NLR & Greenwood

[pigtrino]

North Little Rock had terrible, terrible coaching for many years - Bolding and the new coach from Starkville have provided quality coaching and NLR has been on a upward trajectory.
Heck - Bolding has made Parkview competitive in his short time there - which is almost unbelievable.
High school is all about coaching.

I thought Henry Hawk coached them pretty well?

[Billy Bats]

Something in the water?


Transplants from next door more like it

Yeah but recruiting doesn't explain why a town with 6k people has a football program that has over performed to that level.  It's ingrained into the community.  Everyone is bought in.  It's what the Arkansas football should aspire to create statewide.

[IronHog]

Yeah but recruiting doesn't explain why a town with 6k people has a football program that has over performed to that level.  It's ingrained into the community.  Everyone is bought in.  It's what the Arkansas football should aspire to create statewide.

Yea it does


Shiloh and others did the same thing for years

[Billy Bats]

Yea it does


Shiloh and others did the same thing for years

Mmmkay

[IronHog]

Mmmkay

Exactly


Nothing to be ashamed of.......but it's a 6,000
Person town pulling players from a much larger area

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

Crazy part is, they've been awesome since Ronnie Peacock and they've changed staffs and still stayed legit.  Something in the water there I guess. 

Now look up Ft. Smith demographics and population over the past 25 years and see how many people have moved out of the Ft. Smith district and into Greenwood's. and then look into how much both Northside and Southside have fallen in terms of competitiveness across the region and athletes going to D1 schools.  (I do admit Northside has a bit of resurgence in the number of kids signing D1 scholarships)

[Billy Bats]

Exactly


Nothing to be ashamed of.......but it's a 6,000
Person town pulling players from a much larger area

Oh yeah, fort smith, wow, what a talent pool lol.

[Billy Bats]

Now look up Ft. Smith demographics and population over the past 25 years and see how many people have moved out of the Ft. Smith district and into Greenwood's. and then look into how much both Northside and Southside have fallen in terms of competitiveness across the region and athletes going to D1 schools.  (I do admit Northside has a bit of resurgence in the number of kids signing D1 scholarships)

It's a better place to live and a better school system.  Since when is being awesome a crime in America?

[ArmyHog]

Greenwood is a great town. Living between Charleston and Booneville puts me right in the 15 mile triangle of Charleston, Booneville and Greenwood. Great football tradition in all those schools. Is there another small area in the the state that has as many wins and championships in the last 20 years as those schools?

[snoblind]

Many of the new subdivisions in Fort Smith are in Greenwood's school district.  They were there long before the houses (and people) came.  Greenwood was paying attention many years ago,  Fort Smith wasn't.

[plumbhog]

Greenwood is a great town. Living between Charleston and Booneville puts me right in the 15 mile triangle of Charleston, Booneville and Greenwood. Great football tradition in all those schools. Is there another small area in the the state that has as many wins and championships in the last 20 years as those schools?

Pine Bluff, Dollarway, and Rison!

[IronHog]

Oh yeah, fort smith, wow, what a talent pool lol.

And you think Greenwood is running a program off 6k people


More like 100k+ but who is counting right?


They have lots of advantages due to location.  It happens.

[AlmaHog2011]

It's a better place to live and a better school system.  Since when is being awesome a crime in America?

Football yes...Basketball? Northside won the state last year and will compete for it this year. I don't think Greenwood is a better place to live that's your opinion.
Ft Smith is a great place to live football is way down at both schools.

[ricepig]

And you think Greenwood is running a program off 6k people


More like 100k+ but who is counting right?


They have lots of advantages due to location.  It happens.

They have what is in their school district, the same as the rest of the state.

[ArmyHog]

Pine Bluff, Dollarway, and Rison!

Thats a great area for football but I don't think it's even close in championships in the last 20 years.

[RazorPiggie]

They have what is in their school district, the same as the rest of the state.

Half of there district has Fort Smith Addresses. Lol.

[bphi11ips]

They have what is in their school district, the same as the rest of the state.

Are you sure?  I don't know.  Am just curious.

