ANSWERS TO READER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL
This article was first posted on ScoutsFootball.com
I’m a huge fan of music history. Mostly of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s when in my opinion, those decades gave birth to the rock n’ roll that will outlast our generation and others to follow (Beatles…Rolling Stones…Led Zeppelin…Springsteen…Guns N’ Roses…need I go on?)
I recently read a bio of the legendary California rock band Van Halen and it brought me to this conclusion: Van Halen became Van Halen when all the pieces came together. Musicians, stage production, sound engineering, management…they were a band that hit the country like a lightning bolt in 1978. But they were actually an overnight success years in the making.
If/when the Scouts play for and win a state football championship, many components over the course of a five- month season will have to align. And there will be some luck involved as well. Any success at the elite level in any organization is the result of agronomics––cultivation and execution of culture. In the LF/LB community, the farmers are plentiful, the soil flush, the crops prosperous. Yet in spite of this bountiful environment, there are bugs.
That’s because it all matters.
I will state the argument for this series one more time––if the program wants to stay the course, there is no reason for ideas on change, no reason to write these articles. Six regular season wins, 1-2 playoff victories; the Scouts have proven time and time again they can reach such milestones without impunity. Most programs in the state are envious of such consistent achievements. But there is a stated desire for more, to be one of best programs in the state of Illinois. To do so, to be spoken of in the same breath as Lake Zurich, Stevenson, Libertyville (all conference rivals and state title competitors/winners over the last four seasons) Lake Forest must get to and win a state championship. That is the lens through which I am writing this series.
In this first of two final articles in our three-part series on how the Scouts football program can compete for and win a state title by 2022, I’m combining ideas from the first two articles and adding responses to submitted comments from subscribers. There is no magic bullet (pardon the pun) or secret sauce (ode to the Big Mac) revealed. The program needs consistent, intentional activity in a few areas, but areas that contain many dirty details. And it’s all in the details. As stated in the previous articles, some of these details are controllable, some are not. But I think the program could do a better job recognizing the controllables, changing viewpoints and taking action.
If you haven’t read the previous articles, here are links to both:
Building our Youth Program: http://scoutsfootball.com/scouts-state-2022-part-1…
Multi-Sport Participation: http://scoutsfootball.com/scouts-state-2022-part-2…
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Let’s begin with responses to a few feedback emails I received when I announced the series. These are from subscribers with sons in the program current or previous.
I’ll give my reply following the comment.
This is from Mark Funk:
Making Better Use of the Athletes on the Team
Spagnoli needs to throw out his policy of not playing anybody consistently on both sides of the ball. This has driven me crazy for the last 10 years. I think we are the only top level team in 6A, 7A or 8A school that does not play its top athletes both ways. Prairie Ridge last year for example had a number of two way players including Samson Evans and Jeff Jenkins, Nazareth also did, and I know the big schools like Maine South also do. This kills us against the competition, particularly on the line and defensive secondary. We don’t have the luxury of being a large sized school that has more big athletes than they know what to do with. Therefore we run out of players to put on the OL (that often don’t even weigh 200 lbs) and run out of players to put in the secondary (where we have 5’6″ 150 lb guys trying to defend 6’3″ 210 lb receivers).
Response: Mark is right about what other top level programs do. Each state championship team in 2017 featured multiple two way players (Lake Zurich had four or five that played snaps on both sides in the state title game last November). Two seasons ago, after surviving a 42-40 first round game to West Aurora, Maine South coach Dave Inserra decided he needed better defensive execution and moved a few offensive players to defense. They went on to win the state championship. ‘Two-platooning’ is a necessity at the lower levels (1A-4A), common at the mid-levels (5A and 6A) and not unusual at the upper levels (7A and 8A).
Let’s look at the record of what Lake Forest has done the past two seasons regarding two-way players (position with the most reps first. Only including guys who saw significant playing time):
2016
Liam Pooler (RB/DB)
Gabe Funk (LB/FB)
Bryan Ooms (LB/RB)
Spencer Yauch (DL/OL)
Andrew Athenson (DB/RB)
Augy Cirame (OL/DL)
Brendan Eckland (DL/OL)
2017
John Deering (LB/FB)
Jack VanHyfte (RB/WR/DB)
Bryan Ooms (LB/RB)
Spencer Yauch (DL/OL)
There is a chance I am missing some players and if so, please email me (hit reply button or jon@scoutsfootball.com)
But this list includes 11 over two seasons.
So while its not entirely true that Coach Spagnoli and the staff do not two-platoon, it is definitely something they are philosophically opposed to.
I’ve asked him many times about this subject. His answer is always a version of this:
“We want our players to be fresh and prepared in late game situations. We believe if they are seeing reps on both sides of the ball, they will not be at their best late in games.”
OK. You can disagree with that statement. But his feelings on two-way players is not a surface issue, its one of DNA. What I mean is that experienced coaches have deeply ingrained philosophical convictions on how to run a program. It’s the sports equivalent of a political party platform (Democrats believe in big government, Republicans are more pro-business…you get what I mean). These long held beliefs are about as easy to change as a flat tire on the top of Mt. Everest.
They may bend a bit, but when push comes to shove, coaches will fall back on what they believe to be true based on years of evidence they have gathered. I can envision Coach Spagnoli continuing to bend in specific situations, but philosophically, he is not a two-way guy.
The questions remains (thanks to Mark for bringing it up): is this belief one that that will contribute towards preventing the Scouts from winning a state title by 2022? I believe it could. We can point to situations in previous seasons before 2016 when certain players could have thrived at other positions (Owen Williams at LB? Jack Traynor at FB?) Of course we’ll never know but it makes for fun late night conversation at Chief’s.
My only reason for not being all in with the two-way argument is due to contrarian evidence referenced in this post. But I do believe this: if the Scouts do get to and/or win a state championship by 2022, it will be with not a few but several players competing on both sides of the ball. If so, that means the coaching staff will have changed how they view the construction of a team. Can it happen? Sure. Coaching principles are not doctrines carved into stone tablets. The best coaches evolve based on current circumstances. I trust Coach Spagnoli, while possessing a rational, reasoned ideology based on 30-plus years of coaching, is open to change.
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Also from Mark Funk:
We Must Play in a Conference Our Size
My oldest son was on the team that last won the conference championship in football, but I’m not sure that will ever happen again. We need to relocate to a conference with schools that are roughly the same size, and there are plenty around. I also know that there have been and will be a lot more conference realignments so maybe it will take care of itself. The problem with the current situation is that, depending on the non-conference schedule, we may get in at best with a 6-3 record, and more likely a 5-4 record. This means we open up against a 1 or 2 seed in the playoffs which is not good (unless we get really lucky and draw Riverside Brookfield). In many years, we may be among the best 6A teams in the state but may not make the playoffs because we lost to a number of 8A and 7A schools.
Response: I’ll start with a little recent history.
In August 2014, the seven-member Prairie Division of the North Suburban Conference announced they were bolting the NSC to form their own conference (now the Northern Lake County Conference). Over several months during the 2014-15 school year, many meetings were held between members of the remaining NSC schools as well as Central Suburban and Mid-Suburban League officials. During those meetings, a litany of possibilities were discussed. One circumstance talked about was Lake Forest joining the CSL. I’m comfortable saying with authority that Lake Forest could have joined the CSL during this window of time. They obviously did not.
If they had, they would have most likely landed in the CSL North Division. Here are the schools the Scouts would have played each season:
Highland Park
Deerfield
Maine West
Maine East
Glenbrook North
They would also play two CSL South teams each season:
Maine South
New Trier
Evanston
Glenbrook South
Niles West
Niles North
When comparing the CSL North schedule to the meat grinder NSC, quite frankly, there is no comparison. Each season, Lake Forest could win every CSL North game (we know that probably wouldn’t happen but still it’s more favorable than Stevenson, Warren, Lake Zurich, etc). How cool would those cross over games be? Imagine New Trier coming to Varsity Field? Or Maine South? Of course, within the CSL North, the regionalization of the schedule would be great for players and fans. Let’s be honest, our kids would get more jacked up for games vs. Deerfield and Highland Park than Zion and Mundelein.
