The new game
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:53 pm
The numbers show a pretty stark picture of how Division I football - especially parochial football - has changed over the last 10 or so years in Orange County and the CIF.
Of the six Trinity League teams, four of them have one D1 titles over the 11 years: Orange Lutheran in 2006, Servite in 2009 and 2010, Santa Margarita in 2011, St. John Bosco in 2013 and 2016. Only JSerra - which has only become competitive over the last five years – and Mater Dei have not won titles.
But there is more to the story than that. In 2006, Orange Lutheran went 4-1 in league, losing to Servite and almost Mater Dei while outscoring its four opponents (JSerra forfeited in those days) by an average of just 9 points.
In 2009 and 2010, Servite went 10 – 0 in league but with four of those victories fairly close, by 10 points or less, while outscoring its league opponents by an average of just over 18 points.
In 2011, Santa Margarita went 3-2 in league outscoring its opponents by an average of only 7 points.
By comparison, St. John Bosco since 2013 has gone 23 – 2 in league losing only to - you guessed it - Mater Dei. If you subtract those two games versus Mater Dei they had between 2013 and 2016 outscored their league components by an average of 35 points, falling off to a mere 22 points this year.
Mater Dei since 2015 has gone 13 – 2 in league, losing only to JSerra and – you guessed it – St. John Bosco. If you subtract their games versus Bosco they have outscored their league opponents by an average of 36 points for the last three years.
Why the abrupt disparity the last five years? Have Coaches Negro and Rollinson and their staffs suddenly become incomparable tacticians? Have the other Trinity league teams tanked? Obviously "no" to both questions. In fact, the Trinity league top to bottom has probably never been stronger than over the last two years.
We all know what has happened. It has long been understood for as long as the CIF has existed that athletic transfers and recruitment of athletes whether from other high schools or from junior high/elementary schools was verboten. It happened, of course, but the occurrences were for whatever reason relatively uncommon. In Orange County basketball, the dam broke with the appearance of Coach Gary McKnight and the regular transfer of elite basketball players into the program. As I don't pay much attention to high school basketball any more, I don't know exactly when that dam broke but as a result there is no competitiveness in local high school basketball, with Mater Dei winning its last 102 league games. The team is now euphemistically referred to as a "national program." It sure as hell is not a local one and like many previous fans I don't give a damn about the sport anymore.
The MD football program starting circa 1990 delved into those waters to a much lesser degree but it was still the start of the Orange County flood. It's partisans will undoubtedly disagree with that assessment but recall the old adage that "No single drop ever feels it is responsible for the flood."
But it really hit the fan several years ago when Coach Jason Negro took over at St. John Bosco and it seemed as though suddenly there were no ethical restrictions. Bosco simply sold out. Suddenly you had teams with a dozen or more Division I athletes. As I recall, MDDad told me that in one of the recent St. John Bosco /Centennial championship contests each team had some 20+ athletic transfers. It took them a few years but eventually Mater Dei followed suit and that is why we have the numbers that we see above.......................
It was in 1999 that I started posting on HSFB boards. Transfers and recruiting were universally reviled and whenever there were complaints about either the standard defenses changed over time from
"No we don't", evolving into
"You can't prove it", evolving into
"What are we supposed to do when kids just show up at the admissions office"", evolving into
"It's a free country, why can't kids just play where they want to?", evolving into
"Okay, so we recruit, but XYZ High School does it more than we do" evolving into
"It's a new era, that's the way it is, we just go with the flow".
It never occurred to me over the years that high school sports were supposed to be about just winning games. I had always supposed that high school sports were simply an extension of the high school curriculum, that it developed the concepts of school rivalries, loyalty, teamwork, school esprit de corps, integrity, concerted effort, striving for common goals and lifelong friendship. We had honest rivalries and an opportunity to outcompete our opponents on the field and in the off-season to achieve success. It was great if you could win some games while developing those values. But simply winning was never the goal. Until now
If it's just quality football that I want to see, I can walk a couple miles over to Saddleback College and watch them play Fullerton to see a far higher level of play. Have you ever watched girls club soccer? The quality is much better than high school but the attendance is almost nil and nobody gives a damn who wins,. Even the parents are mostly interested in their own kids performing well individually. You go to a high school soccer game and there are more fans and much more intensity because games actually mean something. There are rivalries, our school versus your school and it means something special to the players, students and parents.
Coach Rollinson once told me that he was trying to build a rivalry with Santa Margarita. If so, he has fornicated that plan royally over the last few years. We are not watching mere high school teams in the Trinity League anymore. The games are not won on the field. They are won in the admissions office and by the recruiting networks. And it's going to stay that way. It won't go back.
So for the first time in over 50 years, I really don't care that much about HSFB anymore. I have to admit it makes me sad. I didn't think I would ever say that, but the game has changed enough that I don't recognize it for what I was once passionate about. And that is why I don't - and won't - post much anymore.
I can predict what the responses will be from the partisans of the programs in question. And maybe they’re right. Maybe this is the way it's supposed to be, an emphasis on winning, schools seeking the best athletes they can find and parents/kids striving for personal attention and the best "supporting cast", as Michael Jordan used to say.
Maybe my perspective is antiquated, quaint even. What’re the case, you are welcome to the modern edition of HSFB, but I think it's time for me to find another hobby. You won't be subjected to my interminable posts and I can move on.
Win/win. Best of luck to you all..............................Luca
Of the six Trinity League teams, four of them have one D1 titles over the 11 years: Orange Lutheran in 2006, Servite in 2009 and 2010, Santa Margarita in 2011, St. John Bosco in 2013 and 2016. Only JSerra - which has only become competitive over the last five years – and Mater Dei have not won titles.
But there is more to the story than that. In 2006, Orange Lutheran went 4-1 in league, losing to Servite and almost Mater Dei while outscoring its four opponents (JSerra forfeited in those days) by an average of just 9 points.
In 2009 and 2010, Servite went 10 – 0 in league but with four of those victories fairly close, by 10 points or less, while outscoring its league opponents by an average of just over 18 points.
In 2011, Santa Margarita went 3-2 in league outscoring its opponents by an average of only 7 points.
By comparison, St. John Bosco since 2013 has gone 23 – 2 in league losing only to - you guessed it - Mater Dei. If you subtract those two games versus Mater Dei they had between 2013 and 2016 outscored their league components by an average of 35 points, falling off to a mere 22 points this year.
Mater Dei since 2015 has gone 13 – 2 in league, losing only to JSerra and – you guessed it – St. John Bosco. If you subtract their games versus Bosco they have outscored their league opponents by an average of 36 points for the last three years.
Why the abrupt disparity the last five years? Have Coaches Negro and Rollinson and their staffs suddenly become incomparable tacticians? Have the other Trinity league teams tanked? Obviously "no" to both questions. In fact, the Trinity league top to bottom has probably never been stronger than over the last two years.
We all know what has happened. It has long been understood for as long as the CIF has existed that athletic transfers and recruitment of athletes whether from other high schools or from junior high/elementary schools was verboten. It happened, of course, but the occurrences were for whatever reason relatively uncommon. In Orange County basketball, the dam broke with the appearance of Coach Gary McKnight and the regular transfer of elite basketball players into the program. As I don't pay much attention to high school basketball any more, I don't know exactly when that dam broke but as a result there is no competitiveness in local high school basketball, with Mater Dei winning its last 102 league games. The team is now euphemistically referred to as a "national program." It sure as hell is not a local one and like many previous fans I don't give a damn about the sport anymore.
The MD football program starting circa 1990 delved into those waters to a much lesser degree but it was still the start of the Orange County flood. It's partisans will undoubtedly disagree with that assessment but recall the old adage that "No single drop ever feels it is responsible for the flood."
But it really hit the fan several years ago when Coach Jason Negro took over at St. John Bosco and it seemed as though suddenly there were no ethical restrictions. Bosco simply sold out. Suddenly you had teams with a dozen or more Division I athletes. As I recall, MDDad told me that in one of the recent St. John Bosco /Centennial championship contests each team had some 20+ athletic transfers. It took them a few years but eventually Mater Dei followed suit and that is why we have the numbers that we see above.......................
It was in 1999 that I started posting on HSFB boards. Transfers and recruiting were universally reviled and whenever there were complaints about either the standard defenses changed over time from
"No we don't", evolving into
"You can't prove it", evolving into
"What are we supposed to do when kids just show up at the admissions office"", evolving into
"It's a free country, why can't kids just play where they want to?", evolving into
"Okay, so we recruit, but XYZ High School does it more than we do" evolving into
"It's a new era, that's the way it is, we just go with the flow".
It never occurred to me over the years that high school sports were supposed to be about just winning games. I had always supposed that high school sports were simply an extension of the high school curriculum, that it developed the concepts of school rivalries, loyalty, teamwork, school esprit de corps, integrity, concerted effort, striving for common goals and lifelong friendship. We had honest rivalries and an opportunity to outcompete our opponents on the field and in the off-season to achieve success. It was great if you could win some games while developing those values. But simply winning was never the goal. Until now
If it's just quality football that I want to see, I can walk a couple miles over to Saddleback College and watch them play Fullerton to see a far higher level of play. Have you ever watched girls club soccer? The quality is much better than high school but the attendance is almost nil and nobody gives a damn who wins,. Even the parents are mostly interested in their own kids performing well individually. You go to a high school soccer game and there are more fans and much more intensity because games actually mean something. There are rivalries, our school versus your school and it means something special to the players, students and parents.
Coach Rollinson once told me that he was trying to build a rivalry with Santa Margarita. If so, he has fornicated that plan royally over the last few years. We are not watching mere high school teams in the Trinity League anymore. The games are not won on the field. They are won in the admissions office and by the recruiting networks. And it's going to stay that way. It won't go back.
So for the first time in over 50 years, I really don't care that much about HSFB anymore. I have to admit it makes me sad. I didn't think I would ever say that, but the game has changed enough that I don't recognize it for what I was once passionate about. And that is why I don't - and won't - post much anymore.
I can predict what the responses will be from the partisans of the programs in question. And maybe they’re right. Maybe this is the way it's supposed to be, an emphasis on winning, schools seeking the best athletes they can find and parents/kids striving for personal attention and the best "supporting cast", as Michael Jordan used to say.
Maybe my perspective is antiquated, quaint even. What’re the case, you are welcome to the modern edition of HSFB, but I think it's time for me to find another hobby. You won't be subjected to my interminable posts and I can move on.
Win/win. Best of luck to you all..............................Luca
TT