BarcaFan

Dickson County beats Hendersonville 0(4)-0(3)in shootout after rain delay game over at 11:14pm.

I hope both clubs can recover in time for tough matches against Brentwood and Ravenwood on Saturday.

PJM wins on Region Final predictions...

 

PJM - 5-3 record

TheFactsOnly 4-4 record

BarcaFan 2-6 record

 

And picking the winners of the sectional matches could even be tougher...

Thanks for pointing out my record "Facts"! I think the most surprising game to me was Brentwood over Ravenwood 3-1. My pick for state champ "Brentwood" might still come true.

Dickson County beats Hendersonville 0(4)-0(3)in shootout after rain delay game over at 11:14pm.

I guess I should offer my complete list:

 

USJC

CAK

Boyd

CCS

White House

Giles

Dyersburg

Lexington

I heard White House is a winner but have not heard the score.

CCS tied A/AA Signal Mtn, lost 2-1 to East Hamilton, A/AA, both public and urban this season. Kingsbury has dominated A/AA in Memphis the past couple of years, while Dyersburg has come on strong, dominating its district, both public. CCS lost to Alcoa 3 years ago at state, Knoxville public,faced Kingsbury, Memphis public, in finals last year. Urban-rural issue.

 

Another factor in density discussion. 18 high schools serve Hamilton County, and if surrounding schools in North Georgia and Cleveland are considered, the number increases. Schools like CCS and Notre Dame do not have a monopoly on the player pool.

 

This is fundamentally a development issue. 1)Urban centers maintain quality rec and club level programs. It is the root of East Hamilton's success as well as most of your programs in the DOD, along with CAK and Alcoa at A-AA level. Hume Fogg, MLK, and Page in Nashville region, along with Brentwood Ravenwood, Hendersonville, and other AAA programs. 2) Some schools offset club factor by developing a coherent middle and high school program that develops players. This has been key for the CCS program. Its roster is not populated with lots of club players. This is assumption. Team camps, rigourous off season strength and conditioning, quality preseason open field/conditioning, all play vital roles. These are not the sole perogative of private schools. Akula21 proved this at Alcoa. I imagine one would find high levels of commitment at E. Hamilton, Hume Fogg, and other traditionally strong public programs. Success varies by sport. Rural teams often do well in other sports, likely because the childrens' sports programs in the rural areas serve those sports.

 

Competition has been key for CCS. The same is true for ND. Bearden, Farragut, Maryville, Dalton and SE Whitfield out of N. Georgia, Hume Fogg, White House, CPA, McCallie, Baylor, Cleveland, and so forth.

 

Would a performance plan take into account graduation? CCS has 12 seniors, 8 last year, only a handful of rising seniors and juniors, or would we ask a young team to pay a hefty price at AAA level for previous team's success? Physical safety is issue when a coach has to put multiple freshmen and sophs on the field against the likes of Farragut, Bearden, Brentwood, and Ravenwood. I believe ND is at 9 in terms of seniors. The word rebuilding comes to mind. CCS has HS population of 450. They do not "reload" each year like large AAA schools.

 

Region issue is not a school issue. Urban schools do not mandate region teams. TSSAA designed. Schools like CCS, CAK, ND, East Hamilton, Kingsbury, MLK, and Hume Fogg do not make a plan to "bully" rural programs, but to compete with the best A-AA schools, public or private. In soccer, that generally means Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis, and increasingly the Tri-Cities region with Greenville (public).

I like your argument. I had also considered the graduation of a senior class in considering a move from one classification to another. This is the one area that I think separates using the relegation type program because obviously in the EPL you aren't losing most or your team then having to compete the next year. However, it seems like you could potentially put together a formula that works based on current classifications and takes into account exiting starting senior players. All conjecture right now until someone has the time to put more effort into it than me.

Tonight is the night! Good luck to all!

