Well, here we go, thoughts on Rivals: Businesses tend to start for one of two reasons, first being fill a void. When that void is real, financial success usually follows. So what if HS coaches put more of a priority on development from the beginning, with transparent short and long term goals? If an athlete has an interest in playing after high school, tag them as such and actively help them along the way. Coaches love posting the “thanks for coming” graphics and promoting their programs, but how much are we promoting the actual athletes? As far as rankings, maybe we need to do a better job re-establishing the value of All-State All-Conference All-Area, Honorable Mention, etc. There was a time when those honors really meant something. Rankings also help “skim the fat” for out of town coaches who have limited time and need to quickly identify athletes worth seeing. Lastly, your P5 guys are probably fine. I understand that promoting them makes your program look better, but those schools spend a lot of money and resources on their own recruiting. The athletes investing in 3rdparty recruiting services are usually the ones simply trying to find an opportunity to play at the next level. I’m all for crapping on systems that are full of 💩, but at some point you also have to offer a better solution. “Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining.” Teddy Roosevelt