if you could get every kid isu wanted from one iowa high school ...

[IAStubborn]

Valley sends a guy d1 more years than not. Hard to find another school in the state that does that consistently.
Also, guys from valley go JuCo and go d1 relatively often as well, more so recently.

City High, IC West, Dowling & Ankeny this is true for too. Along with Valley they are the clear top 5 and then the next 5 are debatable imo. Who knows how ankeny will be with the split. Maybe a waukee or Cedar Falls eventually take that spot but iowa City west was horrible for 25 years with all the talent going to City High before the town was able to support 2 high level programs.

 

[TigerCyJM]

I know for a fact that Valley "recruits" or at least they did when I went there a few years ago.

They can't recruit like dowling, but often people are attracted to valley due to the sports programs. I am sure a very small amount of that occurs but I have never met someone who has been "recruited" to valley.

 

[SideProjects15]

They can't recruit like dowling, but often people are attracted to valley due to the sports programs. I am sure a very small amount of that occurs but I have never met someone who has been "recruited" to valley.

Peter Jok...

 

[wartknight]

We recruit all our kids. The biggest challenge is getting all the kids that grow up in the Catholic school system to go to High School here. And yes, recruiting is done all throughout the metro. There are a lot of big name kids in every sport who have been "shopped around" to various schools. I have only been at Dowling 9 years so I can't speak to how it used to be, but I will tell you now that recruiting is done everywhere. We lose more kids each year from Catholic Schools and the Catholic Football League to the public schools than what we gain. We know its going to happen. Its just the way it is. Its funny to hear stories lately of guys claiming to have been "recruited" by us when they or there parents are the ones that make first contact. (As coaches we are not allowed to contact anyone who plays at another school). That D1 list I posted earlier would be quite a bit longer if everyone that came and visited up ended up coming here. I know the recruiting allegations will always be there. Used to get under my skin but doesn't anymore. Most have fun with it now. I have heard stories from back in the day that would make big time basketball coaches jealous.
Living in Ankeny I know that is where the "recruiting" is going on hard right now. Going to be the nature of the beast in about any area where there are 2 high schools in such close proximity.

 

[wartknight]

Peter Jok...

Basically had a signing day announcement between Dowling, Waukee, Valley, and I think Urbandale. Wasn't hiding it a bit.

 

[CyFan61]

We recruit all our kids. The biggest challenge is getting all the kids that grow up in the Catholic school system to go to High School here. And yes, recruiting is done all throughout the metro. There are a lot of big name kids in every sport who have been "shopped around" to various schools. I have only been at Dowling 9 years so I can't speak to how it used to be, but I will tell you now that recruiting is done everywhere.

Coming from eastern Iowa, this is surprising to me. Didn't know it was like that in DSM. Not my experience elsewhere. Would expect the central Iowa schools to be more dominant based on this info.

 

[IAStubborn]

Coming from eastern Iowa, this is surprising to me. Didn't know it was like that in DSM. Not my experience elsewhere. Would expect the central Iowa schools to be more dominant based on this info.

They didnt win a state championship for 30 years. Something changed over the last 13 years to make them competitive. When we played dowling in the state championship in 95' and our 3rd string was shutting down their starters it was very clear that there was a huge talent gap at the time. That changed over the next 5 years.

 

[BallSoHard4Cy]

Can't really believe Ankeny and Centennial are still 4A.

anyways, knowing most of the kids that are going to be seniors to sophomores, I can tell you that Centennial will be better in all sports this year, next year, and many years down the road. Ankeny is a very popular suburb and people wanna go where all the talent/money is and that's Centennial.

If you've ever seen Friday Night Lights, Centennial Jaguars = "West" Dillon Panthers and Ankeny Hawks = East Dillon Lions...

... Minus the fact that the Lions beat the Panthers.

 

[2forISU]

Valley, Bettendorf, City High, CF, Dowling, Ankeney, IC West, Assumption, Xavier and Prairie.

 

[Rabbuk]

Valley, Bettendorf, City High, CF, Dowling, Ankeney, IC West, Assumption, Xavier and Prairie.

Prairie is never the correct answer.

 

[BallSoHard4Cy]

If I had to pick my top 10 for 2013:
1.) Valley
2.) IC High
3.) Dowling
4.) IC West
5.) Centennial
6.) Xavier
7.) Cedar Falls
8.) Ankeny
9.) Bettendorf
10.) SE Polk

Ankeny could find their way out soon.

 

[IAStubborn]

If I had to pick my top 10 for 2013:
1.) Valley
2.) IC High
3.) Dowling
4.) IC West
5.) Centennial
6.) Xavier
7.) Cedar Falls
8.) Ankeny
9.) Bettendorf
10.) SE Polk

Ankeny could find their way out soon.

