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re: Numbers look bleak for Arkansas high school football's reputation
Posted on 4/30/24 at 1:35 pm to dchog
Posted on 4/30/24 at 1:35 pm to dchog
quote:
Helena for example always had talent but suffered from poor coaching and a community that didn't give them much support.
The issue in a nutshell is about a third of the state, possibly closer to half the state, can't afford a decent HS football coaching staff and with the lack of community interest that isn't likely to change any time soon.
When my father taught at West Memphis they had teams compete for a state title. Even when the Blue Devils were red hot the stadium was usually at like 25% capacity. Except for Homecoming.
Say what you will about someplace like South Dakota but they love their football up there, be they white or Native American. So they scrape the cash together to get the best coaches they can.
Half the players riding the bench for a lot of school's basketball teams could have a shot at a college scholarship if they went out for football instead.
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Posted on 4/30/24 at 2:34 pm to dchog
You shut your dirty mouth about Nashville. We haven't lost population. Now we will soon when the big plant closes but we've still got hope to find a replacement.
Posted on 4/30/24 at 3:31 pm to Arksulli
Well the LEARNS act did absolutely nothing to help coaching salaries. It actually hurt them because it's forced districts to spend more on base teacher salaries and mid-sized and smaller districts have had to reduce stipends to keep up.
In case anyone was confused the LEARNS act was consolidation attempt #2 by the Huckabees.... just disguised better this time.
That said, it won't help football or any other HS sport in the state at all.
Time for the state to better fund teacher salaries if they want anything to change.
In case anyone was confused the LEARNS act was consolidation attempt #2 by the Huckabees.... just disguised better this time.
That said, it won't help football or any other HS sport in the state at all.
Time for the state to better fund teacher salaries if they want anything to change.
This post was edited on 4/30/24 at 3:32 pm
Posted on 4/30/24 at 4:44 pm to ElDawgHawg
SHS killed Arkansas high school football.
Posted on 4/30/24 at 5:26 pm to Arksulli
These Delta towns suffer from political corruption. Helena is a good example of that. Residents complain when they turn on a faucet, brown water flows out. This made national news. The current mayor had friends of his wash his car with clean water and this was reported by the residents who don't have clean water.
Helena has the highest paid city council in the state and yet the garbage man is paid minimum wage and They hired an unqualified individual to treat the water and sewage.
Watching the Helena city council meetings on YouTube is like watching an episode from the Jerry Springer show. City council members yelling at the mayor and kept interrupting him to the point that he couldn't speak.
It got so bad that the city asked the state for money and was given $100,000. They asked for more money and the state asked where did the other money go? The city didn't give a good answer and the state was getting irritated. I expect the state to be investigating the city of Helena and someone is going to prison.
I didn't want to get way off the subject but as long as these small towns are ruled by corrupt individuals then these towns will never heal. If they can't be healed then they will never grow. If they can't grow then that hurts everything including sports like football.
Helena has the highest paid city council in the state and yet the garbage man is paid minimum wage and They hired an unqualified individual to treat the water and sewage.
Watching the Helena city council meetings on YouTube is like watching an episode from the Jerry Springer show. City council members yelling at the mayor and kept interrupting him to the point that he couldn't speak.
It got so bad that the city asked the state for money and was given $100,000. They asked for more money and the state asked where did the other money go? The city didn't give a good answer and the state was getting irritated. I expect the state to be investigating the city of Helena and someone is going to prison.
I didn't want to get way off the subject but as long as these small towns are ruled by corrupt individuals then these towns will never heal. If they can't be healed then they will never grow. If they can't grow then that hurts everything including sports like football.
Posted on 4/30/24 at 6:19 pm to Hawgnsincebirth55
quote:
And I don’t think it’s lack of interest in the communities either considering football popularity across the nation is at an all time high.
This is not true. Interest in football is declining across the country at all levels except NFL viewership
Posted on 4/30/24 at 6:21 pm to dchog
quote:
I didn't want to get way off the subject but as long as these small towns are ruled by corrupt individuals then these towns will never heal. If they can't be healed then they will never grow. If they can't grow then that hurts everything including sports like football.
If you think the small towns are corrupt, you should see what happens with a bigger city's budget, or the action at the General Assembly
Small town corruption is not the reason our high schools suck at producing football talent
Posted on 4/30/24 at 7:19 pm to dchog
Texarkana still produces talent. Just on the wrong side of the state line.
Posted on 4/30/24 at 7:52 pm to Porker Face
All towns and cities have some level of corruption. The city of Helena is the most corrupt city in Arkansas with the highest paid city council in the state.
No jobs, no clean water, houses are in bad shape, the local Walmart loses millions in theft, roads are horrendous, dog shelter was closed down and dogs were released into the wild, murder numbers that can rival Chicago on a weekend. Mayor and other council members not paying any utilities. FBI were sent in with arrests of police officers and city officials on drug charges. Stupidity from the mayor ran off a major steel mill company that could have set shop and provide hundreds of high paying jobs.
So people living in these cities move away in hopes of finding better opportunities in other cities that corruption is at a minimal and doesn't impact daily life.
So tell me what is the other reason?
No jobs, no clean water, houses are in bad shape, the local Walmart loses millions in theft, roads are horrendous, dog shelter was closed down and dogs were released into the wild, murder numbers that can rival Chicago on a weekend. Mayor and other council members not paying any utilities. FBI were sent in with arrests of police officers and city officials on drug charges. Stupidity from the mayor ran off a major steel mill company that could have set shop and provide hundreds of high paying jobs.
