Spell Resigns
On Wednesday (1/19/2011), according to local reports, third year Riverside head football coach Todd Spell decided to resign his position after posting a combined 6-27 [2010 - 1-10; 2009 - 4-7; 2008 - 1-10] overall mark from 2008 to last season. During his tenure the Pirates missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and were 4-15 in conference play [2010 - 1-5; 2009 - 2-4; 2008 - 1-6] (http://www.highschoolot.com/content/story/8965689/). Prior to Spell taking over the helm of the Pirate program he had served as an assistant to head coach Tommy Blalock and was a member of the 2006 coaching staff that helped the Pirates reach the 4AA State Championship game against the Tommy Knotts coached Independence Patriots. No additional details were provided on the reasons behind Spell's resignation, but it should be noted that since he took over the program, the administration at Riverside changed at the top with Florida native Jackie Tobias taking over as principal.
The last time the Pirates reached the playoffs and had a winning season was during the 2006 State Championship march. Any discussion of the 2006 campaign has to include mention of all-everything and subsequent South Carolina Gamecock Weslye Saunders. He dominated on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball and in many ways was the deciding factor in the outcome of a number of games during the season. For those that have followed the game and were privy to some of the behind the scenes of that year the fact that the Pirates were able to reach the championship is an even more amazing story than their opening 3-4 start of the season can even begin to express.
Since 2006, the Pirates have faltered on the field, posting just one season with more than one win (2009), including Blalock's final year guiding the ship in 2007 when the Pirates went 1-10 and 1-6 in PAC-6 play. Since 1999 the Pirates have been a roughly below-average program when it comes to wins and losses, posting an overall 63-79 mark. During those 12 years the Pirates have managed one PAC-6 crown and a total of five winning seasons, while managing six seasons with four or fewer victories. Within the current PAC-6 that includes, East Chapel Hill, Person, Jordan, Northern, Southern and Hillside, only one team, East Chapel Hill has posted less wins over the same time period (21). Person has managed 65 over that same time period, with Northern and Hillside (80), Jordan (85) and Southern (119) rounding out the conference.
The Numbers and How They Compare
Statistically, the Pirates have struggled primarily on the defensive side of the ball the past three seasons. On average the Pirates since 2008 have given up just over 36 PPG against their non-conference opponents while yielding just over 37 PPG against conference foes. The raw numbers are 505 points in non-conference play and 704 in conference play. Offensively, in 2009 and 2010 the Pirates did better on the offensive side during their conference schedule as opposed to non-conference, posting roughly 19 PPG in 2010 and just over 16 PPG in 2009 against the PAC-6. They struggled against their non-conference competition during those years, managing just 12 PPG last year and just over 14 PPG in 2009. In Spell's first year as head coach, the Pirates faired much better in non-conference play with 22 PPG and just under 14 PPG in conference play. Overall during Spell's three year tenure, the Pirates put up just under 16 PPG in non-conference tilts while managing just over 16 PPG in PAC-6 play. Offensive numbers aside, it's clear that the immense amount of points allowed defensively made it difficult and would have made it difficult for any offense to keep the Pirates in games (it should be noted that the defensive numbers include scores by special teams as well as offensive turnovers that may have directly ended in a score. To what extent those numbers serve as an overall percentage of the defensive statistics I am unable to comment on). Taking non-conference and conference as individual categories over the past three seasons (six categories), the Pirates allowed 35 or more points in four of six categories, with the best overall performance occurring in 2009 during non-conference play when the Pirates allowed just under 27 PPG.
A bit of perspective on the past three seasons and how those number relate to production since the 2006 state championship run are quite interesting. Coach Blalock led teams in 2007 put up just under 12 PPG offensively in PAC-6 play and just over 15 PPG in their non-conference schedule. Defensively, the Pirates gave up roughly 30 PPG out-of-conference and just over 31 PPG against the PAC-6. Offensive numbers roughly in-line to just under the past three seasons, while the defensive numbers were roughly a touchdown better. During the 2006 season, the Pirates managed just over 14 PPG in non-conference play, around 19 PPG in conference play and then just under 25 PPG during their run to the championship game. Aside from the playoffs, their offensive numbers were again roughly in the ball park of what they've managed the past three years. Defensively, against non-conference opponents they allowed just over 16 PPG, around 20 PPG in conference and just over 23 PPG during the playoffs. It's clear on the surface that much stronger defensive play in 2006 was a piece of the puzzle. Add to that, eight out of sixteen games decided by five points or less, including seven that were victories, the importance of such a dynamic player like Saunders becomes even more clear to the success of 2006.
