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tnmat

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  1. Like so many others have already stated... this is a great post! Moreover, as a John Overton Alum, I would like to shed some light on some of the names already mentioned and perhaps not mentioned. Here are some names to consider/re-consider: Casey Brewster= In addition, to what has already been mentioned, let's not forget he is the current Head Coach of Sacred Heart University (at the time of him being named coach some three years ago, he was the youngest head coach in the entire NCAA). Timothy Drinkwine= 4X state medalist and State Champ (4, 3, 4, 1). Medalist (4th) at US Open in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Wrestled at UT Chattanooga. Derrick Jordan= 3X medalist (4, 2, 1). All-American, finalist at Tournament of Champions in Reno, NV. Eric Jordan= 3X medalist, 2X State Champ (4, 1, 1). All-American, finalist at Tournament of Champions in Reno, NV. Will Hadden= 2X medalist (2, 1). All-American, finalist at Tournament of Champions in Reno, NV. Chuck Bean= State Champ, wrestled at UT Chattanooga. Has mentored/coached hundreds of Middle TN Wrestlers for the past 15 years who have grown into solid wrestlers: Drinkwine boys, Casey Brewster, Cameron Croy, and many more. He founded and still leads the Copperhead Wrestling Club out of Middle TN. He also just led Grassland Middle School to a Williamson County Tournament this past season in just his second year as a coach. Hope this helps...
  2. I have just been informed that Christ Presbyterian Academy's wrestling program may be dropped. One person said that it is because they are having difficulty finding qualified coaches and numbers are down every year. Does anyone have any information about this? Is there anything we can do to keep this from happening?
  3. Dakeko, When I entered Overton as a freshman, we wrestled a team during the season and at State Duals whose coaches would not shake our hands. There were other actions that these coaches would perform which were less than sportsmanlike, but the concern came about that their actions might provoke some of our wrestlers. Unfortunately, Coach Gabriel was forced to make a decision, and the wisest he could think of at the time was to forego shaking hands in order to avoid any controversy. I understand that not shaking hands can sometimes come off as poor sportsmanship, but the lack of sportsmanship by others forced Coach Gabriel to make a choice, however difficult it might have been at the time. To everyone else, Thank you for all of your words of encouragement. I am glad that we have had an opportunity to recognize Coach Gabriel, along with so many other coaches and programs that face such great adversity. As I look through all of your responses and remarks, I notice that the original post which sparked this fire has dwindled, leaving only the positive, uplifting, encouraging posts that you have submitted. We have successfully turned an example of malevolent invidiousness into an opportunity to share our admiration to the great people who have served this sport so diligently. I am privileged to have been a part of the most inspiring and beneficial sport in existence: wrestling. Thank you, Brian
  4. There is no question I am a blessed and fortunate man. I am one who has had his path crossed by many different people; people who contributed to a beautiful tapestry. My life is reflected in this tapestry which is one thread after another: family, friends, colleagues, the wrestling community, Christian fellowship, students, and student-athletes just to name a few. Each thread is woven together to form a masterpiece that resembles beauty and grace. With this in mind, I have been reminded of God’s sufficient grace the past two months since my father’s passing. As time passes on and this world continues to go about its business, I wanted to stop and reflect on the recent weeks. Put plainly, I did not want another day to go by without letting you know how thankful I am for everyone’s part in my life. During this time of bereavement and grieving, my family and I have been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with thankfulness, gratitude, and a deep appreciation for those we are blessed to call family and friends. Your support is immeasurable and I am eternally grateful. I am truly blessed and fortunate to be able to call you a friend. Many thanks for your loving and prayerful support. -Timothy Drinkwine (p.s.- I am using my brother's (Brian) account as I do not have an account with coacht)
  5. I saw your statement regarding Overton's coach Ralph Gabriel. You struck a chord with me, so I'd like to respond. While it may not be what you expected, I hope it helps put things into perspective for you. I wrestled at Overton starting in the fall of '96 and graduated in 2000. During that period of time, I credit my time in the Overton wrestling program as the single greatest influence on my life outside that of my faith in Christ. Ralph Gabriel coached me during the majority of the duration of that time, and his impact on the lives of the varied students who have gone through the program cannot be measured. As any great coach does, he instilled in his wrestlers a sense of hard work ethic, goal setting, and sportsmanship. Because of his strong personality, he is often misunderstood as being careless or perhaps even rude. The truth is, however, that he is a passionate coach whose love for wrestling acts as merely a tool to share his love for his wrestlers. Let's face it. Overton is not the same school that I entered. When I entered Overton