Prep FB: Numbers

By Ed Piper

I happened to see the local high school football previews right when they were posted online last night (Aug. 15), and two things stood out:

One was the number of first-year coaches in the City, Eastern, and Central leagues. I have stated it here before: One of the most important factors influencing the success and stability of a sports program is the continuity that comes from having the same coach return each year for several years.

Second, I noticed that some teams are struggling as far as how many players have gone out for the team.

Both items are taking place in today's football reality, which includes parents' and young people's concerns over head injury due to the vast publicity that has come in the wake of professional players' suicides the last couple of years. In the San Diego area, former Charger great Junior Seau's suicide got big headlines and went viral. In the aftermath, it was revealed that he had increasingly struggled with headaches, depression, and other problems that going out and surfing in his native Oceanside couldn't pacify.

One team, Coronado, has only 25 players on the varsity. Keep in mind Coronado is a wealthy enclave, with excellent sports facilities and residents who are pretty gung-ho about athletic activity. Yet the Islander program struggles to have enough players to fill its varsity roster. Two platoons with 11 positions each means many players will have to fill spots on both the offense and defense, which is increasingly becoming more and more common on local teams.

If five student athletes are ill or injured, that means only about 20 kids will be battling against opposing teams that may have 50 or more players on their rosters. The numbers just don't add up for a fun, competitive game sometimes.

An item that I also noted was Crawford's construction of an on-campus stadium. For the past three years, it was reported, the Colts have not been able to play a home game. The new facility is supposed to be completed next month. Now, here you have a sport that is embattled by health concerns, and is struggling for mere numbers of students going out for their school's teams. Yet, on the other side, you have a school and its district investing thousands of dollars in a stadium which, for a great part, is intended for football use. It doesn't totally make sense to me.