Pennridge to begin another National HC Search
- Thread starter bucksftball
- Start date
This is an issue with a fair percentage of district schools, if not over half. Sports is simply considered as ancillary accommodation. This is a major factor why certain schools seem to draw players, which is compounded by less kids playing and compromised by the lure of NIL money now which requires higher visibility at each level.
Bucks... when did you hear Beller fell thru?
Rate your source 1 to 10....
Zebluim would be a good choice.
Source is an SOL coach close to the situation, not Rowan. I’d give him an 8/10.
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That’s what I thought - it has to be one of the larger districts in PA (students, resources, etc) - you’d think it would be a desirable job. I reread that article…sounds like lack of leadership - the AD, the principal (who just got in some hot water). It also said some parents had a say?!? When is that ever a good thing in youth/hs sports? Seems like an isolated place. Maybe it’s a culture bubble thing up there on 313. Those kids are way behind again this year now.
Pennridge School Board agenda is now posted and Beller IS listed for approval as HC, "pending receipt of clearances." Either I got bad information from a well placed source or they worked through the issues holding back his hire. On Pennridge HS itself, it's about the same size as each of the CB schools but because of its location does seem to lose fewer athletes to privates and is a very good football area. It does not, however, get much in terms of resources, with a very low football budget to work with and inadequate practice facilities compared to other SOL schools. Very good stadium and atmosphere.
EDIT: Beller is also being hired as a long term sub to replace Burgy who I'm assuming has already moved over to Quakertown HS?
EDIT: Beller is also being hired as a long term sub to replace Burgy who I'm assuming has already moved over to Quakertown HS?
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I heard the delay was the teaching job... slow process. Beller is in a great position to succeed. CBSD enrollment is shrinking (closing Linden Elementary) while PRSD enrollment is going up. The Rams will be a force to recon with in years to come.
That area may be developing, but Idk if the school district is growing. The CBs will stabilize - too much population and money there. If Faith Christian develops a football program, Ridge will be in real trouble. Just seems like they can’t get out of their own way. We’ll see.
Read a article where CBSD lost 5k students and closing a school. I don't think $ has anything to do with enrollment. Quite the contrary.... affordability in housing. If Beller is good, look out for PR. Faith Christian has a couple hundred students... football isn't in the cards for a very long time.
Idk…I’ve been listening to that “sky is falling” narrative in CBSD for years and look — East was a juggernaut almost ran the table, West was the District runner up, and South also made the playoffs again. Is it the 90s? No, but Central Bucks is doing just fine. Based on everything I see and hear about pennridge(out of control parents, inept AD, low pay for coaches - Rowan’s reason for bowing out of both searches, the district leadership in the news frequently) I wouldn’t touch that job. If they don’t get some stability in the program they’re going to be the Hatboro…country club sports
If you thought I was bashing CBW you're wrong. Simply pointing out facts. The fact that you claim Rowan applied for the PR job says it all.
PR won the SOL national 3 years ago. WHY? Because that was during covid, when coaching was limited and talent was the main factor. BTW... the AD and principal (both of whom you bash) are in charge of hiring the coaches. BOTH are West guys. Muller quit in May. He intentionally announced late so his assistant would get the job. Don't blame the PR parents. The only thing I agree with you on is the coaching salaries... very low.
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Oh I didn’t think you were CB bashing, nor am I. I was citing the article and facts too. I don’t think this culture of poor leadership and overbearing parents is a phenomenon unique to PR - I think the tail wags the dog everywhere. Former HC left when he got a job in TX. I highly doubt the man orchestrated a move of his entire family to give some assistant a shot at the job. There were more applicants that time around than this search (including all the usual suspects). Well, I guess I’ll get to see Ridge up close on the new NHS turf in the fall.
When coaches are incompetent they deserve scrutiny from the parents. Ask any coach at West or NP ... PR loaded with talent, outcoached every time. When the only pass defense you run is cover 2 that says it all. Theyve had Power 5 talent and more than their share of 1AA players.