Univ School Johnson City (12-1) vs Greenville (13-5-1)

Gibbs (6-0-2) vs CAK (16-1-1)

Boyd Buchanan (15-3) vs East Hamilton (15-1)

Notre Dame (10-8-1) vs Chattanooga Christian (15-4-1)

David Lipscomb (7-3-1) vs White House (15-3-5)

Fairview (8-5-1) vs Giles Co.(18-0)

Westview (10-4-1) vs Dyersburg (16-2-3)

Lexington (14-3) vs Kingsbury (3-3-2)

 

I have some traditional favorites (CAK, Boyd, CCS) and one team that has come a long way with a lot of good defense (White House)

I guess I should offer my complete list:

USJC

CAK

Boyd

CCS

White House

Giles

Dyersburg

Lexington

Its not really all urban schools because other urban schools are atleast restricted to a certian area of population for example: If you said that student only came from a 30 mi. radius around Chattanooga Christian and used the population density of that area, there would be a far greater opportunity for quality soccer players than any of the largest urban high schools due to their zoning limitations. Also, the multiplier is a joke because it doesn't factor in population density either. However, this is not my arguement at all, I just was wondering why the really good private schools don't move up to AAA to compete at a higher level. If DeKalb County Soccer was a prerenial state contender, I like to think that I would move up to AAA. You are right, I could have left out "bullies" but what fun would that be?

I see...if you were looking to create some fun then you accomplished the goal...lol

Thanks "JustTheFacts" so I didn't have to re-create the wheel.

Regions 1/2:

Science Hill (14-5-1) at Dobyns-Bennett (17-1-3)

Hardin Valley (11-5-2) at Bearden (14-3-5)

Regions 3/4:

Ooltewah (18-1-0) at Cookeville (15-4-1)

Riverdale (11-2-3) at Columbia (12-5-1)

Regions 5/6:

Hendersonville (14-7-0) at Dickson Co. (15-3-2)

Brentwood (14-1-2) at Ravenwood (15-2-4)

Regions 7/8:

Jackson Northside (16-2-2) at Cordova (13-5-2)

Houston (13-5-3) at Collierville (8-4-4)

My picks: DB, Bearden, Ooltewah, Riverdale, Hendersonville, Ravenwood, Jackson Northside, Houston

Let the games begin! Open to any other views even if it is just because you are proud of your team.

Univ School Johnson City (12-1) vs Greenville (13-5-1)

Gibbs (6-0-2) vs CAK (16-1-1)

Boyd Buchanan (15-3) vs East Hamilton (15-1)

Notre Dame (10-8-1) vs Chattanooga Christian (15-4-1)

David Lipscomb (7-3-1) vs White House (15-3-5)

Fairview (8-5-1) vs Giles Co.(18-0)

Westview (10-4-1) vs Dyersburg (16-2-3)

Lexington (14-3) vs Kingsbury (3-3-2)

I have some traditional favorites (CAK, Boyd, CCS) and one team that has come a long way with a lot of good defense (White House)

At least there is some interest now. I am going to throw out an idea that is not my own, but been presented many times by a good friend. We reclassify every 4 years based on performance. If you are doing great, you move up to tougher competition, if you are down than you move down. It will keep things competitive. Honestly, that would make sure the best, regardless of size or class as public/private, play each other at the end. You could still set levels like minor league baseball. There have been times a AA/A public could crush a AAA champ, AAA crush a AA private.....etc. We could have competitive games around that reward hard work at the Spring Fling. I think it would also help represent our state more in these National Rankings. Maybe review it every 2 years. I think it is a great idea.

I think that would be great. It would be like relagation in the EPL and you could still have multiple championships based on which division you play in. Your regular season standing determins if you move up or down.

You didn't answer my question...

 

Isn't it actually a matter of urban vs. rural? You yourself used that as the example in your argument:

 

 

Why just urban private schools? Why not all urban schools?

"G" I get your take on that and it is legitimate. I think CoachK set himself up for some of the other posts by making it seem like a "Private" issue. So let's take that out of the equation because after all the way I see it these schools may have chosen their classification or been classified from long ago and have chosen to remain where they are for various reasons not the least of which may be they just have not delved into changing their classification. I assume they could however...correct?

If they can then I took CoachK's post as just saying sort of a why wouldn't they want greater competition in their district classification. My response to that would be if I am CCS or CAK or one of the other top A-AA schools and I play the very best competetion regardless of my classification and ultimately have a great shot at winning lots of state championships then why would I change? "G" you should have an opinion on that coming from experience.

