Recruiting Students for Athletics in High School

[MA1984]

Hiring teachers and coaches who have kids is not a RS phenomenon. It has been going on by schools from every classification for decades. And if they aren't doing it they will be defeated by those who are. Its not breaking UIL rules to hire staff who have talented kids. Its free-enterprise capitalism at its finest.
However, it is a recent practice in six-man . Who wants to move from Brownwood to hick-town ,USA!?
Well, today all the amenities offered in larger communities can be reached anywhere. So why not find a school with a successful sports culture.

Do you really want to return to the days when any move under any circumstance meant your kids had to play JV ball for a year before gaining eligibility? That happened to my family when we left East Texas for Fort Worth and my sister and I had to sit on the JV teams our entire sophomore and junior seasons, respectively. It sucked.
We appealed the rule all the way to Austin. Even hired an attorney. My dad was courted and payed handsomely to take a superintendent's job at a failing school in the metroplex that had just come through an embezzlement scandal and had lost two or three hundred thousand dollars. It was in serious financial trouble. No recruiting whatsoever. I wasn't that quality of a player in football to be recruited.
I was fast and strong, but had had little success in high school football. The year we left the Piney woods my old school started winning and finished that year 12-1-1, getting beat by the eventual state champion 11-13, or something close to that. Now in round-ball we were tough. My freshmen and sophomore years we went 28-3 and 23-8.
Point is I was not recruited. My dad was a fixer who moved around repairing troubled school districts. He had a direct connection with several people at TEA who called him every year or two seeking his services in troubled schools no one wanted to go to.
Do not entertain that kind of policy.

Thank you for your response and like I said before, i have nothing but respect for you. I think (personally) you are a great offensive/defensive mind. I guess you can say your resume says it all. My point is i saw RS win their 1st and witnessed JB being an actual coach, actual joy. Greed and winning got into his head imo. When it didnt go his way he left, twice.. I think JB is a good coach, but an amazing recruiter. The 6man world is small so it doesnt surprise me about networking and finding a teacher with the "good kids" who can play. Social media has just made it easier to recruit.
* What's gonna happen when JB loses the Rigdons and the Valley boys next year?

Are both valley kids seniors? I assume if they lose 4 kids this year a new coach will be hired with kids and there is nothing wrong with that unless the quality of teacher/coach is not as big of factor as the athletic ability as the kids. We have to remember that these coaches are also going to be teaching a class

 

[BE]

Coach Sam Rayburn, its an epic melodrama that would take an hour to explain. You just have to believe or not believe.
Its not important in the whole scheme of things.
We are just following up on what Bigham said and what happened to Rigdon this year.

He was releaved of his coaching and teaching duties with full pay this year after JB was brought back from an unsuccessful coup attempt at Rankin. Ok, that was pure hyperbole. I think the whole scenario began after a July the 4th issue over chairs in an encounter with a backstabbing board member.
Jamie had a chance to leave in June and didn't. He was alerted from several coaches by foreshadow of the likelihood of a coaching change.
Just connect the dots.

 

[BE]

"NETWORKING"

Very interesting term for this accusation.

 

[LBK6manFan]

Hiring teachers and coaches who have kids is not a RS phenomenon. It has been going on by schools from every classification for decades. And if they aren't doing it they will be defeated by those who are. Its not breaking UIL rules to hire staff who have talented kids. Its free-enterprise capitalism at its finest.
However, it is a recent practice in six-man . Who wants to move from Brownwood to hick-town ,USA!?
Well, today all the amenities offered in larger communities can be reached anywhere. So why not find a school with a successful sports culture.

Do you really want to return to the days when any move under any circumstance meant your kids had to play JV ball for a year before gaining eligibility? That happened to my family when we left East Texas for Fort Worth and my sister and I had to sit on the JV teams our entire sophomore and junior seasons, respectively. It sucked.
We appealed the rule all the way to Austin. Even hired an attorney. My dad was courted and payed handsomely to take a superintendent's job at a failing school in the metroplex that had just come through an embezzlement scandal and had lost two or three hundred thousand dollars. It was in serious financial trouble. No recruiting whatsoever. I wasn't that quality of a player in football to be recruited.
I was fast and strong, but had had little success in high school football. The year we left the Piney woods my old school started winning and finished that year 12-1-1, getting beat by the eventual state champion 11-13, or something close to that. Now in round-ball we were tough. My freshmen and sophomore years we went 28-3 and 23-8.
Point is I was not recruited. My dad was a fixer who moved around repairing troubled school districts. He had a direct connection with several people at TEA who called him every year or two seeking his services in troubled schools no one wanted to go to.
Do not entertain that kind of policy.

Thank you for your response and like I said before, i have nothing but respect for you. I think (personally) you are a great offensive/defensive mind. I guess you can say your resume says it all. My point is i saw RS win their 1st and witnessed JB being an actual coach, actual joy. Greed and winning got into his head imo. When it didnt go his way he left, twice.. I think JB is a good coach, but an amazing recruiter. The 6man world is small so it doesnt surprise me about networking and finding a teacher with the "good kids" who can play. Social media has just made it easier to recruit.
* What's gonna happen when JB loses the Rigdons and the Valley boys next year?

Are both valley kids seniors? I assume if they lose 4 kids this year a new coach will be hired with kids and there is nothing wrong with that unless the quality of teacher/coach is not as big of factor as the athletic ability as the kids. We have to remember that these coaches are also going to be teaching a class

Yessir, both are seniors, girls bball coaches sons. Completely agree but unless she has intentions on moving on it makes the recruiting perspective even more obvious.
* I assume RS will find some other "assistants" with boys that can play so JB can have his championships. Recruit, keep quiet, and you're good... JBs blueprint

 

[BE]

I would like to give kudos to Coach Bigham for his courage to discuss something many people are seeing, but lack the desire to expose.
It is tough to compete with a culture that will use every tool in the box to build a successful program. Hey, I was there for six years and saw it every summer and winter. Most of it was pure hustle and vision. Some was stretching the ethical boundaries. Much is luck.
The year I took Follett to state I had two move-ins appear from nowhere. Without them we don't defeat Grandfalls-Royalty in the semis.

But everyone knows things are happening on the edge.
The UIL doesn't care or is impotent to respond. Why would they. A school must admit a wrongdoing before the League will pay attention.

Men, I like an underdog to outrun the champion, sometimes. And if you have any competitive bone marrow you have a burning desire to knock off the studs like RS, Strawn and the Patriots
I plan to be in such a position again someday. It's why I coach and why I dearly enjoy competition. I am the guy running through the corridor screaming,"where is Gable, no Dan Gable, I must fight Dan Gable".

 

[LBK6manFan]

I would like to give kudos to Coach Bigham for his courage to discuss something many people are seeing, but lack the desire to expose.
It is tough to compete with a culture that will use every tool in the box to build a successful program. Hey, I was there for six years and saw it every summer and winter. Most of it was pure hustle and vision. Some was stretching the ethical boundaries. Much is luck.
The year I took Follett to state I had two move-ins appear from nowhere. Without them we don't defeat Grandfalls-Royalty in the semis.

But everyone knows things are happening on the edge.
The UIL doesn't care or is impotent to respond. Why would they. A school must admit a wrongdoing before the League will pay attention.

Men, I like an underdog to outrun the champion, sometimes. And if you have any competitive bone marrow you have a burning desire to knock off the studs like RS, Strawn and the Patriots
I plan to be in such a position again someday. It's why I coach and why I dearly enjoy competition. I am the guy running through the corridor screaming,"where is Gable, no Dan Gable, I must fight Dan Gable".

You are a very humble man. I may disagree with some of your thoughts but that's being a person with differing opinions. I believe you do it the right way, I dont believe JB does it the right way. Why do you leave a program twice, yet come back when it's already set and done for you? And yet greeted with open arms after you get what you want. I cant believe some people on here cant see what's happening to the Rigdons as they most likely had the hardest experience of their lives as a Coach, family, and kids.

