HEALDSBURG (KPIX 5) – After a pair of lopsided losses to start off the year, the Healdsburg High School football team has decided to turn in its uniforms and cancel the rest of the season.

The stands at Recreation Park will be a little lonelier this fall after the football players on the struggling Healdsburg High School Greyhounds quit for the remainder of the year.

“It’s gonna be missed in town,” said Healdsburg High Principal Bill Halliday.

The decision stemmed partly from the lack of participating students.

The team started the season with 18 players. After losing its first game 41-0 and then being shut out 61-0 in its second game, two players quit.

Then two more dropped off the team, followed by the team’s quarterback on Monday.

That was when Head Coach and Healdsburg HS Athletic Director Dave Stine had the kids make a decision.

“We decided to do a blind vote and seven of the thirteen said no, they didn’t want to move forward,” said Stine. “So we went ahead and disbanded the varsity team at that point.”

School officials said the coaches, community and student body are disappointed about the abrupt end to the football season. But when contacting future opponents to cancel upcoming games, Principal Halliday discovered their struggle isn’t unique.

“We’re not alone. The number of kids across the board in California, and certainly in Northern California, of students signing up is down,” said Halliday.

The principal said the team has gotten some blowback on social media for quitting the season, though some seem to understand.

With a new school sprit initiative and investment in the young athletes, Healdsburg High plans on having a varsity team back next year.

“I’m excited about JV team now. There’s 30 kids on that team and they really want to play and are working hard. So the future looks bright,” said Stine.

The field at Recreation Park won’t be totally empty this fall. The junior varsity games will be played and the school is looking at pushing the start time of games back so the community and the student body can come together and experience the usual Friday night lights feel.

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After losing its first game 41-0 and then being shut out 61-0 in its second game, two players quit.

There's a lot to be said for quitting while you're behind and picking your battles.

Good thing Churchill didn’t think like this.

When I was a kid, Healdsburg was a very small town, populated by lower-middle-class folks like my grandparents.
I don't recall whether Analy played Healdsburg or not; but I'm pretty sure they would not have had trouble filling out a team roster, and would have played ahead no matter the losses.
Now Healdsburg is a trendy, very expensive place for second homes for Bay Area yuppies. I expect they will give out participation trophies for the team.

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Originally posted by JALLEN:
Good thing Churchill didn’t think like this.

He did like to use hyperbole though...

They need to be playing a pussy-sport like soccer anyway.

Maybe these schools could focus on actual education as much as sports?

Churchill:

quote:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Never, never, never give up.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. [my own favorite]

Some schools aren’t big enough to carry a football team. 18 is a low number to start with. There is obviously a lack of talent. I played ball in high school and some in college. I coached high school and almost took another route that would have had me coaching college ball in Notth Dakota, so I’m not anti football.

There is no shame in realizing that a person, or an organization is not cut out for football. Kids are getting faster and stronger at younger ages. They basically hit harder and faster earlier. It’s dangerous when equally talented players hit, it can be extremely dangerous when there is a talent mismatch going at it. Add this to the intensified repetitive use injuries and inability to field a competitive team, it’s ridiculous to force it.

I love college football, it was my life for about 20 years. Knowing what I know now, and what I’ve seen and experienced, I’m glad my kid plays baseball.

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Originally posted by smithnsig:
Some schools aren’t big enough to carry a football team. 18 is a low number to start with. There is obviously a lack of talent.

This would be an excellent point if it weren't for the fact that Healdsburg High's student population last year was 574 kids. If you can't form a couple of squads from that, there's something wrong. My high school was smaller but had an aggressive program with many kids choosing from a wide assortment of sports, even including golf, tennis, and cross-country. Right before they went on to their 12-year winning streak we even beat the vaunted De La Salle football team a couple of times, which was no small feat.

I think it's more a case of being an entitlement age, where kids aren't used to having to work for their achievements and would rather retreat from adversity.

Quitters never lose, that's why they quit.


They're missing a golden opportunity. I've been on some winning teams and some truly awful losing teams and we had a blast on those losing teams. No pressure to win, we had lots of fun doing goofy silly shit.

Wow....some of these statements are a long stretch from 18 kids didn’t want to play football

One of the high schools near me decided not to have a football team this year because participation was way down.

I don’t think that kids not wanting to play football means China is going to take over

I was a third generation D1 college football player (and high school coach in Georgia and Virginia), and neither of my sons have played football..and I don’t care...and if my dad and grandfather were alive they wouldn’t care either....sports certainly give us life skills, but they’re also supposed to be fun...plus, truthfully, my body is fucked up here in my late 40s, and that is in large part due to my time spent playing football....I’ve never specifically forbidden my kids from playing football, but if they never do it won’t bother me a bit

18 kids isn’t even enough to practice with....you’re upping the chance of significant injury by several factors because of the lack of adequate subs and overuse of the players

I wouldn’t have started a season with 18 kids....


(Oh, and just because professional soccer players from South America and Europe act like prima donnas doesn’t make it a pussy sport....)

Even if the school has 574 kids, does that mean all of them want to play football?

18 kids might not even be enough for one side of the ball. You have 11 on offense and 11 on defense plus special teams. People typically play on offense or defense and chip in on special teams.

Trying to play an entire game suiting up 18 players is asking for injury to happen.

This is sports, if kids don't want to play, I'm sure life will move on. Sports aren't that important.

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Originally posted by JALLEN:
Good thing Churchill didn’t think like this.

You should have used him as an example, then. Or Thomas Edison and the light bulb. Or the Ford Model A (not the 1928-31 Model A) through S, WD-1 through 39, Preparations A through G. These were all failures, but in pursuit of a worthy goal, and eventually what they became achieved success. All of these things made an actual difference in the world, not high school football games.

Whether or not this school plays football this year is inconsequential by itself, but there should be a way to encourage these youngsters to draw better lessons from this experience.

What about those who quit the political fight and move to a more friendly state? Thoughts?

I did have Chinese food last night, so I’m basically, like, one step from full communism....me and these 18 kids.....

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Originally posted by OMCHamlin:

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Originally posted by Kevbo:
Wow....some of these statements are a long stretch from 18 kids didn’t want to play football...

Well, you are right of course, nothing is ever symptomatic of anything else.
And of COURSE, China loves us, and wants to be like us, so they would never pull any silliness like that...
We ALL know that.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Good thing Churchill didn’t think like this.

Churchill (and England)( had no choice as quitting/failure would have had unspeakable consequences.

Those high school kids are certainly not up against the wall the way he was.

Honestly, if they can make the perfectly crisp, but not too greasy, egg roll on a more consistent basis than my local joint, I will gladly welcome our new Chinese overlords

quote:

Originally posted by OMCHamlin:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
I did have Chinese food last night, so I’m basically, like, one step from full communism....me and these 18 kids.....

quote:

Originally posted by OMCHamlin:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
Wow....some of these statements are a long stretch from 18 kids didn’t want to play football...

Well, you are right of course, nothing is ever symptomatic of anything else.
And of COURSE, China loves us, and wants to be like us, so they would never pull any silliness like that...
We ALL know that.

Damn COMMIE! You'll probably be loading me on a truck, for a "nice ride through the forest" someday, huh?

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
Good thing Churchill didn’t think like this.

He might have if he had an army of only 18 kids.