What steps would it take to make 1A football more competitive?

myboyblue43 said:
Having coached at 1As and 2As for most of my career I agree that this is an issue as well. A lot of 1As are struggling to keep the doors open, much less having a full staff. I think that's why we desperately need the state to renew the Teacher pay raise in a year and a half to make smaller schools more appealing.

Not many people are willing to get paid 38k-44k a year to coach 3-4 sports JH and HS and have 4 or 5 teaching preps to prepare for everyday.
Teacher shortage doesn't help this problem either.
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I think this is part of the reason it is hard to get small school coaches in general, but also makes it really hard to keep them. Unless they are from a small town or just love sixman football the pay difference from big school to small school is tough. You can easily go to a metroplex right now and make significantly more money and coach even less than you would at a 1a. The state giving raises this year definitely helped, but still does not close the gap enough. It is full go from August to May for most 1a coaches with most of them coaching jh and high school in every sport.
 
2 options.
Option 1: make 3 divisions of six man football.
Option 2: (my favorite) make a single division of 8 man football, with 2 smaller divisions of sixman

Sidenote rant: can we have 3 teams make it to playoffs, champion gets first round bye. Don’t give me that crap of “competition becomes stale” when you have 0-10 teams making it in 2a-6a because of a 4 team playoff.
 
myboyblue43 said:
Do you think that THSCA does a good enough job in helping prepare people for the 6 Man game specifically at clinics, Coaching School, and etc.? (I do not think they do as a coach who attended those events)

I know TSMCA hosts things, but would it be beneficial to connect with THSCA on things to help grow the coaching side of the game?
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I spent the first 13 years of coaching in 11man...and the last 13 in 6-man. I've learned considerably more at the TSMCA clinic than I ever learned at THSCA (especially X's and O's). The only thing I've ever picked up at THSCA is coaching techniques for track.
 
Jones26 said:
I spent the first 13 years of coaching in 11man...and the last 13 in 6-man. I've learned considerably more at the TSMCA clinic than I ever learned at THSCA (especially X's and O's). The only thing I've ever picked up at THSCA is coaching techniques for track.
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So would you say that be due to THSCA's lack of 6 Man coaching help/training or that THSCA just doesn't care about it?
 
dtrevino said:
2 options.
Option 1: make 3 divisions of six man football.
Option 2: (my favorite) make a single division of 8 man football, with 2 smaller divisions of sixman

Sidenote rant: can we have 3 teams make it to playoffs, champion gets first round bye. Don’t give me that crap of “competition becomes stale” when you have 0-10 teams making it in 2a-6a because of a 4 team playoff.
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If I were made the god of UIL 6-man football, I'd change the district count from 16 in each division to 8, making the districts larger (7-9 teams) with more meaningful district games instead of 7 non-district games where you hope you remain healthy enough for the 3 district games at the end of the season.

And I'd take 4 teams from every district. That would actually be closer to what UIL does now in crowded-field football.

But there are two problems with this. First, when I did check the help wanted ads, there never was a job entitled "god of UIL six-man football" opened. And second, I'm retired. :cool:
 
myboyblue43 said:
This brings back a broader question on coaching.

Is the difference between 6 Man and 11 Man experience to big of a gap for coaches to jump?

What are we not doing to get more 6 Man school Alums to the coaching/teaching ranks?
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The opportunities are out there. You’ve already got several of us in the mix — myself at Rocksprings, Coach Brown at May, Coach Allen at Valley, and more coming up. The older generation of six-man coaches has done an incredible job mentoring us and opening doors.

From my experience, the support system at the 1A level is unmatched. The relationships, the willingness to teach, and the investment in young coaches transitioning from playing to coaching is far greater than anything you’ll find from 2A-6A.

If more six-man alums want to coach, the path is there — we just need to keep encouraging them, keep mentoring them, and keep showing them that this game creates great coaches too.
 
myboyblue43 said:
So would you say that be due to THSCA's lack of 6 Man coaching help/training or that THSCA just doesn't care about it?
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I’m saying the THSCA isn’t very good for learning X’s and O’s even for 11man coaches. There is some good stuff on culture and the college coaches speak well, but I don’t remember very many X’s and O’s talk at all. Of course, I haven’t been there in close to 15 years. So it might have changed. The good stuff was always in other sports, S&C, etc.

Our association has a great relationship with THSCA, and I’m a proud member of both. So, I don’t want anyone to think I’m badmouthing the THSCA coaching school. But I have learned more football at the TSMCA clinic over the years.
 
CoachClutch said:
The opportunities are out there. You’ve already got several of us in the mix — myself at Rocksprings, Coach Brown at May, Coach Allen at Valley, and more coming up. The older generation of six-man coaches has done an incredible job mentoring us and opening doors.

From my experience, the support system at the 1A level is unmatched. The relationships, the willingness to teach, and the investment in young coaches transitioning from playing to coaching is far greater than anything you’ll find from 2A-6A.

If more six-man alums want to coach, the path is there — we just need to keep encouraging them, keep mentoring them, and keep showing them that this game creates great coaches too.
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Seen a LOT of School boards in multiple places turn down former 6man player that are coaches now to hire someone who they think is a better fit... most are former 11man guys. Granted some have success and some dont. Some have the Jimmy's and Joe's and some dont.
 
I'd make three divisions, but not based on enrollment. It would be based on last seasons performance with the best teams in d1. Then each year the 10 best teams in division 2 and 3 are promoted up and the ten worst teams in division 1 and 2 are demoted down.
 
Win1fortheGipper said:
I'd make three divisions, but not based on enrollment. It would be based on last seasons performance with the best teams in d1. Then each year the 10 best teams in division 2 and 3 are promoted up and the ten worst teams in division 1 and 2 are demoted down.
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Dumb.

Who picks the 10? The UIL? 🤣

How does it make sixman better to move teams around AFTER a good or bad year? Most sixman teams aren't even close to the same team from year to year. Don't punish next year's team because this year's team had a good season with a bunch of seniors that graduated.
 
I would prefer the old one division but have learned to accept the two division, my feelings are more personal than altruistic. I can see how two divisions have been helpful at the lower level of play.

Coach Jones and Winters I cant disagree with their opinions on this stuff and are great reflections on these topics.

(My only push back would be with coach Jones and raising the number...I would counter that if most of those schools 105-115 range wont opt for 6man than why not raise it then...but I also know the counter to that would probably be they would take advantage of playing 1A in basketball and track which I understand the issue with. I like giving the schools the option and Fort Hancock the opportunity to get back in UIL 6man and others that might have but are always fluctuating like Cross Plains a more stable reason to move to 6man)

Also I know many ex 6man players that coach or have coached 11man across the state, Coach Clutch is one and he is 100% on point with his take.
 
I don't see CP ever playing 6man. They could have made the switch years ago, and chose not to. They have loved being 1A in everything else, though. And yes, that's all that would happen if we raised the number. Many more basketball and track teams in 1A, but very few football teams. Fort Hancock is now back under the number...how long? No telling.
 
Leman Saunders said:
I would prefer the old one division but have learned to accept the two division, my feelings are more personal than altruistic. I can see how two divisions have been helpful at the lower level of play.

Coach Jones and Winters I cant disagree with their opinions on this stuff and are great reflections on these topics.

(My only push back would be with coach Jones and raising the number...I would counter that if most of those schools 105-115 range wont opt for 6man than why not raise it then...but I also know the counter to that would probably be they would take advantage of playing 1A in basketball and track which I understand the issue with. I like giving the schools the option and Fort Hancock the opportunity to get back in UIL 6man and others that might have but are always fluctuating like Cross Plains a more stable reason to move to 6man)

Also I know many ex 6man players that coach or have coached 11man across the state, Coach Clutch is one and he is 100% on point with his take.
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My issue with 2 divisions is the absolute fact the best teams are not playing the best teams in the playoffs and championship game. You could argue 2013 Gfalls (example) could've won it outright with no division. Same goes with Benjamin, RS, Strawn etc... Everyone knows Gordon won't lose again but that is a rarity and Reed has built that program back from the dead. What if these Gordon championship teams were D2? Plus with no divisions, youre schedule is basically set, cant duck anyone or schedule cupcakes just to boost records.
 
Some may some "dumb", but this has been used successfully in professional soccer by the English Football League.

Is you want the best teams to have to play, then you have to try to put them in the same division. Similar to suggestions to just have one division.

The benefit of multiple divisions is to give the "other" teams something to play for. It's not good for the future of the sport if the teams in the bottom half never have a chance.

I hear you though... Ranking the teams isn't trivial. You can see the heated debates about the BCS or the College Football Playoff rankings. There isn't a perfect system.

We could use rankings from sixmanfootball.... But you know we could never get the UIL to agree.
 
reduce the number of districts to 8 instead of 16, composed of 8-9 teams & take top 4 to playoffs in each district. that would alleviate scheduling issues & would increase competitiveness. but I'm also in favor of moving the 1A number down to 1-74, 2A from 75-134 for all sports but football, & make the 6-man cutoff at 99 (make 8 total classifications for all sports except football, with 7 for football).
 
If you are a 1A school but choose to play up to 11-man, should be 2A for ALL SPORTS, imho.
Or give the 6man school the option to play down within an acceptable range of kids compared to enrollment number. For example, school turns in enrollment of 58 but student population is mainly females compared to the males where 15 or less males are in grades 9-12
 
Could something like they do at TAIAO be implemented by the UIL? What they do makes sense for creating competitive playoffs.

From their website: TAIAO Divisions

TAIAO uses a unique system to match programs based upon team size (as opposed to the size of their schools / organization). While TAPPS and UIL both set districts every two years, TAIAO effectively aligns every year to ensure teams of relative equal size are in the same divisions.

TAIAO football does this based upon the number of players on each team’s roster. In 2023, teams with 19 or more players were in Division 1, teams with 13-18 players were in Division 2 and teams with 12 and under were in Division 3.

Furthermore, TAIAO has no districts as they are not needed for playoff seeding. This allows all teams to play local and still compete in our post season play. For example, teams in El Paso are therefore not asked to travel hundreds of miles to play district games at neutral sites.

We use the MaxPreps ranking system to seed teams at the end of the season. MaxPreps favors teams who play a more competitive schedule. Thus, a team who has played all top 100 opponents and gone 5-5 will rank higher than a 10-0 team that has played all sub 100 ranked opponents.

Our rules do dictate that you must play a certain number of TAIAO teams if they happen to be within proximity of another TAIAO team. These scheduling rules are adjudicated by the Football Committee.
 
Much like socialism or communism is only effective in small groups, I think that only works for TAIAO due to the small numbers in their league. UIL would be a nightmare on sheer numbers alone - and a ranking system to determine playoff qualification/seeding is a joke in a state with the participation level in TX because there is no way to create a proper initial ranking at the 6-man level. Too many variables (move-ins, move-outs, injuries) that can have a larger impact on a 6man roster than on an 11man roster, let alone getting proper information due to sheer geography. Colorado uses Maxpreps rankings for playoff seeding - they are the 3rd largest 6man state in terms of participation with a total of 34 teams, and even that model is flawed.
 
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