90s -- there's probably a dip down? Of course, that's why it's good to make birth-control as cheap-n-easy as One-Trick-Sally down the block. It lowers the breeding, notably in poorer areas. Maybe that's thankfully caught on since the 90s (but not good for college football up here), where down south in more religious country they're much more anti birth control?

Plus, of course, as pointed out -- down south they go all year round. Sounds like up here not just the weather, but the lack of encouragement even if the weather were the same too, is what holds it back.

"Plus, of course, as pointed out -- down south they go all year round."

Our great state government now has a law that school football kids can only hit twice a week. I went to my kids 7th grade game and saw some of the worst tackling ever. Meanwhile, rocket kids can hit all week long....figure that one out.

You think Michigan high school football is average now.......we are one step from flag football in high school. Knucklehead state government wants to make sure that junior doesn't get a bad bruise. Parents/government are turning our kids into a bunch of wussies.

(09-10-2014 03:13 PM)Kimbosucks Wrote:  Plus football is hard.

That was always Cubit's line. He'd get rambling with that Philly dialect, run out of things to say, and then he'd finish with "It's just hard."

Quote:Our great state government now has a law that school football kids can only hit twice a week. I went to my kids 7th grade game and saw some of the worst tackling ever. Meanwhile, rocket kids can hit all week long....figure that one out.

Wait -- at what grade, though? That's nuts. A hit-hit (like to be shown on Sportscenter) --- or a solid tackle? I could see in elementary school playing "tag" so to speak... but once you hit 7th grade, (even though that'd still put us at a disadvantage) -- you have to freaking TACKLE.

Quote: Parents/government are turning our kids into a bunch of wussies.

I've got a buddy whose father was a division 1 college coach at several schools. My friends son, ( the grandson of said coach) a big strapping teenage boy, is not allowed by the mom to play football. Lots of moms fearful of concussions and the general violence in football. This attitude is becoming more common.

(09-12-2014 03:15 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:Our great state government now has a law that school football kids can only hit twice a week. I went to my kids 7th grade game and saw some of the worst tackling ever. Meanwhile, rocket kids can hit all week long....figure that one out.

Wait -- at what grade, though? That's nuts. A hit-hit (like to be shown on Sportscenter) --- or a solid tackle? I could see in elementary school playing "tag" so to speak... but once you hit 7th grade, (even though that'd still put us at a disadvantage) -- you have to freaking TACKLE.

3rd through 6th grade rocket they can hit everyday. Straight on tackling drills if that is what the parent/coach wants to do. Once they hit school football (7th through 12th) they can only have full pads on twice a week. No full contact It is dumb a** rule. Government trying to "protect" us. I do not know if other states have this stupid rule but they quality of the players in this state will go down over the next 5 years.

Quote:Once they hit school football (7th through 12th) they can only have full pads on twice a week.

Soooo, the other days, it's no pads, but Prison Rules? That's insane.

My goodness. Watching UofM and seeing all of the Big 10 scores scrolling. This league is pathetic.