Public high school football in Tennessee has been dominated for decades by Maryville.  Maryville losses are as common as total eclipses in Arkansas.  Maryville is an open school district near Knoxville.  Anyone willing to drive to school there can play.  Why it is allowed to compete with other high schools is a mystery.  Maryville is a 6A school.  Another school in the area, Alcoa, dominates 5A the same way.

From what I have seen here about Greenwood, it has been built upon youth football and community, which is a beautiful thing in my opinion.  Youth football is the key to success across the south.  Jalen Merrick discussed his many years of football when he signed with Arkansas.  Football is like every other sport in that those who start young have a huge advantage.  Tony Romo has been tutoring John Stephen Jones since he was a young child.  That's an extreme example, but it sets him apart.

[ricepig]

Half of there district has Fort Smith Addresses. Lol.

It's still the Greenwood school district, lol. Jonesboro has 5 different school districts in the city, some the whole school district, some just part of theirs, but the lines were drawn years ago.

[LZH]

There are about 1.1 million HS football players in the country and about 1,100 of them are rated  3, 4, or 5 star.  The chance of having multiple star rated players on one team is very remote.

Brighthouse cable in FL shows four HS games every Friday night. One of the first ones I watched right after I moved there (I forget the schools) was like watching a couple of good D2 college teams. During the first series the announcer said that of the 22 kids on the field, 11 had football scholarships, 7 were signing with FBS teams, and 4 were headed to SEC teams.

[IronHog]

It's still the Greenwood school district, lol. Jonesboro has 5 different school districts in the city, some the whole school district, some just part of theirs, but the lines were drawn years ago.

Don't be obtuse

Good programs attract players.  Is what it is

[Dark Helmet Hog]

Ranked 8th and 16th nationally and only one 2 star and one 3 star recruit between them. How is that?

Shiloh was rated high in the nation one year by USA Today when they got their butt's handed to them in Texas. The point? They weren't the best team in Springdale much less the state. National polls are just hype. Also, a good high school team doesn't have to be loaded with D1 talent.

[hoglady]

I thought Henry Hawk coached them pretty well?

Wasn't he coach the last time they won a state championship back in 1972?

[razorhead5]

I attended Greenwood through elementary and into JR high.......there is one reason for this and it's the inception of the "spread". In the 80's and 90's.....NHS & SHS would run Greenwood off the field. Today it's tge other way around. The fact is x's & o's means more jimmys and joes in football today. It's the reason I'm drinking the Chad Morris koolaide.

[Dark Helmet Hog]

Greenwood is the best program in the state.  Has been for a long time.

Greenwood would compete in the 7A West but not sure they could win it. The schedule is brutal.

[plumbhog]

Thats a great area for football but I don't think it's even close in championships in the last 20 years.

Well your right, didn't realize it had been that long. It isn't close in a last 20 years. But if you go back 30 it's a different story.😁

[RD]

Yea it does


Shiloh and others did the same thing for years

Proof?

[Grunt]

There are about 1.1 million HS football players in the country and about 1,100 of them are rated  3, 4, or 5 star.  The chance of having multiple star rated players on one team is very remote.

Best answer.

[Grunt]

It’s a better place to live and a better school system.  Since when is being awesome a crime in America?

Nobody said the migration was wrong. But the last time I was in GW, a few years ago, the traffic was a bit much. I guess she's grown too fast. A great place I'm sure but lost the Mayberry appeal that I remember from my childhood.

[ricepig]

Don't be obtuse

Good programs attract players.  Is what it is

No doubt, you still have to live in the school district, or jump through the AAA transfer rules.

[rickm1976]

Want to find out how good Greenwood really is?  Do like Siloam Springs did when they had Frazier as their QB and go play one of those Texas teams, then see how they stack up.

We lived in San Antonio for 17 years, and my son played OL for a 7A school.  His senior year, they played for the 7A State Championship, but lost a close one.  He now coaches HS here (we got to move back home the year after he graduated thank God).  His team was pretty typical of a large Texas HS, but nothing special.  6 players off his team that year got football scholarships to D5 schools including TTech, A&M, Oklahoma, Kansas, K State, and LSU.  That is not unusual there, but is unheard of here.  I have seen one Arkansas HS team that MIGHT have been competitive against his team, and that was Springdale the year they had Mustain and the guys.  For someone like me who was born and raised here, and grew up a die-hard Razorback fan, that reality when I saw HS football in Texas was hard to swallow, but it is just the way it is.  HS football down there is like college football here.

