valley football in 2or 3 years

[hardhitter]

valleys 8th grade class is very very talented!!!!!!

[RogueWarrior1965]

valleys 8th grade class is very very talented!!!!!!

They may indeed be. Just don't set unrealistic expectations and expect them to be overly successful at the varsity level until they are juniors and seniors. There is simply too much mental and physical development that occurs from this time on that you cannot expect freshmen and sophomores to compete against junior and senior laden teams. The key thing is for them to work hard and dedicate themselves to the program. I think history has shown the teams with a large amount of seniors have been, and will continue to be, the most dominate teams.

One thing for sure is that success in jr. high does not necessarily translate to success in high school. Many times, the "studs" of jr. high either quit growing or the other kids catch up to them in the sense of maturity, size, strength, and abilities. I have seen a lot of jr. high "studs" who eventually no longer play or they end up in a completely different position. I have seen linemen become excellent running backs and running backs become linemen. The other key thing is EVERY position is important and it takes 11 postions to field a team on each side of the ball. A lot of parents forget about, or don't recognize, this and want to cry and complain because Lil Johnny is not the ball carrier or QB. Without the o-line, he doesn't gain much. Without the d-line, the linebackers cannot get free to flow and make the tackles. It takes a TEAM to be successful.

Good luck to these kids and their future success begins in the foundation that is being laid now.