 

[tx6man4life]

I would like to give kudos to Coach Bigham for his courage to discuss something many people are seeing, but lack the desire to expose.
It is tough to compete with a culture that will use every tool in the box to build a successful program. Hey, I was there for six years and saw it every summer and winter. Most of it was pure hustle and vision. Some was stretching the ethical boundaries. Much is luck.
The year I took Follett to state I had two move-ins appear from nowhere. Without them we don't defeat Grandfalls-Royalty in the semis.

But everyone knows things are happening on the edge.
The UIL doesn't care or is impotent to respond. Why would they. A school must admit a wrongdoing before the League will pay attention.

Men, I like an underdog to outrun the champion, sometimes. And if you have any competitive bone marrow you have a burning desire to knock off the studs like RS, Strawn and the Patriots
I plan to be in such a position again someday. It's why I coach and why I dearly enjoy competition. I am the guy running through the corridor screaming,"where is Gable, no Dan Gable, I must fight Dan Gable".

It’s stuff like this that makes you my favorite EX Coach!! The Rigdon situation was IMO the worst decision a school could make. It’s not because they replaced him with their hometown hero it’s the way they
Went about it and how the community pack of rabid coyotes treated the entire family and the message it sends to the kids in the hallway!!!! But I’m with you coach if UIL is gonna let them flirt with the line of legality and do nothing then someone just has to find a way to stand in there and knock them off. Sure hope Rigdon finds a way to meet up with JB and RS In a game of importance next year.!! God Bless you and your family Coach, Merry Christmas

 

[Caprock kid]

I just don’t understand how this school could suck so bad then turn it around year after year in the 2000’s. But yet there are always new faces team is always stacked. Plus they play in a weak area kinda reminds me of Jayton only thing that divides the two is bring in players. RS is a proven power I get that but last season they didn’t make it to state so is there coach just that good or is the recruiting just better when he’s there? I completely agree with MC coach in home grown players and out sourced talent.

 

[51eleven]

I would like to give kudos to Coach Bigham for his courage to discuss something many people are seeing, but lack the desire to expose.
It is tough to compete with a culture that will use every tool in the box to build a successful program. Hey, I was there for six years and saw it every summer and winter. Most of it was pure hustle and vision. Some was stretching the ethical boundaries. Much is luck.
The year I took Follett to state I had two move-ins appear from nowhere. Without them we don't defeat Grandfalls-Royalty in the semis.

But everyone knows things are happening on the edge.
The UIL doesn't care or is impotent to respond. Why would they. A school must admit a wrongdoing before the League will pay attention.

Men, I like an underdog to outrun the champion, sometimes. And if you have any competitive bone marrow you have a burning desire to knock off the studs like RS, Strawn and the Patriots
I plan to be in such a position again someday. It's why I coach and why I dearly enjoy competition. I am the guy running through the corridor screaming,"where is Gable, no Dan Gable, I must fight Dan Gable".

It’s stuff like this that makes you my favorite EX Coach!! The Rigdon situation was IMO the worst decision a school could make. It’s not because they replaced him with their hometown hero it’s the way they
Went about it and how the community pack of rabid coyotes treated the entire family and the message it sends to the kids in the hallway!!!! But I’m with you coach if UIL is gonna let them flirt with the line of legality and do nothing then someone just has to find a way to stand in there and knock them off. Sure hope Rigdon finds a way to meet up with JB and RS In a game of importance next year.!! God Bless you and your family Coach, Merry Christmas

I thought BE was Coaching again. Earlier in the season I mentioned seeing he was The coach at Leaky. I was corrected by it being pointed out he is an assistant there.
Regarding the whole RS Rigdon's milieu I only know what I read on here and didn't know they were planning on moving. Can't blame them if they do. I guess the man was boxed in regarding his sons playing elsewhere or him finding another coaching job at that late date. Likely mixed emotions but he's probably happy to see is kid's get a ring.
The part that perplexes me, if this is true from reading on this site is his being paid to stay at home, not rock the boat. How many sixman districts can afford to do that?

 

[The Motley Fool]

I would like to give kudos to Coach Bigham for his courage to discuss something many people are seeing, but lack the desire to expose.
It is tough to compete with a culture that will use every tool in the box to build a successful program. Hey, I was there for six years and saw it every summer and winter. Most of it was pure hustle and vision. Some was stretching the ethical boundaries. Much is luck.
The year I took Follett to state I had two move-ins appear from nowhere. Without them we don't defeat Grandfalls-Royalty in the semis.

