FB: New England Small College Athletic Conference

[NewtoNescac]

Amherst was picked by many on this board to finish 3rd in NESCAC this year.  With a new QB, injured 2 returning RBs (Wells and Jackson), losing 3 key OL and their All World PK...not much was expected.  Yet, their offense is #1.  Rumors have it they have a Odell-Beckham type WR just waiting for his chance and we all know Jack Hickey could be a Larry Csonka type down the road.  The QB is only a sophomore.   As for their vaunted Defense...they returned a veteran group that saw zero frosh/sophs in the starting lineup when season began.  Their steely resolve has kept them in every game regardless of the play of the offense.  The secondary has been defiant of giving up big plays despite installing a sophomore mid season.  They were beaten first play from scrimmage against Bates and by a trick play by Wesleyan.  That's about it.  Otherwise the defense forces opponents to grind it out knowing a mistake will be made somehow and pouncing on turnover opportunities.   Lots of talent in the linebackers group and secondary will be next year as inexperienced but ready to play in Mills system after watching for 1-2 seasons. 

The Williams game is huge for the team.  They want to send their seniors out on a high note and finish undefeated and untied.  But, don't sleep on this group in 2016.  They ain't finished!

While doing the college camp circuit for several years, I always thought the Amherst coaches were full of themselves. And you know what, they had every reason to be.

Mills has installed a program. And when you have a solid program in place you can lose a coach, or have some key players get injured, and still win.

Amherst has always struck me as a very well coached team. They know their personality both offensively and defensively.

I've seen Amherst struggle during the first half in a number of games, only to come out and dominate in the second half. The coaches know their team, and their opponents, and make the necessary adjustments.

A great "program", that's why they will likely be undefeated for a second straight season.

[D3pc]

I am not a NESCAC man myself, but I still enjoy reading the posts in this thread as a general fan of the game and the East. I have played, coached, and recruited many of the same kids that are playing in the NESCAC or outside of the NESCAC primarily for East Region teams. More times than not, the kids are much more emphatic about playing 'better' football for a longer period of time and for a shot at playing in the playoffs. This is NOT for each kid, let me make that clear, but it has become more and more apparent that a majority of the players coming out of high school like the idea of more football. Academics should be, and still are number one in priority (we hope), but the Northeast is just so saturated with teams that it really is no surprise that teams like Colby, Bates, Bowdoin (this is in response to the long posts above) are struggling to get legit players on their respective teams when you factor in academic standards.

One issue I always noticed NESCAC coaches had was in fact with recruiting. They expected their school's name and power alone to recruit for them, so not as much effort was going into it. Not only that, but there are more restrictions as to what a NESCAC coach can do as far as recruiting (in relation to other D3 schools, D1 excluded). In addition, what people either don't realize or don't accept is a heavy dose of the recruiting is done by the current players on a prospective student's visit. For just one example, I know Mestieri back in his days with Colby would not allow recruits to do overnights during the season. If you are a 17ish year old kid going to Colby one weekend, and the next weekend you go to say, Hobart, where you have a good time at a good school and all the kids laugh at the level of play in the NESCAC, what are you going to choose?

I promise I am getting to my point here. With JB Wells taking over at Bowdoin and potentially upsetting other Bowdoin coaches their with his antics, you know what I say to that? GOOD! Yea the little sayings sound stupid and cheesy but when you are on the team you love that stuff. If you want to win, you can't have the 'NESCAC' state of mind. If you've played in the NESCAC then all you know is the high-school prep schedule of 8 games, no pre-season camp, no spring ball, no on-the-road recruiting, and a mantra of 'our academics are far superior than yours' (which may be deservedly so, but still). Yes, I got Wells played at Trinity, but he also coached at various school around the country in addition to being the head coach at Endicott which he brought up from nothing. What's going to turn your program around? Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. Then getting your own players to buy in, and recruit as well. Admissions upset with you? Get that one damn good player in and maybe he makes the play to win you a championship. Winning solves all. If Williams is high on a new coach that played for Williams, maybe he is the right guy or maybe he is not, but I strongly suggest they don't get blinded from the shine on his Williams' degree hanging on the wall.