as a freshman, the student population was a middle-class, middle-income population of hard working students and athletes whose parents were passionately involved in the affairs of the various athletic programs and other extra-curricular activities. We had just won a State Title and would go on to be undefeated and win both the Duals and Individuals. By the time I graduated, it had become a school where its students were of lower-middle income (and often lower), representing over 35 ethnicities, mostly broken homes, and many of my friends going home to violent or drug-infested houses. I cannot express how deeply my heart goes out to these students. The challenges that are faced at that school have shifted dramatically. I am not ignorant of Gabriel's remarks toward the State Duals. Whether you agree with his statements or not, consider this: he coaches students who may not have any opportunity at college or life success without wrestling. This literally may be the "ticket out" for some of them. His desire toward the Individual Tournament has less to do with preference than his hope for his wrestlers. As much as he may want to win team matches, his desire to see his wrestlers win individually goes much further. Who cares if you win a State Duals Championship if your wrestlers have no opportunity to provide for their families ten years from now? The only priority can be to equip them with the tools necessary to go to college, get a job, and perhaps gain some wisdom along the way. Coach Gabriel has never changed his intent to inspire his wrestlers and students toward success, in spite of their personal difficulties. As I have observed wrestling programs across the state of Tennessee, I have found that successful programs in the inner-city are virtually nonexistent. In addition, the tragedy is that the main causes of their failures have little to do with these students' homelives. From my observations, I have found that middle/upper-middle class programs have greater parent support, community support, and financial support from their surrounding communities. This is not because parents in lower-income areas do not care, but rather that they are unable. When I stare face-to-face with a mother who is working two full-time jobs to support her three kids because her husband abandoned them, I have a difficult time telling her she does not care, or that she is lazy. Nevertheless, this is the stereotype that has become of lower-income parents. When I see a wrestler like Rijar Emin at Overton place at State this year at 145, then return home where he has to work at Target in order to contribute to his family who has moved to the U.S. for the "American Dream," I am inclined to think that whatever successes Overton's wrestling team does not reach are not due to these wrestlers nearly as much as they are to us, who stand watching idly in behind our $1500 computers with Cable Internet debating whether the next Soddy-Baylor match is gonna be a blowout or not. How bad must life get before we begin to see how ridiculous our little arguments are? When I see a wrestler like Talan Noman lose a hard fought match against an excellent wrestler from Greenback, then walk of the mat and shrug his shoulders as if it doesn't matter; or lose his state finals match last year and giggle afterwards, I do not think it is because he does not care. This is a wrestler who, whether he realizes it or not, has a perspective of wrestling that few of us possess. He knows that he could still be in Iraq right now, perhaps fearing for his life. By God's grace, he has the opportunity to compete for a wrestling State Championship, then perhaps next year even go to college. I have seen too many wrestlers fighting real drama (not the made up kind we like to think we have) to sit by and let you make a comment like that without responding. For me, "wrestling [was] life," as the saying goes. But for these teenagers, it is a privilege that is granted them in the face of great adversity. If we, as a wrestling community, hope to see wrestling grow as a sport in Tennessee, then I would hope that we would model our approach to that of Coach Gabriel. He has entered into a world that is much more difficult than that of many other areas. Take a look at the top ten teams in Division I and tell me if you find any programs that come from anything less than middle-income, middle-class. You cannot. This is because we have cared far too deeply for our "nice" little areas to care for people who are less fortunate than ourselves. The truth is that most of the wrestling community could care less about people growing up in these surroundings. We can make excuses and dress it up however we want, but if we are honest, we will admit the validity of such a statement. I say all of these things referring to us as "we" because I am involved as well. There is much more that I could be doing to help. I got a chance the other day to talk with a coach in Metro Nashville about coaching his feeder program. I look forward to this. It is not much, but it is a chance to help out. Maybe I'll get to see a kid one day graduate college and say it was because of what he learned in wrestling. I'm sure there is more I could do, but for now it's something. I know that I cannot be the only one that regrets not having done something already. I hope that there are people who read this and are inspired to help some of these wrestlers. If you are willing to begin truly "giving back" to this sport, do it in a way that benefits someone who would not have a chance of success without you. Thanks, Brian Drinkwine Class of 2000 Overton High School, Nashville
  6. tnmat

