Fambrough: About big games, a beloved coach, things on my mind. Welcome to Week 8

“Everything all at once” sums up where we stand going into Week 8 of high school football.

So many big games will be played over the next three weeks. We’ve got Kentwood vs. Southern Lab on Friday night.

Next week it’s Madison Prep-University and Episcopal-Dunham. And, of course, Zachary and Catholic in Week 10.

For me, the opening phrase covers much more.

The unexpected death of Charles “Coach Bags” Baglio last week was a shock for many. More on that in a minute.

Plain Dealing’s plight with a 16-player football roster resonates from north Louisiana and revived a long-dormant debate about eight-man football. Finally, two sources presented written opinions on different, yet oddly interrelated topics about sports and life.

Coach Bags

First things first. About coach Bags.

What a great human being. Always upbeat, positive and looking to help everybody, whether your issue was football-related or not.

I got to cover some of his best Independence teams. He was always gracious, win or lose.

Bags did call me once on Christmas Day to voice objections to an LSWA all-state team that did not include some notable Independence players. He advocated the players. We talked. And Baglio never mentioned it again.

LHSCA director Eric Held said Baglio was ahead of his time not just because he helped form the Louisiana Football Coaches Association, but because he stressed professional development for coaches.

Instead of standing with his contemporaries, Baglio recruited new coaches into the LFCA fold. He continued to help high schools and others in his director of external operations role at LSU.

Eight-man football

Friday night lights are great, especially for big schools with large rosters, community support and budgets to cover expenses.

It’s the American dream for some, but not all.

In rural areas and inner cities some schools struggle to field teams and muster financial/community support. Players do opt to move to another sport, like basketball, when seasons overlap. Injuries and overlap led to the Lions forfeiting to Jonesboro-Hodge this week.

In 2014, the LHSAA addressed adding eight-man football for its smallest schools, like 1A Plain Dealing. A total of 16 schools were needed, but the plan fell apart.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid another push would also fail. Meanwhile, the push for girls flag football nationwide, a sport championed by the NFL, is exciting but offers an intriguing juxtaposition.

About coaches and society

Lakeshore coach Brent Indest’s Facebook post about society changes garnered over 100 shares. Indest noted that there used to be graduations just for high school and college. Now we have pre-school, kindergarten and middle-school graduations, too.

I remember when pro, college or state champions were the ones who received championship rings. They’re now given out weekly at tournaments for multiple sports.

Each event is positive, harmless and we love them. But put them together and expectations change over time.

Finally, a retired coach from another state noted changes he’s seen since 2018 on social media. The NCAA transfer portal/NIL is very a small part of it.

Coach entitlement (young coaches wanting to call plays right away), parent entitlement (my kid must play now), impatience (by coaches, players and parents), a rising lack of respect and the growing number of high school transfers were among the topics.

None of this happened overnight. All of it is worth pondering.

Along with the big games we want to see.

And yes, it is everything all at once.