ptguard

OneManGang you definitely sound like a jealous parent or relative. I may be wrong, but somehow I doubt it. Phillips should lead the team in turnovers; she handles it 95% of the time. You are correct in saying that OR has several good players, but I would like to see some of those other players handle the press and the tough defenses that AAA OR faces night in and night out. It's as simple as this. If you pick a player to pull out of their lineup, they suffer the most when Phillips is not on the floor. She makes those other players better, which is the best attribute a point guard can have. While Frazier is an outstanding player, I believe Phillips is the heart and soul of the team. Just an observation. Thanks for the comments.

How about a poll at this point in the season to see how the votes are stacking up for Ms. Bball? Here are my picks for the 3 finalists in each class. AAA Angela Phillips--Oak Ridge Ashey Johnson--Shelbyville Krystle Horton--Riverdale AA Kendall Cavin--Martin Westview Rebecca Rowsey--Chester Co. Laura Hall--Oliver Springs A Abby Fanning--Moore Co. Holly Wright--Celina Veronica Pike--FRA You may disagree with some of these choices, but don't dis them until you've seen them play, especially the point guards. Their stats may not be the greatest, but without their leadership skills, those teams would be mediocre at best. Comments?

i agree with kayjay. if jackson co. moves to single a, so be it. they are a community where all the players come from there and play there. my main problem with private schools competing against public schools is that most of the privates are in huge areas like nashville, memphis, chattanooga, and jackson. so, the private schools have huge populations from which to draw their student-athletes. AND, when a student comes to enroll in a public high school, that school must take that student, even if it moves them into a larger class b/c of school population. BUT, if a student comes to enroll in a private school, they have the power to say, uh, i don't think so. we are perfectly happy with 350 students so we can still compete in class a and, uh, you don't play any sports, so, sorry, you can't come to school here. i don't think privates recruit. they don't have to. if i live in nashville and i am good at softball, i am gonna go to ezell harding. if i am good at basketball, i am gonna go to ezell or fra. and privates say they don't give scholarships, well, i personally know a student attending a private school who is on work study. you know what his work consists of? he feeds the team mascot. some job! so there are ways around everything. anybody agree?

yes, i remember jill. never saw her play, but she was my college algebra teacher my freshman year at mtsu. she was a grad. assistant then. she played for the georgia lady bulldogs, but her career was shortened due to injuries. she was a great teacher as well as a super nice person.

hey gottahaveheart i agree totally with learning things about life through bball. my college coach used to make us run if we were a second late to a meeting or to the bus. i always thought he went a little bit overboard, but now that i'm a coach, it is much easier to realize you must have consequences and follow through with them or you will never have any discipline. i know now that it was also much harder on him to stand there and watch us run stadium steps than for us to run them. kinda weird how much clearer you see things as you mature, huh? but b/c of all that, now that i am in the "real world," i think about not being late for meetings, or at least calling someone if i am going to be late, just the little things. i appreciate everything my coach did for me and my team that at the time i thought was stupid. one time we were going to pre-game meal and two of our players (one starter) were late for the bus. our coach told the bus driver to leave them at the motel. we couldn't believe he did it. but, those two were never late again! it also set an example for the rest of us that we would not forget. in response to the always backing up your kids, i agree somewhat. but as a teacher who deals with young kids on a daily basis, that is one of the main problems in our society today. we are raising a bunch of kids that face no consequences due to the fact that they are always given second chances in most cases or their parents always back them up. remember the days when you got in trouble at school and then got in twice as much trouble when you got home. those days are long gone. and it makes our jobs as educators and coaches that much more difficult. i have a 2 1/2 year old little girl, and i can already see how hard it is to tell your child no. but so far i have done a fair job of doing it. it is not easy, but i know in the long run that my child will thank me for not giving her everything she wants and making her do things she maybe doesn't want to do. but, as you have stated earlier, you are entitled to your own opinion, and you can raise your kids ever how you see fit. that is what's great about this country we live in. good luck to your team this season as well. i have enjoyed sharing comments with you.

to gottahaveheart, i think you may just be in a negative coach situation or something. you have defended everything on this board you could defend against coaches. your kid's coach must be really terrible for you to defend your kid so devoutly. every coaching situation is NOT like the ones you have described. and not to be disrespectful, but it is the parents like you who know a lot or think they know a lot that cause so many good coaches to get out of coaching. it just sounds like no matter what this coach does, unless it's playing your kid, is gonna satisfy you. maybe b/c you do have knowledge of the game it is tainting your opinion of the coach. think back to when you used to play. was there never a time when your coach did something you thought at the time was stupid, but then as you matured you totally understood why he/she did it? as i have stated earlier, coaches have reasons for everything they do, and most of the time if a kid is good enough to play, she will. 'nuff said. once again, no disrespect...you have made some really good points in this thread!

