steve34 wrote:The more I think about it, the more I like this plan.... It's growing on me.
Steven, C'mon man, what type of game are you trying to play on here? You were the one who started this post, and I have a strange feeling that you knew about this plan a long time ago... you were just waiting for the newspaper article to give you the smoke screen necessary to introduce it on preps. Heck, I wouldn't even be a bit suprised if you and the Devils Lake superintentent were in the same room at the same time when this plan was on the drawing board.
You have a particular talent for responding to the posts you want, and conveniently ignoring others. You have called others out on particular points they have made, but the best points remain unanswered. I acknowledge that Devils Lake is in an uncomfortable position. Either they fight an uphill battle in AAA, or they are automatically labeled as the 'bullies' of AA. None-the-less, I am curious, do you honestly believe this plan benefits ND football, or do you believe it benifits Devils Lake High School? There have been arguements made about non-conference scheduling for AAA, but I don't think its smart for us to allow what would be convienent for the smallest of the four classes to impact the other three classes in such a way. I think there are several ideas to help AAA with any scheduling problems that don't affect the rest of the state, I will be happy to discuss those at any time.
We also need to consider that success isn't 100% about enrollment. Its about programs. Thats why some schools with a low enrollment in their division have a tradition of success and others with larger enrollments do not. We can't and never will be able to make every team in every division competitive by playing with numbers. We need to quit trying.
Here's a concept I think you should start to embrace: The top 12 enrolment schools (13 with the addition of Davies) in North Dakota all look like each other. They all offer essentially the same activities. They all have the extra activities that we don't typically see in a lot of schools, like swimming and diving, gymnastics, orchestra, soccer, and debate. They are a perfect class with each other. Breaking up that nice group just because Devils Lake is too scared to play AAA would be a travesty. If Williston, Dickinson, and Jamestown didn’t think they belonged in AAA this proposal would have come from them instead of Devils Lake.