westtennsports

Another relatively new site for West Tennessee fans is www.wtso.com Like I said, it is new, so show it some support and maybe it will give West TN what Coach T does for Middle!!

In trying to sidestep the mud-slinging, I would like to add that Tigrett Middle School in Jackson has a woman, Janice Epperson, for their boys' head coach. How has she done? In her second season, they won the west Tennessee title, which includes all of the middle schools in Memphis. She was formerly the head girls coach at Humboldt High School and does a great job at Tigrett. Overall, I think it would be tough for a women to coach a boys team, but obviously there are exceptions to every rule.

Just out of curiosity, did they hire Paul for this year or for the long run? I have no knowledge as to whether or not Paul is a teacher (or certified)? Thanks and good luck to the Chargers under a new coach.

Another team to look out for is the boys' team from Humboldt. They start two freshmen, a sophomore, one junior and one senior, but they are about 8-10 deep some nights and extremely athletic. They won't fundamental you to death, but will run and jump until the final buzzer.

Without knowing all scores, the tournament finished as follows: 1st night: Humboldt girls def. Halls girls Humboldt boys def. Halls boys 86-81 (OT) Crockett Co. Girls def. Lake Co. girls Crockett Co. boys def. Lake Co. boys 2nd night: Humboldt girls def. Lake Co. girls Humboldt boys def. Lake Co. boys 73-44 Crockett Co. girls def. Halls girls Halls boys def. Crockett Co. boys

It's funny, I didn't know that either Westview's principal or Weakley Co.'s superintendant had a log-in name on CoachT.com, nor that it was something very administration-esque, like "beave". THE word is that nobody has even interviewed for the head job at Westview, that Coach Ward will not be coaching baseball this year, and that they are looking for someone either already on teaching staff or a volunteer from outside to coach the team for the spring. Searches for a new permanent head coach will begin later in the spring, probably around March or April. I am wondering did the "beave" personally offer the job to Coach Slack? Also, quality assistants are often looked to for head jobs in this area. It is rare to find someone who was born a head coach, you have to pay your dues. If you don't think so, ask Germantown who hired a former assistant after Phil Clark left this past year. Merry Christmas to all sound-thinking baseball fans out there. (Is it March yet?!)

Just to add some other thoughts, there are several high quality assistant coaches in the area that may show interest. Terry Odle at North Side, Todd Holden at Milan, Greg Scott at Humboldt, or even Brad Davis at Lexington. All four are great baseball guys, but who knows who is interested?

Is Paul a certified teacher or just want to be a coach? That may factor into the decision. Also, I have heard that Coach Ward plans to coach this baseball season at Westview before he leaves, which gives the school a longer period of time to find a replacement. Any thoughts?

Willie Kemp from Bolivar has the edge as far as individual talent. Get out to see this kid if you have the chance. However, Humboldt has a couple of kids in Kelsey Rose and Toylon Smith who were on the Jackson AAU 14 and under national championship team this summer. Rose had 9 points against North Side on Monday and Smith hung 18 on Gibson Co. the next night, and they're just now starting to work their way in the lineup.

Actually, Humboldt ran a 2-1-2 defense for most of the night. Secondly, Humboldt was in the lead for most of the first half and were never blown away. I expected North Side to run away with the game considering their size and the fact that Humboldt only has two players that played more than 5 minutes per game from last season, and play two freshmen and three sophomores in the regular rotation. North Side won, but the effort needs to pick up if they plan on considering themselves among the elite.