Why do some communities seem to win more?

[vet93]

In another thread PPHSfan mentioned that some teams seem to win consistently year in and year out. We all know teams in our own area who have seemed to have success over the years. If it was all by chance then if you played enough games we should all have records that were close to 50/50. What are the factors that keep the good teams good while other teams have up and down years. Don't say talent...because that doesn't explain long term success. Example...Ballinger has won 70% of their games going back to the 1920's. In the last 30 years, since I have been watching Ballinger football I have known of maybe 3 kids that have gone DI in college. Not exactly a hotbed of talent! There has to be something else. What are your opinions? If a town doesn't have long term success...then how do you think that they can get it? Have you ever seen a team that has gone from a Powerhouse with long term success to a dog for an extended period of time (say 10 years)? In those cases what happened? How about teams that have been consistent losers but have started to put things together for 10 to 15 years...How did they do it?

[Old Cardinal]

To Vet 93: I have a few comments. (1) Enrollment---Look at the winners this year Everman 896, and then in Div II Bandera 774, why that's bigger than most Div. I schools. That alone is a determining factor.(2) Program development-If you read back on the 16 high bracketed teams responding; there is one recurring statement, "Our JV and 9th grade have had a winning season." That is the key, a program that self-perpetuates! I think GOOD dedicated 7th, 8th, and 9th grade Coaching make a lot of good Varsities in several years.

[Jacket2000]

Guess that's what they mean by "Tradition never graduates".
J2K

[wildstangs]

Tradition. Good coaches. Town support.

[Old Dog]

Large enrollment is a plus, community backing helps, certainly good players, but coaches and their programs (in season and off-season)are key. You need everybody from Peewee to varsity running the same thing. Don't anyone sell those Middle School coaches short on their importance! A steady hand at the helm. Old Cardinal's post has loads of substance!

<small>[ December 29, 2002, 01:30 AM: Message edited by: Old Dog ]</small>

[Matthew328]

To me talent is number one...without some kind of overall talent you won't do much for the long run..some towns just seem to have a pool of good players..tradition is key as well when you have a good tradition the kids in the town look up to the high school kids and want to be like that when they get older, thus they take pride in their school and town and will be willing to lay it on the line every week..stability in the program is also important to me..there are lots of factors that go into a town having a winning tradition I guess some towns are just lucky...places like Whitesboro, Smithville, Huntington, Kountze, Whitney..I wonder what is the difference between these towns and towns like Commerce, Ballinger, Newton, and a ton of other towns that have been consistent winners for years..

[Jacket2000]

I think that tradition is the number one thing. The strongest program that I am close to would be Ennis. Many people forget that before '96, Ennis hadnt been to the playoffs in almost 15 years. Yes, Coach Harrel has attributed a great deal to the turnaround, but I think that tradition had more to do with it. Ennis was a power during the 60's and 70's and won a state championship in '75 before the program kinda died. So many of the men that played then have kids that are playing now. It's a cycle and I believe that this is responsible for many of the winning traditions across the state. A program may be down for a few years, but eventually those players that played on the winning teams will have kids, and they will usually continue the tradition.
Also, I think demographics has alot to do with it. Im gonna throw the political correctness out the window here and say that you rarely see an all-white or an all-black team with a winning tradition. Each type will have a few winning seasons here and there, but the teams that just seem to always be there usually have a mix between the two. Teams like Ennis, Commerce, Daingerfield, Odessa Permian(in their day) always have an equal ratio between white, black, and hispanic players.
Just my $.02.
J2K

<small>[ December 29, 2002, 04:06 PM: Message edited by: Jacket2000 ]</small>