6th Grade Prospects now being tracked by Rivals
- Thread starter JConXtsy
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Soonersincefitty
Sooner starter
That's crazy.
Kid hasn't even got laid yet...(you know, he leaves home a boy, comes back a happy boy)
Kid hasn't even got laid yet...(you know, he leaves home a boy, comes back a happy boy)
I cannot imagine something more silly or worthless.
I've coached more than 30 years of youth football. By far, the best sixth grade player I've ever seen was a kid that ended up at Plano East. He never played football, and was a sixth or seventh man on the basketball team. He had a sort of legendary status in a pretty good youth football program. When he played flag, he literally scored every time he touched the ball as like a first grader. By the time he was a fourth grader, he was the best running back in the fifth grade league and always the first player picked in the draft playing up. When he was a sixth grader, there was no league to play up in.
We all just knew that he was going to be a dominant high school player. But he was raised by a single mom. He was undisciplined, but dominating. Then he got into school ball, and they didn't put up with his nonsense. He quit before he ever got to high school.
He would have been the best running back of any league I ever coached in. But a great sixth grader doesn't mean much. Sometimes it's early development. Sometimes it's other stuff.
One of the best players I've seen as a sixth grader was a kid from Lake Highlands who's older brother was the LH varsity quarterback. The older brother was an excellent college football player and a successful Canadian League quarterback. They younger one was a dominant kid in a not great league. But as a sixth grader, he already had muscle definition. I suspected later than he was likely already using steroids,
He ended up being a pretty good high school punter returner. He ended up non growing more than a couple of inches taller, and was a 5'3" high school senior. I don't think he played after high school.
The best kid I ever coached wasn't just a great player, but a great kid and really smart. He ended up being an all state quarterback running the wishbone on Southlake Carroll's first state championship team when Bob Ledbetter was the HC, and Steve Lineweaver was the OC. Great kid. Terrific high school football player. And really a better DB than quarterback. But his only offers were from very small school college programs. He wanted to go to UT for his education, and so decided not to play football after high school.
Two of those three were great great prospect to advance to be quality players dwon the road. But none even played college football, and none had that happen because of injury. There is just too much difference between who's great at ten or eleven, and who is great once puberty kicks in and there aren't many weak ones of which to take advantage.
I can't think of anything less worthwhile, than tracking pre teen athletes as future football prospects..
I've coached more than 30 years of youth football. By far, the best sixth grade player I've ever seen was a kid that ended up at Plano East. He never played football, and was a sixth or seventh man on the basketball team. He had a sort of legendary status in a pretty good youth football program. When he played flag, he literally scored every time he touched the ball as like a first grader. By the time he was a fourth grader, he was the best running back in the fifth grade league and always the first player picked in the draft playing up. When he was a sixth grader, there was no league to play up in.
We all just knew that he was going to be a dominant high school player. But he was raised by a single mom. He was undisciplined, but dominating. Then he got into school ball, and they didn't put up with his nonsense. He quit before he ever got to high school.
He would have been the best running back of any league I ever coached in. But a great sixth grader doesn't mean much. Sometimes it's early development. Sometimes it's other stuff.
One of the best players I've seen as a sixth grader was a kid from Lake Highlands who's older brother was the LH varsity quarterback. The older brother was an excellent college football player and a successful Canadian League quarterback. They younger one was a dominant kid in a not great league. But as a sixth grader, he already had muscle definition. I suspected later than he was likely already using steroids,
He ended up being a pretty good high school punter returner. He ended up non growing more than a couple of inches taller, and was a 5'3" high school senior. I don't think he played after high school.
The best kid I ever coached wasn't just a great player, but a great kid and really smart. He ended up being an all state quarterback running the wishbone on Southlake Carroll's first state championship team when Bob Ledbetter was the HC, and Steve Lineweaver was the OC. Great kid. Terrific high school football player. And really a better DB than quarterback. But his only offers were from very small school college programs. He wanted to go to UT for his education, and so decided not to play football after high school.
