Why is Davenport West so bad at football?

[scottyballgame]

How can a school that large be that bad for so many years. Makes no sense to me. I lived in Illinois and moved to Davenport around 10 years ago. Here is in my opinion why this is the case. First off no feeder programs. Nothing to get the younger kids involved early which other schools they compete against already have been doing for years now. Bad and old facilities. Nothing new....unlike other teams. No home field. Who wants old Brady st. for their own home field? Bad coaches. And probably the # 1 reason is OPEN ENROLLMENT. Which no clue why this city allows this? A lot of the good athletes leave to other schools. What is this....college?

 

[CF_93]

That doesn't seem to be isolated to Davenport West. That's much more common of the larger non-college-town cities in Iowa. Undoubtedly a lot of issues contributing to it, from economics, demographics, academic standards, open enrollment like you say.

 

[Reasoned]

Well, as far as open enrollment in the Davenport Public School District, it's my understanding you can open enroll amongst the three (Central, North & West) but must receive a district release to go outside. Even with OE, West is still the largest public school in the QCA enrollment wise. So enrollment numbers don't explain the poor FB results, it's lack of participant buy in to a winning program culture (which is often the case for schools with losing records). As for Brady St Stadium, it's in the middle of a multi-million dollar face lift including all new turf etc., so the stadium should be quite nice compared to other shared facilities.

 

[BigHawk]

Without knowing anything about this school....my guess is its purely socioeconomic. The more white and middle to upper middle class you are the better you are at football. Valley, centennial, Dowling, waukee, Johnston, Cedar falls, IC West, Bett, or des Moines north, east, Lincoln, roosevelt, any of the Sioux city publics, waterloo publics, council bluffs tj and A L, Davenport's, dubuque publics, ottum.

For the most part it hold true at every level...not set in stone but pretty close.

 

[scottyballgame]

All the kids leaving West do not go to the other Davenport school's. Their just as bad as West. They go to Pleasnat Valley....Bettendoft ...and North Scott. That's where all the $ is at. And I would still want my own field. Not share it with 3 other schools.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

I also think that socioeconomic factors are HUGE, along with culture, elementary programs, etc. . Scottyballgame also hits it on the nose that certain QC schools get a lot of transfers into their programs at various levels.

 

[Iafootballfan]

Without knowing anything about this school....my guess is its purely socioeconomic. The more white and middle to upper middle class you are the better you are at football. Valley, centennial, Dowling, waukee, Johnston, Cedar falls, IC West, Bett, or des Moines north, east, Lincoln, roosevelt, any of the Sioux city publics, waterloo publics, council bluffs tj and A L, Davenport's, dubuque publics, ottum.

For the most part it hold true at every level...not set in stone but pretty close.

Council Bluffs AL is having one of if not their worst season ever. No idea what happened to that program; TJ on the other hand is usually a sub-.500 team.

 

[mtdew_fever]

Saying a school with more white kids is going to win is a lazy answer.

It is all about resources and money.

Feeder systems have a ton to do with it, but that takes money from the parents....so a poor white/black/purple kid with 1 parent isnt likely going to get the development opportunities a kid in a town like Ankeny would. Why Ankeny as the example? The houses are new and people seem to spent a crap ton of money there.

Rural communities are a better example. Why is NW Iowa (Sioux county) always good in sports? Their farm ground provides a huge tax base the schools benefit from. Some schools in southern Iowa arent as good....because their ground is a fraction of value, which means less money for schools and the sports teams arent as good.

Without knowing anything about this school....my guess is its purely socioeconomic. The more white and middle to upper middle class you are the better you are at football. Valley, centennial, Dowling, waukee, Johnston, Cedar falls, IC West, Bett, or des Moines north, east, Lincoln, roosevelt, any of the Sioux city publics, waterloo publics, council bluffs tj and A L, Davenport's, dubuque publics, ottum.

For the most part it hold true at every level...not set in stone but pretty close.

 

[BigHawk]

Why is it a lazy answer? You have just explained exactly what I referanced. Your mostly white communities do have more money....better nutrition from birth...better resources...middle class values ...fewer single parent homes. West Des Moines or the East Side of Des Moines? Get it?

And as far as tax base...that is a reflection...a part of the socioeconomic disparity. No one has more money than waukee. They have a solid program but pale in comparison to Dowling and Valley.

As far as those Sioux County teams....what exactly would the schools be buying that help their programs? I've seen several of their weight rooms...nothing out of the ordinary...none have exceptional training facilities...???

The secret to Sioux county has nothing to do with that but everything to do with well fed bodies and culture.

 

[franky1967]

Feeder Systems actually have not worked for Waterloo East or West. East cannot even really compete at the 3A Level yet.

Maybe it has helped West, however they have s good coach anf they are doing everything they can to compete in 4A