It’s time for HS FOOTBALL to get its own GOVERNING BODY

Note: I’ve written a column on this topic for our upcoming preview magazine that will be out on Aug. 29. But given the timing of everything taking place at present, the cliff notes version will be made available here.

Here are some main reasons why football should have its own governing body …

— Rules that apply to other sports should not apply to football because it doesn’t have the same club/travel ball levels of competition to fall back on. In sports like basketball, players cut their teeth with college recruiters at the club level, not high school. With no “club” version of the game to athletes, football players have only Friday nights in fall to make it all happen. So when a player like Noodles Hull or Jake Payton loses an entire season, there’s no way to make it up with a “club” team. And that’s wrong.

The absolute MOST any football player should have to sit out for an athletically motivated transfer or undue influence is THREE GAMES. A basketball or baseball transfer can miss an entire season and be just fine because of “club” or “travel” ball … football players don’t have that same luxury. THE CURRENT RULES ARE WALKING HS FOOTBALL RIGHT DOWN THE PATH TO A CLUB/TRAVEL VERSION OF THE SPORT BEING FORMED. Idiocy!

— Under the current governance, proper league and playoff division placings are done poorly. There’s been ample time to get Monrovia football out of the Rio Hondo League and Mid-Valley Division and nothing has been done. Damien moving to the Pac-5? A special governing body would easily be able to handle the task of making SEPARATE DIVISIONS AND LEAGUES for FOOTBALL.

— Lumping FOOTBALL in with other sports, even just one other sport, is a travesty and should never happen. It’s the most unique season with the most unique risks, so why do we currently have across-the-board rules for all sports, including football?

— This is and isn’t an indictment of CIF. If CIF in some sort of sub-body was in charge of football, I’d have no problem with it. I’m not just talking about putting an assistant commissioner in charge of the sport. I’m talking about a completely different blue book with a completely different set of rules and guidelines that would be made up BY THE NEW GOVERNING BODY and NOT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS/ADs/PRINCIPALS/COACHES.

These are just broad strokes and a more compelling case will be made in the full preview column. Thank you and have a wonder life.

San Dimas coaching staff under investigation for allegedly supplying players with weight-gainer shakes …

zer

The Bonita Unified School District is in the midst of an investigation into allegations made against the San Dimas High School football coaching staff that it put players on a weight-gain plan and provided them with nutritional supplements in the form of shakes to help them reach weight goals.

The allegations were made by Peter Lyons, the guardian of former Saints standout running back Jake Payton, who transferred to Upland at the end of spring only to have San Dimas challenge the move. Payton was declared ineligible for the upcoming season by the CIF Southern Section office.

This newspaper has obtained copies of email correspondence between Lyons and several members of the Bonita Unified School District, including superintendent Dr. Gary Ripkin and San Dimas principal Michael Kelly.

Kurt Scoby update: Grades (check), classes (check), now just waiting on CIF paperwork

kurt
Andrew Hauser (Wake Forest by way of CO) on left, Kurt Scoby (right)

Monrovia began preparations for the 2013 season on Monday morning with its first fall practice and standout running back Kurt Scoby was practicing with the team after fulfilling all the school-issued requirements needed to play for the Wildcats football program.

Scoby’s grades and class requirements are up to speed following some summer school work and now the fate of his senior-year eligibility is up to CIF. Maddox said the program is still in the paperwork process with that but expects to have it sent to CIF soon. Scoby needs Alemany, his previous school before Monrovia, to sign off on his transfer. It’s not expected to be a problem.

After that, CIF will review the case and decide whether Scoby will be eligible for the entire season or whether he’ll have a sit-out period until Oct. 6 or be ineligible.

“His GPA good and we’ll be sending out the transfer paperwork,” Maddox said. “We had to wait because in order to send out the paperwork, he has to be above a 2.0 (Grade Point Average). It’s just a matter of getting all the paperwork in a line and the ducks in a row.”

Monrovia opens the season on Sept. 6 against Ayala. The Wildcats are especially deep at running back and Maddox said that his stable of ball carriers will continue to rotate until more is known about Scoby’s situation.

“It’s completely out of my hands,” Maddox said. “Obviously, we’d love to have him but I’ve got no say. It really depends on what CIF has to say. Right now, they’re all rotating and getting reps. It’s the first day of practice. They’re all good backs. We won’t stop splitting that stuff up until we get a lot deeper in. They’re all good backs.

Scoby last played a varsity game for St. Paul in 2012. Before that, he had a strong sophomore season at Charter Oak. After leaving Charter Oak, Scoby’s had stops at Duarte, St. Paul, Cathedral and Alemany.

Happy to announce that Slater’s 50/50 is a new blog advertiser … gift certificates coming …

slaters

Slater’s 50/50, which now has a Pasadena location, has become a new advertiser on the SGVN blogs. As many of you know, I’m a big fan of Slater’s 50/50 … the bacon brownie, the original 50/50 (half ground beef/half ground bacon), the peanut butter and jelly burger.

Slater’s being a blog sponsor is a natural fit. There’s now a Pasadena location in Old Town so die-hards like myself don’t have to go to Orange County.

Even better, our advertising peeps have informed me that Slater’s has provided us with GIFT CERTIFICATES that we will be giving out. More on that later …

Aram’s take: I’ve tried the Peanut Butter and Jelly Burger and the Original 50/50, but there are tons of other options. I like both burgers quite a bit. And the bacon brownie, no matter how odd it may sound, is EXCELLENT!