OT: Rise of 7-on-7 concerns HS coaches
Interesting article from Mick McCabe on the perils of 7-on-7 football...
Armageddon has come to the world of high school football -- and its name is 7-on-7.
Wildly popular in the South, 7-on-7 football is a relatively new phenomenon in Michigan.
Until recently, 7-on-7 in this state was limited to high school teams playing in summer passing scrimmages. But now there are two organizations with 7-on-7 all-star teams that travel to other states during the spring and occasionally summer.
"I was wondering when that was going to happen," said Lowell coach Noel Dean. "They're exploiting the hell out of kids. It's just incredible. It's kind of like AAU basketball meets football now."
Click here for the rest of the article: http://www.freep.com/article/20110522/HSS1201/105220568/1048/rss03
Interesting piece, I definitly hope the NCAA can step in and somehow make sure that these 7-7 leagues don't become as corrupt as AAU basketball, but I won't hold my breath.
I guess my only hope is that Shane Morris' squad has some other amazing D1 talent at this point.
From the little I know about the topic, I believe Morris is on a team with a few 2012 UMich targets/commits, but maybe next year he'll have some good players on his team.
I can see both positives and negatives to these leagues. I guess I will never fully understand since I was never even close to being recruited for any sport, but it seems to me that the more Michigan kids able to get full ride scholarships to universites, regardless of divison, is a great thing.
Has no one better to interview for this piece except....tom izzo....a basketball coach....rrrriiightt
Exactly. I'm all LOLWUT over here.
They talk to Brady Hoke too.
you realize they are trying to compare the 7v7's to the AAU curcuit right? So why not talk with a bball coach? It actually makes sense
posting this interesting subject TBE. I'm a little skeptical about the voracity of the article, not because it's free press but because. Mr. Mcabe makes some unfounded claims, and he automatically lumps basketball AAU with football. admttedly he alludes to it's infancy on the one hand. Then he supports "armagedon" by quoting Izzo's slippery slope.. I guess the real mertits of this article is that it sets the stage for asking more questions than providing information.
What? The Freep publishing unfounded claims? I don't believe it.
People who really follow basketball recruiting are probably in the best position to comment on the potential negative aspects of these 7 on 7 leagues. College basketball is always going to be dirtier than football. After all, one top player in basketball can literally be the difference between a .500 team and a solid tournament team. However, the money that flows into AAU makes things even worse.
Tom Izzo and a lot of other basketball people see the same thing heppening on a smaller scale with 7 on 7. These guys aren't hired by a school district, they may or may not have the kids best interests at heart. They could be pushing kids to schools that are sponsored by a certain shoe company or to their alma mater. They are very susceptible to taking money from boosters and acting as street agents.
The NCAA needs to get out in front of this like they didn't with AAU. They could spend a little bit of money to license the coaches and sponsor leagues as a way to have some oversight. Kids are going to use the tools available to them to 1) get better, 2) gain exposure if they're a college-level player, 3) meet new people, and 4) have fun playing a game they enjoy. The NCAA can continue to use its enforcement resources to punish people or they can allocate some of it to prevention.The later probably is cheaper and more effective.
the next time you say 'mertits' i expect to see some hot shell-bra action when i click through on the link, god dammit!
I agree with Noel that this is bad news. The guys running with Mill Coleman seem to contradict eachother as well...should a kid miss his ow HS team's 7 on 7 to play for an all-star team? The real problem with Michigan kids and their lack of exposure lies with the MSHAA.
...should only be allowed to participate in 7-on-7 w/his own HS team, period.
A player can get plenty of quality skill development via individual workouts/drills, individual camps (many of the higher profile ones like Michigan have plenty of quality coaches giviing good instruction) , and team 7-on-7 camps.
I understand that some kids from poorer neighborhoods who attend HS with poor coaching and programs don't have these opportunities, but there are free resources available, and if a player is good enough, the universities can waive fees for these players.
be able to choose, period. no school owns a kids rights to choose and no AAU/ 7 on 7 owns their rights. If there are any calls on regulation the true interests of the kids should come first, not who's going to make money or any selfish aims of coaches or sponsors or colleges, schools, fans all should be secondary to the interests of the kids.
