Football: What happened to <i>the</i> player of the year?

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In more than 30 years of covering high school sports, I now know the biggest change that has taken place: the doubling, tripling and quadrupling of players of the year on all-league teams.

Have the coaches gotten soft? Are they afraid of coming back to their campuses and facing the parents?

‘It’s Christmas,’ Arleta Coach Jeff Engilman said. ‘Give out the gifts.’

Call me Scrooge, but there was nothing wrong recognizing a single player of the year. Now there’s multiple. In the Marmonte, Serra and Trinity, I saw players of the year for receiver, offensive line, running back, defensive back. And it wasn’t just one. There were co-players of the year at many of the positions.

Yes, in the old days, some coaches used to come to blows at the all-league meetings. So I understand having multiple players of the year makes the meetings much more subdued. But it doesn’t tell us who the real player of the year is.

Just my observation. Merry Christmas.

-- Eric Sondheimer