A TALE OF TWO PROGRAMS
These two institutions are just 5.7 miles apart. The first located in Delaware County, the other in Philadelphia, very similar demographics. For comparative purposes, the gods will refer to them as UD and WC.
UD PROFILE: 3rd largest enrollment (1355) in District 1 out of 73 schools. When included with the 42 in District 12, it is 3/115 in total enrollment. Public school, 6A classification with an average student spend in the school district of around $13,000 totaling a budget of just under $200mm. Motto “Where Everyone is Royalty.” Sounds like a king’s ransom. 19 Players are currently on college football rosters (only 3 of the current 16 6A playoff teams have more). 11 of the college players from UD are on Division II PSAC teams (which is the highest # of players from one team in SEPA—they are the #1 PSAC feeder), 8 on Division III squads, 7 in the local MAC, one at Western New England. Based on PIAA enrollment, 1 out of every 71 boys in the high school winds up on a college football roster (better than only 6 of the 16 6A playoff teams). UD has won ZERO Central League titles since 2004 (and none since 1993 when the current head coach took over). It has just a single playoff win and is 1-3 in District 1 playoff games. You are not going to be mistaken for North Penn or Neshaminy, but is it too much to ask to win the Central every handful of years? Clearly, there are athletes and the staff has done a respectable job getting these kids an opportunity at college, but something is awry in the regal castle.
WC PROFILE: 2nd smallest enrollment in District 12 (167) out of 42 schools. When included with the 73 in District 1, it is 110/115 in enrollment. Private, Catholic School (although 40% of its attendees are not Catholic with 80% African American students). 2A classification, with tuition of about $9000. 95% of the students receive financial aid, so the resources are even smaller. 20 Players currently on college football rosters. 3 are at FBS teams: one each at Temple, Illinois and Pitt. Another three at FCS schools Maine, Saint Francis PA and Villanova. 9 are on Division II rosters, including 8 at PSAC schools, one at Glenville State WV. 4 are at local Division III MAC schools, 3 at Delaware Valley, 1 at Widener. Based on PIAA enrollment, WC has the BEST hallway ratio of all the schools in Philadelphia and the collar counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery. Although not perfect, this is a very good directional indicator of maximizing talent based on enrollment and placing kids at the next level. Based on 10th-12th grade PIAA enrollment, one of every EIGHT boys walking the halls at WC is on a current college football roster. That is ASTOUNDING. This team and its coach have done as well as you could ask since 2006, winning 10 out of the last 11 Catholic League Blue titles (missed in 2014). It also has 6 City/District 12 titles (2008-2011, 2015-2016) and a PIAA chip in 2010. The current coach has an 18-5 record in PIAA State play. These guys are truly a Burr in the saddle and stand out amongst the crowd. The gods have examined every college roster at every NCAA level, plus Sprint football. We have the SEPA kids by college team, division and conference along with corresponding high school team, league and county of residence. If there is something you would like to see, ask and you shall receive.
There is only so much defending and apologizing for absolute and relative underperformance in any endeavor. “It’s a tough place to coach”, “it has unique circumstances”, “our kids have different family issues that other programs don’t deal with” are hollow, oft repeated laments. As Benjamin Franklin said, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Being “frisky” ain’t getting it done. Even the waterboy/manager can see that. Since 2004 the following sports at UD have won a Central League championship: 2004—Boys Soccer and Boys Cross Country. 2005 and 2006—Boys Track. 2007 Boys Basketball. 2010 Wrestling. 2011 Boys Basketball. 2013 Softball and Wrestling. 2014 Boys Track. 2015 Wrestling. 2016—Softball and Wrestling. Why is it that the other sports and students occupying those same hallways as the football players are winning league titles? We guess they have different responsibilities and circumstances that some dead fish could use as a crutch. Are the jesters running the King’s Court? The Central League is not exactly murderers row with Ridley in decline. UD has more college players than every Central school but Garnet Valley. The Jaguars, obviously in a much different demographic, have ½ the enrollment and more players (22) in college. They have grabbed that bull by the horns. More on that dude in another missive. The gods acknowledged (see District 1 Report Card) that there are 16 private schools within 15 miles and that it’s a tough job. However, after further review, findings show there are still roughly 5 kids a year from the program on current college rosters. Add other potential bodies (treasure) walking the campus, there is plenty of talent to get the job done. Even after they get recruited and go elsewhere.
UD has 8 times the enrollment of WC but LESS players in college? The hallway ratio is almost 9 times lower than theirs (71 vs 8). What are they experiencing from a demographic standpoint that UD is not? Is the less than 6 mile trip to 45th and Chestnut that much better? WHAT THE FLUCK?! Atta boy to the Burrs head man for doing much, much more with less than most of SEPA and more specifically, his neighbors across the suburban county line. The Big Guy has created a successful program with significantly less resources in a similar, if not worse, environment. What are the exact dynamics isolated to the football team and the other sports teams at 601 Lansdowne Avenue and at 45th & Chestnut that are so very different? “They give scholarships”, “they are stealing our players”, “they don’t play the same schedule or teams we do”, “You would not understand”. The gods will insert a famous American proverb here: “Excuses are merely nails used to build a house of failure.” Interesting that the two have never played each other. No wonder, it would be a royal flush. Playing Methacton (another underperforming disgrace) is not exactly a challenge. No wonder the game is cancelled. Maybe Rucci and Wedderburn can step in and drop the mike. Better yet, let the Cow Pie Bingo and fundraiser serve as a metaphor for the end product that continues to be plopped on the gridiron. One team is in the playoffs this weekend AGAIN, the other is home again. One is a tale of chasing a District/City and State chip, the other is a tail of a chip falling out. A Tale of Two Programs, indeed.