Two of those three were great great prospect to advance to be quality players dwon the road. But none even played college football, and none had that happen because of injury. There is just too much difference between who's great at ten or eleven, and who is great once puberty kicks in and there aren't many weak ones of which to take advantage.
I can't think of anything less worthwhile, than tracking pre teen athletes as future football prospects..
I agree, and I have a similar story of my own.
A kid that grew up a few houses down from me, the same age, and my good friend as a child was exactly like one of those you mentioned.
He was a state champion wrestler at like 5 or 6. Whatever the youngest wrestling age is.
He was the sweeper on all of my youth soccer teams from 6-9 and would average 5-6 goals per game. We would win every game and tournament we went to. I recall a state wide tournament in Tulsa when we were 9 that we cruised through the under 10 group, so they had us play the under 12 group winners. I believe we only lost like 3-2. The rest of our team wasn't good either. We sucked. Our entire game plan was to get him the ball.
By fifth grade, he started football and was playing baseball. As running back and kick returner, he would score 3-4 tds a game. He pitched in baseball, and while I didn't play, I heard stories from several friends that batters would regularly cry because they had to face him. He was already pitching in the low 80s at 12 but didn't have the best control yet.
In middle school, he was the point guard and star of the basketball team. He was also still playing football.
In 7th grade, we were messing around before a game, two of us trying to grab him and stop him from running. With two of us on his shoulders, he tried to twist and shake us off, and then he winced and collapsed in pain. But it was time to get ready for the game, so he shook it off. He returned the opening kick for a td in that game and had another 80-yard 1st play td.
The next day as we were waiting outside the school for it to open (the buses would arrive early) he was complaining about his leg still and said he was going to walk home which was about 3 miles away. He was back at school after lunch with a cast on his lower leg - a torn calf. His mom never let him play football again.
So in high school, he was focused only on baseball. By 16, he was being scouted by MLB teams.
He made the local minor league team, and I don't recall if he was the season leader in home runs for the league (as a 17 yo) or if he had set the league all time record.
Then he got interested in girls and started running with the kind of kids that not only partied on weekends but during the school week too. The single parent kids whose one parent would work nights. His name became scarce and more scarce.
I don't even know if he played sports his senior year. I believe he went to OSU for one year. No sports. He dropped out.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
A kid that grew up a few houses down from me, the same age, and my good friend as a child was exactly like one of those you mentioned.
He was a state champion wrestler at like 5 or 6. Whatever the youngest wrestling age is.
He was the sweeper on all of my youth soccer teams from 6-9 and would average 5-6 goals per game. We would win every game and tournament we went to. I recall a state wide tournament in Tulsa when we were 9 that we cruised through the under 10 group, so they had us play the under 12 group winners. I believe we only lost like 3-2. The rest of our team wasn't good either. We sucked. Our entire game plan was to get him the ball.
By fifth grade, he started football and was playing baseball. As running back and kick returner, he would score 3-4 tds a game. He pitched in baseball, and while I didn't play, I heard stories from several friends that batters would regularly cry because they had to face him. He was already pitching in the low 80s at 12 but didn't have the best control yet.
In middle school, he was the point guard and star of the basketball team. He was also still playing football.
In 7th grade, we were messing around before a game, two of us trying to grab him and stop him from running. With two of us on his shoulders, he tried to twist and shake us off, and then he winced and collapsed in pain. But it was time to get ready for the game, so he shook it off. He returned the opening kick for a td in that game and had another 80-yard 1st play td.
The next day as we were waiting outside the school for it to open (the buses would arrive early) he was complaining about his leg still and said he was going to walk home which was about 3 miles away. He was back at school after lunch with a cast on his lower leg - a torn calf. His mom never let him play football again.
So in high school, he was focused only on baseball. By 16, he was being scouted by MLB teams.
He made the local minor league team, and I don't recall if he was the season leader in home runs for the league (as a 17 yo) or if he had set the league all time record.
Then he got interested in girls and started running with the kind of kids that not only partied on weekends but during the school week too. The single parent kids whose one parent would work nights. His name became scarce and more scarce.
I don't even know if he played sports his senior year. I believe he went to OSU for one year. No sports. He dropped out.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
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