Private Schools and 8 man football?
- Thread starter Depth of Knowledge
- Start date
What about lets say in Class 4 which the highest class in over 1200, and some of the lowest have kids in the 500 range if your private or 700+ in a public school. Wouldn't that school of 1200 have more kids to recruit from within the school? Sure would seem like it, because since they went to 6 classes, no school in the lower 1/3 has ever won a championship
There's a natural mismatch. The two 8-Man private schools in Missouri are located in populous areas. By its nature, 8-Man is otherwise made up of small schools from rural areas. The result for private schools playing 8-Man is a greater reward, because instead of competing against other schools from a more urban spot, they can expect players from Class 4/5/6 public districts to enroll and make an immediate difference against (primarily) farm kids from tiny towns, communities with no real means for population growth or player influx.
Don't expect any change now, by the way. But just wait until the St. Joe Christian vs. Sacred Heart state championship that could happen sometime in the next few years. Let's see if the farm town public districts put up a fuss when that happens....
Don't expect any change now, by the way. But just wait until the St. Joe Christian vs. Sacred Heart state championship that could happen sometime in the next few years. Let's see if the farm town public districts put up a fuss when that happens....
Sacred Heart will be considerably down next year. They had 18 or so players and 10 or 11 were seniors that had been part of the program since they were freshman. SH is almost always considerably known for basketball and soccer. They have struggled with numbers. SJC is competitive but typically doesn't compete with the likes of Mound City, Stanberry, and others. I don't see 8 man private schools bringing in great players through recruiting.
Also the appeal of playing 8 man vs. 11 man for private schools will keep the "recruiting" of players down. Look for the rural schools to control the 8 man game in the future. Except for this year with SH, they conversation is almost pointless.
SJC has been a frequent 8-Man semifinalist and 5-time contender in the title game, winner once. Sacred Heart may be a non-factor down the road (which I doubt, especially if they were to win Saturday), but Christian could definitely keep the conversation hot.
I agree that 8-Man is what SJC and SH should want, but what's going to keep them out? What pressure could 8-Man apply to prevent the version of "recruiting" that they can use?
