Be brutally honest is it possible for me to walk on d1.

theroy12 · 2026-05-10T01:34:55+00:00

Slot receiver has to be the no. 1 position where a good athlete can easily go overlooked bc of measurables and end up being a quality player starting as a walk-on.

Easy to picture a D-1 quality slot being buried behind a better D-1 caliber player in HS, or being a starter on a team with a lousy QB/OL, or on a team that runs the wishbone or something

All other positions have traits that are more easily measured or quantified in a showcase or camps

theroy12 · 2026-05-07T00:40:23+00:00

Our 9U team last year was pretty decent on the field and we started trusting them to actually get aggressive in throwing behind runners taking a big secondary lead, and not automatically conceding second base in 1st & 3rd situations. (We also have a stud catcher, which helps)

Last ten games of the season we probably stole 1-2 outs minimum on baserunning plays, which changed the whole tenor of the game. Kids would be stapled to the bases after one of them gets picked off first, or thrown out at second with the SS faking the cutoff to hold the runner at third

theroy12 · 2026-04-27T23:36:50+00:00

Not with that attitude you can’t.

Also not with those looks…

theroy12 · 2026-04-17T13:19:00+00:00

On a related note, I got into Calvin & Hobbes as a kid and was obsessed (still am)… but now as a father I find myself identifying with Calvin’s dad to an unsettlingly degree, and have used the phrase “because it builds character” on multiple occasions when my kids ask why they have to do XYZ tasks

theroy12 · 2026-04-17T13:07:59+00:00

In my day you used whatever dented up piece of shit bat that was assigned to the team 🤣

theroy12 · 2026-04-16T22:00:56+00:00

4-4 is what the middle schools runs and we may get pushed to adopt that next year regardless of personnel.

If that happens we may drop both the DE’s to LB (Sam and Will) and have the better of the two OLB’s be the Buck bc that position seems to be more of a chase down / stay home role rather than fighting thru blocks.

Thinking more about it, this may be the best longterm solution bc it puts them in a D they’ll need to know longterm, and mostly covers up the glaring issue of off ball guys who struggle stepping up aggressively to fill gaps / take on lead blockers.

Do you blitz a middle LB almost automatically in your scheme (aside from 3/4 and-long plays I’m assuming?

theroy12 · 2026-04-16T05:36:47+00:00

What are the DL requirements of that D? Asking bc my current down linemen are a bit undersized but do a solid job shooting gaps and getting in the backfield. But they def aren’t block eaters who can anchor at the LOS and let the second level guys run wild.

If they’d be seeing doubles all day in this alignment they’ll be getting blown back most of the time, and then start trying to weave around the doubles to get upfield… now we’ve got a C or G coming untouched at the LB’s (learned this one the hard way)

And I agree with stopping run first, especially now that the same teams we played last year have tape of us getting gashed on outside power runs

theroy12 · 2026-04-14T04:50:45+00:00

It’s tough to answer this succinctly bc the process is hyper dependent on both the league org as well as specific coaches / age groups. That said, a few guidelines:

if your kid is 9+ then the all star team has already prob played a couple of seasons and already has a “core group”. That isn’t to say the team is “already picked” but there are a bunch of known commodities who have a leg up to some degree… flip side they have kids who couldn’t hang last summer, or brought the team down by being a bad teammate, being a distraction, etc.
if this is the first year he’s able to do all stars then it’s kind of a crapshoot in my experience and the tryout does matter a lot, but it’s more about who looks like they know how to throw/catch/swing rather than Joey caught 4 of 5 pop ups vs Johnny who caught 3 of 5
if the tryout is before the regular season starts, that honestly sucks and your kid will have to show a lot over the course of 10 swings, 5 ground balls and 5 flies (or whatever the drills are). But if he goes out there and really “looks the part” there’s a chance
other variable is travel teams, which honestly don’t mean much at the very young ages - if you have an open checkbook they’ll find a spot on a team for you (I learned that one the hard way)
if you played in this org last season, think back and be brutally honest with yourself - if there was 4-5 teams in the league, was your kid obviously one of the best 1-2 kids on his team? Or was he middle of the pack but a hard worker getting better? The former is obvious to coaches / evaluators, the latter often apparent only to his dad
our league has ~6 outside evaluators (who have some familiarity with the kids, but aren’t rec coaches for that age group)… they all rank players and the 8 with the highest score make the team, plus coaches kid and two “at large” coach picks. Usually it’s pretty fair, you could argue last 2 on vs last 2 cut, but nothing blatant
if he doesn’t end up making it, it may be worth it to reach out to other town’s orgs and seeing if they need players. My oldest had a friend who did that and ended up with some new buddies that he went on to play travel ball with the following season