The Past in Perspective
Numbers and statistics are but one element of information that observers can use to gain perspective on why events unfold or don't, but to only use them in a vacuum can be misleading. Throughout the past ten years the reality is that numbers aside, Riverside under the leadership of Coach Wrenn, followed by Coach Blalock and most recently Coach Spell have always been a well disciplined team that ran their schemes in a methodical and well organized fashion. As with any high school, when there was a bump in talent, the schemes benefited from that bump with the most glaring example being the 2006 campaign when they made it to the state championship. Since Northern's run to the championship games back in the 90's, only two teams in Durham have made it there since, Hillside this past season and Riverside's run with Blalock at the helm and Spell orchestrating the offense. Hillside, Southern and East Chapel Hill were not in the PAC-6 during every season going back to 1999, but a look at how all of the current teams have done in winning their respective conference championships reveals dominance from Southern with eight total conference crowns. Northern has five since 1999, but the last time they picked up the crown was back in 2004. Hillside has been the strongest of late with four overall crowns. Between Riverside, Jordan, Person and East Chapel Hill there are a total of four crowns, with Jordan at two and both Riverside and Person at one a piece. Although both Jordan and Person have accumulated more wins over the same time frame, they have managed just two more conference crowns between the two of them in comparison to the Pirates. One final point is to look through especially non-conference games and how strong opponents were in a given year. For Riverside, they have traditionally played one of the tougher non-conference schedules and that has been the case for years. This can't be said for all of the teams currently in the PAC-6...
As I look back through all of this information as well as my own personal experience I can't help but reach the conclusion about Riverside in reference to the rest of the PAC-6 and specifically the Durham teams. There appears to be three categories of teams, first the team that puts together a dominant level of play year in and your out for a number of years, leading to a high number of wins and conference crowns. The team that is dominant or opportunistic for a single year and finally the team that is pretty much average. Overall, most teams since 1999, aside from Southern fall into category three - average. Northern had their dominant streak which ended earlier this decade. Hillside struggled mightily earlier this decade, but is now coming on strong. Jordan has been in the middle with the two years where they excelled, but haven't been consistently dominant. Person is Jordan-lite and East Chapel Hill is in many ways the opposite of Southern's consistent winning ways. Looking at it from this perspective, the Pirates are right there in the middle over the past 12 years as a whole (with the one caveat that they've made it to that state championship game, something only one other Durham school can claim).
The Future
Who's next? That's the question that will be answered today as the Riverside administration will formally announce their new head football coach. I've heard of a number of names who have either shown interest or officially applied for the position and from the list I know about it appears clear that those making the decision were not lacking in great candidates.
What were the fundamental characteristics that the search committee was looking for in their hire? And maybe just as important was how well has Principal Tobias acclimated herself to the current landscape of high school athletics in Durham and how that pertains to what she and others deemed necessary to compete? Perhaps the definition of 'compete' and how the search committee defines 'competition' and metrics for success are also important to the discussion.
If we all take a step back, it's important to remember that this isn't the N.F.L. or college football where wins are king. This is high school ball, where in many ways athletics hopefully serve to a large extent as a mechanism that help grow the student-athlete on the whole. Winning state championships but having a group of young men that compromise classroom instruction and are average at best on the student side of things may be considered a metric for success in some places, but from what I've come to understand in Durham that perspective doesn't fly.
Most recently, the success of Hillside on the field as well as the impressive list of young men that will head off to play collegiate ball, including such destinations as the Naval Academy and Georgia Tech, speak to a potential standard being formed that outline the ability to have marked success in both elements of the term student-athlete. Although Hillside this past year was head and shoulders above the rest of Durham on and off the field, it's important to note that most all of the area schools sent young men off to the collegiate level, including Coach Spell at Riverside, who announced one of his seniors heading to Wofford, a highly regarded academic and athletic program in the Southern Conference.
The 'landscape' of Durham football is in my opinion much more complicated than simply winning on the field and mentoring a group of young men to be good citizens in the classroom that eventually have the opportunity if they so desire to move on to play collegiate ball. There is the picture that everyone sees and then there are the actual mechanisms by which one positions their program to be strategically placed to compete on the field as well as in the classroom. Understanding the gamut of this dynamic in Durham is important for any new head coach and will be critical for the next hire at Riverside; if the objective of the administration and search committee is to win consistently on the field, win consistently in the classroom and finally win consistently in the 'perception' game. All are important, but understanding the importance of what the community perceives and how that perception can strengthen a program is huge.
There are a lot of good coaches, mentors out there, Riverside has been fortunate over the years to have a number of them and their passion, love of the game and desire to support the student-athlete has been evident in my observations over the years. But as the new hire prepares for Day one, remember that whether we like it or not - perception is reality. And one more thing - perception in your favor - can score you one or two more touchdowns a game that you might not have had - whether you are the best coach that ever walked a sideline or not. Finger food for thought as we sit back and wait to hear who will be the newest head coach in the PAC-6.
No comments:
Post a Comment