The biggest problem with posts that start with "the biggest problem" is that it simply de-emphasizes how much better our sport has become over the past decade. And this is especially true for emerging areas such as Ohio. Let's face it, in almost any sport we could say "today's athlete worries too much about (speed, athleticism, recruiting, schedule, etc...) instead of just focusing on the fundamentals of the game. When most of us read that we tend to take that at face value because it's very hard to disagree with. But, is that really accurate, or more so... is that really the "biggest problem?" For some teams maybe, but not for a handful that I can think of... they seem to balance their goals well. And is it also true the best "skilled" players are being sought after the most, or is it those with the best measurables? I can hardly forget recent posts on OFC that perpetuated myths that "no one is recruiting 8th graders" and begged all of OFC to "not drink the Kool-Aid" that some of these travel organizations offered. While I wholeheartedly agree that putting recruiting ahead of game fundamentals, speed/strength, proper nutrition, leadership skills, etc... is a mistake, it's just making the mistake of not properly balancing your short and long-term goals. Since most kids with parents on OFC set a goal to play somewhere at the next level it's very important that both players and coaches do properly educate themselves about the realities of recruiting. Each year kids who are physically, mentally and fundamentally better players lose out for scholarship spots because they simply did not understand the basics of recruiting (or learned them too late). One of the biggest myths out there is this idea that "if you are good enough they will come find you." For many reasons it is not a reality in our sport and does not at all represent how the majority of our athletes are recruited and offered scholarship money. While it's always good advice to tell people to not put the cart before the horse, I wouldn't lead them to believe the horse is going to come looking for the cart. If any of us (coaches or players) are setting goals of getting to the next level, then it is incumbent on us to know something about how that really happens.