How are you going to let kids who play AAU pick whatever team they want. But say football players who play 7 on 7 can only play with their HS team. That's not fair and will never happen
AAU basketball should be eradicated.
I agree that the problem is MSHAA. They seem to be way behind other states with their rules when it pertains to football. Like if a kid from Michigan plays in an all-star game like the Army All American game, then that kid is ineligible from all other sports. I think that is the worst rule ever. And it's just the MSHAA trying to control these kids. If the MSHAA would just allow spring football, their would be alot less reasons for the kids to have to play the 7 on 7 circuit. I don't think 7 on 7 is bad, but i think if a kid is missing his HS teams events for a 7 on 7 event then that is wrong and shouldn't be allowed to happen. But unless the MSHAA changes some of it's rules, 7 on 7 will continue to grow especially in Michigan. And i would encourage kids to play 7 on 7 here, because all the schools down south have spring ball which gives those kids a great advantage. 7 on 7 is one of the only tools Michigan kids have to keep strenghtening their skills in the off-season
AND 7 on 7. As the article states, it started down south. So having one doesn't prevent the other.
If the MSHAA would get rid of the ridculous restrictions they have on football, HS teams could travel and play in these 7 on 7's as HS teams. This is a much better scenario than all star 7 on 7 teams.
a walk on at Michigan from San Diego told me his HS had 7-7 in the spring. 25 years later, we still don't have this in Michigan. Sad.
in Michigan, in the late 80s. Actually played against Mill Coleman once. It was out at Wayne State, and we played only with our own HS teams. Not sure if this was in the Spring or not, and it was so long ago I'm not even sure it was called 7-on-7. But yeah, 7-on-7 passing drills in the off-season
that having spring ball would prevent 7 on 7. I said that i would encourage kids to participate in 7 on 7's because that's one of the only tools they have to let them compete against top talent. The kids down south who play 7 on7 aren't missing their spring ball activities. They are participating in both and that's why you see so much talent coming from those area's.
Love Noel Dean. People should take his opinions seriously when it come to the welfare of the kids.
first of all 7 on 7 will never be like AAU..... It is true what they say about AAU and the corruption there, but at the same time, it is still a valuable way for college coaches to see kids in action against other top competition...
7 on 7 will never be a primary way for a college coach to judge a persons ability to play football as opposed to an acutall game... 7 on 7 can point out athletic ability ball skills, speed, breaks, etc... but football is and will always be a collision sport, a non-collision actitvity will never replace an actuall game... not like AAU at all...
if you want to point at real corruption and probelms with recruting take a look at rectruting services and "providers" of player inforamtion, that is where the real problem is in football..
we have had 7 on 7 forvever down here, its a so imprtant to a teams offseason and to indivdual player development... I recently worked with a NFL camp that had a 7 on 7 element to it, that will compete at a national tournament. ( and its free) ... If that gets some kids extra expsure than fine... but nobody would ever judge a kid in a 7 on 7 without seeing him play real football, it just doesnt happen....
people rallying against 7 on 7 probably just dont like it becasue its new, and its just one more way that northern football has been lagging behind the south, i think the gap is closing, but not without some issues like this..
Actually, mikejc has it right. In Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, the summer 7-on-7 leagues, teams, and camps are made up of the high school teams. The variations between the states exist in the nature of the coach contact during events and the amount of time teams can compete. The "danger" of AAU style 7-on-7 only exists in areas that don't allow the high school coaches to guide the teams during the summer circuit.
gsimmons has also hit the nail on the head as well. Success in 7-on-7 doesn't always translate into championships during the season. The positives of 7-on-7 (Southern style) are the conditioning, the contact with kids (coaches can keep track of them with the regular contact, the competition, and the team building.
We wrote a series (still unfinished) on the positives of 7-on-7 by position: (1) Quarterbacks; (2) Receivers; and (3) Defensive Backs/Linebackers.