But everyone knows things are happening on the edge.
The UIL doesn't care or is impotent to respond. Why would they. A school must admit a wrongdoing before the League will pay attention.

Men, I like an underdog to outrun the champion, sometimes. And if you have any competitive bone marrow you have a burning desire to knock off the studs like RS, Strawn and the Patriots
I plan to be in such a position again someday. It's why I coach and why I dearly enjoy competition. I am the guy running through the corridor screaming,"where is Gable, no Dan Gable, I must fight Dan Gable".

It’s stuff like this that makes you my favorite EX Coach!! The Rigdon situation was IMO the worst decision a school could make. It’s not because they replaced him with their hometown hero it’s the way they
Went about it and how the community pack of rabid coyotes treated the entire family and the message it sends to the kids in the hallway!!!! But I’m with you coach if UIL is gonna let them flirt with the line of legality and do nothing then someone just has to find a way to stand in there and knock them off. Sure hope Rigdon finds a way to meet up with JB and RS In a game of importance next year.!! God Bless you and your family Coach, Merry Christmas[/quote]

I thought BE was Coaching again. Earlier in the season I mentioned seeing he was The coach at Leaky. I was corrected by it being pointed out he is an assistant there.
Regarding the whole RS Rigdon's milieu I only know what I read on here and didn't know they were planning on moving. Can't blame them if they do. I guess the man was boxed in regarding his sons playing elsewhere or him finding another coaching job at that late date. Likely mixed emotions but he's probably happy to see is kid's get a ring.
The part that perplexes me, if this is true from reading on this site is his being paid to stay at home, not rock the boat. How many sixman districts can afford to do that?
I would like to know how they can do that too? My school couldn’t even get into a bidding war with another school but they can pay one to sit home? Regardless Wouldn’t be surprised if the Rigdon’s are already being courted, Brownwood boosters probably lighting up their phones right now.

 

[Klaactu]

I look at these teams and really wonder if no pass/no play is really enforced. There might be a few at the schools, but I bet everyone in football passes. Do any of you (without naming the schools or students) know of any cases where a football player missed games because they did not maintain a 70 (or whatever the school sets as a passing grade)? Maybe all schools moving into the play-offs should be audited by TEA.

 

[Klaactu]

I look at these teams and really wonder if no pass/no play is really enforced. There might be a few at the schools, but I bet everyone in football passes. Do any of you (without naming the schools or students) know of any cases where a football player missed games because they did not maintain a 70 (or whatever the school sets as a passing grade)? Maybe all schools moving into the play-offs should be audited by TEA.

 

[Fresta8473]

I have read this board for the past year following the escapades of the “great” six man legend, Jerry Burkhart. I can speak on his character and commitment to being “All In” from his time that he spent at Stanton. I have witnessed him riding into Stanton (a school that hasn’t had much success in recent years) and claiming to be the savior of its struggling program. I have witnessed a community that rallied around his charisma, excitement, and ability to motivate students. Then came two-a-days and the non-district season. It did not take about five minutes of watching Burkhart to figure out that he was not as knowledgeable in eleven man as he was at six man. He had a few good players but not near what was going to be needed to assure a fast turnaround (especially for a coach who hadn’t coached eleven man football).

Week one, they got blown out and it was something to watch Mrs Burkhart walk off of the field the first two games crying almost tantrum like because it was pressure that they had never felt in their years of coaching. Week three comes along and there is a glimpse of hope when the younger Burkhart had a great game against a less than stellar opponent to get statewide recognition. That hype did not last long as the next two weeks, Stanton was blown out again. In the week five game, Burkhart blew up on two occasions with a parent from the sidelines to the stands and then with a player on the sideline as Burkhart screamed at him all the way from the sideline to the locker room which was about 100 yards away. It was quite apparent at that time that JB was losing control of the program and that he was in a very uncomfortable situation. They were losing. He couldn’t control the school and community the way that he had in Richland Springs.

