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Trevon James
Dr. Reid
English 101
20, September 2015

Harvest or Professionalism
Football is one of Americas greatest past times. At all ages football is played, and often it
is personified as a key tool in teaching life lessons to young men. As kids grow the nature of the
game becomes more competitive. Then as boys transform to men the nature of the game
becomes a business. In the article High School Football Incorporated, the changing nature of
football at the high school and college levels is brought to the made all too prominent. The article
depicts the recruiting nature of IMG Academy, and it also shows the openness of the schools
athletic officials stating that their football program is more of a business than a extracurricular
activity program for students. In Jere Longmans High School Football Incorporated, the
business aspect of high school football is brought to the fore front in an interesting fashion, and
makes the reader ponder if high school is still a competitive sport meant for the growth and
betterment of young men.
At first glance this article seems to be just another piece about a dominant high school
football team. This particular article does something that a lot of journalists fail to do, and that is
address the elephant in the room. The great thing this article does is actually what it does not do.
Rather than attack IMG Academy for what they are doing Longman states facts in the article and
leaves it to the reader to wonder what is right and what is wrong. Longman starts the article off

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by taking the reader through the score and highlights of what should have been a competitive
football game. One important thing to do when writing an opinionated article is to include facts
that back the argument offered.
Longman catches the readers attention by summarizing what the article is about in one
sentence. On the academys campus, a onetime tomato farm, the latest experiment in prep
football is taking root and could produce, depending on ones view, bountiful harvests of talent
or a blight of professionalism. Coaches and officials around the country are watching with
curiosity and wariness. (Longman 1). Longman right away makes the reader choose a side,
essentially saying choose one; harvest, or professionalism. Whether a person were to chose
harvest or professionalism that person is forced to read the rest of the article in order to justify
their own opinion. In any analysis of an entity that is seeing current success we look to the head
of the ship for confirmation as to how they got there. When the word harvest is put into context it
makes one think of the hard work and dedication behind anything, and the word harvest assures
that what they have, they worked for. If professionalism is taken into context it can be seen as
quite the opposite. The term professionalism in this article suggests that the people in the front
office seek to acquire pure bred athletes and new shiny toys as business entities to help their
corporation grow. Longman gives us a keen inside look at how IMGs officials see the athletic
program. Longman even says in the article that, IMG officials are upfront about their profit
motive. And they have been backed financially by state lawmakers. (Longman 1)
The most important thing in this article is when Longman shows that IMG is aware in
both parties, which means the players are aware of the circumstances, along with the coaches and
the people in the front office. The front office knows this program is for-profit, their end game is

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money. The coaches know that this is a great job opportunity, their end game is a boosted resume
and a chance at winning and prominence. The players know that this is a great opportunity to
become a dominant football player and go to college for free. Longman even says that not all
players love it there, they get kids from 20 some odd states, and anyone would understand that
some get home sick.
The point of the article is to make you choose a side. This article is meant to make you
say, am I okay with this? Longman asked coaches from dominant high school programs for
thoughts on what is going on down there and the response emitted was one that most would
assume. One coach responded with a mannerism of I see no issue, lets play football. The other
coach had quite the opposite stance. This coach refused to play IMG academy.
It is great. It makes a person wonder if it is okay for a school to take 15-18 year old kids
and tell them to move to Florida so suits can make money and kids can play football. The fact of
the matter is Longman makes you think. Here is a team with state of the art college style
facilities, kids from 20 different countries and states, and all of the football talent in the world,
and no one really knows if what is going on is even fair. Longman leaves it up to the readers. Is
football at IMG an extracurricular activity that consists of two teams pitted against each other in
an athletic event, or is it a business with many different assets from across the country? Make the
choice. Choose harvest, or choose professionalism.

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Work Cited
1.) Jere Longman (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/sports/football/high-school-footballinc.html?_r=0)