|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 25, 2018 13:08:46 GMT -5
National High School 'Game of the Year'
#1 IMG Academy vs. #3 Mater Dei of Santa Anna
So incredibly rare to see this many elite players on the field at the same time.
There were 40 players on the field for this monster matchup with D-I offers.
Many are the best at their respective positions in the country.
Bryce Young QB Mater Dei is a USC commit.
Nolan Smith #1 DL in America and Georgia commit.
Elias Ricks #1 CB in the '20 class and Ohio State lean.
Some of the top RB's were playing including Trey Sanders, Noah Cain and Trey Taylor.
#1 RB in the country Trey Sanders.
Ohio State commit - Safety, Lejond Covazos of IMG Academy
Finally, the top player in America Blue McCoy WR Mater Dei.
High school football gets no better than this:
|
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 25, 2018 15:34:28 GMT -5
I would disagree by saying high school football is much better when you play it with the fellas you played catch with in elementary school.
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 25, 2018 21:18:23 GMT -5
I would disagree by saying high school football is much better when you play it with the fellas you played catch with in elementary school. Not exactly sure what you disagree with. IMG Academy fills a need for the elite players to get the proper academics, diet, persoal discipline, college caliber coaching and competition against players of equal abilities and at the highest level. Things they cannot receive at their local school. It's a personal and family choice and decision. It prepares them for D-I football, college academics and exposure to the top college programs the country has to offer. |
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 25, 2018 21:37:27 GMT -5
A local high school can provide academics, diet, discipline but you would hope the coaching and competition would be better if paying $78,000 to attend. It is 100% a family choice, but I still like kids playing for their high school teams in the district that they grew up in. Many athletes make great players at top D1 programs and play high school football in their own home towns. That to me is the best high school football. IMO
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 26, 2018 8:34:07 GMT -5
A local high school can provide academics, diet, discipline but you would hope the coaching and competition would be better if paying $78,000 to attend. It is 100% a family choice, but I still like kids playing for their high school teams in the district that they grew up in. Many athletes make great players at top D1 programs and play high school football in their own home towns. That to me is the best high school football. IMO I don't disagree with what you are saying. Don't think local athletics is in any jeopardy. IMG simply has filled a marketable need. Their alumni is a long list of who's who in college and professional athletics. I hope you took the time to watch the game. So many amazing players and so many amazing plays, plays of the caliber you would rarely see at our favorite local schools here in Ohio. There were perhaps at least a dozen players in that game who will become everyday names and become best of the best in college and go on to make a name for themselves in the NFL. Most of these kids are college ready right now. |
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 26, 2018 10:00:06 GMT -5
Some of those kids are post high school already.
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 26, 2018 13:35:51 GMT -5
Some of those kids are post high school already. That might be the case, not sure about that. I know that IMG is not a member of the FHSAA. I'm sure there are a number of disqualifiers. They do schedule a couple of the best programs each year and the balance of their schedule is national powers around the country. Not too many programs have an athletic director that is a Heisman Trophy winner....lol |
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 26, 2018 15:18:12 GMT -5
Be honest, it's not a high school so not being a member of the FHSAA is not a surprise. They actually run two teams and play other academies and smaller collegiate teams or tech schools. I'm not sure who the AD is but the one listed did not win a Heisman while he was at Green Mountain College.
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 26, 2018 19:31:57 GMT -5
Be honest, it's not a high school so not being a member of the FHSAA is not a surprise. They actually run two teams and play other academies and smaller collegiate teams or tech schools. I'm not sure who the AD is but the one listed did not win a Heisman while he was at Green Mountain College. IMG is an all college prep high school, but much more regimented than your typical high school, even private parochial schools. It is run more along the lines of a military academy. Very structured environment in and out of the classroom and the athletic field. Two years ago they unveiled a second football program and team that is more geared to the more average athletes, no celebrated 5* players on this team and they play a full schedule of local and area high schools. This new team is affiliated with the FHSAA. The gentleman I was thinking of is Chris Wienke, the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner with Florida State and Bobby Bowden. He was coaching initially at IMG and then turned it over to others. I got the info below off of Wikipedia. In 2010, Weinke teamed with Pro Football Hall of Fame coach John Madden and became the director of the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Academy offers a comprehensive football training program that emphasizes teaching the fundamental techniques of the game. In 2011, Weinke worked with the Carolina Panthers' number one draft pick Cam Newton at IMG up to two hours a day during the NFL lockout. |
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 26, 2018 20:45:10 GMT -5
It's a college prep academy that has teams with athletes ranging from 9th grade to high school graduates. Not many if any high schools we know have high school graduates on their rosters.
I knew a student who attended this school. Weinke was a coach for the football program. Each sport at the academy has it's own "director" performing that sports specific duties. The Director of Athletics is a different position.
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 26, 2018 20:47:33 GMT -5
It's a college prep academy that has teams with athletes ranging from 9th grade to high school graduates. Not many if any high schools we know have high school graduates on their rosters. I knew a student who attended this school. Weinke was a coach for the football program. Each sport at the academy has it's own "director" performing that sports specific duties. The Director of Athletics is a different position. Correct...... |
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 27, 2018 6:52:20 GMT -5
DO you see the irony in a college prep school that charges $78,000 to attend to get you ready for a $20,000 college?
|
|
|
|
Post by sportsjock on Sept 27, 2018 8:41:26 GMT -5
DO you see the irony in a college prep school that charges $78,000 to attend to get you ready for a $20,000 college? Not at all. Fact is, IMG's football segment has proven highly successful and revered nationwide. $78,000 is a lot of money, but the elite athletes that are receiving the benefit of best available developmental and state of the art facilities, training & instruction by the best coaches anywhere, have their sites set way beyond college. A high percentage of these students will be playing on Sundays one day. The whole academy fascinates me and My best friend, who has a masters in English and History was a teacher there for many years. That's where I got the opportunity to tour their marvelous facilities and meet some well known personalities in the sports world. Most recently, in addition to all the dormitories and condos on campus, they recently completed a 5 story Hyatt-Regency on campus this past year. I believe the entire campus footprint is presently at 850 acres, the sprawling campus includes numerous football fields, dozens of soccer fields, dozens of baseball & softball fields, indoor hockey, a basketball complex, training & fitness center and a tournament caliber golf course. The Nick Bolettari Tennis Academy is an integral part of the complex, in fact how the whole thing began. Construction has a never ending, ongoing presence |
|
|
|
Post by Willard Fillmore on Sept 27, 2018 20:52:16 GMT -5
IMG Academy field teams only in sports that have Pro athletes. The "elite" athletes that go to IMG are on "scholarship". In return(wink wink), when they turn pro, they're expected to hire IMG Sports Management to represent them. Which seems to me should be some sort of sports violation.
|
|
|
|
Post by dude on Sept 27, 2018 21:04:05 GMT -5
The campus is remarkable and is better than some D1 colleges for sure. At $78,000 a year and holding only 3 classes a semester for a player, they have the funds to build them up. For what it provides and what it produces I have no problems, but I do not consider it or any school like it a high school in the traditional sense.
|
|