[PolarCat]

While I agree with a bunch of your points, there are a couple of areas where real life may not always work out the way you'd like it to.  When a recruit shows up for an overnight, and unbeknownst to the guys on the team, he has been "pre-gaming" with grain alcohol, and gets transported to the hospital with alcohol poisoning (all of which came from his own supply, none of which from the team), you've got a problem.  (Yes, that happened with a kid I know on a NESCAC overnight - luckily not one of mine).

And when a coach has to battle with an Admissions department that has its own agenda (maintaining the school's "highly selective" ranking in US News and other surveys), for every single recruit / tip, you can't really afford to have kids you spent "tips" on leave the school after their freshman year, because they were party animals and couldn't hack it academically.  We all know some NESCAC programs that lost star players that way, and the coach doesn't get that tip back.

So maybe the kid that is swayed by the good time he or she is shown on the visit may not be the kid you want to recruit.  (I am thinking specifically of my daughter, who was given a fake ID of a woman of a different race on a DI overnight, so the team could take her out bar hopping at 3:00 AM).  Almost none of these kids (Steven Hauschka excluded) are going to play after they graduate anyway, so focusing on the recruits that are there for the academic reputation isn't all bad.

Though it sure would be nice to have a 9 game season, and a chance at the post-season, to woo more of them.  And the NESCAC Coaching Gene Pool could certainly use some fresh blood / chromosomes.

[amh63]

D3pc......thanks for sharing your thoughts here on the topic at hand!  Fresh, outsider and knowledgable points of view are welcome, IMO.  Plus K. 
Do find the statement of "high school prep schedule of 8 games", a bit puzzling though...and somewhat revealing of a bias.  The CAC has its self imposed restrictions on its coaches.  I believe that recruits who are interested in the member schools are/ should be aware of limitations of playing in the conference AS well as the advantages.  Many of the student- athletes that come are ones that play
more than a single sport in college..is one reason.  That does not mean that the coaches should not recruit hard.  I do want to thank you for pointing out the valuable recruiting tool that all the coaches have...other players.  I have known and seen recruits be recruited by players...may it be only in a day visit.  It is not uncommon to see a recruit and his parents...usually a father only...at a football game...watching the coaches on the sidelines and the behavior of players on the field and sidelines.
In short...the players that the conference get are ones that know what they want.

[D3pc]

All valid responses. Like I said, I am not a NESCAC guy myself but I do try to keep things unbiased and have enjoyed adding to the threads.

Overnight visits are a handful on their own. I see both sides as to why some are against them and some not. As a parent you don't want your underage kid getting obliterated and ending up with alcohol poisoning or in a situation that's even worse. The overnights are just as stressful for the head coach because they usually cannot sleep, waiting for the phone to ring on his bedside table announcing bad news.

I still hold out hope that the Nescac will allow the conference champion to play on, and I think it will eventually happen. I think the best chance we have of this happening is if the IVY league 'ancient 8' allows their conference winner to play in the playoffs as well. It is a fifty year old rule and each year we see an article saying the postseason ban is outdated. This will be lifted when the powers at the top are no longer with us. Just like the firm believers in baseball's unwritten rules will soon be gone. The Ivy league does however, play non conference games at the beginning of the season, so we can get somewhat of a comparison. I just think it would be so good for division 3 to do so, think of the increased exposure the northeast and division 3 football in general would get. It would bring former players of all ages back to thinking about the old days even more and wishing they had the opportunity. Imagine a scenario where in week one we had...

Hamilton host St Lawrence
Amherst travel to Ithaca
Trinity and Hobart battle it out in Hartford
Middlebury and Norwich in another Vermont hardware game
Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin can play Framingham, Endicott, and Salve

You get my point, these are games that may have you think twice about getting those BC tickets, or watching Alabama play on TV.

[westcoastDad]

You would be surprised how many kids are actually happy the season is over mid November.  From USC, UCLA, California Poly SLO D1 kids to Amherst kids that I know....they all say it's a grind.  My kid plays and loves the game but is looking forward to traveling abroad during the off season.  He knows that wouldn't happen if he had to participate in spring practices.  Knowing that 99% of college football players won't play professional......the attraction should be getting on and off the field as healthy as possible and enjoying the other facets of college life.  Get that NFL education versus attending UTAH state.  Playoffs are overrated especially for D3.  The same teams end up in the final game...Mount Union and Whitewater something.  Those teams don't lose.  I would hate to play football in 20 degree weather.  Nope....the smart kids could care less about playofds. 