So what could he do to get out of the situation where he was in way over his head? I am not saying that there was no truth to the story of Landon being bullied, but much of it was fabricated to save Jerry some face and to get him out of town. He shipped his kid down the road to a Sterling City after shopping him around to several schools while claiming to be the victim in the entire situation. Landon stayed at SC for less than two weeks while JB was attempting to plan his own exit from Stanton. He claims that Stanton mistreated him which is total garbage. They started district 0-2 and after losing a game to Lubbock Roosevelt where he was clearly out coached and they should have won, he bailed on his players and coaching staff in the middle of the night that a Friday night. Looking back a year later, it is almost humorous to look back and see JB and his sidekick from RS walk out of the locker room in Lubbock that night scurrying to a school vehicle to ride home by themselves. That was the last time that anybody saw them in Stanton.


I bring all of this up to say that what JB did to the kids at Stanton was cowardly. He might seem to be getting away with it by getting himself another championship at RS and probably a few more to come, but in my mind he is nothing more than a fraud as a coach and a man. He might not have to pay for it and it might seem like he again has life by the horns at RS, but in all of this my son as well as other young men who trusted him and would have ran through a brick wall for him were left to have the most miserable experience that a high school football player could ever endure in one season. Yes, I am a parent of a Stanton Buffalo and I am proud of my son and his teammates that they have become better men and high school football players in spite of JB.

I have given my rant and I am sure most will still just claim that JB is a great legend in our state, but I differ in that opinion. After what he did at Stanton, nothing is beyond this man when it comes to his desire to win. I’m glad that he’s back at RS and no longer in Stanton.

 

[Deleted member 21909]

I have read this board for the past year following the escapades of the “great” six man legend, Jerry Burkhart. I can speak on his character and commitment to being “All In” from his time that he spent at Stanton. I have witnessed him riding into Stanton (a school that hasn’t had much success in recent years) and claiming to be the savior of its struggling program. I have witnessed a community that rallied around his charisma, excitement, and ability to motivate students. Then came two-a-days and the non-district season. It did not take about five minutes of watching Burkhart to figure out that he was not as knowledgeable in eleven man as he was at six man. He had a few good players but not near what was going to be needed to assure a fast turnaround (especially for a coach who hadn’t coached eleven man football).

Week one, they got blown out and it was something to watch Mrs Burkhart walk off of the field the first two games crying almost tantrum like because it was pressure that they had never felt in their years of coaching. Week three comes along and there is a glimpse of hope when the younger Burkhart had a great game against a less than stellar opponent to get statewide recognition. That hype did not last long as the next two weeks, Stanton was blown out again. In the week five game, Burkhart blew up on two occasions with a parent from the sidelines to the stands and then with a player on the sideline as Burkhart screamed at him all the way from the sideline to the locker room which was about 100 yards away. It was quite apparent at that time that JB was losing control of the program and that he was in a very uncomfortable situation. They were losing. He couldn’t control the school and community the way that he had in Richland Springs.

So what could he do to get out of the situation where he was in way over his head? I am not saying that there was no truth to the story of Landon being bullied, but much of it was fabricated to save Jerry some face and to get him out of town. He shipped his kid down the road to a Sterling City after shopping him around to several schools while claiming to be the victim in the entire situation. Landon stayed at SC for less than two weeks while JB was attempting to plan his own exit from Stanton. He claims that Stanton mistreated him which is total garbage. They started district 0-2 and after losing a game to Lubbock Roosevelt where he was clearly out coached and they should have won, he bailed on his players and coaching staff in the middle of the night that a Friday night. Looking back a year later, it is almost humorous to look back and see JB and his sidekick from RS walk out of the locker room in Lubbock that night scurrying to a school vehicle to ride home by themselves. That was the last time that anybody saw them in Stanton.


I bring all of this up to say that what JB did to the kids at Stanton was cowardly. He might seem to be getting away with it by getting himself another championship at RS and probably a few more to come, but in my mind he is nothing more than a fraud as a coach and a man. He might not have to pay for it and it might seem like he again has life by the horns at RS, but in all of this my son as well as other young men who trusted him and would have ran through a brick wall for him were left to have the most miserable experience that a high school football player could ever endure in one season. Yes, I am a parent of a Stanton Buffalo and I am proud of my son and his teammates that they have become better men and high school football players in spite of JB.

