Monday, August 31, 2015

AA Varsity Week 0

AA Varsity Week 0

Here we go gang, the 2015 season is upon us. Big expectations all around and lots of question marks and parity in most of the regional conferences.   Fall is surely the "Happy Time" for the HS Football Community!  The previous 8 months are over and what folks have done during that time will manifest itself in September, October, November and for a couple of squads, early December!

I am personally, very happy to be back in full-out practice mode.  It is so much fun and so very rewarding to count the "wins", milestones and emotional progress that is made when no one but the players and coaches are looking.  Game Day represents a celebration thereof.

I do want to start the year with some thoughts and words of caution.

I would also like to send my condolences to the programs and players who have suffered devastating losses in the plethora of pay-to-play/try-out All Star Camps, Bowls etc.  Was your knee or ankle or shoulder worth the dollars you paid to attend one of these rip-offs?  Is the season you are now going to miss worth the money you gave to a stranger with a plan for you?  Was all the work you and your teammates/coaches that is now not going to be realized in a precious fall season worth the dollars? And to those unscathed, is your team as good as it would have been without  the distractions you have engaged in?

BC High School Football has done a great job of developing players over the long haul in all the respective programs.  Volunteer coaches spend time with their players in the weight room, on the track and on the practice field for months and months across multiple calendar years. Those volunteer coaches never asked anything of you than a great effort, to be a good teammate and a good school citizen.   Football is special and the players enjoy it.  There is always a hunger for the upcoming season.  Then along come what I would call the "Dream Catchers"...organizations and businesses and individuals who descend on the provincial football scene like locusts selling their line of "you will get "seen" with us, "we have the inside track to the next level" , "you are elite if you attend/invited to our camp, our combine, yada, yada yada."  The bottom line is always the bottom-line...pay us. pay us, pay us.   See folks, they want your money and will tell you and your parents just about anything to get you to attend their gathering.  Some believe it or not, are going to run camps/tryouts etc. during the Fall Season.   This is the height of disrespect for every school and community team competing to be its best during its season (Spring and Fall).   It is greed on display.  I say to every kid and parent. Go give your best within your program, with your teammates.  Go give your all to each other.  Go measure yourself on a level playing field on game day.  Hit the books and don't let the hucksters convince you that they have the short-cut ready for you to take.   The reality is, your stock will rise and fall within this context.  Those with the physical, intellectual and financial ability to play at the next level will do so.   Any college coach worth a lick will find you and your own coach, who knows your body of work in all aspects of your schoolastic life, will gladly assist you with getting your name "out there", with integrity and without asking for a penny to help you out.   

I am sounding a warning to everyone out there.  The "Dream Catchers" are parasites and they have found a host.  At some point, too many parasites harm and at times, can even kill the host organism. They know that young people dream and they sell em their dreams back for a price and with a bodyguard of assertions and promises.   They do not make programs better.  They don't make the game better. Their agenda is different. Dollars, graft and perceived elitism are there for starts.

Watch out for em.

Best of luck to everyone in their respective programs! Ball for the Ballers pure and simple. 

GI's AA Varsity Top 5

1. Abbottsford Collegiate
2. G.W. Graham Grizzlies
3. Vernon Panthers
4. John Barsby Bulldogs
5. Mission Roadrunners

Honorable Mention

Ballenas Whalers, Hugh Boyd Trojans, Holy Cross Crusaders


GI's Picks

College Heights @ Duchess Park: The Cougars open their season against North Conference powerhouse Duchess Park.  This game will be a barometer of how big the separation is between the Condors and the rest of the pack.  GI's Pick: Condors run away with this one in a blowout. Duchess by 25 plus.

Prince George @ Kelley Road: The Polars are on the rise.  Look for the green and white to make an early statement with a ground-show.  GI's Pick: Polars by 15.

Ballenas @ Mt. Boucharie (AAA): The Whalers are hunting big game right out of the gates as they travel to Kelowna to tangle with one of the top Interior AAA squads.  This game will be close for a quarter or two until the deeper Boucharie roster has a say.  Look for some deep strikes from the boys in blue and a persistent running game.  GI's Pick: Bears by 17.