Well, idk enough about the specifics of the team - I only saw the Pennsbury game out my way, and they went toe to toe with that powerhouse. I disagree about the level of scrutiny on hs coaching staffs. It’s hs sports and these ppl are largely volunteers. I was involved while in college and a little after. Now I just live vicariously through coaches. But ppl who want to do this are fewer and farther between bc of the things I’ve mentioned. Too many opinionated ppl who’ve put no time in, dictating the culture. It’s sad.
LOL " to justify firing someone". Every (sport) coach is reviewed by the parents at the end of the year at PR. Been that way for 20 years and not many have recieved a negative resonse from the parents. When you have 24 seniors with playing exsperience, you certainly should win more than 2 games. Check out NP's record in the SOL over the last 20 years.... who wouldnt take that? Im not saying CBW doesnt have talent (they do!), its the numbers. Did you see the GV game... GV looked like they had twice as many players. Without Rowan and his staff CBW would be in trouble. Rowan is the best coach in the SOL hands down. Had he taken the PR job, people would be singing a different tune.
Agreed.... it is hard to get good coaches today. Thats why the CBSD pays their coaches/staff more than other school districts. Pennridge is behind in paying coaches, but you could say that about Pa in general. Did you know that the first BIG33 game was played in 1958 with Pa fielding its top 33 players against a USA All-Star team. Not too long ago Pa used to be a hot bed for college talent (behind Texas Cali Ohio), but not anymore. Theyve fallen behind and it you dont believe me check out any recruiting site. Pa has deemphasized football or maybe they just havent kept up with the times. Colleges not only scout physical ability but football IQ as well. You dont get that if you arent playing for quality coaches. You may get lucky with a coaching hire, but all in all you get what you pay for.
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That’s one way to circumvent a low coaching stipend.
The AD seemed pleased to have a candidate from Iowa (is that supposed to be impressive?).
Meeting with the players/parents was tonight. Heard that Beller was impressive.. has a plan, very detail oriented, no nonsense type guy.
I said earlier - he did an absolutely tremendous job at Dieruff, which is one of the toughest jobs in the state. Would not be surprised to see him quite successful at Pennridge.
Sometimes it takes a couple years of disappointment to get to the right person. Obviously Rowan would have been a great fit but he's got some unfinished business in Doylestown.
I heard pretty much the opposite. He seemed like a salesman, a cliche. He’s applied to every job opening in Lehigh Valley in the last ten years. I don’t get the Dieruff praise. An urban school where he won a couple a games a year against many other sub par programs. I mean who do they play?. Ehh, it’s not SOL up there. Pennridge schedule same as last year’s, with another off-season interrupted and new systems and the same ‘leadership’, I’d expect a similar outcome.
In reality you know nothing about the guy. Sounds like you're a disgruntled coach from the last cluster.... 2 - 10 record with 24 seniors shows everyone what a bunch of boobs the previous staff was. No one can be that bad. I hope the guy succeeds.
No, just interested in the story. I don’t know the guy anymore than anyone who posts here actually knows anything about these programs. This is just banter to pass the time. I have heard his reputation though. I used to live in that area years ago. The place is just odd. Looks like not much changed. I haven’t coached in a long time, but I’ve always gotten a kick out of guys trying to predict the achievements that a given high school team should accomplish…these are high school kids. Having numbers or upperclassmen doesn’t determine high school success, especially in a team sport.
"Numbers of upperclassmen" sure does equat to success. That PR team was loaded with talent. They had size and speed. You won't find a SOL coach that wouldn't want 24 seniors on a team. Their record was a reflection of the coaching staff. The talent kept them in tight games. Had they had good coaching they'd certainly would have duplicated or bettered the previous year's record. Its going be a rebuilding year and they can't do any worse than 2-10.
Not the SOL up there? When was the last time a SOL team beat a Lehigh Valley team in the playoffs?
Of course coaches prefer seniors but having seniors doesn’t equate to winning. Again, they’re kids. In PR case, the best player left. This class had a pretty rough high school run - Covid and late coaching change. Since they are kids, looks like that caught up to them. Wouldn’t have been any different if they coulda found money to pay Rowan. By all accounts, it’s a bad leadership situation that is killing the program. If that doesn’t change nothing will. Coaching isn’t coaching like it was at CBW in the 90s. I think it’s infinitely more complicated now. Who’d want to do it?.