I have given my rant and I am sure most will still just claim that JB is a great legend in our state, but I differ in that opinion. After what he did at Stanton, nothing is beyond this man when it comes to his desire to win. I’m glad that he’s back at RS and no longer in Stanton.

Since you have read this message board for a while now, you probably know that I am a big Burkhart fan and think he can coach 11-man even after the situation at Stanton. While you probably know more about the specifics than I do at Stanton, the only thing I will say none football wise is parents have a right to protect their son regardless of what you, the Stanton Police Department, and/or Stanton High School think about the situation.

From a football perspective, I am not sure you are qualified to say "we should have won X game and only lost because of Burkhart" because Stanton has not had a very good season since 2010. (Link from Lonestarfootball.net - https://imgur.com/a/QYgMD9y.)

Why didn't Stanton beat Lubbock Roosevelt this year? The score was 29 to 13 this year versus 15 to 12 in 2018 with Burkhart last year. Do you remember what good football looks like way back in 2010? Burkhart won one of the four games you've won since 2015.

You sound a like bitter parent, and I honestly do not blame you because the situation, whether its Burkhart's fault or not, negatively affected your son. Although I sympathize with that, I question why you felt the need to get on sixmanfootball.com, which has nothing to do with Stanton, and tell us about this. It sounds like Gordon Wood, John Madden, Nick Saban, or [insert stud coach] would have a hard time winning in Stanton, TX.

 

[Fresta8473]

As I have stated, my son has not been negatively affected by JB’s disaster at Stanton. He has gotten his due. As for good high school football, we have not lived in this area but only for three years. We won where we moved from and have much knowledge of football around the state especially in West Texas. I totally agree on the protection of his kid but they overreacted and used it as an excuse to get out of town when things weren’t going their way. As for bitter, I’m not. My whole point is that nothing is beyond JB when it comes to winning. I’ve followed this board since they had to go before UIL last fall to attempt to get Landon eligible. Obviously, the UIL and many of this area’s coaches see my viewpoint because I am giving you pretty much the entire story and not just what some people who want to believe the “legend” no matter what he has done. Anybody who doesn’t see the entire picture of JB is in complete denial. Lol

 

[Fresta8473]

And yes, if anyone is qualified in these parts for saying that Stanton should have won the Roosevelt game, I’m one who would be. They lost their QB this year to a torn ACL. Look at their schedule and compare this year to last year. Much improved week to week when playing the same teams.

 

[Fresta8473]

I have read this board for the past year following the escapades of the “great” six man legend, Jerry Burkhart. I can speak on his character and commitment to being “All In” from his time that he spent at Stanton. I have witnessed him riding into Stanton (a school that hasn’t had much success in recent years) and claiming to be the savior of its struggling program. I have witnessed a community that rallied around his charisma, excitement, and ability to motivate students. Then came two-a-days and the non-district season. It did not take about five minutes of watching Burkhart to figure out that he was not as knowledgeable in eleven man as he was at six man. He had a few good players but not near what was going to be needed to assure a fast turnaround (especially for a coach who hadn’t coached eleven man football).

Week one, they got blown out and it was something to watch Mrs Burkhart walk off of the field the first two games crying almost tantrum like because it was pressure that they had never felt in their years of coaching. Week three comes along and there is a glimpse of hope when the younger Burkhart had a great game against a less than stellar opponent to get statewide recognition. That hype did not last long as the next two weeks, Stanton was blown out again. In the week five game, Burkhart blew up on two occasions with a parent from the sidelines to the stands and then with a player on the sideline as Burkhart screamed at him all the way from the sideline to the locker room which was about 100 yards away. It was quite apparent at that time that JB was losing control of the program and that he was in a very uncomfortable situation. They were losing. He couldn’t control the school and community the way that he had in Richland Springs.