Thats a pretty good list about odds of producing talent now (which is more what the opp asked). Mine was more over the last 20 years. For the future I would slide waukee in and Ankeny out. Waukee keeps growing it will be a huge generater of D-1 talent. No way they both stay in. We have seen what happens right after a town splits. One stays strong for a while as athletes gravitates to the better until the town grows to be able to fully support the 2 that means culture, boosters etc. in addition to talent (Iowa City the most recent), it takes a while.

 

[wartknight]

They didnt win a state championship for 30 years. Something changed over the last 13 years to make them competitive. When we played dowling in the state championship in 95' and our 3rd string was shutting down their starters it was very clear that there was a huge talent gap at the time. That changed over the next 5 years.

The DSM suburbs then were not remotely close to what they are now. Ankeny was still relatively new to 4A. Waukee might have been even 2A at the time. Urbandale was still 3A I think. Johnston may have been the same. West Des Moines Valley was a fraction of what it is now although it was still big. From 72-99 there were 6 titles won by schools now considered the "west" and only Ankeny in '97 would be considered from the DSM metro area. Then from 2000-current 9 titles have been won by "west" schools with 8 of those by Valley (5) and Dowling (3).
I don't know if it has been a population shift from Eastern IA or just rural people (like myself) who moved to the 'burbs (no one in my neighborhood grew up in Ankeny, biggest town anyone is from is Carlisle). But with much larger population has come much better training opportunities. Places like Jack Whitver's Acceleration Iowa have been huge for our guys and I know he has locations all around the metro. My daughters have gymnastics at Triad in Ankeny and in the last year they have added a boys athletic program that basically has boys playing some form of football a few days a week after school.
Having a large population has also helped out coaching quality in the area. I know several assistants on a bunch of CIML teams that have college coaching experience but got out for one reason or another. A bunch of others who are more than qualified to lead their own programs but choose not to. Heck our OL coach used to be the OL coach at ISU (Jim WIlliams). The overall competitiveness has lead to a much higher level of football over here than there used to be. I don't know what things are like on the east side of the state in that regard. I'd be curious to hear from some of you over there. Probably the only suburban school in Central IA that has a similar enrollment now as to 2000 is Indianola. The others have exploded in growth. Look for Norwalk and/or Dallas Center-Grimes to be 2 of the next areas to approach 4A status although it could be a little bit yet.

 

[wartknight]

As some of you can tell on this thread, I have a real passion for high school football. I grew up in Aplington and played for coach Thomas, then spent my college years and a few years after travelling around north central Iowa on Friday nights doing play by play and occasional color work for KLMJ out of Hampton. Love the sport and love the variety of experiences one gets at HS games. I called games from the bleachers in Denver, from the sidelines in Alden where most of the fans stood. Garwin where they had to fish the balls out of a creek after field goals. The pride in places like Britt, Parkersburg, Iowa Falls, and Dike when their boys take the field, and then the small college atmosphere that a Valley/Dowling or a SEP/Ankeny game provides

 

[CycoCyclone]

**** dowling, Urbandale

 

[bringmagicback]

I dont live in DSM, but from an outsiders view, wont valley kind of be out of the picture in about 10 years? Didnt it use to be where all the kids w/ more money went, and now that the money is moving further west it will go down hill in terms of sports? Thats the impression I get.

 

[wartknight]

I dont live in DSM, but from an outsiders view, wont valley kind of be out of the picture in about 10 years? Didnt it use to be where all the kids w/ more money went, and now that the money is moving further west it will go down hill in terms of sports? Thats the impression I get.

Valley is always going to be huge compared to other schools because they have have reached the limit on development in WDM and aren't splitting. Other suburbs have land to grow on and will split if they ever approach the size of Valley. That will help Valley stay at the top for a while. There's still a bunch of money there.

 

[TigerCyJM]

Peter Jok...

His guardian got ****** with Roosevelt so they approached coaches from around the metro suburban schools. Valley didn't "go after" him, they got his guardians kid too and IMHO he wasn't very good.

 

[wartknight]

His guardian got ****** with Roosevelt so they approached coaches from around the metro suburban schools. Valley didn't "go after" him, they got his guardians kid too and IMHO he wasn't very good.

That's how it has worked with all the kids that transfer to us. Something happens at their previous school where they either don't think they are getting a fair shake or not getting promoted enough on the recruiting trail, or just want to win more. We are not allowed to make first contact, but we get a phone call from the parent/guardian to find out where they would fit in with us. And I know we aren't the only school that gets the phone calls.
ISU's Patrick Neal ended up at Valley for his sr year after transferring from WInterset. Visited Dowling and Valley and happened to be at the time when Dillon left Dowling. Valley just graduated a 2 year starter off their title team that was at Dowling before he went to 35th street.

 

[bringmagicback]

Ive never understood hating certain hs sports teams. its like hating a certain little leauge team. these kids still have to pick up their rooms and be home by 10.....I find it creepy and weird.