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When Running Wins: Unpacking the East St. Louis Championship Shocker and Youth Football’s Parental Problem
The Unseen Hurdles of Youth Football Coaching
Coaching youth football, whether it’s 11U or 14U, comes with its own set of trials and triumphs. On one hand, you’re shaping young athletes, helping them grow and develop. On the other, you’re navigating team dynamics, player development, and perhaps the biggest challenge of all: parental involvement.
For an 11U team, the journey can be particularly tough. Imagine a team composed mostly of first and second-year players who haven’t quite grasped the fundamentals. Despite their best efforts and visible improvement every game, wins can be elusive. Sometimes, a lack of players means the team is stretched thin, leading to fatigue and missed opportunities, even when leading significantly in a game.
The 14U level often sees more seasoned players, but the coaching approach can still make a world of difference. When a new coach steps in, focusing on fundamental football rather than just letting them play, the improvement can be dramatic. The game itself isn’t what it used to be.
The Parental Predicament in Youth Sports
A significant shift in youth football is the increased involvement—and sometimes interference—from parents. It’s often said that “Little League football ain’t the same no more.” What was once about the kids’ passion for the sport has, for some, become about parental aspirations. Parents are observed standing at practice, trying to dictate coaching decisions, convinced their child is superior. This creates a stressful environment for coaches, who are asked to lead but then micromanaged. It’s a scenario where parents threaten to pull their kids if their demands aren’t met, suggesting a lack of “love for the game” and a desire to live vicariously through their children’s athletic careers. Coaching youth sports, it seems, is a venture to “enter at your own risk.”
The East St. Louis Championship Game: A Questionable Coaching Call?
The conversation then shifted to a high-stakes championship game: the East St. Louis Flyers versus Fenwick. The crucial question: Where did East St. Louis go wrong? The consensus among observers was simple: they stopped running the ball.
East St. Louis had an unstoppable running back who Fenwick’s defense simply couldn’t tackle. In the first half alone, East St. Louis had amassed over 300 yards of total offense, while Fenwick struggled to even reach 50 or 60 yards. Yet, despite this overwhelming success on the ground, the coaching staff inexplicably moved away from their dominant run game.
Fundamentals Over Finesse
This decision goes against fundamental football strategy. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” When a running back is consistently breaking tackles, especially in cold weather (which typically favors a ground-heavy attack), you keep giving him the ball. East St. Louis also had three capable running backs they could rotate to keep fresh. By forcing passes and throwing across the middle on crucial downs (like a third and five or six, which resulted in a pick), they shifted momentum and gave the game away. It appeared the coach either got “out-coached” or, worse, “out-smarted his damn self.”
While East St. Louis’s coach is known for winning state titles, making him an “elite” coach in many eyes, this particular game’s strategy raised eyebrows. Sometimes, even the best coaches can overthink or deviate from what’s clearly working. When you have a player that nobody can stop, the logical move is to continue exploiting that advantage until the opponent proves they can contain it.
The Unspoken Speculation
Such inexplicable coaching decisions in high-stakes games inevitably lead to speculation. While there’s no evidence, the question arises: what are the odds that a coach would abandon a winning strategy so completely? In a championship game, where the path to victory seems obvious, a sudden shift away from what works can seem bewildering. This kind of decision-making, particularly when it leads to a loss, can spark whispers about “behind closed doors money” or deliberate game-throwing, even if it’s just idle chatter. It’s a reminder that in sports, as in life, sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.
Disclaimer: The info in this article may or may not be true. This was taken from a conversation from The Grind It Up Podcast and should not be used as your reliable news source but rather entertainment.
This info can be found in this episode of The Grind It Up Podcast
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