Stephen-Argyle

[GRIDIRON GURU]

What can we learn about Stephen-Argyle's MN 9-man 54 game winning streak.

Stephen-Argyle has a dynasty in MN 9-man football, Who in North Dakota 9-man has the closest thing to a dynasty? Hope, Linton and Wyndmere, before they were forced to move to 11 man, Rollete, New England, Strasburg, Edgley-Kulm, Are a few programs that come to mind. Northwood has the longest winning streak at 23 and Richland came close this year at 21 or 22 games in a row.

Every other class of football in N.D. has had a dynasty, Shanley, Cavalier, Velva,

It seems like in North Dakota a program will have a group of fantastic athletes come through the system and they will be good for a few years then either the coach leaves or they struggle until a new group of talent comes through.

I know numbers play a big role in 9-man but lets take a look at what Stephen- Argyle does to be successful.

I am sure the strength and conditioning is  a number one priority year around

I heard that there are 95 male students between the two schools in 7-12 grade, and 89 of them are out for football. 

They run about 6 plays to perfection, mostly on the ground, In the Championship game against Wheaton they had 390 yards total offense, 379 of those were rushing.

WINNING NEVER GETS OLD!

It is darn tough to win 9- games in a row let alone 54.

any other thoughts and comments on why N.D. has never really had a football dynasty in 9-man?


 

[ND_Coach]

Numbers is why you don't see any 9 man dynasties.  If you get 1 or 2 classes with say only one good athlete then your dynasty is gone, and with low numbers it is easy to have classes with only one or two athletes. 

Guru you said Stephen-Argyle has 95 male students.  In ND that would make them one of the bigger class A schools.  Your average 9 man school has maybe 60 boys in the school.  Those 35 extra boys makes a big difference.

Other Reasons:  Most athletes are 2-3 sport athletes so training time is reduced.  Weight rooms in most 9 man schools are terrible and the strength and conditioning programs are mediocre at best.  In most areas kids may live 20-30 miles from the school and with gas prices what they are they are less likely to drive in and lift, there will be a few really dedicated that will do it but one or two does not make a dynasty.  Lastly, it is hard to put together an excellent coaching staff in a North Dakota 9 man High School.

[coachk]

great reply from ND_Coach. There are so many factors in why ND doesn't have a dynasty program in most small schools and ND_Coach is right we can also add that most kids that are in the lower grades have to be brought up way to early because of not enough numbers or whatever. By the time they are jrs or srs. they are either burnt out or peaked out. also they dont get a chance to jell with anyone because only a few are brought up and when their classmates meet up to playing with them its like starting all over again. Most kids are also involved in so many other activities as well that they are not able to concentrate on just one item of interest like kids from the larger schools. In the long run it might benefit the smaller schools athletes by being involved in many other activities as they seem to adjust well to life after high school. Not that the larger schools graduates dont adjust well but sometimes smaller is better. Coaching for 27 years has taught me alot.

[GRIDIRON GURU]

NDcoach, nice excuses,

I was not talking about numbers I was talking about 98% participation, ( no wusses saving themselves for basketball) so you have 40 students and 36 go out for football, that makes a big impact.

I hate it when coaches and athletes come up with every excuse in the book not to lift weights. For 2-3 sport athletes it is to their advantage to lift. It is pure laziness not to mandate a weight program 3 days a week before school or after practice, no special trips, and you can not tell me teenagers don't go to town 3 times a week in the summer. Plus you do not need a fancy weight room to improve yourself.

True there are a lot of baaad coaches out there who will not do one thing extra to improve themselves or their team. Damit, if I am a head high school football coach I owe those kids everything in my power to give them a chance to win and succeed!

Coaching clinics, books, videos, camps, Internet, plenty of teaching tools to fix my weaknesses. Heck if I am the only coach I should be able to coach every position on the field. If I can do that I sould be able to relay that to my staff.

I despise cop outs and coaches who will not do anything extra to improve themselves and set their team up for failure.

So we can only win with talent thats a nice message to send a 17 year old heading out into the world.

Hard work, doing the little extra things to make yourself better won't help, you just struggle, thats the cards you were dealt and there is nothing you can do about it.

 

 

 

[homer]

well put! if little jonny dont succeed most think its the coachs fault or the parents think they didnt get enough chances to prove themselves. you are right the real world isnt going to hand them any breaks they need to learn to fight for what they want everybodys spot is there for the taking if someone wants to put in the time to take it.

[ndsportsfan98]

Wow Gridiron, slow down.  You asked for thoughts and comments as to why ND hasn't had this type of dynasty, and ND Coach gave you his opinions.  I don't believe I saw any excuses he made, maybe excuses kids use that would drive coaches nuts. 