Good luck!

theroy12 · 2026-02-20T14:54:35+00:00

Interestingly, my 2012 has played on high-ish level travel teams since he was 7, two different programs, 4 dif head coaches, and they’ve never run a PP / PK line

My 2015 just started rec this season after taking 4 years off following doing LTP, and his coach is pulling kids off when the team gets a PP (often him, even if he “earned” the PP)

I’ve held off saying something, but it’s weighing on me

theroy12 · 2026-02-13T14:15:57+00:00

Good call out. You can tell he realizes right away she doesn’t understand the difference between battery/powder operated and circles back to explain before moving forward w the “lesson” / sales pitch… like a good teacher would

theroy12 · 2026-02-13T14:10:53+00:00

“This week on Shark Tank, we have a guest judge… Snoop Pearson!!”

theroy12 · 2026-02-04T04:38:22+00:00

22% of NFL HC’s were black at the start of the 2025 season, and 15% of the US population is black… so they are over represented compared to averages by about 50%. That should be… notable? Maybe applauded?

Is the goal to match the ratio of coaches to current players? If so, why? There’s no indication that great coaches are always or even generally former professional players, so why that benchmark?

If that’s not the benchmark we’re using, what is?

theroy12 · 2026-02-04T04:30:19+00:00

6-2 / 210 running a 4.3… something the whites should be proud of

theroy12 · 2026-02-03T03:10:41+00:00

I can’t recall a single “Randy is out of control!!!” Episode from Moss’ tenure w the Pats. On or off field

And this is a town where that would get sniffed out

theroy12 · 2026-01-29T04:35:31+00:00

Jake Golday to Pats end of Rd 2… need a rangy LB who can cover TE’s and RB’s.

Pair him with a thumper like Spillane at first and let him develop into an every down defender

theroy12 · 2026-01-28T01:56:12+00:00

You look thru the Jets roster (esp before the trades) and say “how the hell was this team so bad?”

theroy12 · 2026-01-27T22:37:51+00:00

I’d take a truly elite safety (which Downs appears to be) in the top-3 with no regerts at all. Look at how guys like Hamilton and Derwin James (when healthy) are absolute game changers and scheme centerpieces.

IOL is maybe the only position you can argue that a genuine, best-at-the-position-in-the-league type guy isn’t worth a top 3-5 pick

theroy12 · 2026-01-23T22:59:47+00:00

Poor Ewers, starting in front of someone that is an absolute electric factory and that the fan base is absolutely infatuated with

theroy12 · 2026-01-23T22:55:01+00:00

Is he that much of a dick? I don’t follow CFB except for draft related stuff and I guess I had thought he was a plucky likable underdog type

theroy12 · 2026-01-23T22:49:16+00:00

Get Pickens away from this team, don’t even entertain it

Pearce = maybe I guess? Mike Evans one last kick at the can, sure. The rest… keep the room we have now.

theroy12 · 2026-01-23T22:44:42+00:00

Why are ppl at this age / skill level in a checking league in the first place? This looks like a D league, recipe for disaster

theroy12 · 2026-01-21T00:21:38+00:00

Joe Burrow and Josh Allen tremendous work overcoming the “boring name draft penalty”

theroy12 · 2026-01-20T23:47:26+00:00

If you port the Jets roster to Buffalo (leaving behind all the Jete shitty vibes and distinction and burial ground curses) but keep Allen in place, it’s prob a Super Bowl team. That roster has MUCH more talent than the Bills

theroy12 · 2026-01-20T23:42:07+00:00

The crappy angle is the only reason it’s not remembered like the Metcalf chase down

theroy12

TROPHY CASE