High School Coach Irked by Recruiting of Younger Players

While the football recruiting process continues to evolve and trend toward colleges getting involved with younger players, high school coaches aren't thrilled. Consider the take of one prominent local coach, who asked to remain anonymous because he did not want his comments to affect colleges interest in his players:

"It's just wrong [for colleges to offer scholarships to younger players]. It [messes] up the kid. He thinks he's so cool. I really don't like it.

"It's all about, 'My recruitment, my combines, my camps. Nobody plays football to have fun. It's all part of the process. I have talked to five different coaches and they are incensed about it. It's crazy. It's out of control. It's like AAU soccer or something. Nobody is playing football because it's fun and they want to play and be part of a team. There's a purpose behind it, to get to college. It's a lot different than it used to be.

"It's bad. We're like agents almost. It takes a lot of fun out of it, really."