These two institutions are just 5.7 miles apart. The first located in Delaware County, the other in Philadelphia, very similar demographics. For comparative purposes, the gods will refer to them as UD and WC.
UD PROFILE: 3rd largest enrollment (1355) in District 1 out of 73 schools. When included with the 42 in District 12, it is 3/115 in total enrollment. Public school, 6A classification with an average student spend in the school district of around $13,000 totaling a budget of just under $200mm. Motto “Where Everyone is Royalty.” Sounds like a king’s ransom. 19 Players are currently on college football rosters (only 3 of the current 16 6A playoff teams have more). 11 of the college players from UD are on Division II PSAC teams (which is the highest # of players from one team in SEPA—they are the #1 PSAC feeder), 8 on Division III squads, 7 in the local MAC, one at Western New England. Based on PIAA enrollment, 1 out of every 71 boys in the high school winds up on a college football roster (better than only 6 of the 16 6A playoff teams). UD has won ZERO Central League titles since 2004 (and none since 1993 when the current head coach took over). It has just a single playoff win and is 1-3 in District 1 playoff games. You are not going to be mistaken for North Penn or Neshaminy, but is it too much to ask to win the Central every handful of years? Clearly, there are athletes and the staff has done a respectable job getting these kids an opportunity at college, but something is awry in the regal castle.
WC PROFILE: 2nd smallest enrollment in District 12 (167) out of 42 schools. When included with the 73 in District 1, it is 110/115 in enrollment. Private, Catholic School (although 40% of its attendees are not Catholic with 80% African American students). 2A classification, with tuition of about $9000. 95% of the students receive financial aid, so the resources are even smaller. 20 Players currently on college football rosters. 3 are at FBS teams: one each at Temple, Illinois and Pitt. Another three at FCS schools Maine, Saint Francis PA and Villanova. 9 are on Division II rosters, including 8 at PSAC schools, one at Glenville State WV. 4 are at local Division III MAC schools, 3 at Delaware Valley, 1 at Widener. Based on PIAA enrollment, WC has the BEST hallway ratio of all the schools in Philadelphia and the collar counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery. Although not perfect, this is a very good directional indicator of maximizing talent based on enrollment and placing kids at the next level. Based on 10th-12th grade PIAA enrollment, one of every EIGHT boys walking the halls at WC is on a current college football roster. That is ASTOUNDING. This team and its coach have done as well as you could ask since 2006, winning 10 out of the last 11 Catholic League Blue titles (missed in 2014). It also has 6 City/District 12 titles (2008-2011, 2015-2016) and a PIAA chip in 2010. The current coach has an 18-5 record in PIAA State play. These guys are truly a Burr in the saddle and stand out amongst the crowd. The gods have examined every college roster at every NCAA level, plus Sprint football. We have the SEPA kids by college team, division and conference along with corresponding high school team, league and county of residence. If there is something you would like to see, ask and you shall receive.
There is only so much defending and apologizing for absolute and relative underperformance in any endeavor. “It’s a tough place to coach”, “it has unique circumstances”, “our kids have different family issues that other programs don’t deal with” are hollow, oft repeated laments. As Benjamin Franklin said, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Being “frisky” ain’t getting it done. Even the waterboy/manager can see that. Since 2004 the following sports at UD have won a Central League championship: 2004—Boys Soccer and Boys Cross Country. 2005 and 2006—Boys Track. 2007 Boys Basketball. 2010 Wrestling. 2011 Boys Basketball. 2013 Softball and Wrestling. 2014 Boys Track. 2015 Wrestling. 2016—Softball and Wrestling. Why is it that the other sports and students occupying those same hallways as the football players are winning league titles? We guess they have different responsibilities and circumstances that some dead fish could use as a crutch. Are the jesters running the King’s Court? The Central League is not exactly murderers row with Ridley in decline. UD has more college players than every Central school but Garnet Valley. The Jaguars, obviously in a much different demographic, have ½ the enrollment and more players (22) in college. They have grabbed that bull by the horns. More on that dude in another missive. The gods acknowledged (see District 1 Report Card) that there are 16 private schools within 15 miles and that it’s a tough job. However, after further review, findings show there are still roughly 5 kids a year from the program on current college rosters. Add other potential bodies (treasure) walking the campus, there is plenty of talent to get the job done. Even after they get recruited and go elsewhere.
UD has 8 times the enrollment of WC but LESS players in college? The hallway ratio is almost 9 times lower than theirs (71 vs 8). What are they experiencing from a demographic standpoint that UD is not? Is the less than 6 mile trip to 45th and Chestnut that much better? WHAT THE FLUCK?! Atta boy to the Burrs head man for doing much, much more with less than most of SEPA and more specifically, his neighbors across the suburban county line. The Big Guy has created a successful program with significantly less resources in a similar, if not worse, environment. What are the exact dynamics isolated to the football team and the other sports teams at 601 Lansdowne Avenue and at 45th & Chestnut that are so very different? “They give scholarships”, “they are stealing our players”, “they don’t play the same schedule or teams we do”, “You would not understand”. The gods will insert a famous American proverb here: “Excuses are merely nails used to build a house of failure.” Interesting that the two have never played each other. No wonder, it would be a royal flush. Playing Methacton (another underperforming disgrace) is not exactly a challenge. No wonder the game is cancelled. Maybe Rucci and Wedderburn can step in and drop the mike. Better yet, let the Cow Pie Bingo and fundraiser serve as a metaphor for the end product that continues to be plopped on the gridiron. One team is in the playoffs this weekend AGAIN, the other is home again. One is a tale of chasing a District/City and State chip, the other is a tail of a chip falling out. A Tale of Two Programs, indeed.