    285 Bracket

    Yeah, I sent them a message when I saw it and they changed it to Franklin County. Thanks everyone.
  7. Oh yeah. He was injured at that tournament and forfeited out.
  8. If I am not mistaken, Jason McCroskey is in a completely different weight class, which makes that match irrelevant to the 145 weight. In addition, if Emin was beaten badly (which I don't know about... I never saw it), it may be taken into consideration that McCroskey is an excellent wrestler. For example, we could say the same about Felix, because Felix majored Emin, but who says Felix won't do that to every opponent in the state (then again, I've seen the best lose to lesser wrestlers dozens of times). I'm not really judging Emin based on another weight class, but against his opponents that are in his bracket, since that's really all that matters. Then again, I used to wrestle there, so I like to wear my little biases out on my sleeve for everyone to see. lol. I appreciate your input though. It is valuable insight. PS: I don't help with Overton. Just an alumnus, following his old school.
  9. As an FYI for further predictions, I believe Rijar Emin beat Ward of Ravenwood in their Region tournament. In addition, he has beaten some others among these names. If I am not mistaken, out of his 35 matches, he has only lost a few tight ones, minus his match against Felix. His draw is pretty good. I think he will compete high, if not place. Then again, this is State Tournament, right... I've seen weights with 4 region 4th placers in the semis in the past (another reason I think the current setup stinks, but that's another topic altogether).
  10. tnmat

    285 Bracket

    Ah ha! I knew there was something wrong there. Thanks
  11. Being an Overton follower, I was perusing the 285 bracket and noticed that their heavyweight is set in the same bracket 4-man-group with the Franklin wrestler. This isn't right, is it? They are in the same region. If two wrestlers are in the same region, they have to be in separate quadrants of the brackets, right? Does anyone know about this?
  12. Coach Logsdon, Thank you for being a great coach and example to our wrestling community here in TN. Good luck this season. -Brian Drinkwine
  13. On December 5th, Overton wrestled Page and Oakland, but Ravenwood was not there. That same day, Ravenwood wrestled Cheatham County, Dickson, and Hendersonville. Ravenwood wrestled Oakland on the 7th.
  14. I do not know details, but I do know that there were attempts to schedule a match.
  15. Has anyone discussed having Belmont University host the State Duals? The Curb Event Center is a facility that is not too small or too large (seats about 4000), is brand new and state-of-the-art, and well located (across from Music Row, Broadway, and several hotels; and right off the interstate). Belmont is right in the heart of Nashville, which provides the closest distance for the maximum number of people. I could ask the director about it if it were a serious consideration. They are always looking for ways to show off the campus. As for moving the Duals to Chattanooga, I am highly opposed. In spite of being a former resident of Chattanooga and loving the area, I have to say that middle Tennessee is the best location. First, because of the driving distance. We have to remember that the State Duals is NOT for the spectators - it is for the participants. West Tennessee teams already drive 7-8 hours for the Individual Tournament. To force them to do this twice is insensitive and cruel. Clarksville is already a drive for the Nashville spectators (as much as an hour depending on where you live), not to mention Cookeville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and upper East Tennessee. Also, we are mistaken if we think that moving this to Chattanooga is good for Tennessee wrestling. A move to Chattanooga would certainly be beneficial for the Chattanooga area of wrestling, but not for the state as a whole. Indeed, this would be counterproductive for the sport in Tennessee. In order to further promote this sport and increase the competitive level, we must focus on moving the sport to areas where it is not as much of a focal point, as well as a place in which it can be marketed to the maximum number of people. Moving this to Nashville would do this. Nashville is the state's largest populus, it is central, and it has plenty of "peripheral" things to do while between sessions (Broadway, tourist attractions, etc.).
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