White Deer makes difficult football decision

[granger]

White Deer makes difficult football decision
School administration chooses to leave 11-man football for six-man ranks


By Cody Stavenhagen
Amarillo.com

http://amarillo.com/sports/high-school- ... l-decision

 

[SavannahSixManFan]

How many times did that article smack six-man football...?

…White Deer makes difficult football decision
…White Deer purists viewed it as the final straw in killing the program’s tradition.
…going to six-man was like a death sentence for their high school football careers
…Miracle doesn’t expect White Deer’s stay in six-man to be long
…football program will have the foundations in place to restore pride in White Deer.

 

[SiXmAnMaDnEsS]

White Deer will love six man and will embrace it after this year, guaranteed. Talked to a few old timers from Naz, they said they wouldn't support a decision to ever return to 11 man.

 

[GSB]

There is no doubt the writer cast six-man in a more negative light during his own commentary. However, I thought most everything in the article from those involved in the program was refreshingly positive for six-man. Clearly the boys like the new game they are playing and they even got the head coach to make a few positive comments about the sport he was not planning to coach. They even got the boy who was going to transfer to stay.

After reading the article I couldn't help but feel sorry for White Deer though. These boys are coming out of a 1-19 past couple of seasons full of hope, hope that their school's "dropping down" to six-man will give them a chance to compete and succeed. I truly hope they can and wish them the best, but that schedule is brutal. And I cringed when I read that the coach thinks he can be "unconventional" and bring his 11-man ideas to the game. (What is the over/under on number of weeks/seasons a new coach must go to realize six-man is a completely different sport and that they MUST learn new schemes that account for a completely different pace, play timing, defensive schemes, etc.?) That will certainly not help matters. I just hope the community's view of six-man football won't be tainted by the poundings they may receive during their brutal independent schedule. Actually, I have more faith that the community's opinion of six-man may change when they witness the mercy some of these teams take on the White Deer team. Whether they know it or not, the best part of moving "down to six-man" is that they get to be a part of the best community of competitors they will ever know.

 

[freeagent]

I always take this decision in light of the realization by the community that their town is not growing. I'm sure by now a couple of long-time businesses have closed or are in dire straights. Families have left for what they perceive as "greener pastures" or because jobs aren't available in the immediate vicinity.

And then, having played 11-man football for years, they now realize that there aren't enough kids to make that happen anymore. You're having to admit again that, yes, our town is fading away as we knew it and we have to adapt again to what we have and don't have.

Those of us in private schools really don't have that problem. As I've said, our public school friends play six-man because they have to -- it's six-man football or no football. We in private schools play six-man because we want to ... our school probably would survive without football (many small private schools do) and those who want to play football can easily enroll at another private school or the local public school.

Let White Deer have their time of "grieving" of the decision. Over time, they'll come to love this version of the game as much as we do.