One thing CoachK...you may have been able to avoid some of the jabbing if you had left "Bullies" out of the topic.

Enjoy tonight's games gentlemen!

I usually agree with you BarcaFan. However, based on records and schedules, I believe Ooltewah's district was weaker than usual this season. Their only significant quality win has been Science Hill. It will be interesting to see if Ooltewah reaches State. I hope they do.

I do like their chances tonight against Coffee County and even potentially against Cookeville, after that everyone is on even footing again. I am interested to see the Gallatin vs Dickson County result also since Dickson has put together a very good side but Gallatin has been a very hard working pesky team in their own right.

Bring on the results for those that have an opportunity to get them posted tonight! Everybody have fun and be sure to catch a game in your area.

Rural public DeKalb County again faced the Chattanooga Private bullies. Chattanooga Christian played a great game last night, and physically out matched Dekalb. Chattanooga Christian is a soccer powerhouse. My only question is, why do they keep playing A-AA instead of going DII or moving up to AAA. Do they really get satisfaction from beating up on smaller rural public schools?

It is a valid question. I don't have a dog in this hunt other than my son's school plays their share of non-AAA teams each year in trying to go up against strong non district talent. As a AAA squad they usually win about 50% of those games and either way it is usually a 1 goal differential. The point is Chattanooga Christian is good enough to be playing AAA so why have they made the decision to compete in A-AA versus moving to AAA. Obviously CAK is another team that falls into this mix (sorry "G" but I must have missed the 3,999,999th time this topic came up).

I think for those of us who are not as familiar with all the various classifications and how they came about it is a valid question. I am much more familiar with the Division II AA teams like Father Ryan, Christian Brothers, and MUS. Knox Catholic elected to move to AAA from their previous division which I was thinking was DII AA. Why did Knox Catholic make that decision when others have not? I am under the assumption that any school can chose the classification they play in as long as they meet some kind of minimum criteria. Thanks to those of you who have the acumen and time in TSSAA to know these things for any enlightening information.

The following does not take into account injuries (I have no way of knowing), but it appears through matchups that the East and Middle soccer teams have an edge over the west teams this year. The two best teams coming out of the east are Dobyns-Bennett and Bearden. The middle is stacked, but I believe the two best teams right now are Brentwood and Riverdale.

 

Two wild cards teams that I know little about, but can't wait to see how they fair are Dickson Co. and Ooltewah

I am very interested to see about Ooltewah also as they come out of a tough district and if not for an early season 1-0 loss to a strong Franklin team (who is no longer in the tournament) they rolled all their competition. I expect them to be formidable.

I would not overlook Hendersonville either they started a little rocky but in typical Russ Plummer fashion they look like they are starting to put it all together in time for the tournament.

Oakland came out of District 7-AAA, which is traditionally one of the most competitive districts in the state. Their spot is well-earned.

Except for the 5-0 loss to Riverdale in the district championship game, Oakland has been a tough out this year. They lost to Farragut 1-0, and tied a strong Cookeville side as well as tying Riverdale in the regular season. I believe most of their losses during the regular season were by no more than a goal. They are out of a historically tough district but Riverdale looks like they have the juice this year in district 7AAA.

(Coach Phillips here from Independence...)

I appreciate everyone's comments about District 11's changes. They have challenged some of my previous thoughts. After we defeated Brentwood I received at least 5 emails from coaches around the state offering congratulations and each of them included the same question: "Is the paper correct in reporting Brentwood is still advancing to the Region." I realize this has caused confusion and controversy (both of which we District 11AAA coaches didn't foresee) and it is something we will have to discuss at our next meeting.

 

The spirit behind the change is to reward the regular season champ. Obviously we (Indy) got the raw end of the change this year being the first team that "would have advanced" but honestly I am OK with that because we all unanimously agreed upon the change. So I want to offer congratulations to Ravenwood and Brentwood for advancing.

 

I am thankful for the comments about how this affects the State as a whole and the need for equality from District to District. I believe that TSSAA probably should require all District rules to be the same, but they don't currently. (Maybe this situation will prompt them to look into options.)

