Excuses for not Playing Six-Man Football

[jc_30]

Heard this from Harvey Wellman one night when we were coming back from a game. "8 man is the most boring brand of football. Too many kids on a 40x80 field." not that I agree cause I've only seen it on films. But he's a hard one to argue with.

 

[Dogface]

Your getting doggie excited with that picture.
Oh yeah, I already ate man.
(stole that from markf)

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Old Bearkat]

Heard this from Harvey Wellman one night when we were coming back from a game. "8 man is the most boring brand of football. Too many kids on a 40x80 field." not that I agree cause I've only seen it on films. But he's a hard one to argue with.

Could do like Oregon and lay it on a 50X100 field....

 

[Clairatt19]

I have most frequently heard:
1. "It's not real football", from people who have never even seen a game, much less played it, much less caught one over the middle against a 6 man safety, and think their ignorance is helping their kids.
2. "We're a basketball school", from people who are marginally successful at basketball and routinely lose basketball games to "football schools," and think their mediocrity is helping their kids.
3. "We can't afford to start a program", from people who don't want to try, are looking for an excuse not to exert any effort and think their apathy is helping their kids.

My reasons why a school should play six man:
1. It is so much fun for the kids. The example I always give is "Would you rather a child's football experience be playing right guard on a 7th grade 11 man team in a bunch of 8-6 or 13-0 games where he collides with one other player for 40 plays and then the game is over, or play both sides of the ball, touch the ball 5-10 times, score once or twice and in 8 minute quarters enjoy the thrill of a 38-35 or 54-47 game?" Seriously, which kid is more likely to continue playing into high school?
2. It is so much fun for the kids. My friends constantly chided me to transfer my son to public school "because he's a great player and he should play at a higher level, play 11 man, have a chance at a scholarship, etc." And I always said, "How is this going to be better for him? Here, he has a chance to play for a championship, he's 1st team all-state football, all-district basketball, state champion in track, athlete of the year, etc. So he goes to Navarro, and the team is 7-4 and he makes 2nd team all-district, gets 3rd at district in the long jump, and still doesn't get a scholarship. Which are the better experiences, the better memories, the better resume? He would be better off in the bigger school, how?
3. It is so much fun for the kids. ok, track is over about May 10th. Do you really think the best thing for our kids is to spend the next 6 months getting ready for basketball season? I mean, since we're a basketball school and all. I promise you one thing: six months of basketball practice is no fun, six months without a competitive game is no fun. And do not even mention club ball to me! If your parents will spend the money it takes to play club basketball, you can afford six man football!!
Club ball is not cheap!!
And don't get me started on the great American scam known as the oft-promised, rarely delivered college athletic scholarship for small school athletes.

 

[Dogface]

Wow,
that was incredibly well written!
I like your use of repitition for emphasis.
Your spelling and grammar are impeccable.
You remind me of...
well,
me of course!

I like that about you!

 

[Clairatt19]

I take that as a compliment.
I take that as a compliment.

 

[Clairatt19]

And it's "repetition"
Couldn't resist!

 

[Dogface]

Jus checkin' to see if you're payin' attention.

 

[freeagent]

Well, my old friend above (Doggie's a friend, too., but I'm talking Claireatt19) got me to do what when I was back in the pharmaceutical/medical business used to call a "one dog clinical study."

I've never asked you this question Brad, but I'm gonna take a shot here. If Lifegate hadn't had football when you brought your two kids to the school, would you have made the switch?

Now, for folks playing at home, there are other reasons why this mom and dad would have made the switch from public to private school ... especially Lifegate, since other relatives were going to school here and the grandfather was among the founding members of the church, but I'm curious. If I get the answer I think I might get, it might show that schools that make the decision to add six-man football are not only going to retain students, they have an opportunity to attract quality students to their schools.

 

[Clairatt19]

It definitely was a factor in deciding to come to Lifegate. We were leaving public school regardless, but the fact that LCS had just started football definitely helped get us to Seguin. For years, my wife and her family were private school folks in general and Lifegate folks in particular, and I was a public school guy. Because of the football!Matt was going in to 6th grade, so we had a year before he would have started playing in public school. He was playing Pop Warner ball in La Vernia. Bob told us they were thinking about starting a middle school program, so we came on faith. So then, you and Rabon asked me to start the middle school program and be the head coach. Remember Jerry Clower? He used to say "the first football game I ever saw, I played in." Well, I was similar. The first six man game I ever saw, I was the head coach in. You may have forgotten, or never known, but our first year at Lifegate, I was the radio play by play announcer for Stockdale football on KWCB, so I never came to a Lifegate game that first year. The next fall, I was a six man guy and have been ever since. Yeah, it made a difference. We would have come that first year regardless, but staying may have been a different story without the football.