[hamgrand]

I agree with WestcoastDad.  I do not think playoffs is a huge factor in the decision process for a lot of D3 players.  Certainly if you are choosing between Rochester and Hobart or similar Liberty League schools, the opportunity for playoffs might enter into your decision.  Having two sons recruited heavily by both Liberty League and NESCAC schools, the playoff issue was a very minor consideration.

Most NESCAC kids are trying to go to IVY or Top end Patriot league schools and just do not have the combination of size, speed and grades to get support and a likely letter.  So they look at the NESCAC as a great alternative to play the sport they love and get a great education.  Many also consider the other great schools in other D3 conferences, but I think they consider many other things besides playoffs.

Now I do think that most NESCAC players would like to start their season earlier and play 9 or 10 games.  I think that would be universally popular to most. 

[NED3Guy]

Question for those most familiar with the culture on NESCAC campuses:

Is there any tension between teams due to the fact that all other NESCAC sports can go to the NCAA tournament?

There's always going to be on campus pissing matches between teams, but is it magnified because football can't go on to post season play?

I have nothing but respect for this conference, but could easily (and hypathetically) see a lacrosse player at tufts or a hockey player at Mid, viewing football as being "just for fun" due to the post season restrictions.... Does that play into the anti football sentiments I've read about?

[JEFFFAN]

Question for those most familiar with the culture on NESCAC campuses:

Is there any tension between teams due to the fact that all other NESCAC sports can go to the NCAA tournament?

There's always going to be on campus pissing matches between teams, but is it magnified because football can't go on to post season play?

I have nothing but respect for this conference, but could easily (and hypathetically) see a lacrosse player at tufts or a hockey player at Mid, viewing football as being "just for fun" due to the post season restrictions.... Does that play into the anti football sentiments I've read about?

Not that I have heard about, NED3Guy.   My two cents is that it will be a 95 degree day in (name any NESCAC town) in January before there are ever NESCAC football teams going to playoffs.   As I have alluded to earlier, football is a "scary" sport as is because of the high resource demand and to push things to a playoff level changes the landscape considerably.   My guess is that the NESCAC presidents would be loathe to push football any further.  I could see a 9th game but that would be it.

Good discussion, all.

[P'bearfan]

Is there any tension between teams due to the fact that all other NESCAC sports can go to the NCAA tournament?

I also haven't heard of any tension over this topic.

[Eagle322]

@NED3Guy from what I've seen, not in the least bit. I would say most people from those teams respect the hard work and dedication that goes into preparing for each season and usually those athletes are the football team's biggest supporters on gameday. Ironically, any anti-football sentiments tend come from the dorks who can't get their head out of their books/own ass in order to realize the difference between a varsity sport and clubs run by kids.

[polbear73]

Amen, Eagle322.  plus k

[NED3Guy]

Thanks for the feedback on that guys.

Always curious about the inner dynamic of nescac athletics. Good to hear your perspective.

[westcoastDad]

Hamgrand is spot on.  The extra game or two would be embraced in a big way.  Currently, NESCAC football gives the coaches no evaluation games prior to.  This puts kids fighting for a starting spot or more playing time at a big disadvantage.  The D1 or D2 programs schedule games that won't necessarily hurt them in conference championships standings that allow the kids to see different schools, regions, etc.  Would be nice to see Amherst play an MIT or John's Hopkins.  Scheduling a game where plane travel might be in play.  But, most importantly, evaluation period.  Since there isn't spring ball ....when do the 2s and 3s have a real live action game to show their merit without the coach worrying about "losing"?  Hope that makes sense.  I just know first hand that is what my son faced.  No playing time as a frosh.  No spring ball.  Comes in as a soph still in same spot as he left last November lol.  Lots of kids in that boat.  Just my 2 cents.

[JEFFFAN]

Some interesting games this week in terms of who to pick ... Midd vs Tufts, Colby vs Bowdoin ... not easy picks.