Mark’s point about how the Scouts would benefit from a less 8A/7A-heavy schedule is a strong one. With the way the current playoff format is constructed in Illinois, a 8-1 or 7-2 record is better than 6-3 or 5-4. A path to a state championship is less rocky as a 1-4 seed vs. 10-13. Fact: Over the past 10 seasons, no team has made the 6A title game with a seed lower than six (Crete-Monee made the title game as a six seed in 2015).
But like the discontinued line of Planters Cheese Balls (a food group of mine while in college) the Lake Forest-to-CSL idea never gained enough traction from enough interested parties. With the current leadership in place at LFHS, don’t expect any new talks to occur. Just like the ‘if only David Lee Roth had stayed in Van Halen’ conversation (I’m a devoted Roth guy) the topic is relegated to bar room fodder.
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One more subscriber comment deserving of mention from Joe Mislinski:
I base my recommendation on the assumption that LFHS is going to play four class 7A and 8A teams each year.
I know the coaches won’t like this, but the way beat schools that have bigger, stronger, faster athletes (due only to the fact that they have a larger population from which to draw) is to play a more disciplined type of offensive game, and one that reduces the impact of size and speed and acts as an equalizer. It’s the triple option.
Look at what Army has done this year. 8-2 consistently playing teams that outweigh them 25-75 pounds on the line; they play against D1 opponents with aspirations to play in the NFL. What you need, though, are coaches who understand this offense, and they aren’t many out there. The passing game is much more ‘exciting’ but the option game is MADE for very smart (LFHS) and disciplined (LFHS football) players. And by playing the option, you don’t need your biggest guys on offense to catch passes (i.e. Cekay); you can use them as DBs (which would have helped against Hoffman Estates) and also as blocking wideouts who shock people when they catch passes. And by running this offense, the defense will naturally be ready for Prairie Ridge.
See this article: http://www.goarmywestpoint.com/news/2017/11/5/football-feinsteins-findings-flawless-performance.aspx against another option team that had Army’s number historically.
Response: We all know Joe is an Army guy (West Point graduate and still very involved with the school as an alum). So he brings this analysis with a bit of a subjective bent towards the Black Knights. When looking at what he said, it’s important to filter out the knee jerk, ‘oh, that boring option offense. No kid will want to play that.’ When looking at Joe’s comment through the lens of the current climate, there is an argument to be made.
Our kids are always outsized in games against Stevenson/Warren/Lake Zurich/Libertyville. Beating those teams (or at least two in one season) are vitally essential to any state championship run. There is a personnel/schematic point to me be made to switching to an ‘option’ based run system. Opposing defenses don’t see this type of system. It would simplify blocking schemes on the offensive line, help neutralize the size differential vs 8A/7A NSC teams. QB’s would have fewer pre-snap and post-snap decisions to make. And in preparing us for that inevitable playoff showdown vs. Prairie Ridge and/or Cary-Grove…
As a youth coach in the LF/LB feeder programs, one system, taught from 5th grade through each level, would be an enormous advantage.
But much like a Talking Heads reunion tour, it won’t happen (at least with the current coaching staff).
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Before we close out this article, one other comment I wanted to publish from Rick Schneider:
If the goal is State Finals by 2022, then develop a business plan. Determine what LFHS stands for. Develop your mission and strategy. Make tough decisions, if necessary, based on the aforementioned and not on protecting personnel. “Get the right people on the bus.”
Well said by Rick. We all agree the program has done a nice job with such directives over the past decade. But that next step––competing and winning a state title––requires another level of leadership. I believe our football community has the pieces in place to take that next step.
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That’s a wrap on this article. I’ll publish one more article in this series (more of a sequel to this part) in the next couple of days including a few conclusions I have from researching/reporting series.
As always, send replies/comments to jon@scoutsfootball.com. Your thoughts/feedback always welcome.
Best,
Jon
