2012 Gallia Academy Blue Devils

[GAHS83]

Having coached and having had a son who played, I can tell you that the whole debate about why kids play and why they don't is highly overblown. I'm not saying it never happens, but it happens far less than you think. Usually it comes down to the coach's opinion of who the better player is. If it is close, it will usually come down to things that you wouldn't see in a game. Things like effort, attitude, leadership, consistency, knowledge of the schemes.

Unless you're at practice every day and see things like knowledge, attitude and effort, it is difficult to get a firm grasp on why some kids play and some don't. I was lucky enough to have a job situation where I was able to go down to practice quite a few times last year and there aren't many parents down there. If you're depending on your kid to tell you the truth about his effort level and attitude, you're in for a rude awakening somewhere down the road. I'm not even saying that they're lying about it. Many just don't understand that there are levels of effort above what they realize exist and that other players are giving more effort.

Gallia had two of their better athletes on the bench for much of the varsity contests last year. One was an extremely fast, athletic wideout. The problem is that if he wasn't involved in the play as far as running the ball or going out into a pass pattern, he gave a half-hearted effort. For a team that ran the ball 90% of the time, that just isn't going to work. The WRs need to block just as hard as when they run a sweep, a reverse or a pass pattern.

The other was Williams. I'm in agreement that he probably should've played a bit more than he did, but they moved him from FB to O-line early in the year and it took a while for him to catch on. I thought that late in the year, we were about one O-linemen away from being a dominant running team and that he should've been that guy, but the coach saw differently. He saw time throughout the year on defense and his athleticism shined, but there were times when he got a bit too agressive and lost contain or left a gap unplugged. I thought that for a Sophomore, he got a decent amount of time and that he'll be a dominant player in the next couple of years.

My son is now done playing and I can honestly say that it is impossible for a parent to be completely objective about their performance or playing time. I always told my son that if it was close enough that the coach was choosing the other guy that he needed to work hard enough to make it not close and force the coach's hand. Making excuses for your kid does nothing but give him a reason to feel like he's been treated unjustly and feel sorry for himself. Let's face it. Life isn't fair and the only thing you can do is buckle down and try harder.

[buckcraze]

Wonderful post!

[GalliaGrad78]

Well said!

[GAHS7462]

Nice post

[cyanide87]

See those are the posts this website was created for...very knowledgeable and accurate post

[edforshey]

Has anyone with Gallia heard that the Blue Devils and Parkersburg Big Reds are going to scrimmage on 8/11/12 at Gallia?

I think it kind of neat that Mike Eddy use to be a assistant at Parkersburg and now they are actually going to scrimmage.

[GalliaGrad78]

I hadn't heard that, but I think it is a great idea!

Who will the other scrimmage/s be with?

[GAHSfootball]

It is confirmed that the Blue Devils will be scrimmaging the Parkersburg Big Reds...also this scrimmage may take place at the Eastman Athletic Complex.

The "Jamboree" game will be against Meigs once again this year the following week.

GO BLUE!

[edforshey]

I heard it was part of a fund raiser to help pay for the new field.

Where is this field located and where is the current field located?

If a person was coming into Galliapolis on Rte 7 South.

[bettis]

The new field will be out at the new school in Centenary on 141. The old field Memorial Field is in downtown Gallipolis on Fourth Avenue.