So people living in these cities move away in hopes of finding better opportunities in other cities that corruption is at a minimal and doesn't impact daily life.
So tell me what is the other reason?
Posted on 4/30/24 at 9:29 pm to dchog
quote:
The city of Helena is the most corrupt city in Arkansas with the highest paid city council in the state.
Got a call once from somebody asking me if I’d be interested in a job in Helena. My response wasnt kind.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 6:01 am to hawgndodge
quote:
You shut your dirty mouth about Nashville. We haven't lost population. Now we will soon when the big plant closes but we've still got hope to find a replacement.
And you have the Scrapper Dome!
I’ve always considered Nashville the closest thing to Mayberry in Arkansas.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 7:00 am to Sus-Scrofa
Oh we ain't Mayberry. We've got our own issues but I'm very interested to see what happens to us once Husqvarna shuts down. That's about 800 direct jobs that we'll lose. Those people have to work somewhere. That could be quite a few kids gone from the district if we're not and to find a company to come in and replace the jobs.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 10:32 am to dchog
Forget it DC... it's Helena.
To borrow a line from a movie.
To think Helena used to rival Memphis as a port town on the Mississippi. Heck I'm an old enough fart to remember when it was a decent enough place.
To borrow a line from a movie.
To think Helena used to rival Memphis as a port town on the Mississippi. Heck I'm an old enough fart to remember when it was a decent enough place.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 11:33 am to dchog
quote:
All towns and cities have some level of corruption. The city of Helena is the most corrupt city in Arkansas with the highest paid city council in the state.
Hell, Pell City High School just attempted a coup against Coach Probst. You talking about corruption
Thankfully the fans told the board FU.
They're set to have a great season next year.
Alabama HS football just hits different. Arkansas should take notes.
ETA
Probst is slimy as they come but he can coach some football
This post was edited on 5/1/24 at 11:36 am
Posted on 5/1/24 at 1:18 pm to Arksulli
Both sides of my family are from Helena and I had an uncle that played for Arkansas back in the 60s.
Mark Twain called it one of the prettiest situations on the Mississippi.
It peaked during the 40s and 50s then it began to slowly decline in population.
But it started to really collapse when they closed the Mohawk tire plant in 1979. The 80s was getting a little rough and so my parents moved out while other family members waited it out until they couldn't. Some stayed until they passed on.
The previous mayor was making process despite all but just one city council member resisting then the mayor got cheated out of the last election.
You do have many residents that do want to make the town a better place but when you're outnumbered by people living off the government, progress can't be made.
Mark Twain called it one of the prettiest situations on the Mississippi.
It peaked during the 40s and 50s then it began to slowly decline in population.
But it started to really collapse when they closed the Mohawk tire plant in 1979. The 80s was getting a little rough and so my parents moved out while other family members waited it out until they couldn't. Some stayed until they passed on.
The previous mayor was making process despite all but just one city council member resisting then the mayor got cheated out of the last election.
You do have many residents that do want to make the town a better place but when you're outnumbered by people living off the government, progress can't be made.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 2:41 pm to ArHog
quote:
SHS killed Arkansas high school football.
Clearly you didn't read my post.
I didn't say SHS killed it... I said it's going to make it worse.
And before you suggest it... no I'm not a liberal... I'm a card carrying republican, but history has told us the Huckabee's love killing the small school districts. SHS is no different than daddy was in that regard.
Just take a look at districts and see how many are having to reduce staff this year because of money issues.
I think then you will understand what I'm trying to say.
Fewer qualified coaches won't help already struggling football programs.
THAT is what I was getting at.
NEVER said she was killing it... HS football in Arkansas was already struggling.... she's just not helping the problem.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 3:10 pm to dchog
quote:
But it started to really collapse when they closed the Mohawk tire plant in 1979
But they trained the lost employees! And they trained all of them to be air conditioning techs. So. Like three or four stayed in the area and the rest migrated.
My family is just a bit outside Helena. Poplar Grove. I will, I shite you not, be buried in Marvell, Arkansas because we own a good chunk of the cemetery.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 6:54 pm to Hawgnsincebirth55
quote:
but north Arkansas is already way more populated than south Arkansas. It doesn’t make sense they don’t produce more talent. There isn’t a single 7a school in south arkansas.
There's this slight factor called demographics.
. South Ark has tons of underdeveloped athletes that probably don't even make it to Camps.
Posted on 5/1/24 at 9:47 pm to Jack Ruby
quote:
There's this slight factor called demographics. . South Ark has tons of underdeveloped athletes that probably don't even make it to Camps.
Most of the players lack size and speed to play d1 ball. But if you judge by heart they’d be in good shape.
The delta doesn’t grow because farming is king and they do what they can to keep jobs away to keep farm labor costs down. It’s been that way for the 40+ years I’ve lived down here.
The kids who go to college don’t come back unless they are a farm family member mostly. Those delta folks you see at Disneyland or snow skiing or extended stays on the beach are generally those poor, broke farmers.
Posted on 5/2/24 at 7:08 am to ElDawgHawg
quote:
NEVER said she was killing it... HS football in Arkansas was already struggling.... she's just not helping the problem.
Until Arkansas residents and businesses start investing in HS football nothing will change.
Sounds like if districts are having money issues maybe ya'll need to start paying more taxes. Or just maybe SHS shouldn't have bought that expensive arse podium.
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