The fact is, Stephen-Argyle had very good teams as Stephen and Argyle on their own.  They are to be commended for what their teams have accomplished.  I heard one of their coaches talk that in the summer football takes precedence over their summer jobs, and all of their parents support that.  You don't find that in many small towns, ND or MN.  

Another reason to add with the underqualified coaches is that some schools just want the position filled.  The pay in any coaching position in ND is normally always limited, but I know of schools who will pay for coaches to go to clinics, etc.  For those coaches that don't get much support from school, and those are the coaches that don't feel they should put much time into it.  There are some coaches that get paid for their time to have the weight room opened throughout the spring and summer, and to do summer conditioning, camps etc.  All of a sudden it's a year round job, and the head coach is only getting paid 2-3,000 for his "year round job".  Your seeing more and more coaches getting out of the job, because of all the extra things a coach is expected to do to help his team succeed, but for a measly couple of grand, in the end is it worth it?  Is it worth to have parents ripping on you because your not playing their kid? Is it worth the community ripping on you to have a winning team??

To those coaches that go through with all of this for such little pay, those are to be commended, especially those who are able to stay put and build a program through a number of years.  I know the Stephen and Argyle teams in the past had quite a bit of success, was it with 1 coach who was there for a long time, or a variety of coaches? 

[ND_Coach]

Gidiron, those are nice excuses, but I was not trying to make excuses.  From what I have seen at the 9 man level in ND those are the reasons we do not see dynasties.  I am not saying it is ok, in fact I despise it as well.  There is no excuse for not working to get better, be it player or coach. 

I believe that I am in the category of coaches that preaches weight training, goes to clinics, buys videos, does the little things to get better.  I also believe that if you ask any players that have played under me, or coaches I have worked with they will confirm this.  So if my previous post came off sounding as if I was making excuses that is not the case, I was just giving my observations.

Thinking about it more, what it all boils down to is attitude.

Some towns have that attitude and will work hard to get things done.  Be it Velva, Harvey, Linton in football, Napoleon in wrestling, MayPort CG in basketball.  In those towns the whole community knows what it takes and they get it done.  I have never been to Stephen-Argyle, but I expect it is the same there.

Other towns/school administration/coaches/parents are content to wait for that good class of athletes to come around and not do a thing to help the program become better.

[baseball]

ok GURU....9 man dynasty=Napoleon....how could you even forget to mention them as a "possible" dynasty.  They are as close to a true dynasty ND has at this moment other then Velva but we are talkin about 9 man

[GRIDIRON GURU]

Amen to that coach,

attitude is huge, some towns have it some don't.

[GRIDIRON GURU]

ok GURU....9 man dynasty=Napoleon....how could you even forget to mention them as a "possible" dynasty.  They are as close to a true dynasty ND has at this moment other then Velva but we are talkin about 9 man

Yep, Napoleon could be, they know what a dynasty is in wrestling, no doubt about it.

I love Napoleon and the people, this could be the start of something big.

[Wild Wolves]

Napolean?  Could be, yes.  Are Not a dynasty, YET.  We are talking about three years or more of continued winning.

[tommykramer]

The coach from Washburn seems to have a good system.  They track everything through a web site.  Check it out!

http://eteamz.active.com/cardinalfb/index.cfm?

[hitem]

What's a dynasty in North Dakota?  Lets look at the championship game.  Napoleon has 35 boys in their high school.  Turtle Lake has about the same number yet next year they co-op with a school just as big.  Look at the power house teams for the last 5 years.  Most are counties or big co-ops, ie, Edgeley Kulm, Divide County, Tri-county, Richland county, and more. A true dynasty won't exist in ND because of the increasing number of co-ops.  You'd be better served talking about the better programs in ND.  Programs that win almost every year, yet are small in numbers. How many teams in ND haven't had a losing season in the past 10 years?  Small schools that can compete every year, find them and you'll have your winners.

[Wild Wolves]

Great Answer!

[coachk]

Just for those who dont know who Richland is I will inform those.  Richland is not a co-op school nor a school made up of the whole county .  It is located in Colfax and has a total enrollment of 150 students in 7-12 grades. It is named Richland because it is in Richland county.  The school district includes three small towns Abercrombie, Colfax and Christine.  This has been a school district since 1967. Just a little history for those who think it was just established.  Also thanks ndsportsfan and ND_Coach for your last comments.  Attitude is the big answer.  As a coach I encourage my kids to work out in the offseason.  I can't force them to but encourage.  I do as much as I possibly can for my players but I also need to support them in other aspects of their life.  That is what separates the good coachs from the great ones and those who don't last in the coaching field from those who do. Not that I am a great coach just one who tries to get the best out each and every player I have coached. I am always there to help and work with my players any way possible to help them be successful.
I love the game and that is why I coach not for the money.  Believe me if it were for the money I wouldnt do it because it isn't worth the hassle.   27 years has seen alot of talent go by my way as far as players I have coached and coached against.  It has been worth the thrill and I wont quit until I am no longer effective as a players coach.  North Dakota has seen some great athletes in it's hay days through out the state and I as a coach am proud of it.  Again thanks to all who show positive aspects to this forum.