[Grunt]

Many of the new subdivisions in Fort Smith are in Greenwood's school district.  They were there long before the houses (and people) came.  Greenwood was paying attention many years ago,  Fort Smith wasn't.

Isn't GW generally more affluent?

[Grunt]

Football yes...Basketball? Northside won the state last year and will compete for it this year. I don't think Greenwood is a better place to live that's your opinion.
Ft Smith is a great place to live football is way down at both schools.

Glad you like it :/ I like the mall on Rogers but that's it. GW has gotten too busy but I would  choose there over any place in AR.

[snoblind]

Isn't GW generally more affluent?

Yes, from the standpoint that those Fort Smith subdivisions are $200K plus houses, some $300K plus.  And there are a couple of really nice areas in east Greenwood.  Not building for lass than $250-300K in those.

Ironhog doesn't know what he is talking about.  I'm not saying there isn't someone cheating here and there when it comes to school districts, but to compare Greenwood to Shloh is ridiculous.

[Billy Bats]

And you think Greenwood is running a program off 6k people


More like 100k+ but who is counting right?


They have lots of advantages due to location.  It happens.

Well, you clearly don't know anything about the fort smith/river valley area.  Fort smith kids don't just "move to greenwood" to play football.  It's just not how it works.  If you were from there you'd know.  Fort smith "addresses" don't just go play football in Greenwood.  In fact, when I went to school in both districts there was something of a rivalry between the two. 

And you can definitely find a 100k house in greenwood still.  Easily.  These are lazy explanations for Greenwood's success. 

[Youngsta71701]

North Little Rock had terrible, terrible coaching for many years - Bolding and the new coach from Starkville have provided quality coaching and NLR has been on a upward trajectory.
Heck - Bolding has made Parkview competitive in his short time there - which is almost unbelievable.
High school is all about coaching.

Couldn't agree more. Camden Fairview is finding out the hard way.

[snoblind]

Well, you clearly don’t know anything about the fort smith/river valley area.  Fort smith kids don’t just “move to greenwood” to play football.  It’s just not how it works.  If you were from there you’d know.  Fort smith “addresses” don’t just go play football in Greenwood.  In fact, when I went to school in both districts there was something of a rivalry between the two. 

And you can definitely find a 100k house in greenwood still.  Easily.  These are lazy explanations for Greenwood’s success. 

He isn't talking about 100k houses, he is talking about population.

All you need to know about Ironhog... 

Greenwood 52, Pine Bluff 14.

Blows up his shtick.

[12247]

My memory is that the HC at Greenwood, came there from I think, Broken Arrow, OK.  I remember many up here couldn't understand why he left BA to go to GW.  Something about family as I remember.  The Dude can coach as has been proven.  Its most always coaching.  I say often, 80 percent of all coaches will never be great, they don't have the desire, energy, fire, etc to ever be anything but show up for a paycheck, go through the motions, find a way to get by.  Young boys often are looking for a male leader. A solid football coach who actually cares for the Kids can make average Kids play above average ball.  Then if the HC happens to actually know something about football, the team can be very good.

[snoblind]

My memory is that the HC at Greenwood, came there from I think, Broken Arrow, OK.  I remember many up here couldn't understand why he left BA to go to GW.  Something about family as I remember.  The Dude can coach as has been proven.  Its most always coaching.  I say often, 80 percent of all coaches will never be great, they don't have the desire, energy, fire, etc to ever be anything but show up for a paycheck, go through the motions, find a way to get by.  Young boys often are looking for a male leader. A solid football coach who actually cares for the Kids can make average Kids play above average ball.  Then if the HC happens to actually know something about football, the team can be very good.

Correct on coming from BA.  I suspect Jenks and Union had something to do with it also.

But one of the conditions in coming to Greenwood was complete control of the program all the way down.  The day a Greenwood kid first steps on the field he is learning the system.  Every year at the first parent meeting it is made clear no family trips over the Thanksgiving holiday,  etc., they are practicing for the playoffs.