 

But I think there is another larger question of inequality that overshadows this one... District Alignment... (there are at least 2 "Districts of Death" as many call them, 11AAA being one of them. Centennial, Brentwood, Independence, Ravenwood and Franklin are all power programs (and please believe me when I say that humbly, not boastful) and that maybe this is just the start of a bigger discussion that needs to be addressed or District re-alignment or better yet, a "Wild Card" option that Football and other sports use. I have been and will continue to be a HUGE FAN of introducing a WILD CARD into soccer. It's a shame that some of the best teams aren't represented at the state tournament and some teams that have weaker Districts/Regions are represented and it results in lopsided games at the State Tournament level.

 

I'm writing this stream-of-conscious so please understand these are just thoughts (many of which have been voiced by others prior) and I'd love to hear constructive comments and your thoughts.

 

Thanks, Coach Phillips (Independence)

Coach I appreciate your insight. I hope your boys can take away all they did accomplish this year in knocking off probably the top team in the state (at that point in time). I think after that effort and the effort required to get back up for Ravenwood, play an outstanding game only to lose in OT, they deserved the chance to move on like every other district tourney runner-up in their position.

I also feel that if the regular season champ is crowned as moving on to the regions then they should not play in the district tournament. I say this for a couple of reasons...1) They may ultimately knock off the next best team to move on which defeats the purpose of having your district set-up the way it currently is if you are trying to get the top two teams into state. 2) If I am already in then what am I playing for. I know the rationale to question 2 is that you would be playing for a district tournament title but if you have won the district and you are moving on to state why does the tournament even matter.

As far as re-alignment goes...I think your district is great because of the alignment. Each team knows they have to continue to work hard because they always have to go out and give their very best effort every time they hit the pitch. When it comes to tournament time I think that is a huge advantage. One that could be lost if you did not have to face each other for important district games each season. The same could be said of District 4.

I will have to ponder the wild card question and how that could be set up to work appropriately. I do find it intriguing...perhaps the district champs that lost in the semi's could somehow be matched up for one or two play in games. Interesting concept.

If that's the case, can the District Tournament and send the number one and two teams from the regular season. The TSSAA needs "one" set of rules for the State Tournament. Independence, Antioch/Cane Ridge, Knox Catholic and more are being affected by one district's new set of rules.

 

You are wrong...one bad game - in District Semis, Region Semis, or Sectional SHOULD stop the best team from advancing to State. It has happened many times over the years. In fact, most states have single elimination all the way through the tournament.

I agree. Soccer is one sport where it really is about who is the better team on that day, who has more motivation, who plays a headier game, who wants it more. At the top of the ladder Real Madrid and Barcelona are sitting on the sidelines because Bayern Munich and Chelsea just played better. Both were considered huge upsets except by Bayern and Chelsea.

You are correct. The TSSAA once told me that we could do a coin flip to determine champions. They just need 2 teams going to region.

 

To me, it's not about "freedom", it's about every district doing the same thing. I think it would be better for all to do it, or none.

 

But, I do like that it puts an emphasis on winning the regular season, outside of hosting.

"G", I always value what you have to say but I have to tell you if I am Independence or Knox Catholic I am not a happy camper right now. Independence gets hosed because they just lost to Ravenwood after beating Brentwood and in every other district they would advance. Catholic gets hosed because they lost to Maryville and if they were in district 11 they would still advance. This is a tricky one...all of a sudden my favorite team to win state to begin with has another chance to do so.

D1 - Dobyns-Bennett 2, Science Hill 1

D5 - Ooltewah 4, Cleveland 0

D6 - Cookeville 3, Coffee Co. 0

D8 - Columbia 1, Tullahoma 0

D9 - Hendersonville 5, Gallatin 1

D10 - Dickson Co. 3, Clarksville 0

D11 - Ravenwood 3, Independence 2 (OT)

D13 - Jackson Northside 4, Brighton 0

D14 - Cordova 3, Arlington 1

D16 - White Station 4, Central 0 (from Tuesday)

Tanks for the update!

This from one of the district coaches:

 

We voted last year to change the bi-laws of our District.

1st seed in the REGULAR SEASON (this year Brentwood) gets an automatic bid into the region.

If the 1st seed doesn't make it to the District Finals (which has now happened) they will still advance to Regions, but they will be the #2 seed.

