I have spent about 5 seasons at one of my programs and built a fairly good program. It is not a national level program, but I've put in good effort and feel as though I've yielded something to be proud of. When I joined the conference I was in, there were 4 human coaches. As of now, I'm on my second season as being the only human coach in my conference. I'm contemplating moving to a school where I'd be picking up one of the Sim coached teams in a mostly full conference so I could really stretch my HD chops to their fullest, and I was hoping to get some thoughts on this.

For one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this, but I have planned 2-3 years out with my current team and part of me would like to see if I can bring that plan to fruition. Would cutting bait on that plan and moving to a new spot make me feel as though I didn't give it the full run that the school deserved? I do realize that playing out a few more seasons would lead to further plans being made and might give the move the same feel as it does now. Before people look at my teams and give the ol' HD forum "your team isn't going anywhere anyways, so move the hell on" reply, does this thought process carry as much weight with the other coaches as it does with me?

Also, any other general thoughts on moving on would be appreciated. Thanks coaches.        

well at first i thought this was about Dominican and that you finally decided to maybe come to d2 but i guess that won't be happening lol. but to answer the question i would leave for the sole reason that if u stay to fulfill the years you planned out u will end up setting up more plans. and for me personally i find more full conferences to be more fun than empty conference. but GL with whatever you do

You hit the nail on the head -- you're always going to have that "hmmm ... can I really cut bait after all this planning?" thoughts dancing in your head. No way around that, whether you cut bait now or later. I guess the exception might be if you expect to have an awesome, senior-laden team next season, then it's worth sticking around for. Otherwise, listen to your gut.

I think your instincts are correct -- get into a conference with a bunch of humans, learn from the competition and get better. Being in an all-sim conference doesn't serve much of a purpose for you at this point, and will likely hinder your development.

Pats, I can't cut bait at Dominican until I at least get them into the NT. It's like my first-born child...they may be slow, but i'm going to get them through high school. 

Thanks for the advice Girt and Pats. I do think getting to a fuller conference will be better for my overall development.

lol alright Artie but when that time comes you should consider coming up to d2 with me

Posted by artie40 on 11/24/2012 11:39:00 AM (view original):
Pats, I can't cut bait at Dominican until I at least get them into the NT. It's like my first-born child...they may be slow, but i'm going to get them through high school. 

Thanks for the advice Girt and Pats. I do think getting to a fuller conference will be better for my overall development.

Come on over to the North Coast Athletic Conference!  Six humans right now.  Kenyon and Hiram have balanced classes.  Thiel would give you the quickest chance to turn over your entire roster.  And if you really want a challenge, pick up Earlham or Oberlin.  I'd post links to the teams, but you're already in Rupp so you can check things out pretty easily.

Posted by artie40 on 11/24/2012 11:39:00 AM (view original):
Pats, I can't cut bait at Dominican until I at least get them into the NT. It's like my first-born child...they may be slow, but i'm going to get them through high school. 

Thanks for the advice Girt and Pats. I do think getting to a fuller conference will be better for my overall development.

A conference with more human coaches is not only more interesting (as long as they post in conf chat) but you stand to get more bonus budget money if they're any good.

I empathize completely with your situation -- one of my 3 teams was, until last night, George Fox/Naismith. I've done ok with it, but not great, and had been thinking of just dropping it for the last couple of seasons. But I had some players coming up who I thought would be very good, and who ended up being just that, so I stuck it out.

I left a good JR guard and some interesting prospects, but the fact of the matter was that I've become burned out on HD and just didn't want to go through another recruiting cycle at George Fox. I was all set to drop my D2 team, as well (Abilene Christian/Smith) until the HD gods heard my thoughts and handed me the D2 national championship -- how am I supposed to leave a team fresh off a title?

I had expected to feel a twinge of sadness after some good seasons with Northwest Conference and an A prestige team, but today it's more of a feeling of relief that I don't have to tend to that 3rd program in my daily HD rounds. I'm just hoping a decent human coach can pick it up quickly and outdo my mediocre recruiting efforts. GF has the potential to be a top national program with the right coach.

I am pretty loyal to my teams, so I understand the feeling.  I don't like to leave unfinished business... which usually means at least a few nice NT runs.  That said, I would definitely recommend moving over to a conference that is more populated by humans, for the mere fact that you can earn more recruiting cash.  I would make sure you think carefully about what school to attend.  While I think good coaches can win just about anywhere, good coaches certainly take advantage of location. 

For instance, I think I am fighting an uphill battle at Millsaps sometimes since it is pretty rural area - so I don't have as many recruits nearby.  Whereas the Texas area is loaded with players... on the flip side, they do have to battle more schools within state.  And if you are lucky you can take over a school that has the offense and defense you desire, as well as the class structure you desire (i.e., do you want classes that are evened out?  or super classes?).  With your increased understanding of the game, you will be able to better decide what school to choose and have a much deeper understanding of how long it will take to rebuild or reload.  As I am sure you know, you are more than welcome in the UAA (Rupp).  If you want a bigger challenge, the Great Northeast will probably have an openning as well.