From outsiders view it sure seems like Garnet Valley has owned the Central since they jumped from the Southern Chester County League. To boot it seems like you have a few teams Conestoga, Springfield and I guess Haverford who have gotten better. It always seemed that it was Ridley and Strath Haven 15-20 years back but the rest of the league wasn't as strong (to put it mildly). I've got to agree w a few of the Ridley posters that the coach is good but the program sure seems to stuck. Central League AAAA teams have a hard time making playoffs with 2 losses and 3 is almost out of question.
Future of Ridley Football
- Thread starter JoeEmmi
- Start date
I think the stats are why he is still there. Its kind of hard to get rid of someone after going 8-3. It is just high school football. But as i said before, Im not arguing his stats, they speak for themself. but many people close to the school and the program feel he( and his teams) care less about losing then those in the past. Not sure if thats perception or reality. Many believe he won his first two years with Wallers teams. Many believe he contined to win because Batty was his D coordinator. Many believe he does not put in 80 hours a week just focusing in on football. Many beleive his continued absences from practices, summer drills, etc have an impact on wins/losses. Many beleive he is just a head coach of a fottball team one year at a time and not the leader of the entire program-from MS on up.
It is often hard to separate what is perception and what is reality-and the truth is we will never know. Waller/McNick\Marion might be better, worse or the same as Decker-we will never know. What we do know is Batty was let go( he is the only coach fired in the last 60 years) because he could not beat Strath Haven and interboro, despite a .667 winning percentage and his obvious loyalty to the program. Not because he didnt win and playoff games or league titles-but only becuase he couldnt beat 2 teams. Decker cannot be losing to GValley and Interboro and expect to keep his job. Same standard as Batty, just a different team. Right now he is holding his own against Interboro but 2-6 and largeley uncompetitive against GV. Now you bring in all of the other factors( socio economic, numbers down, talent, etC.) and ask if its fair to expect him to be GV? That question is way above my pay grade. Im just happy with the fact that there is some life back on this site and hopefully in the community that people still care about ridley football.
It is often hard to separate what is perception and what is reality-and the truth is we will never know. Waller/McNick\Marion might be better, worse or the same as Decker-we will never know. What we do know is Batty was let go( he is the only coach fired in the last 60 years) because he could not beat Strath Haven and interboro, despite a .667 winning percentage and his obvious loyalty to the program. Not because he didnt win and playoff games or league titles-but only becuase he couldnt beat 2 teams. Decker cannot be losing to GValley and Interboro and expect to keep his job. Same standard as Batty, just a different team. Right now he is holding his own against Interboro but 2-6 and largeley uncompetitive against GV. Now you bring in all of the other factors( socio economic, numbers down, talent, etC.) and ask if its fair to expect him to be GV? That question is way above my pay grade. Im just happy with the fact that there is some life back on this site and hopefully in the community that people still care about ridley football.
I dont think 3-2 vs Interboro is really holding his own. And allowing kids to wear black and yellow socks during one of the games sure sent a rumble thru the stadium, lol. 2-6 against GV is definitely lopsided to say the least. Interboro hired Lennox just to beat Ridley. Its opportunity=preparedness vs Garnet. they just out prepare us on most occasions. In my opinion, the only time weve beaten them, we had superior talent. Look at this years game, Ridley up 10-7 at the half. Ridley got 19 yards total offense in the 2nd half, and lost the 2nd half 21-0. Dont you think they were more prepared???
And YES Speed and Jump Dr, if i didnt care, i wouldnt be on here. How about we just say this, I want it back to the way we were taught, regardless of record. It was all or nothing back then, lol.
Cuck, in my opinion, i dont think he can. It would have to be a fresh start to work. But im 100% on board with everything you listed
I find it interesting that one of the criteria in Ridley, at least according to this board, is that Ridley beat Interboro, when it has been said numerous times the board (and by people I know) that Ridley doesn't care about the Interboro thanksgiving game.
Not to beat the dead horse, but it seems that if the HC didn't have the off the field issues he has had in the past, that Ridley people would probably be less inclined to call for his job. His win-loss record is good and in line with Ridleys past. But the perceived lack of discipline, lack of accountability from players and coaches, and work ethic apparently weigh heavier than just win's and losses. I guess it can be said it isn't that they are losing, its how they are losing and the product on the field being less than Ridley quality, regardless of outcome. Safe assumption?
Look, I don't think following John Waller would be an easy thing for anyone. He was as good as it gets. It seems the issue is that the perception of the program went from hard nosed and disciplined and would punch you in the mouth to brash, out of control, and sort of renegade feel. Whether that be true or not, I don't think Ridley football backers like going from a HC like JW who had a sterling reputation to a HC who doesn't wear sleeves, has a lip in, and coaches like he doesn't care if he gets fired who has also has some embarrassing situations over the past couple of years. Just my two cents from the outside looking in.
Not to beat the dead horse, but it seems that if the HC didn't have the off the field issues he has had in the past, that Ridley people would probably be less inclined to call for his job. His win-loss record is good and in line with Ridleys past. But the perceived lack of discipline, lack of accountability from players and coaches, and work ethic apparently weigh heavier than just win's and losses. I guess it can be said it isn't that they are losing, its how they are losing and the product on the field being less than Ridley quality, regardless of outcome. Safe assumption?
Look, I don't think following John Waller would be an easy thing for anyone. He was as good as it gets. It seems the issue is that the perception of the program went from hard nosed and disciplined and would punch you in the mouth to brash, out of control, and sort of renegade feel. Whether that be true or not, I don't think Ridley football backers like going from a HC like JW who had a sterling reputation to a HC who doesn't wear sleeves, has a lip in, and coaches like he doesn't care if he gets fired who has also has some embarrassing situations over the past couple of years. Just my two cents from the outside looking in.
Defcon gets it. It's less about wins and losses (although those matter, don't get me wrong) and more about the direction of the program: the lack of discipline on and off the field, the lack of dedication shown, etc.
And with that said, Decker is clearly trending downwards record-wise. After his hot start he is 16-10 since 2013. I don't think 6-5 seasons would be acceptable on Morton Ave. regardless of how clean a program he ran.
And as a counterpoint to Cuck's hit piece on Ridley's tradition:
- Ridley's all time record of 660-171-23 (78.6%), over 82 seasons works out to an average yearly record of 8-2
- Of those 82 seasons, 40 of them ended with 1 or fewer losses
- As for name dropping the SOL to disparage past schedules, Ridley is 41-14-3 all time vs. teams currently in the SOL
- In 82 seasons they've only lost 4+ games 17 times
Hey Cuck, that would be 5th all time (I think you forgot Slezak) if he goes 7-4 this year. That would put him 5th all time out of the 8 coaches.
Not to keep this thread going but I just saw on Twitter that Ridley freshman lost to lower Merion 20-0.