Do you sincerely believe that - with all other things being equal - that most prospective head coaches are going to opt to coach at a school of 1000 students instead of one with 3000? If the goal is to build a program that can maximize it's success the answer is obvious.

Talking about the "recipe" to building a national power and citing name recognition is frankly not helpful nor accurate; ten years ago Bingham and Mountain Pointe were names every national high school football fan knew, and now they are complete afterthoughts (hell, we had a Newhall Hart mention not that long ago). Conversely, I remember Peoria Centennial getting dragged on the previous board after they lost to Peoria Liberty in 2017; I specifically remember a number of "not even Vegas Liberty" remarks. Two years later the Arizona Liberty took out Vegas Liberty and within five years they'd thrash Valor Christian, have a close call with Corona Centennial, and weren't having their national credentials questioned by anyone but the most narrow-minded of fans (Basha and Corner Canyon have had similar paths). The easiest pathway to "name recognition" is to win a ton of games, and that journey is helped out when you have a lot of great athletes. Even when recruiting and open enrollment is the norm if you are able to leverage those tools AND have an enrollment edge you're going to have a leg-up on the competition.

The coach may well choose to coach at the bigger school. But, in the current era of unlimited player movement, it would be more about likely having more non-player resources at the larger school. The days of coaches roaming the hallways and looking for guys who could be players are over. Youth training and leagues are huge, and that's where the players are discovered 99% of the time.

Santa Ana, CA, population 320,000> (home of Mater Dei) has a 1.5% Black population.

That's like NO Blacks in the entire damn city.

Mater Dei has a tremendous amount of blacks on their football team. 🏈🤠🏈

Without looking, I'm going to estimate 23% of Mater Dei's athletics program participants have Santa Ana residences. For the football program, you might see a third of the roster which doesn't even reside in the same county.

The coach may well choose to coach at the bigger school. But, in the current era of unlimited player movement, it would be more about likely having more non-player resources at the larger school. The days of coaches roaming the hallways and looking for guys who could be players are over. Youth training and leagues are huge, and that's where the players are discovered 99% of the time.

That is true in Tampa. The TBYFL (Tampa Bay Youth Football League)  had some powerhouses in areas of Tampa where the high school was garbage. The Nuccio Jags ran the league forever and they are in the heart of the King High school zone. And King is one of the worst teams in the state. Because all those Nuccio Jags kids get scooped up by Armwood, Plant, TBT etc etc.

It's the same for other youth leagues. In Pop Warner, the Westchase Colts are the powers. They came over from TBYFL a few years ago and compete for Pop Warner national titles every year. And Westchase is some upscale neighborhood in the Sickles High zone. And Sickles is a JV team just like King.

Do you remember when Berkeley went over and beat the shit out of Newman Lousiana and Arch Manning? Berkeley had a kid in that game commited to Iowa State and had 5 touchdowns. He played for the Westchae Colts. And 2 of his teammates at Westchase were D1 recruits playing for Jesuit and Tampa Bay Tech.

It's it crucial in order for a team to be successful in some areas of the country to have their claws sunk in to the youth league talent

@DreadnaughtAlum

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/sports/2024/12/23/westchase-colts-celebrate-two-super-bowl-championship-teams

When I mention the importance of wealth in an area, I'm not talking about buying players (though some schools buy transportation resources to transport players from long distances and/or households where parents aren't able to do the transporting themselves). I'm talking about the school having better facilities, being able to pay coaches more etc.

Places like Baton Rouge are largely poor and the condition of the school's facilities and other resources reflects that.

Here are 10 of the largest high schools in California that have a football team, based on enrollment data, primarily within Los Angeles County:
Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills) - 5,900+
Downey High School (Downey) - 4,000+
Long Beach Polytechnic High School (Long Beach) - 3,800+
Warren High School (Downey) - 3,600+
Millikan High School (Long Beach) -3,400+
Paramount High School (Paramount) - 3,400+
Wilson High School (Long Beach) - 3,300+
Quartz Hill High School (Quartz Hill) - 3,100+
Birmingham Community Charter High School (Lake Balboa) - $3,100+
El Camino Real Charter High School (Woodland Hills)

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't appear to be a "who's who" of football powers.

@DreadnaughtAlum

https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/sports/2024/12/23/westchase-colts-celebrate-two-super-bowl-championship-teams

I think the obsession some have with youth sports is pretty gross. But, it is a real thing in many places. People find it hard to believe, understandably, that grown men sometimes bet money on football games involving nine year-olds etc.

For Florida:
Based on FHSAA enrollment and classification trends, here are 10 of the largest high schools with football teams in Florida:
Boca Raton Community High School (Boca Raton): Often ranks at the top for enrollment.
Palm Beach Central High School (Wellington): Consistently high enrollment.
Apopka High School (Apopka): Known for high population and strong football.
Dr. Phillips High School (Orlando): Large Central Florida school.
Park Vista Community High School (Lake Worth): Large Palm Beach County school.
Wellington Community High School (Wellington): Large population in Palm Beach.
Timber Creek High School (Orlando): Large Orange County school.
Miami Northwestern Senior High School (Miami): Large, elite football program.
Vero Beach High School (Vero Beach): High enrollment 7A/8A school.
Hialeah Gardens High School (Hialeah Gardens): Large Miami-Dade

When I mention the importance of wealth in an area, I'm not talking about buying players (though some schools buy transportation resources to transport players from long distances and/or households where parents aren't able to do the transporting themselves). I'm talking about the school having better facilities, being able to pay coaches more etc.

Places like Baton Rouge are largely poor and the condition of the school's facilities and other resources reflects that.

Here are 10 of the largest high schools in California that have a football team, based on enrollment data, primarily within Los Angeles County:
Granada Hills Charter High School (Granada Hills) - 5,900+
Downey High School (Downey) - 4,000+
Long Beach Polytechnic High School (Long Beach) - 3,800+
Warren High School (Downey) - 3,600+
Millikan High School (Long Beach) -3,400+
Paramount High School (Paramount) - 3,400+
Wilson High School (Long Beach) - 3,300+
Quartz Hill High School (Quartz Hill) - 3,100+
Birmingham Community Charter High School (Lake Balboa) - $3,100+
El Camino Real Charter High School (Woodland Hills)

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't appear to be a "who's who" of football powers.

20 of the biggest high schools in the entire state of Florida in Orlando and Miami left the FHSAA playoff format, opting to go independent because they are so garbage at football they knew they had no chance. If you look at the 8A class, it's home to some of the worst teams in the state. And it's not close until you get to around the lower rural class. Lol

I think the obsession some have with youth sports is pretty gross. But, it is a real thing in many places. People find it hard to believe, understandably, that grown men sometimes bet money on football games involving nine year-olds etc.

The TBYFL literally shut down operations because of repeated gun violence in the stands. When we would go to games the entire stadium would smell like weed. I remember going to a pop warner game and the referees were about to be attacked by parents in the stands, and the coaches had to stand in their way.

I remember a brawl between parents that was so big that the SWAT team had to be called in with local police. Cops jumping out in riot gear. Lol

Man, I remember a college kid jumped the fence and ran onto the field, wanting to attack the offensive line because they weren't blocking for his brother who is the quarterback . LMAO!

St. Frances Academy has an enrollment of just over 200. Not 2,000, but 200. I have to assume at least half of that is enrolled in the football program.

St. Frances Academy has an enrollment of just over 200. Not 2,000, but 200. I have to assume at least half of that is enrolled in the football program.

SFA is not a real high school football team. They are a school with a national sports academy attached to them. They dissolved their traditional high school football program years ago, in exchange for an "IMG" model. Traditional high schools playing teams like IMG and SFA reinforce this erosion of HSFB athletics, and are equivalent of a snake eating its own tail. Lol.

The only thing that really matters is Mater Dei is located in Santa Ana....... there's virtually no black people there. 🤠🏈🤠

Call it 1% Ana!

Santa Ana is right in the Middle of Orange County which is why the County Administration offices are in Santa Ana....

Orange County has over 3.0 million People, there are pleanty of whatever race you think you need to have However many D1 kids you want at a private school right in the middle of 3 million people.... Which Just happens to be one of the largest private schools in the Country....

You have obviously never been to Orange County and have no Clue.... Orange County has nothing to do with LA....

"Spending Millions of Dollars on Football Players/Transfers"..... Just a dumb comment, no High School has Millions of Dollars to spend on anything, let alone Football Players.... 🤣

Beat me to it

Santa Ana is right in the Middle of Orange County which is why the County Administration offices are in Santa Ana....

Orange County has over 3.0 million People, there are pleanty of whatever race you think you need to have However many D1 kids you want at a private school right in the middle of 3 million people.... Which Just happens to be one of the largest private schools in the Country....

You have obviously never been to Orange County and have no Clue.... Orange County has nothing to do with LA....

I don't have to know anything about Orange County to understand the Mater Dei football team looks nothing like the school or town they are in.

A monkey could put those numbers together. 🤠🏈🤠

Santa Ana High School has an enrollment of almost 3,000 and if you use MaxPreps they were ranked #765 in California last year and were barely a top 10,000 team nationally.

https://www.maxpreps.com/ca/santa-ana/santa-ana-saints/football/

Orange County that! 🤠🏈🤠
What a mess up there.