So what could he do to get out of the situation where he was in way over his head? I am not saying that there was no truth to the story of Landon being bullied, but much of it was fabricated to save Jerry some face and to get him out of town. He shipped his kid down the road to a Sterling City after shopping him around to several schools while claiming to be the victim in the entire situation. Landon stayed at SC for less than two weeks while JB was attempting to plan his own exit from Stanton. He claims that Stanton mistreated him which is total garbage. They started district 0-2 and after losing a game to Lubbock Roosevelt where he was clearly out coached and they should have won, he bailed on his players and coaching staff in the middle of the night that a Friday night. Looking back a year later, it is almost humorous to look back and see JB and his sidekick from RS walk out of the locker room in Lubbock that night scurrying to a school vehicle to ride home by themselves. That was the last time that anybody saw them in Stanton.


I bring all of this up to say that what JB did to the kids at Stanton was cowardly. He might seem to be getting away with it by getting himself another championship at RS and probably a few more to come, but in my mind he is nothing more than a fraud as a coach and a man. He might not have to pay for it and it might seem like he again has life by the horns at RS, but in all of this my son as well as other young men who trusted him and would have ran through a brick wall for him were left to have the most miserable experience that a high school football player could ever endure in one season. Yes, I am a parent of a Stanton Buffalo and I am proud of my son and his teammates that they have become better men and high school football players in spite of JB.

I have given my rant and I am sure most will still just claim that JB is a great legend in our state, but I differ in that opinion. After what he did at Stanton, nothing is beyond this man when it comes to his desire to win. I’m glad that he’s back at RS and no longer in Stanton.

Since you have read this message board for a while now, you probably know that I am a big Burkhart fan and think he can coach 11-man even after the situation at Stanton. While you probably know more about the specifics than I do at Stanton, the only thing I will say none football wise is parents have a right to protect their son regardless of what you, the Stanton Police Department, and/or Stanton High School think about the situation.

From a football perspective, I am not sure you are qualified to say "we should have won X game and only lost because of Burkhart" because Stanton has not had a very good season since 2010. (Link from Lonestarfootball.net - https://imgur.com/a/QYgMD9y.)

Why didn't Stanton beat Lubbock Roosevelt this year? The score was 29 to 13 this year versus 15 to 12 in 2018 with Burkhart last year. Do you remember what good football looks like way back in 2010? Burkhart won one of the four games you've won since 2015.

You sound a like bitter parent, and I honestly do not blame you because the situation, whether its Burkhart's fault or not, negatively affected your son. Although I sympathize with that, I question why you felt the need to get on sixmanfootball.com, which has nothing to do with Stanton, and tell us about this. It sounds like Gordon Wood, John Madden, Nick Saban, or [insert stud coach] would have a hard time winning in Stanton, TX.

One more thought on this, we only got a seven game sample of JB coaching eleven man football. Both of us know that it takes time to turn around a program, especially one with the history of Stanton. He quit and wasn’t willing to invest the time necessary to turn it around since it wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter like his state championship that he won this season.

 

[Deleted member 21909]

While you know more about Stanton Football than I will ever know and my intention is not to put the Buffalos down, I have a problem with one of your statements:

I totally agree on the protection of his kid but they overreacted and used it as an excuse to get out of town when things weren’t going their way.

#1: Are you 1000% sure about that? You aren't going to be the ones dealing with an unthinkable crisis, having to bury a child, if you are wrong about that. You said something about culture differences between Stanton and Richland Springs; I bet the kid gets in more trouble at Richland than he did at Stanton because many of those bigger school districts are more worried about having butts in seats than safety.

#2: I've made this analogy before, but some kids in New Orleans used Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to move to Texas schools for athletic reasons. Friday Night Lights (the TV Show) did a parody of this in season 1 when the Dillion Panthers tried to recruit Ray "Voodoo" Tatum, a talented QB from a school underwater as a result of Katrina, to play for them.While I feel for people displaced by Katrina, most of them were not threatened by violence. Who is to judge this situation as more or less deserving of "an exception" than kids displaced by Katrina? If that kid threatened to shoot Landon, then no one can blame the Burkharts from getting him out of there.

