PIAA- All 9th Graders to High School Football

[12HankQB]

How many schools were unable to field a JV team even with having ninth graders on the varsity team?

Exactly, I was going to say this. A lot of WestPAC teams cancel JV games and a decent amount of freshmen do get varsity playing time. In the smaller classifications, this is already the norm.

[Coach]

This should not be mandated by the PIAA. There is no reason to do this at AAA and above.

Here is why I support it for my school and for the ICC.

In grades 7-12 we were all attempting to play 4 levels of games.

7-8
8-9
JV
Varsity

The number of players didn't make this feasible for most of our schools. Kids were playing in the varsity game and in the JV games. Kids played in 8-9 games and in 7-8 games as an 8th grader. In the concussion era, I feel this was too much head knocking for a lot of kids.

Now, kids will play 3 levels of games.

JH 7-8
JV 9-10 and some 11
Varsity

When deciding what level to remove it is apparent that it shouldn't be JV. Those kids are the closest to playing in games that count on Friday nights. By having 9th graders up this should give schools a much better chance to ensure that they can play a JV schedule. 9th and 10th graders play as well as any non starting juniors.

At practice 9th grade players can be coached by the varsity staff and learn the system a little better than they could in some JH programs. The younger players can run drills with the seniors but at the same time coaches should use discretion and shouldn't have a 125 pound 9th grader going against a 230 point senior in an Oklahoma drill. Most of the time, when you are in season you limit full contact all week anyway. It all comes down to how the coach handles it and I think 99% of the time you'll have coaches watching out for their kids, especially the undersized player.

I would not be in favor of moving up 9th graders if we didn't need them to help fulfill a JV schedule. If we all had 40 kids to begin with in grades 10-12 that wouldn't be necessary. I know in my case I have numerous juniors and seniors to be who benefited greatly by playing JV this year. I feel 10x more confident in them going into next year because they were able to compete in real games this year. If the last time they saw meaningful minutes was as a 9th grader in junior high, I would question what I have to work with next year as a coach.

In my opinion, this will work out great for our program and most of the ICC. The conference did not dictate that everyone had to move kids up. However, when most of the teams elected to do this it left just a few schools remaining that wanted to have a 9th grade team. The problem for them, however, became scheduling.

This past year we played TM, Eve, CK, SH, Glen, etc in JV games. They all had 9th graders up and the games were very competitive. Most 9th graders can handle playing against 9, 10, and some 11th graders. It is weird because most 8th graders can't handle playing a team of 9th graders. There is just a big difference between an 8th grader and a 9th grader I guess.

If Altoona, Central, etc don't have to do this and can continue to play games at
7th
JH (8-9)
JV (10-11)
Varsity

Then that's great. Some schools have enough to have
7
8
9
JV
Vars

Most schools followed that model a decade ago regardless of classification, but the numbers are no longer there to make that feasible.

[HSD6FAN]

I'm not in favor of this move. Those kids will practice against seniors. There's such a difference between a 15 year old and an 18 year old. While I understand the desire to keep a JV program afloat, I don't think the safety of the kids should be left up to the PIAA or conference. If a coach (and parents) feels that a student is capable of playing at the varsity level, move them up. If not, let them play junior high and stay involved in the program.

[Manfred]

I know some of the ICC schools were doing it now and some were going to implement it later on. If the PIAA gets involved with this, it will only add to the absurdity of them being the leader of high school sports for our state. As a father of a fifth grader I can't believe that this being discussed. At this point I might have to hold my son from playing ninth grade because of the craziness of this rule. There are ninth graders who are small and not fully developed yet and you tell me that they are going to move up and play with juniors and seniors. That is INSANE. I know some schools would not play their 7th graders against a junior high team that had ninth graders on it which is only 2 years apart. Then you are going to make a rule that ninth graders will play against seniors which is 3 years apart. You can't tell me that this makes sense because of the physical ability and development of these night graders is NOT all the same. Why change a rule that has worked all these years. If a coach and parent believe that a ninth grade athlete is good enough to move up and play varsity then that athlete moves up. If not they stay and play junior high. the coach and parent should make that decision, NOT the league and NOT the PIAA.

The Coach and esp. the parents know the kid, not the league or PIAA.

[stang4life]

Portage freshmen have been with the varsity/jv teams for years. Had three freshmen contribute through the past season..one got a good bit of playing time throughout the year. The other two got their playing time due to injury. All handled it very well..even excelled at times.
If bumping freshmen classes up to the varsity level does become statewide implemented. It will be up to the schools AD.. Coaches..the student athlete and even the parents to decide if the athlete is ready to handle the varsity competition.

The Varsity and JV teams are split-up for all practices and hitting drills, only the 9th graders showing they can hold their own participate with the older athletes. I'm sure the Coaches monitor this very closely. Only time I have seen both varsity and JV teams all together is for a team instruction or a walk-through practice.

Also, have seen teams come to play for a Monday JV game with the same team our varsity team played on Friday night. This comes down to numbers in a small school conference. Once again, coaches and everyone involved have to monitor the situation, so avoidable injuries or total mismatches do not occur.

[LVCoachFoust]

The Heritage Conference brought up all Freshman in 2012. One stipulation was to enforce a full 8 or 9 game JV schedule. Most schools in our conference do play JV, but unfortunately some do not. We at LV play JV every single week. We pick up other teams and make sure our kids have a chance to play. I personally like the 9th graders up, but that's just my opinion. I like having them an extra year.

[stang4life]

I've seen kids having moderate junior high careers where you see some athleticism, but wouldn't fully engage in the game. By the middle of their 9th grade year, after being through camp and practices, maybe by just watching the older kids firsthand, they start getting what they need to do "to get better".. There is also an extra year of bonding and getting to know the older players.. I think it's a win-win situation, especially for the varsity coach having the extra year.

[davesandstorm]

I can see both sides of the fence in this one. I know Mount Union didn't have a large number of kids in the Junior High program this year. They also moved two freshman up to the varsity team this season and last season one moved up as a freshman as well. In those cases though, the freshman started or at least got significant playing time in their freshman year.

[stang4life]

Most freshman should not be on the field Friday night. Maybe in blowout games for the cleanup..But there are always exceptions. Couple years ago, heard of a 17yr old 9th grader playing in a JV game.

[dadw/2sons]

Thank you Manfred for your support. I understand about the JV programs, but what about the Junior High programs. You are asking 7th graders to be ready to play such a physical game as football during their first year of getting official introduction to the game. I know there are a lot of Elementary programs out there, but are the kids getting real good coaching. Then what do the 125 pound freshman whose body is not yet filled out, you are then asking them to go and play against developed juniors and seniors, even if it is only in practice. Doesn't make sense to me. I know at least 2 of my friends had sons that were ninth graders that did not go our for JV/Varsity partly because of their small statue. If they were allowed to stay at the Junior High level for another year then maybe their bodies would be better suited to go up against the older kids.
As far you youngbuck, you probably don't have kids because for me it isn't about my sons' accolades but ti is about his safety. I am the one that is responsible for his safety NOT the school, NOT the league, and NOT the PIAA.