Winner of the District Tournament will be the #1.

That sounds like that should settle the question. Still not sure why they would do that in light of TSSAA and all the other districts. It would be interesting to know the reason for making that decision. The only value I can see in it is that if a team in the same position as Brentwood's this year has a bad game they get a second chance. I bet teams like Farragut and Knox Catholic would like that arrangement right about now.

Not Franklin...Ravenwood knocked them out last night, 2-0. An interesting upset was a strong Nashville Overton losing to Antioch 3-0. This State Tournament will likely be wide open!

Sorry...I did mean Ravenwood and not Franklin. Error due to brain fart as a result of too many headers and too many years on this body.

According to the Tennessean, Brentwood advances to the Regional tournament as the regular season winner: "Fifth-seeded Independence (10-7-1) will play defending champion Ravenwood (13-2-4), a 2-0 winner over Franklin, in the championship at 7 p.m. today. The winner earns a Region 6-AAA berth. Brentwood is already in after winning the regular-season title."

I have never heard of this ruling and I have been near their district for years. The TSSAA tournament brackets have listed district winner and district runner-up advancing. Also the TSSAA Handbook makes no such mention of this type of "special treatment". It seems to me if this was true then Brentwood would have been excluded from even playing in the district tournament. I would love a proper explanation if this indeed comes to pass.

http://www.tssaa.org/Handbook/soccer.pdf

II. DISTRICT AND REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS

A. All tournament play shall be single elimination in Division I and Division II.

B. In Division I, tournament play shall begin at the district level if both districts in the region have three or more

teams. If not, tournament play shall begin at the region level with a tournament for all schools in the region.

C. In Division I district play, the district winner and runner-up teams shall advance to the regional tournament.

Since each district sends two teams to the regional tournament, the Board of Control has approved a set

bracket for tournament play as shown below:

Top Bracket Bottom Bracket

Winner District 1 Winner District 2

Runner-Up District 2 Runner-Up District 1

The paper said otherwise. Are they incorrect?

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120510/SPORTS07/305100037/2072/SPORTS

I have never heard of this ruling and I have been near their district for years. The TSSAA tournament brackets have listed district winner and district runner-up advancing. Also the TSSAA Handbook makes no such mention of this type of "special treatment". It seems to me if this was true then Brentwood would have been excluded from even playing in the district tournament. I would love a proper explanation if this indeed comes to pass.

http://www.tssaa.org/Handbook/soccer.pdf

II. DISTRICT AND REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS

A. All tournament play shall be single elimination in Division I and Division II.

B. In Division I, tournament play shall begin at the district level if both districts in the region have three or more

teams. If not, tournament play shall begin at the region level with a tournament for all schools in the region.

C. In Division I district play, the district winner and runner-up teams shall advance to the regional tournament.

Since each district sends two teams to the regional tournament, the Board of Control has approved a set

bracket for tournament play as shown below:

Top Bracket Bottom Bracket

Winner District 1 Winner District 2

Runner-Up District 2 Runner-Up District 1

There have been some unbelievable turns of events with regard to the state tournament this year. Some of the biggest dogs will not be a part of the event which leaves some interesting scenarios for some teams on the cusp of greatness. I'd just like to hear any thoughts especially about your own districts and how you see the state tourney evolving.

As always Farragut not in the state tournament is a big event which only seems plausible because they had to go through Bearden to get there this year. Turnabout is fairplay...if I remember correctly Bearden lost this game a year ago so congratulations to the Bulldogs for stepping up when it counted.

Maryville over Knox Catholic seemed an even more daunting task but despite some close losses Maryville found a way to play big against perhaps the top team in the state going in.

I have seen Independence play this year and know they are a good side and any undefeated team always seems ripe for the picking once district tournament play begins thus Brentwood for whatever reason will not be the player I personally thought had one of the best chances at winning state this year.

Interestingly enough this clears the way for not only the teams that won these particular games but also teams like Ooltewah, Houston, Franklin, and perhaps even the little known Dickson County.

The question now is...is the best team in state not in AAA this year. I wonder what CAK thinks?

Is District 11 the only district where the regular season champ gets an automatic qualifier to the regional game?

Brentwood will not be advancing from District 11 if that is your question.