Referring specifically to Dieruff. The wins were against the dregs of hs football…wasn’t a comment on the entirety of quality football in LV.
"Wouldn't have been any different with Rowan" Now I know you are clueless. Better yet.. id place money you're a troll from the last PR staff. Rowan schooled you for the last five years with a smaller pool of players to work with. The only year he didn't was the covid year where he wasn't able to put the time in because of the strict rules. You make me laugh. PS... it wasn't just the 90s, it goes all the way back to the late 60s. 33 years! And Rowan is the best coach in the SOL by far.
Yes, so noble that he was willing to bail late in two consecutive off-season on his own team. HS coaching should be about loyalty, integrity, and character. I don’t think he is even in the conversation for best coach in SOL. Both CB and PR are corrupt. CB just better at it. Don’t worry, I’ll still bow when I walk past the Pettine statue at west.
"I’ll still bow when I walk past the Pettine statue at west."
Don't bother.... You're not worthy!
Now I'm confused, when did this stop becoming just banter? What has been corrupt at PR or CB West? Since Coach Rowan got hired only North Penn has more playoff wins in the league (6 vs 5 for CBW). Pennridge and Neshaminy each have one win, no one else in the league has any... He's got a 3-3 record against North Penn in his tenure (West is half the size of North Penn and hadn't beaten them in 20 years) and is 2-1 against Neshaminy, which is also a much larger school, 40% larger.
If you watched any of the last three games between Pennridge and West, especially in 2021, you would have seen very hard fought, physical games with a ton of respect between the players, but you wouldn't have predicted any of the outcomes based purely on the rosters. No one is suggesting that Rowan gets a statue but he and his staff have beaten more "talented" teams regularly. Who do you think are the best coaches right now in the SOL National? The only one who I think you can make an argument for currently is Snyder since his return.
I continue to think that the "late coaching change" is overstated. They continued to practice with the OC that had been brought in early, Burgy was already acting as the head coach, etc... when you can't even put together a unit to kick an extra point, that's a problem. Losing to Qtown, who got manhandled by NP, West, PW, UD and GV was probably the last straw.
Heard the Rams are 0-0 so far for the 2023 season. Remember when a certain Birds' HC should have been fired after his meet the press moment?
I saw PR play West as you did. You win in 6A with your best athlete at QB, not a 9th grader unless he has division one potential. The RB going to Army was the better choice. They had size but were out of shape. With 24 seniors they had a bad attitude. In the west game a plyer got an Un sportsman like penalty for arguing with an official. He was taken out for a couple of plays then put back in the game. Pettine would have benched him the rest of the game and the next game. How many personal fouls did they have in the last game at Qtown. A good coach should have thrown about 6 seniors off the team at the beginning of season. AD says they did a major search, no they got the cheapest they could find.
Ok fellas, judging by the circling of the wagons, it appears that I touched a nerve with the cb west disciples and I’m pretty sure one of you is the PR AD or someone be close to his narrative. If that’s the case, you should find another line of work. I’d also guess someone on this thread is Rowan’s uncle. Look, first year coaches under perfect circumstances still make mistakes. Unless there’s scandal or crime, HCs at the HS level get a second year (especially when hired in June). Kids are kids, and I guarantee that the two months it took to name the guy had a negative impact. I agree with the last comment, 24 seniors can be a negative if they aren’t the right seniors - like I said before, they’re kids. In this case, their best Senior packed up and left. I’m sure that had an impact. Players were different when Pettine coached, so I guess he woulda thrown kids off the team, no questions asked (with AD support, etc). Today coaches face irrational parent backlash and lawsuits and spineless leadership. I’d take almost every other HC in the conference before Rowan, whos success is largely a product of his staff.
Packed up and left... sounds like a negative comment to me. Kid goes to a premiere HS national program and gets top notch coaching and training. You got a problem with that? What kid/parents wouldn't take that opportunity? He wasn't the reason PR stunk the joint out... it was the coaches. You make excuses for the coaches and blame everyone else. Man up!
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No, no I don’t blame the kid. From the looks of the way sports are managed, any kid with talent should go find somewhere to show it. I’m always sympathetic to coaches bc those are the guys who put the time in, I just show up to games, that’s why I try to give the benefit of the doubt.