Who has the best program? Well, both of them. It depends on what you are looking for when you ask this question. So I will break it down and you can comment on what you think or what you disagree with.
1. The athletes - Advantage Lima. Lima has more speed and athleticsm at this age. They have multiple teams with players that can go the distance at any time. You have coaching staff trying to shut down a kid with this kind of ability, and the teams with more of these players usually have the most success. I believe Delphos has a few good ones, but there are about ten of these between the top 2 teams in Lima (the Panthers and Gators), and teams such as the Bulldogs, the Cowboys, the Eagles, the Steelers, the Packers, and the Bruins all have a couple of them. Delphos players may be more disciplined, but they would be surprised at the effort and ability of the Lima kids.
2. The coaching - Advantage Delphos. The discipline that Delphos football has stems from coaching at every level in Delphos, and that is why they have multiple state championship teams over there. The high school program requires certain things from the middle school and the midget programs. You can't help but feel comfortable in a program like that. In Lima, kids play certain positions based on who you might know or who your older brother or father is. Players may not get to try out for a position and have the best kid for that position in that position. The weight limits hurt both programs, but Delphos is able to adapt better because they judge the talent more accurately. in Lima, a kid may play on the line for 4 years and go to middle school and have to start a new position, and then get to high school and start another new position. This is a disadvantage and hurts the confidence of the kids and the efforts of the high school program.
3. Fan Support - Advantage Delphos. This is not as cut and dry as the first two, but in a way it is. In Lima and Delphos, the parents and grandparents pack out the fields where the games take place on Sundays. I believe Lima might have more fans there, but the difference is that the people in Delphos aren't screaming at the kids and cussing them out. They are supporting them. Sure there are a few goofballs everywhere, but so many adults forget that they are adults during a midget football game in Lima that it is crazy. When grandparents come to support their grandbaby and leave before half-time because of the language and actions of some other parents and wannabe coaches, something needs to change. Support is encouraging and being there for them, not betting on them to win and being upset with the kids if they don't. Somebody has to lose, and it might be your team. And you have to deal with that in a way that kids grow from the loss, not feel like they got cheated. And fans aren't fighting at games in Delphos. These children are being confused as to what sport is really supposed to be about. The other thing that gives Delphos the edge is the fact that the coaching staff from top to bottom for the most part is there on Sundays. In Lima, the varsity coach may attend, but the assistant coaches and middle school staff may be somewhere else instead of coming to see what the future players they will coach are doing now (if they are developing a bad habit, you need to stop it early).
4. The League itself - Even. With weight limits, we are hindering the growth of players who are forced to play on the line when they will never be big enough to play that position in high school. So if it's about today, great. But if it's just training ground for the future, both are behind. Delphos adjusts better because players are smaller in D-4 than they are in D-1 on average. So it doesn't hurt them as bad. I would love to see both leagues go to a 100-yard field and raise their weight limits to 150 pounds if not get rid of it altogether.
5. History/Tradition - Even. This is not actually even; it depends on which way you view it. There are former NFL players who came through the Lima Midget Football League, and they are considered great, but what have recent midget graduates accomplished? What I mean is this... if you are looking at the past and the all-time great games that have been played, Lima has the advantage. If you are looking at the tradition that is set by the highest level (varsity) and compare it to how the little kids playing now work for accomplishing greatness at that level, then Delphos would win. In Lima, you can talk to almost any man who would have a great midget league story! And so many of them don't ever play high school football. Why not? Because the midget league has a higher level of importance in Lima. In Delphos, each kid is working to play on the Viking and Wildcat varsity teams. Sure winning at the midget level is important, but not as important as being a part of a possible state championship team. So it is the vision that makes the difference. Many parents of midget league players don't have vision beyond midget league in Lima. And many kids who play on a vasity team in Delphos will never play in college. So it's really all bout what you like best, memories as a 12-year-old, or as a 17-year-old. You tell me!
The bottom line is that the slight edge goes to Delphos, but if they played a Super bowl type game to conclude the season, and they should, Lima would win. And we might have some parents act ugly, and the kids might boast, but Lima has too much talent. Now, for those who take stuff too seriously, please remember that this is my opinion, but it is a pretty good one. If you doubt it, tell me why, and give some facts.
I guess Lima has other drama going on now. They want a team to forfeit their games this season. Why? Because they had some high school, middle school, and elementary kids doing some football drills. it was sort of like a mini-camp. They have mini-camp at every level of football. And Lima is so late with starting that you shouldn't wait until August 8th, today, to start. In Columbus and other places, football has already started (games have been played). Today is the official first day of practice in the Lima area. We are so far behind. Don't kids need to develop in the off-season? Not in Lima, because if you are all from the same team and working with other former players from that team, you are violating a rule (I don't know which one, but it must be there in fine print somewhere). And do you really want to make kids forfeit their games? These are kids remember. The experiences that children have shape their entire lives. That's why people are jumping ship and going to the other league. It's a shame. We need to be raising these babies, not worrying about if 6 or 7 midget league players from one team had an illegal practice because they were working on football drills (not offenses and defenses, just drills). It is getting way too serious in that league and someone needs to make some corrections. Sure we have to teach kids to follow the rules. But first the rules need to make sense and protect the kids, and the rules need to be spelled out so there is no confusion. And they need mini-camps anyway. What's wrong with having mini-camp for a week in June or July and then starting practice August 1st every year and getting games in earlier so they can have one more game instead of only 5 games? They are playing almost 10 games in Columbus. These kids are not learning the complexities of football with 20 games in 4 years. Then they only play about 6 games in middle school. So they get to high school and really don't even know anything with 32 games experience. In Columbus they get that in their first 3 years! We need to wake up and smell the coffee, doughnuts, eggs and bacon! We need to smell something instead of ourselves! This is about the kids. When they have those Save the Children ads on TV, they should feature Lima Midget Football along with kids from Africa and other countries that are in need of help.
__________________
Work hard for what you want, or you really don't want it!
