Summer season’s impact draws scrutiny
UIL athletic director concerned; coaches see pros and cons
COLLEGE STATION — As he walked off the fields at Veterans Park, Mike Ferrell already had his fishing plans set.
“My land is about 40 minutes away,” said Ferrell, who took over as Brazosport’s football coach in January and watched his Exporters compete in their first Texas 7-on-7 Football State Championships.
Twenty years ago, Ferrell might have already been fishing.
The summer gave coaches just enough time to get away. Plus, 7-on-7 football — the spring and summer “substitute” for the 11man padded version in the fall — was still in its infancy.
The all-pass game without offensive and defensive lines is a staple now. That’s why Ferrell and other coaches were parked under the shade of hats and umbrellas. Not coaching their high school athletes as they’re prohibited from doing so, but watching from the back of the end zones.
The game is also growing beyond school borders.
Two weeks ago, University Interscholastic League athletic director Susan Elza told the UIL Legislative Council’s athletic committee of the growing concern and challenges — particular in 7-on-7 football — of outside influences on student-athletes.
The committee formed a subcommittee to study allowing high school coaches to coach their athletes outside of the school season. And while some are in favor of the move, others acknowledge there are too many issues to quickly justify the move.
“We’re blowing and going from August until school is out, so to add something else, it’s like, ‘Oh man,’ ” Bay City’s Lupe Florez said. “I’m still undecided on it. I think it has its pros and its cons.” Opening the door
One concern is allowing one sport means opening the door for all.
“I don’t think high school coaches are ready for that,” said Summer Creek track coach Shelton Ervin, who has worked with private and summer coaches in establishing boundaries. “I think it opens up so many avenues and of course, the complaint is the third parties that are coming into the equation.
“But everybody’s dealing with it. So if you open it for football, then you have to open it for all the other sports.”
Coaches can’t coach their own athletes outside of the school season, but they can coach. They just coach others, which is why a number of them from most UIL sports also either work with or at times, oversee club programs.
Football is different as there’s no true “club” version to the sport. Personal trainers and position-specific coaching are growing in popularity, as they are in other sports.
“If we aren’t working with our kids, somebody’s going to be working with them, and that’s not always a bad thing,” Dickinson football coach John Snelson said. Basketball’s example
What is occurring is 7-on-7 teams outside of school and athletes from across a city or state coming together to compete in tournaments nationwide. The 24-team Pylon 7-on-7 Football National Championship was last weekend at The Star in Frisco and Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. At least five teams had Texas roots.
The perceived fear is football becoming what summer basketball is described as — a cutthroat operation that has taken power away from the high school coaches. Though based in some reality, the broad-brush labeling has created an us-against-them mentality.
“If you ask me who are the best people to coach our kids, it is our coaches,” UIL executive director Charles Breithaupt said to the legislative council’s athletic committee. “That’s who are the best.
“Parents don’t always see it that way and neither do these non-school clubs and these select teams because they’ve been doing it for a while now. There’s not an easy fix.”
The cost is growing, with some districts even implementing a pay-for-play fee. But perception isn’t always reality.
“It’s like society — we say all police officers are bad,’’ said Jim Hicks, founder and editor of rcssports.com, a basketball recruiting website covering greater Houston. “They’re not all bad, but guess what? There’s enough bad ones out there so I understand.”
So — for now — football coaches are spectators in the summer.
“Lots of those people out there are doing it for the right reason,” Snelson said. “Everybody gets protective from time to time, but I think for us, we just wish the message was in line and it’s not always like that.”