Submitted by Eric Belew
I grew up on the practice field. My father was a high school football coach for many years, and I got to experience firsthand the highs and lows of what the high school football experience can provide.
I remember going to practice as a little kid and seeing what seemed like giants thudding and colliding with each other. It was truly amazing to watch as a child. The players my dad coached were the best players in the world to me. I couldn’t wait to be able to practice on that field and be “one of the guys.”
The practice field was sacred to me, and to many other future players.
High school football has always been, and always will be, a staple of every community that cares about youth sports. It is one of the most concentrated gatherings of the local population that most communities have on a consistent basis. In most cases, you have 60-120 football players, 20-plus cheerleaders, 60-150 band members, dance teams, coaches, and staff members.
The reason so many people show up to high school football games is relationships. There are so many people involved in making Friday night happen. It attaches thousands of people to the experience. It is personal.
High school football is changing.
I am not writing this to protest or support any particular change. I am writing this to shed light on what is currently happening in youth sports. I am afraid that what has always made high school football special is under attack.
I am very fortunate that the current community I coach in is protected from a lot of the landscape changes that are happening. We have great administration. There is one high school in the county. We have great community support and amazing crowds on Friday nights.
But we are the outlier.
I have coached high school football in three states. I have coached at two private schools and multiple public schools, with student populations ranging from below 300 all the way to more than 2,000. Crowd sizes are decreasing. Fundraising is getting more difficult. Parents are being pressured to make decisions for their kids much sooner than they should have to.
For the overwhelming majority, it is not the game I grew up with.
Why is that?
There have been many public opinions from people whose names carry much more weight than mine. I am a 32-year-old football coach who is roughly halfway through my coaching career.
A couple of years ago, I heard a statement from a soon-to-be-retired coach that has haunted me ever since:
“I am afraid that high school football the way we know it won’t exist by the time you retire.”
It was almost as if he had lost hope.
I totally understand.
Kids are transferring. Coaches are resigning. Staffs are illegally recruiting and contacting other players. I have seen all of this with my own two eyes. For many, social media, coaches, and parents have put more pressure on pursuing college athletics that it has become the only reason they play. And when that doesn’t work out, where do they go from there?
It is time to start protecting what is most important: the experience for the player.
There are programs that soon may not be able to field a team. They are losing players to illegal recruiting tactics from other programs. They are losing players to private schools because of state-funded vouchers. They are losing players because of the inability to create competitive balance.
Stadiums are soon going to be empty.
I want everyone to understand the weight of that statement.
One program, which I won’t name, just received new turf a year ago. Their talent has been poached. Their administrative support is nonexistent. That stadium is likely to permanently become empty.
That means no high school football experience for the kids at that school.
High school football changes lives.
What we all need to ask ourselves is: What are we going to do about it?
I believe it starts with leaders in the community.
I want to reiterate that this is not a protest against the one-time transfer, NIL, or state regulation. I believe there are valid reasons for kids moving to different schools. I also believe players should be able to make money from their name, image, and likeness, as long as it doesn’t infringe on their youth sports experience.
This is a protest against people refusing to do what is best for the players.
I also think the governing bodies over youth sports have one of the most difficult jobs in the world. This message is about protecting the experience.
That is accomplished by doing what is right.
What does that look like?
The illegal recruiting tactics have to stop.
If a family wants to move under their own free will, so be it. But for so many coaches to live by the statement, “Well, other schools are doing it, so why can’t I?” is ruining the experience for high school athletics.
If you break the rules by illegally recruiting, you are a coward.
There needs to be pride in playing for your community.
People will get new jobs and move. People may feel that sending their kid to a private boarding school is what’s best for their children. I fully support that.
But when a person in a position of power and influence steps in and becomes involved in that family’s process for their own personal gain, that is where the line needs to be drawn.
There are two types of pride: good pride and bad pride.
When your personal pride overcomes your ability to discern what is best for the child, it contributes to the further deterioration of youth sports.
When your pride in doing the right thing and investing in your community is in the right place, it can change lives.
Just like the high school football experience did mine.
