A few thoughts for today

Came across the following and it certainly struck me as something important to consider. What's your take?

High School Coach Irked by Recruiting of Younger Players
Josh Barr
Washington Post
October 9, 2009

While the football recruiting process continues to evolve and trend toward colleges getting involved with younger players, high school coaches aren't thrilled. Consider the take of one prominent local coach, who asked to remain anonymous because he did not want his comments to affect colleges interest in his players:

"It's just wrong [for colleges to offer scholarships to younger players]. It [messes] up the kid. He thinks he's so cool. I really don't like it...

Go here for the remainder.

Here is a sort of companion piece from days earlier:

Games No Longer the Only Showcase for College Prospects
Josh Barr
Washington Post
October 6, 2009

Potomac (Md.) sophomore running back Ron Darby took his first varsity snap last month and has just three 100-yard games to his credit. But before the high school season even began, the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder had two college scholarship offers after spending time at one-day camps at Maryland and North Carolina.

As the college recruiting timetable continues to move up -- a growing number of top high school prospects make their decisions before their senior years -- one-day college camps and combines run by third parties that test physical ability are playing an ever more significant role in the recruiting landscape. Strong performances at these events can often be as meaningful as strong performances during games.

"College coaches use anything they can to get an edge in the process," said Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "They would be naive to not utilize all the tools out there to help them make an early evaluation. A coach is going to use film but [camps and combines] are definitely becoming a major, major part of the recruiting process..."

Go here for the remainder.