[tommykramer]

I just want to reinterate what coach K said.  Richland is not Richland County and it is at best a middle of the pack 9 man enrollment school.  The kids actually played at Kindred for football until 4 years ago.  A couple of parents told me that when the restarted the football program there were 5 kids that had played at Kindred the previous year, and 3 of those were freshman.  Maybe if Richland  used Gridiron Guru's system when they restarted they would have been more succesful.  Instead, they used their own and won a state championship in their third year.

[GRIDIRON GURU]

Yes, they used their own, something different than what most 9-man teams run, and darn near set a new state record winning streak with it, and probably would have if Woodbury had not gotten hurt. And they did it with two different sets of athletes.

that was awesome, and fun to watch!

[sapp_jr_99]

How bout Divide County making playoffs every year since 95 cept once in 01, with 5 semi final appearances including this past year. With only losing 4 seniors they come back loaded with talent again next year, who should be state contenders. Then this year sophomores class when they are seniors i think will resemble and possibly be better then the 05 richland colts.

[baseball]

Napolean?  Could be, yes.  Are Not a dynasty, YET.  We are talking about three years or more of continued winning.

o yea your right a year of 8-2 is a shuge diappointment.

[Fletch Jr.]

How bout Divide County making playoffs every year since 95 cept once in 01, with 5 semi final appearances including this past year. With only losing 4 seniors they come back loaded with talent again next year, who should be state contenders. Then this year sophomores class when they are seniors i think will resemble and possibly be better then the 05 richland colts.

Hard to argue against that!  11 years of winning, countless region titles, the 5 semis a state title and a runner-up is not a bad resume.  not too many 9 man teams around can keep consistancylike that going these days.  credit the coaches.  they are two of the states best especially Coach Brown, he started the winning ways back in the mid 90's when DC was just an average team. now complimented with another great football mind with Coach Nelson they just keep reloading.  IMO, they had the best team this year, the ball just bounced the wrong way in the semi's.

[jlr48]

New England-Regent was probably as close to a dynasty as any of the teams named here if I remember right. Weren't they pretty unbeatable in the 90's?

[Shocker]

Napolean?  Could be, yes.  Are Not a dynasty, YET.  We are talking about three years or more of continued winning.

o yea your right a year of 8-2 is a shuge diappointment.

8-2 is a pretty good season, but with only 1 title recently it is much too soon to call Napolean a dynasty. Harvey usually only has about 2 losses each year, which is very respectable, but they are far from a dynasty because they havn't won a title recently. Is Fargo South now a dynasty? I don't think so, even they have been very good recently. Just because you win a title doesn't make you an automatic dynasty. If Napolean repeats next year, then the talk can start about them being a potential dynasy.

Personally, I think a team needs at least 3 titles in about 5 years to be considered a true dynasty. Being a dynasty isn't about being an above average team for a long time, it is about being the best team in the state for a period of years that are close together.

[Wild Wolves]

Napolean

How many consecutive undefeated seasons do they have?

How many consecutive state titles do they have?

The question was about a dynasty, two seasons isn't a dynasty.

Are they a very good program, yes without a doubt?

For obvious reasons, I think that the NE-R teams of the 90's were the last true dynasty.  Three straight state titles, 48 (I think) consecutive wins, 54 consecutive regular season wins(maybe higher).  If I remeber correctly they were a play-off team both the year before and the year after the three peat.

That is a dynasty. 

[Shocker]

Linton won 3 times in 4 years (2000,2002,2003), I don't recall how they did in 2001, but that's pretty close to being a dynasty if it isn't.

[dmdp]

How easy is it to forget that just a decade ago, North Dakota had its own Stephen-Argyle in 9-man football: NEW ENGLAND-REGENT.

The Tigers won 3 straight, could have won a fourth but lost in a blizzard, in the semifinals, without its all-state RB, C  and DT and playing with an injured QB. 

SA broke NE-R's national nine-man consecutive wins record (47) just this season. But, I like what the previous poster said about SA having enough kids to be a Class A school in ND. True, NE-R was the same way when they were at their height. They had more boys out for football than most schools in the class above them.  Some coaches beleived the 95 and 96 NE-R teams could have beat most teams in all classes those years if they'd have played 11-man (except the really good Big-school teams).