wrestling fan

Bolton High, Bartlett High, Arlington Middle, Elmore Park Middle...... coaches at these schools make $5 and $6 per practice, per girl. This I know for a fact, because I've paid them. My coaching fees were quite often $100 per month. At Bolton one year Jimmy Lassiter coached Varsity and JV (35 girls combined) and quite often practiced at the same time. He made aprox $3500.00 a month. Keep in mind, the coaches are not school affiliated, they are hired by the sponsors. With that kind of money, we could hire a top notch coach who also teaches!!!!! If you get an opportunity to ever have rules, the coaching fees should definately be part of the discussion. We paid cash, and most of us wondered if the sponsors got a cut. Not that we would mind them being compensated for their time, but just to be upfront, when it cost over $3000.00 a year to cheer for a public school, someone needs to regulate it. Cheer coaches making over 20,000.00 a year for 12 to 15 hours a week is astounding. I'm not saying they are not worth it in the free market and award winning coaches can demand higher fees, I am saying that as parents we can fund a teaching position in the school for that.

There are alot of issues that TSSAA could resolve and/ or the local school boards but they don't. Schools that have competitive squads (which is determined by the sponsor at schools I've been affiliated with) sometimes make it so expensive and time consuming that many girls who are willing, spirited and have tumbling skills simply choose to not do it anymore. Practice 11 months out of the year, coaches making $5 or $6 dollars per girl, per practice, practicing 5 and 6 days a week. I personally know of 2 schools that due to this, they now cannot get 1 squad of 15 girls, much less a freshman, jv and varsity squad and these schools have the talent and over 1500 students each. So.... now the football players have no one cheering for them and it's not an option because the sponsor makes the decisions. Also the issue of try-outs; there are no rules addressing scoring, fairness or any other matter. If the sponsor doesn't like you, you're out, regardless of whether you scored higher on the required skills. Cheerleading IS a sport AND it should be about school spirit first and competitions second. You can do both, if one has to give, it should be the competitions..... or you should cheer for an all-star team.

What is considered reasonable verification of eligibility? If a parent forged documents, how is one to know? How can you verify mortgage company addresses? Due to privacy laws, phone verification would be futile. As a Bartlett alumni and a parent of Bolton students, I have alot of interest in the outcome of the TSSAA decision. I personally think that since Bolton did the right thing, they should be given grace. If Bolton had kept it secret, it would different. Each team knew where they stood playoff wise prior to the ruling, most competitive teams do not want to gain from other's misfortune, they want to earn it. I think Bolton earned it. That being said, I will respect the decision rendered.

As the parent of several cheerleaders, I can say that not many know about this board. So..... tell me, how is your school's cheerleading program handled? Is it competitive or just for school spirit and your opinion on this. I have seen good programs fall due to the extreme competitive nature of the sponsors and coaches; girls that have cheered 7 or more years quit due to the extreme time requirement. practices at 8:00 a.m. every Saturday morning after a football game the night before, in addition to the 5 school day practices. Year round, not just during football or prior to a competition. Now schools with over 2000 students don't even have 1 complete cheerleading squad, much less a JV or Freshman squad to cheer for those football teams. That is sad.... I personally believe it's about school spirit 1st and competition 2nd and most of the girls I know feel the same. How much do you pay your coaches. We pay at least $5.00 per girl, per practice. Add that up and you wonder what the motivation is.... hmm. est... ( 20 girls x $5.00 = $100.00 x 6 days = $600.00) per week for 12 hours. That's $50.00 an hour! Okay, I've said enough for now.....I'll be interested to see the responses.

My girls would disagree! They love wrestling for lots of reasons and I love it because it exposes them to young men with character, drive, discipline and determination, all of which are necessary in life to succeed at whatever they do. I'm sure that's not the "way" to market it but if it increased the fan base, then maybe more schools would support it.

you disagree about 160? Brandon Wright? Also 189? Hanson has already beat Rogers twice this year. My money would also be on Matt Craig @ 135 as well as Bolton's Zack Herndon @ 112. Or maybe you think someone will wrestle in a different weight class? I'm looking forward to some great matches!

Coach Delgado, Thanks for the answer. I do understand that it should be about what is best for the wrestlers. Apparently it is a communication delay from individual coaches... I check websites regularly but as my name suggests, I do not have a wrestler on any team... I am just an avid fan. Love the sport, and I will be there.

I just found out that the individual tournament dates have been changed from Friday and Saturday to Thursday and Friday with a start time of 3 pm. I wonder what the reason is... this makes it difficult for parents and fans who want to be there but may not be able to take off work 2 days in addition to the parents of the wrestlers who do go to the state competition having to take off during the week for that as well. Does anyone know the reasons for this?

Where are the rankings for Region 10, team and individual?

thanks for that, but I'm still confused. Bryant took the ACT and showed up afterwards, and he wrestled, and he beat his opponent. I watched the match, so I'm wondering why he isn't listed in the above results?

I noticed Millington and White Station had a combined team. Justin Bryant from White Station beat his Houston opponent. I think it was the 135 class. I've never seen a combined team dual before. How does that work?

Please tell me how the team scores can be decimals. For example 97.5?

Now that is offensive. First off calling someone by name just because you know them and most importantly that sexist comment about letting the men worry about the wrestling. An involved parent is an asset to their kid and single moms can't just back out because they have sons. And most important...... just what were you doing to help the coaching staff at Bartlett this year? Huh? Answer that one! Have you made any contribution of your time to help the team... or is it all about you?