Followed a previous thread from a respectful distance, especially with regard to the El Paso schools. The brethren here is missing a key point. To that, pronto, but first, I stick by my impression that Sun City schoolboy football is on a general trajectory upward. What's more, my forthcoming rip should be tempered by the fact I have only seen six Sun City teams to date, but ...
At field level, I generally do not see nor hear the game-day teaching and mentoring from El Paso-area coaches, to match opposing sidelines. Instead, I've seen 5A and 6A coaches spend more time dogging the officials than imparting information and providing adult instruction. El Paso kids may thin k they are playing hard; they ain't.
Result? I have not seen the kind of energy (not just yapping, but coming off the ball and competing with a cold intensity) I had hoped to see. A couple teams, which shall go unnamed here, have potential D-1 prospects. Indeed, a handful may play at the next level, even at my alma mater. If I were scouting El Paso for UTEP, I would want to see more -- a larger sample size, yes, but also more focused effort, more commitment.
I have seen this game played at a high level; perhaps you have, too, so this brings me no joy to write. The risk here is to be unfair. Coaches are dedicated men, generally of high character, who devote untold hours to young people in the community but ...
If I were A.D. in Socorro ISD or EPISD, I would conduct off-season meetings with my coaches -- low-key, off-camera and low-profile -- to provide constructive remarks and deliver higher expectations.
ALL local kids -- not just the ones with D-1 talent who might be Miners some day -- deserve better than what I've seen.
At field level, I generally do not see nor hear the game-day teaching and mentoring from El Paso-area coaches, to match opposing sidelines. Instead, I've seen 5A and 6A coaches spend more time dogging the officials than imparting information and providing adult instruction. El Paso kids may thin k they are playing hard; they ain't.
Result? I have not seen the kind of energy (not just yapping, but coming off the ball and competing with a cold intensity) I had hoped to see. A couple teams, which shall go unnamed here, have potential D-1 prospects. Indeed, a handful may play at the next level, even at my alma mater. If I were scouting El Paso for UTEP, I would want to see more -- a larger sample size, yes, but also more focused effort, more commitment.
I have seen this game played at a high level; perhaps you have, too, so this brings me no joy to write. The risk here is to be unfair. Coaches are dedicated men, generally of high character, who devote untold hours to young people in the community but ...
If I were A.D. in Socorro ISD or EPISD, I would conduct off-season meetings with my coaches -- low-key, off-camera and low-profile -- to provide constructive remarks and deliver higher expectations.
ALL local kids -- not just the ones with D-1 talent who might be Miners some day -- deserve better than what I've seen.