#3: To quote the man himself when Stanton hired him "one day I told my wife (Bonnie) I was ready to get back to the challenge of coaching 11-man." Do you really think he thought he would walk in there, go 15-0, and win the state title in year 1?! Do you think maybe the situation with his son affected his ability to do his job effectively? Source: https://www.mrt.com/sports/highschool/a ... 629016.php

Unless you can see inside people's minds and hearts, I simply do not think you can judge the Burkharts. In fact, you sound like a conspiracy theorist.

God, the Burkharts, and the kid that threatened Landon are the only ones that know the 1000% truth about the safety matter.

 

[MA1984]

Not to get off topic but is Tebow Time still a thing I remember when it was like 9 years ago and I refuse to follow baseball so I honestly don’t know if he is a star athlete anymore or just a spread the word for money guy.

 

[Fresta8473]

While you know more about Stanton Football than I will ever know and my intention is not to put the Buffalos down, I have a problem with one of your statements:

I totally agree on the protection of his kid but they overreacted and used it as an excuse to get out of town when things weren’t going their way.

#1: Are you 1000% sure about that? You aren't going to be the ones dealing with an unthinkable crisis, having to bury a child, if you are wrong about that. You said something about culture differences between Stanton and Richland Springs; I bet the kid gets in more trouble at Richland than he did at Stanton because many of those bigger school districts are more worried about having butts in seats than safety.

#2: I've made this analogy before, but some kids in New Orleans used Hurricane Katrina as an excuse to move to Texas schools for athletic reasons. Friday Night Lights (the TV Show) did a parody of this in season 1 when the Dillion Panthers tried to recruit Ray "Voodoo" Tatum, a talented QB from a school underwater as a result of Katrina, to play for them.While I feel for people displaced by Katrina, most of them were not threatened by violence. Who is to judge this situation as more or less deserving of "an exception" than kids displaced by Katrina? If that kid threatened to shoot Landon, then no one can blame the Burkharts from getting him out of there.

#3: To quote the man himself when Stanton hired him "one day I told my wife (Bonnie) I was ready to get back to the challenge of coaching 11-man." Do you really think he thought he would walk in there, go 15-0, and win the state title in year 1?! Do you think maybe the situation with his son affected his ability to do his job effectively? Source: https://www.mrt.com/sports/highschool/a ... 629016.php

Unless you can see inside people's minds and hearts, I simply do not think you can judge the Burkharts. In fact, you sound like a conspiracy theorist.

God, the Burkharts, and the kid that threatened Landon are the only ones that know the 1000% truth about the safety matter.

1. The school and communities aren’t much different. Stanton has about 270 students. It’s not a huge school. I’ve lived in the Texas panhandle for the previous nearly twenty years before coming to Midland. It’s different but not in expectations of students and behavior. I have had one on one conversations with the administrators of SISD about the JB issue and they definitely had his back and were giving him the tools that he would need to be successful. Great administration with the kids’ best at heart.

2. I’ve seen the episodes of FNL with Voodoo. I agree on them uprooting him if that’s the case. Let me ask this question then and it’s one that there is zero reasonable answer for outside of mine and many others’ conclusions. Why did Jerry and Bonnie wait six weeks to pull Landon out of school if he was as greatly threatened as they claim? The incident happened Labor Day weekend. I know that they claim that they didn’t like the way that the police handled it but that would be much more believable if they weren’t 1-4 and many hadn’t watched their tirades with fans, parents, players, and emotional breakdowns through the process. I don’t buy it and neither did the UIL.

3. I don’t think it affected his ability to coach eleven man football. I think he lacked in that ability from the start because of the differences in the two types of football.

Also, you stated earlier about me bringing the Stanton situation onto a six man football page. He brought Stanton into the six man football talk when he left Stanton in an emotional uproar. Had he ever addressed his team in Stanton instead of walking out in the middle of the night, he would have more credibility. I get the Landon being threatened argument, but it loses much credibility when JB isn’t even man enough as a HC to address the kids who has preached for six months to them that they have to be “All In” if they want to achieve their goals. Turns out that our kids were “All In” but JB wasn’t. He should have completed the season and did not fulfill his responsibility.