Forest Hills Future

[Coach]

I remember being so excited to finally be able to play football as a seventh grader.... Now you don't have to wait. You can play when you are like 7-8 years old. The excitement and newness has worn off by middle school for some and now the kids are ready for something different.

[El-Moldo]

Where are all the men's softball leagues? When you start playing T-ball at 5, you are tired of baseball by 13. It's the same with pee wee football and others sports. Kids at 5 should be playing with cars and trucks, and riding bikes. Organized sports can wait until later.

[anysport24]

I have to agree with you 100% MOLDO.....here is the question though....How many kids can you even get to play with car and trucks or ride bikes....most of the youth today are to busy with X-Box, PS3, computers, ipods or cell phones......really, in the last few years do you really see many kids on bicycles, or out on a field playing baseball in the summer or footbal in the fall or on the basketball court playing pickup games like you used to 8-10 years ago?????????? I know i don't.

[richaboli]

delete

[richaboli]

Rapidly increasing hard work, time and dedication naturally affects the size of the roster.
There was a day when high school football started in August and ended in October. Lifting weights was an option, not a requirement. Lots of high school kids in small schools played football back then.
Plus you have an increasing number of parents who think they have to give their kids everything. Those kids have no experience working for anything.

[knowitall]

How many kids aren't ready to play organized football in first, third or even fifth grade? How many of those kids then go out for football in seventh grade when they might be ready? My guess is few.

[sheldoncooper]

Throw all those reasons together and you have your answer for decreasing rosters. One thing that is a school issue is the number of fall sports. How many small schools in district 5 & 6 are offering 4 (FB, Soccer, Golf, CC) male sports? FB and Soccer are sports that require larger rosters to begin with, then throw in CC & Golf and you need a lot of boys playing a fall sport to have adequate numbers.

Is there any discussion in the LHAC of the league FB teams agreeing to move up all freshmen, and playing 7th & 8th grade in JH? The Westpac except for maybe Windber already does this, and I believe there was some discussion about this in the ICC a few years ago, but it didn't get much support. With the decreasing numbers all over the place, that discussion may become more prevelent.

[knowitall]

I would like to see the PIAA change its rule to allow 9th graders to continue to play junior high football and allow them to dress for varsity where necessary. Many of these schools can't field a JV team.

[say_oww]

Specialization isn't the problem. Cambria-Somerset county population has been on the decline for 30 years. Eventually, there will only be a few schools that will be able to field a team. Some schools may be forced to co-op for sports, which would increase competition. (Note that this doesn't mean consolidate entire operations just to field a football team.) It isn't like this everywhere in PA. Numbers problems do not exist in places like the North Hills of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia-Harrisburg suburbs.

[kmr]

Pretty sure 9th grade football is finished in the LHAC after this year. You will now have teams divided into 7th & 8th, JV, and Varsity.