All Things 2022 Minnesota High School Football Thread

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Yeah I’m really interested in the logistics of this. How did Holy Family convince all 3 of these dudes to come to their school. If Ferguson still lives around Fridley, that’s a reallllly long commute…
 


MaxyJR1 said:
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I'm sure most of you know this but that's Casey's dad. They have an immense amount of contacts in MN football especially amongst fellow Catholics. Dan's father-in-law is Mal Scanlan was the coach of the 1988 Cretin team that "lost" to Blaine in the state championship against Dave Nelson.

The three of them are supposedly really good friends and it wouldn't surprise me if that's the full story. Neither Nelson or Ferguson could have stepped down to assistant coach at their own school, that's not fair to the next guy but this might be the right situation (in their eyes) to get back to coaching. I think that might be the extent of it

I haven't been around him in years, but for anyone who has ever met Dave Nelson, it would be pretty hard to imagine him staying away from football for too long.
 


KoolAid said:
Yeah I’m really interested in the logistics of this. How did Holy Family convince all 3 of these dudes to come to their school. If Ferguson still lives around Fridley, that’s a reallllly long commute…
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I doubt they did. I would bet Dan O'Brien convinced the other two. They missed football and saw it as an opportunity to get back, coach with their good friends, and not have the burden of being the HC.
 

And they may have wanted to do it in a more low-key situation - probably isn't the same pressure at Holy Family compared to St. Thomas.

Although I am a bit curious about the situation at STA. My kids attend a neighboring high school, and even before the O'Brien news there were fairly credible rumors circulating - at least one of which I confirmed with an adult so this is not just teenage scuttlebutt - that several juniors at STA (and not backups) on this year's team were hoping to be somewhere else for their senior years. When you see coaches and players leaving a team that's lost 5 games in 5 years you wonder if there's something awry.
 

xyz1 said:
And they may have wanted to do it in a more low-key situation - probably isn't the same pressure at Holy Family compared to St. Thomas.

Although I am a bit curious about the situation at STA. My kids attend a neighboring high school, and even before the O'Brien news there were fairly credible rumors circulating - at least one of which I confirmed with an adult so this is not just teenage scuttlebutt - that several juniors at STA (and not backups) on this year's team were hoping to be somewhere else for their senior years. When you see coaches and players leaving a team that's lost 5 games in 5 years you wonder if there's something awry.
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The parent probably ran into the coach at a fundraiser and after telling him how to coach, the coach's response was not what he expected.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I doubt they did. I would bet Dan O'Brien convinced the other two. They missed football and saw it as an opportunity to get back, coach with their good friends, and not have the burden of being the HC.
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So I looked up Holy Family on MN Football Hub. AAA school that appears to have won 1 game in the past 3 years and none over the past 2.

Gonna go out on a limb and say the pressure and expectations will be very low there and the 3 are probably viewing it as a great opportunity to keep coaching and try to rescue a program that has clearly really struggled.
 



MNVCGUY said:
So I looked up Holy Family on MN Football Hub. AAA school that appears to have won 1 game in the past 3 years and none over the past 2.

Gonna go out on a limb and say the pressure and expectations will be very low there and the 3 are probably viewing it as a great opportunity to keep coaching and try to rescue a program that has clearly really struggled.
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Costs and the need for numbers (More private schools) has really hit the private football programs. Most are soaring in other sports like basktball.
 



Some guy said:
I find it interesting where John Millea does free publicity for some programs but not others.
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It's a pretty major news item in Football, but I see your point and thought about that as well.
 



MaxyJR1 said:
Costs and the need for numbers (More private schools) has really hit the private football programs. Most are soaring in other sports like basktball.
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Surprised they don't co-op more for football.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Costs and the need for numbers (More private schools) has really hit the private football programs. Most are soaring in other sports like basktball.
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I think it’s also a reflection of fewer guys playing football overall. I’m not sure what the totals are across the board but anecdotally I’m seeing quite a few guys who played in my era see kids and grandkids not playing. Either specializing or safety concerns in the family. It’s sad on a number of levels.
 

Holy Man said:
I think it’s also a reflection of fewer guys playing football overall. I’m not sure what the totals are across the board but anecdotally I’m seeing quite a few guys who played in my era see kids and grandkids not playing. Either specializing or safety concerns in the family. It’s sad on a number of levels.
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It seems like every other team sport is now a year-round sport with club teams. Anything else you can think of: baseball, basketball, soccer, even volleyball (girl's of course, but I'm talking for boy's now). If you want to be decent at it and try to play in college or even make it on varsity in high school, you're specializing and playing year round in that sport. Not sure on Lacrosse, at least maybe not yet in Minnesota, but I also wouldn't be surprised.

Football seems like the last sport where you don't play year round, you just show up in the fall, put the pads on, and go play.

Maybe it's because in football, save for quarterbacks perhaps, there's not as much of fine minor skills technique that you need to constantly perfect? If you're just a big, tall, powerful kid ... throw a helmet and shoulder pads on and go play lineman. Of course there is technique to that, but at the high school and lower level you can just show up. Colleges will take you and teach you.
 




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