2022 GCYL Football

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I wondered that as well with 3rd/4th splitting, but I assumed it was a coaching availability deal. That said, all these kids are getting to play on Saturdays as well as in the weekday games so they are all being developed. It helps when nobody has scored on you outside six points in one of the three B games and on TD after the score was frozen in a Saturday game.
40 man teams are stupid.
 
Looking at the standings across the board at all 3 levels, the westside teams aren't faring too well. What happened to the Visi domination?
 
Same thing that happened to St Dominic after the 80’s = fewer numbers. Visi is down enrollment wise and has been for years. Each grade had 50 boys in it 10-20 years ago. Now many of the grades have far less.

Also, Visi is one of the few programs where one parish school makes up the team. There’s going to be ebb and flow to the talent. They don’t combine the best football players from 3 or 4 schools. It's just them.
 
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SMOY/Columban combined team at the Varsity level has 58 kids. Most seem to think they are the team to beat. If you look at the head to head matchups where it is a D1 team vs D2 team the D2 teams are winning most of those games. It is probably safe to say for the second season in a row overall D2 is better than D1 at the Varsity level.
 
SMOY/Columban combined team at the Varsity level has 58 kids. Most seem to think they are the team to beat. If you look at the head to head matchups where it is a D1 team vs D2 team the D2 teams are winning most of those games. It is probably safe to say for the second season in a row overall D2 is better than D1 at the Varsity level.
Forgive my ignorance, but how does that happen? Why not just put everyone in the same division? Why can't combined schools like Antoninus/Teresa keep playing teams like OLV and Visitation? And why can't teams like SMOY/Columban play Visitation and IHM?

Are any schools really too big to play against schools that are combining? It seems to be much more of a level playing field across the board.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but how does that happen? Why not just put everyone in the same division? Why can't combined schools like Antoninus/Teresa keep playing teams like OLV and Visitation? And why can't teams like SMOY/Columban play Visitation and IHM?

Are any schools really too big to play against schools that are combining? It seems to be much more of a level playing field across the board.
Back in the day of Western Football Conference, everyone was in the same division.
 
Teams are placed in Divisions based on some ranking system the league uses for a 3 to 5 season average. It seems to be a very outdated system. Both Divisions are made up of teams with single Parish, Teams with two Parishes, and Teams with 4+ Parishes. A number of the teams now have 50+ kids. It is going to be very difficult for teams with only one Parish to compete against these combined Parish teams. Simple math says teams with 50 plus kids are going to have more athletes than teams with 35 kids.
 
Teams are placed in Divisions based on some ranking system the league uses for a 3 to 5 season average. It seems to be a very outdated system. Both Divisions are made up of teams with single Parish, Teams with two Parishes, and Teams with 4+ Parishes. A number of the teams now have 50+ kids. It is going to be very difficult for teams with only one Parish to compete against these combined Parish teams. Simple math says teams with 50 plus kids are going to have more athletes than teams with 35 kids.
Everyone should just play each other and scrap the divisions. The divisions don’t mean anything with the way these teams are put together. But the 40+ teams are ridiculous. They should all split into two separate teams.
 
SMOY/Columban combined team at the Varsity level has 58 kids. Most seem to think they are the team to beat. If you look at the head to head matchups where it is a D1 team vs D2 team the D2 teams are winning most of those games. It is probably safe to say for the second season in a row overall D2 is better than D1 at the Varsity level.

Im expecting it to be SMOY and Victory in the varsity finals.
 
Not sure how that works. I do think Victory and Antoninus have similar numbers of kids on a few of the levels. Not sure how they determine why one plays in D1 and one in D2. I’m guessing they give each program the option of where they want to play…?
For the most part, this is correct. They then give them options to move for the playoffs based on success.
 
Scheduling plays a huge part in this as well. You can't carve out one part of the program and say D1 and you get this schedule, then your are D3. I am long retired, and there were certainly issues in the past. But things typically get right during the post season. Tough gig.
 
If you look at the head to head matchups where it is a D1 team vs D2 team the D2 teams are winning most of those games. It is probably safe to say for the second season in a row overall D2 is better than D1 at the Varsity level.
I think it's a little premature to make a comment like that. It would appear the best teams in D1 are playing the middle to bottom teams in D2 and winning by a couple scores. The top 3 teams in D2 have played the bottom 3 teams in D1 and won by 8, 8 and 2.
 
