Let the debate begin: Don’t miss the first Friday Night Drive Coaches Poll

There will be no state final in football this season.

But regardless of that, there’s no doubt that discussion will rage on as to who is the best.

In that spirit, Friday Night Drive wanted to come out with a way to try to inject some more discussion and excitement into the six-game spring season.

At the same time, we as a staff started to discuss what we might be able to do to meet that end. Batavia coach Dennis Piron and his staff must have been having a similar discussion.

Piron suggested the development of a statewide coaches poll to help enhance the focus on the spring season and give opportunities to highlight excellent performances throughout the state.

Before I basically could get the phrase, “Sounds great, Coach” out of my mouth, Piron, heavily assisted by assistant coaches Adam Kolowski and Kyle Plate, began to form an army of coaches from all over the state looking to lend a hand in participation.

In the end, the group assembled 99 coaches across the eight classes to participate in the coaches poll representing the north, south, eastern and western parts of the state.

Initially, we had planned to make this a regular-season poll. But enthusiasm took over and the coaches formulated preseason polls. You can see the fruits of that labor at the bottom of the story.

What role does Friday Night Drive play in all of this? In time, we plan to add a media poll to the equation and at some point add the opportunity for fans to show their support for their teams as well. In the end, we’ll assemble a BCS-style poll combining all of these things to provide a rating system.

In the end, our goal is to promote and enhance this season, we hope to use these metrics to spark discussion and energy around the spring season and give the athletes, particularly the senior class that won’t have a state as an ultimate goal to shoot for, an opportunity to be put in the spotlight as much as possible. We plan to publish this weekly and culminate the process with some sort of “mythical” state tournament bracket and award some sort of a “mythical” title.

The coaches echoed that sentiment in a statement the group released through Piron:

“This 2021 Spring Coaches Poll is being voted on every week by 100 coaches representing all Traditional IHSA classes throughout Illinois. We have tried to represent every conference and region of the state. We believe the input of the coaches, added to the media rankings, should allow players, parents and fans an opportunity to add additional excitement and team recognition throughout our shortened season. Thank you to all the coaches throughout Illinois who have worked so hard to keep connected with players all year long. They have done amazing things to keep young people focused, motivated and believing this could actually happen at all. Additionally we would like to thank these coaches for their input into this weekly team ranking.”

Without further adieu, here is the 2021 Spring Coaches Preseason Poll: