rabidwildcatfan

ohreally, I agree that it is sad to try to decide when to give up on a child. However with many of the children mentioned, you don't just have a child with no guidance, but you actually have the parent(s) working against anything positive happening for the kids. Also, some of these kids have fine homes, but act contrary to parents guidance. I see kids that are ready to fight and overcome adversity, and those kids should be commended. However, many kids today choose to take the easy way out. Mark my words, many of the athletes that were mentioned will be standing around at the football games (and basketball, too) talking about how good Oak Ridge would be if they played. These same kids won't put forth the effort to play. If you look at a previous post, you can see that I feel some of the blame belongs on the coaching staff. Coach Gaddis did a better job of turning out numbers, but at times sacrificed discipline to do so. It is a hard line to draw, and I'm glad I'm not a high school coach, too. While I hate to single out any of the kids mentioned, if you are familar with the kids and their families, I'm sure you know that most of these kids are not from homes with no influence. Rather, the influence (or lack thereof) has been negative. All this rambling aside, I do believe a change in the program would be a good thing and could significantly increase the numbers for Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge and Central have had several memorable games. Central was the only team to defeat Oak Ridge in both '75 and '76, denying Oak Ridge the chance to repeat as champs in '76. Also, the two games from the '91 season were two of the best ever. These were the two best teams from that year, long-time rivals from the same district. The playoff game was incredible. Although not for the state championship, it might as well have been (Oak Ridge dominated Gallatin 30-0 despite not playing great). The game was one in overtime when Central's extra point attempt was blocked. An interesting note on this: There is a sideline film of the game where Coach Helton debates going for two and the win. He actually tried to get a time out, but was unable to get his players attention before the snap on the extra point. The regular season game is often overlooked, but was equally exciting and full of big plays. By the way, nominating a Farragut vs. Bearden game that has never meant (and will never mean) anything is a joke. This is a football board, not soccer!

To simocleo: You can blame the coaches, but the problems with the majority of those kids starts at home. I do not believe in naming kids directly, but I know of legal and/or social problems with the majority of kids you mentioned. Some of them have been caught selling or using drugs. Others have attitudes that are so detrimental to the team that they are not productive. Various other legal incidents have plagued some of them (theft, assault, etc.). Also, some may not qualify academically. I am all for winning, but I don't believe you can do so at any cost. While there could be more done by the coaches, the person sitting at the head of that child's dinner table bears the brunt of the responsibility for molding that child. To place this duty on anyone else is unfair, especially when almost all of these "head cases" were already off track before they got to the high school.

Unfortunately, I do not think that Oak Ridge will return to the glory days until there are some changes at the top. Other than the negative things that have already been written, consider this: Oak Ridge's top runner last year averaged eight yards a carry and the quarterback completed over sixty percent of his passes. If I gave you those two stats at the start of the year, you would assume Oak Ridge would have had a good year. Obviously, this was not the case. To have a back average eight yards a carry but not get a thousand yards is insane. A look at the success of the middle schools, freshman, and junior varsity squads indicates that there is talent in the system, but it is not equating to wins at the varsity level. I found it hard to believe at the time (and still do) that Gary Rankin was not considered for the Oak Ridge position. Other than Carlton Flatt, there is no coach that comes close to the success Rankin has had with a major program. Also, Rankin has shown the willingness to mold his system around the players (especially the quarterback). Rather than change systems, Oak Ridge seems to believe that the players should be forced into the coaches' system with no regards for individual talent. This could be why Booker is not lining up in the I-formation and getting twenty carries a game. I don't fault the coaches for all the players that are not playing, because most are discipline problems in and/or out of school (theft, cursing coaches and teammates, failing grades, etc.). However, it does seem to be a bigger problem at Oak Ridge. Not to continue to harp on this, but Rankin (and Gaddis to a lesser extent) got a lot out of problem athletes. Look at Locke and Peebles for examples at Riverdale. While I hope for the best for the players, I don't see much being different than last year.

Keke Stewart will be a freshman to watch for Oak Ridge. Although Oak Ridge lost only one player off its entire team, she is already pushing for a starting job. Very tall and athletic.