coachdude

Dufus? Numbnuts? You guys are good. I'm almost speechless. Say, are you guys together? I think you are. And that is a honest opinion!

As opposed to your other opinions? Just wondering. You brought it up.

Conspiracy theorist???? Do you actually think someone would rely on CoachT for scouting? Better yet, do you think a coach would take random posters at their word? Go Buffs!!

Why a state champ of course! What rock you been hiding under?

Very classy gesture, Coach. A very classy gesture. Thanks from a Unaka fan. And best of luck to you and your program. Hope you have a very productive summer and go bring it home to East TN next season! Also, I guess we'd be crazy not to claim a celebrity (J.R. Campbell)!

I have no personal stake here, so I am not going to bash any teams, especially not Volunteer. I am a long-time Unaka fan, but that is not why I am here either. This message is to Stokomo. You are a class act. I have read probably one hundred or more of your posts, and several things are evident. One, you have a firm grasp of the golden rule. Two, you care deeply about the kids (not just the ones from Volunteer). Three, you believe in the virtues of hard-work and discipline. Four, you expect success but understand that it can be relative (you look for positives and don't dwell too long on the negatives). These are excellent qualities. You are an excellent poster and no doubt a great coach. Congrats to all the area teams on their successes.

I understand your point, and it is a very good one. However, (and I will admit my inability to dazzle you with my knowledge of constitutional law now) if I were an employer I would have the right to screen you for drug use at my discretion because your employment with me is voluntary on your part. Now I know that going to school is not voluntary, which is why I do not support testing an entire student body. But participating in sports is. And it could easily be made part of a student's eligibilty for participation that he/she agree to the possibility of testing. Then, they may choose to participate or not. This is not randomly violating one's person without probable cause, because they went in with eyes wide open. You are correct in saying that just because something commonly occurs doesn't mean it is constitutional. However, I don't think testing in this regard could ever be struck down by the courts because of the free will aspect. Playing sports is a privilege not a right. So if a student was willing to meet school policies of attendance, GPA, conduct, etc., then it's no stretch at all to say that they should meet the standard on drug use also. That's the difference in regular students and athletes here. Education is considered a right, while athletics is considered a privilege.

The key word here is unreasonable. Is it unreasonable to expect that young people who represent their school and Community be held to a higher standard that insists that they be drug free. Many would say this is a wonderful idea. There is a huge difference in officials going door to door and doing random drug tests on Joe Blow and the rest of the population. High school athletes are set apart into a representative group, and can be held accountable for their actions. This practice of drug testing them is not illegal, as it goes on every day in different schools around the country. If an athlete thinks that they cannot pass the tests, then they can either refrain from participating or clean their act up. Furthermore, if an athlete and/or his/her parents just don't think they can tolerate the testing on principle, then they should be encouraged to take a stand and not play!

My name is Megan Johnson. I attended a county school all the way up until 6th grade. I chose to attend T.A.Dugger 7th and 8th grade. Even after being in the city school system for two years I freely chose to go back to the county to attend high school. Acadmically the two systems are equal. The student teacher ratio at Unaka is smaller than that of Elizabethton. Yeah, maybe Elizabethton offers more clubs and extraciricular activities, but at least coming to school isn't like attending a social gathering. My personal and academic experience at Unaka has been better than that of Elizabethton. For me personally, this was an all around better fit. Food for thought: Carson Newman, Milligan, and ETSU. Of the three, ETSU is the largest by far, but the academic standards of Carson Newman and Milligan are much higher. These two schools are much smaller school. I'm not posting to bash Elizabethton, but I wanted cyclonehomer to know the facts from somebody that isn't caught up in the sports battle of this thread. [Edited by coachdude on 4-28-03 1:54P] [Edited by coachdude on 4-29-03 1:07P]

I would have to say that I am all for it. If you were a parent, wouldn't you want to know at an early age if your child had drug problems or was heading down that path? You just can't put a price tag on that. If it helps the kids then it should be done.

yes.....chambers will be a senior next season.

Just thought this needed to be brought back to the front page. EastTennSportsWriter,Tdog,Hablo Comments please!

Derek Cline of Unaka.Pt. guard ,came on really strong at the end.

Rusty Chambers ,Derek Cline ,Josh Jones ,Rusty Holstclaw ,Cody Collins ,Thomas Guess ,Chase Reves ,Josh Lowe ,Tyler McCann ,Daniel McInturff ,Tee Blevins ,Paul Watters ,Aaron Greer. I may have left some out, This is the ones that dressed varsity, I know there are at least two if not more that played JV that will move up from a very solid JV team. Very hard working group! Should be very fun to watch!!!

All but one are back.