Behind The Rankings - Pre-Season

By: Randy Savage Jr

I have been posting rankings online and with different news media outlets since the late 90's, and every year, the hardest set of rankings to come up with is the pre-season rankings. I once tried to use algorithms solely as the base for my rankings, but always ended up having to tweak something each week. This is called the eyeball test, which anyone who knows anything about sports will tell you is the true test. I work overseas part of the year these days, and it takes  hours upon hours to sort through information provided from every source imaginable, stories, video, discussions with others that follow the game, to even begin to act like I know what I am talking about. In the end, I sit alone with all this information, like many others, and put it out there with my name on it.

We do this for the love of the game, and the love of watching kids turn into men on the field. Those of us in the media can never think that we play any role in the course of a season, the coaches and parents are the only ones that have any role in that. As a former athlete and a parent of athletes, I know all too well the separation between talk, and action. Work that is put in for weeks and months and years prior to competition is where champions are born. No one shows up and is instantly a champion.

These rankings wont mean much until the final whistle blows and the State Champions are crowned. Even at that point, there will be champions across the state in many aspects. Teams that show up with 6 kids to practice on the first day see a grueling year ahead of them, but often make it through, with all the blood and bruises that comes along with that. The fact is, these kids make it, and they are better for it in the end. Encourage your kids to work, and support them. I love documenting success, and will continue to, because I love the game.