[atekido]

Ranked 8th and 16th nationally and only one 2 star and one 3 star recruit between them. How is that?

Have you not seen what happens when supposedly top Arkansas HS teams play above average to nearly Top Schools from say Texas?  Our teams get destroyed.....  they look good until they play against other talent outside their comfort zone.

[arlhog]

I put my money with the recruiting scouts.  Schools can outperform their talent level too.  I bet there are 10-15 teams in Texas alone that are as good or better than Greenwood.  I doubt they stay within 35 points of Allen.  Arkansas football has improved and caught up some over the last 20 years but there is still a big gap there.  I grew up in Greenwood and remember losing to alma and van buren every year.   Good to see them doing what they are now.

[OwassoHog]

I graduated from Greenwood, coached at Greenwood for a year with Coach Jones. Now I am a coach at Owasso, OK. I can tell you from first hand up close experience... coaching matters 100%. Coach Jones and Coach Blankenship have amazing cultures. I am a baseball coach at Owasso that has won 13 baseball state titles with Coach turner. Culture and coaching. A lot of it has to do with the kids believing they are a whole lot better than what they really are. Buying in to the culture and systems are not an option for players and the assistants. I've witnessed some pretty incredible things between those 3 guys.

If you guys that read books want to know what a winning culture is from a coach's perspective, go pick up a copy of Above the Line by Urban Meyer.

[IronHog]

He isn't talking about 100k houses, he is talking about population.

All you need to know about Ironhog... 

Greenwood 52, Pine Bluff 14.

Blows up his shtick.

The suburbanite kids with their speed camps, booster club, and youth football beat the fraction of eligible kids from the rotting corpse of what was once one of the best sports towns in the south?


Still way more D1 players at Pine Bluff.  They just won't have a chance with all the support flighted to towns like greenwood.

[Billy Bats]

They just won't have a chance with all the support flighted to towns like greenwood.

Dumb.

[IronHog]

Well, you clearly don't know anything about the fort smith/river valley area.  Fort smith kids don't just "move to greenwood" to play football.  It's just not how it works.  If you were from there you'd know.  Fort smith "addresses" don't just go play football in Greenwood.  In fact, when I went to school in both districts there was something of a rivalry between the two. 

And you can definitely find a 100k house in greenwood still.  Easily.  These are lazy explanations for Greenwood's success. 

Good programs attract supportive parents, good coaches, etc.  No one said anyone was cheating.


Guarantee plenty of parents live in greenwood for the sports though.....just the way the world works

[IronHog]

Dumb.

Real.


You arrogant yuppies really have no clue.  Stick that head in the sand while the empire falls down around you.



The fact Greenwood can beat pine bluff should scare you......

[Billy Bats]

Good programs attract supportive parents, good coaches, etc.  No one said anyone was cheating.


Guarantee plenty of parents live in greenwood for the sports though.....just the way the world works

But you said they draw from a 100k population talent pool.  Sure, parents move there for the school system but the idea that fort sh*t is just bussing kids to greenwood for football is ludicrous.

[Billy Bats]

Real.


You arrogant yuppies really have no clue.  Stick that head in the sand while the empire falls down around you.



The fact Greenwood can beat pine bluff should scare you......

It makes me feel sorry for the kids in pine bluff who apparently languish in a bad system with marginal coaches in an awful town.

[factchecker]

It makes me feel sorry for the kids in pine bluff who apparently languish in a bad system with marginal coaches in an awful town.

Yep.  It'd be nice if we started an IMG type academy in NWA and helped move those kids stuck in bad towns like Pine Bluff to a better situation.

[IronHog]

But you said they draw from a 100k population talent pool.  Sure, parents move there for the school system but the idea that fort sh*t is just bussing kids to greenwood for football is ludicrous.

Nobody said that......HS programs don't bus or recruit


You think Barton and Rison did all that winning back in the day with kids that just had roots there?

[IronHog]

Yep.  It'd be nice if we started an IMG type academy in NWA and helped move those kids stuck in bad towns like Pine Bluff to a better situation.

At least give the athletes a chance 😐