SMOY/Columban combined team at the Varsity level has 58 kids. Most seem to think they are the team to beat. If you look at the head to head matchups where it is a D1 team vs D2 team the D2 teams are winning most of those games. It is probably safe to say for the second season in a row overall D2 is better than D1 at the Varsity level.
58 kids? Really? How do the bottom half get any playing time at all? Im guessing the top 6 or 7 kids go both ways. This model doesn't seem sustainable?

I know it comes down to having enough coaches to field teams, but it seems like any more than 25-30 kids on a team is way too many.

They cap the numbers on a roster in other sports.....
 
Forgive my ignorance, but how does that happen? Why not just put everyone in the same division? Why can't combined schools like Antoninus/Teresa keep playing teams like OLV and Visitation? And why can't teams like SMOY/Columban play Visitation and IHM?

Are any schools really too big to play against schools that are combining? It seems to be much more of a level playing field across the board.
Antoninus has about 55 kids pony thru varsity. OLV, Visi and Jude/Lourdes all have 90-100+.
 
Same thing that happened to St Dominic after the 80’s = fewer numbers. Visi is down enrollment wise and has been for years. Each grade had 50 boys in it 10-20 years ago. Now many of the grades have far less.

Also, Visi is one of the few programs where one parish school makes up the team. There’s going to be ebb and flow to the talent. They don’t combine the best football players from 3 or 4 schools. It's just them.
Like you said Visi grabs from one parish. Some of these teams like St James grab kids from 8 different schools. In the past some of the bigger schools like Visi will have kids playing just because it's the cool thing to do or their buds are playing and want to be part of it.

If you are a kid that's willing to play for a program thats not at your school you are probably a kid that really loves the game and not someone who just wants to be part of the team bc its the cool thing to do.
 
58 kids? Really? How do the bottom half get any playing time at all? Im guessing the top 6 or 7 kids go both ways. This model doesn't seem sustainable?

I know it comes down to having enough coaches to field teams, but it seems like any more than 25-30 kids on a team is way too many.

They cap the numbers on a roster in other sports.....
And how does a team with 58 kids play in Division 2? This doesn't seem to make much sense.

And to add another wrinkle, will teams eventually start combining with their parish families? Or the league go independent so they can keep their current teams? Combining Jude/Visi in sports doesn't seem all that fair.
 
Antoninus has about 55 kids pony thru varsity. OLV, Visi and Jude/Lourdes all have 90-100+.
How is that any different than Antoninus currently playing SMOY or QOP which I'm guessing has similar high numbers? If they can play SMOY with 58 varsity kids, why can't they play Visitation or Victory who are literally 1-2 miles away from them? I don't get it.
 
58 kids? Really? How do the bottom half get any playing time at all? Im guessing the top 6 or 7 kids go both ways. This model doesn't seem sustainable?

I know it comes down to having enough coaches to field teams, but it seems like any more than 25-30 kids on a team is way too many.

They cap the numbers on a roster in other sports.....

Some of these teams are comprised of kids from 10 or so schools now. With all these schools involved in one program you can’t tell me they can’t find enough coaches to field an extra team.
 
Like you said Visi grabs from one parish. Some of these teams like St James grab kids from 8 different schools. In the past some of the bigger schools like Visi will have kids playing just because it's the cool thing to do or their buds are playing and want to be part of it.

If you are a kid that's willing to play for a program thats not at your school you are probably a kid that really loves the game and not someone who just wants to be part of the team bc its the cool thing to do.

St James had over 50 last year on varsity after they picked up both St John’s schools after already having 6-7 schools. I was very surprised Dry Ridge folded their program. Just the year before during the 2020 season they had good numbers and were very competitive in D2 on all levels.
 
I would throw the D1/D2 thing in the garbage. It really means nothing anymore.

None of these teams are splitting back up. Now that these coaches and programs have gotten a taste of the success with 50+ kids they are not going back. Shame on the League for not getting more involved and not allowing a program like St James or St Mikes to have affiliations with 6+ Parishes/Schools. Once they allowed that it open the flood gates for others to follow.
 
I would throw the D1/D2 thing in the garbage. It really means nothing anymore.

None of these teams are splitting back up. Now that these coaches and programs have gotten a taste of the success with 50+ kids they are not going back. Shame on the League for not getting more involved and not allowing a program like St James or St Mikes to have affiliations with 6+ Parishes/Schools. Once they allowed that it open the flood gates for others to follow.
I would venture to guess that the consolidation into BOL families is going to have an impact at some point. It really doesn't make much sense to do that and still have sports separate, does it? Do pastors or the Archdiocese have the power to make the schools collaborate in sports? If they do, what will be the reaction?

I'm guessing some may want it, and some may hate it.
 
I brought up the sports issue last year with Beacons of Light and most acted like it wouldn't be a big deal.

With rosters 50+ kids, no way does everyone even get a sniff at playing. They should be forced to divide teams. They should also have a mandate for playing time. For example in my sons' youth league, every kid must play a minimum of 8 plays per game. It forces you to actually coach up all the kids. We want more people playing football, not less.

Cap the team rosters at let's say 30. At 30 players, you have to split into 2 15 player teams. To make it as fair as possible, divide by birthday..... the oldest half and the youngest half, that way nobody "stacks" a team. And implement some sort of mandatory playing time rule. Keep these kids interested and vested in playing football.
 
I brought up the sports issue last year with Beacons of Light and most acted like it wouldn't be a big deal.

With rosters 50+ kids, no way does everyone even get a sniff at playing. They should be forced to divide teams. They should also have a mandate for playing time. For example in my sons' youth league, every kid must play a minimum of 8 plays per game. It forces you to actually coach up all the kids. We want more people playing football, not less.

Cap the team rosters at let's say 30. At 30 players, you have to split into 2 15 player teams. To make it as fair as possible, divide by birthday..... the oldest half and the youngest half, that way nobody "stacks" a team. And implement some sort of mandatory playing time rule. Keep these kids interested and vested in playing football.
This is the way to go, but I'd venture to guess most coaches and parent won't want it. If there kid is a "stud" how dare you put "lesser" kids with them and divide it evenly.

All of this will likely result in select football leagues at some point.
 
I would venture to guess that the consolidation into BOL families is going to have an impact at some point. It really doesn't make much sense to do that and still have sports separate, does it? Do pastors or the Archdiocese have the power to make the schools collaborate in sports? If they do, what will be the reaction?

I'm guessing some may want it, and some may hate it.
The "Family" aspect would make sense in football, but not in other sports like basketball or volleyball where roster sizes aren't that big.
 
The "Family" aspect would make sense in football, but not in other sports like basketball or volleyball where roster sizes aren't that big.
Sure it would. Why would I keep 2 gyms open for volleyball or basketball if I can consolidate and only use 1. Same with athletic fields.

Consolidation of sports will occur, that I can guarantee. It may not be in the immediate future, but it will happen, even if the school stays open, you can bet they will consolidate into 1 family athletic program.
 
The "Family" aspect would make sense in football, but not in other sports like basketball or volleyball where roster sizes aren't that big.
I can only comment on what I know. The parents at Visi and Jude would go to war if forced to combine for football. If you think Elder and X is a rivalry you have seen nothing yet. Anyway this merger would be contrary to suggestions on this site. Each grade would have over 40 players.
 
Sure it would. Why would I keep 2 gyms open for volleyball or basketball if I can consolidate and only use 1. Same with athletic fields.

Consolidation of sports will occur, that I can guarantee. It may not be in the immediate future, but it will happen, even if the school stays open, you can bet they will consolidate into 1 family athletic program.
I think you'd still need multiple gyms because you have to accommodate more kids.

You can't consolidate and then close a gym - you won't have enough gym space in just one school.

It could make sense in every sport, you just have more teams, which may be a good thing.
 
Sure it would. Why would I keep 2 gyms open for volleyball or basketball if I can consolidate and only use 1. Same with athletic fields.

Consolidation of sports will occur, that I can guarantee. It may not be in the immediate future, but it will happen, even if the school stays open, you can bet they will consolidate into 1 family athletic program.
Too many teams and too many kids still playing to consolidate into one gym. Not enough time currently to do so.
 
I think you'd still need multiple gyms because you have to accommodate more kids.

You can't consolidate and then close a gym - you won't have enough gym space in just one school.

It could make sense in every sport, you just have more teams, which may be a good thing.
So Visi/Jude would have two teams. So you split them into one for Visi kids with Visi parents coaching and the other with Jude kids with Jude parents coaching. You have accomplished nothing.
This would be for each Grade not a 7th/8th grade team.
I believe the organizers of the GCYL have done a great job trying to handle all this. They just have been blind sighted this year because of more kids wanting to play football and all other sports. The other problem is what about the kids from Rapid Run, Dulles and Bridgetown and the kids playing for St James who 5 years ago would have been in the Little Cards League. Who do they play for? It’s very complicated.
 
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