i agree with ut46 about something--and it's something that most parents don't understand. if i have two players on my team of equal ability, and one is a senior, and one is an underclassman, i will more times than not play the underclassman. it's maybe not fair to the senior, but for the sake of experience for next year, i am probably gonna play the younger kid. i think most coaches would do the same. am i correct in making this statement?

you make a good point about going in with less than a minute to play. from the coach's point of view, the coach is probably doing it to give the kid some practice at checking into the game (believe it or not i have had some kids walk onto the floor without checking in like in practice). in all honesty, the coach probably meant to already have the player in the game, but got wrapped up in something else. from the players' point of view, i understand about them not wanting to go in with less than a minute. in fact, i have looked at players before at that time in the game (usually my team was losing by a big margin instead of winning) and they just looked at me and said please don't put me in now. so i listened to them. and i didn't hold it against them either.

i think the reason playing time should never be discussed between parent and coach is simple. this meeting never stays about why their kid is not getting pt, but why other kids are getting pt. other kids should not be the focal point of this discussion. so, fine. if you wanna have a civil discussion with the coach, i think it is a wonderful idea for coach, player, and parent to all sit down together and discuss that player's role on the team before each season. this is a great time to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the player. as i stated in my earlier post, even though you think your kid deserves more pt--as every parent does--the coach has a legit reason for playing the players he/she is playing. maybe one player can't score a lick, but they are the best defender on the court or something like that. most parents don't--and won't ever--see things from the coach's point of view. but, you are right about one thing--if a team is up by 30, the coach should sub. always. just common courtesy to his/her team and the other team.

coaches have reasons for every little thing they do. whether it's picking a certain kid to always throw the ball in or a certain kid to be first in the "run out" line, etc., or whatever, i promise you there is a reason for it. in girls' bb, we all know it is extremely hard to keep that many women happy all the time, so the coach sometimes pleases players by letting them do the little things that keep them satisfied and happy so they don't bring the whole team down b/c they're not seeing any PT. and, some girls are perfectly happy being first in the run out line and not getting to play much. that's b/c all players play for diff. reasons--true love of the game, socialization, parents made them, just want to be a part of something... i don't know many coaches that deliberately don't play kids if they have ability/talent--unless at some point that kid has demonstrated selfishness, attitude, disrespectfulness, or broken team rules in some fashion. and get real--every high school coach should tell his/her team before the season that this is not little league. everybody does NOT get to play the same amount. yeah, it's not fair, but neither are a lot of things in life. that's the way it has to be in the competitive world we live in. all players on a team have some role or another. even if a kid is not seeing much PT, a lot of times the coach knows that player is very vital to the everyday success of his/her team. that player may be the sparkplug at practice who is always getting everybody else up for practice or that player may be the glue that holds everyone else together. coaches do know their kids better than parents--most of the time--as well. what works for one kid may not work for another kid. coaches figure out, like most teachers do, how to motivate each kid individually b/c we are all different. i agree with the previous post about coaches being able to discuss things with the coach--except playing time. this should never be discussed between coach and parent.

big crowd at clifton for this event. nicklaus and vince were "miked" as they played the course. everyone said vince was a great color guy--and a pretty good golfer too. nicklaus shot -2 on the front, but tired on the back to finish at +1 for a 73. vince shot a 75.

hey everyone. have any of you played the new bear trace course designed by jack nicklaus in clifton? it is called the bear trace at ross creek landing. nicklaus himself will be playing the masterpiece he designed on tuesday, sept. 10. this is the grand opening of the course, although it has been open since last october. vince gill will be his playing partner. it is strictly an invitation-only affair. nicklaus will be hitting two dozen brand new pro v-1's off the range before playing his round. course is in great shape. played there in a scramble over the weekend. if you've played it, what are your thoughts on the course? oh yeah, if you do play it, i hope you bring plenty of balls 'cuz you're gonna need 'em--trust me.

underrated--brent littrell, collinwood, and phil willard, summertown

where did coach thompson go? why did she resign? does she have another coaching job?

i know this is a fastpitch board, but maybe someone reading will have an answer. anyone know of any slow pitch tournaments anywhere? i know several teams wanting to play. please respond.

one of the posts said players should not be considered if they didn't make it past the first round of the region. what if a team made it all the way to the substate and lost to the eventual state champs and didn't have any players make it? i am talking about columbia academy. they had a great season and in particular they have two great players that both should have made all midstate. candis littrell, ss, and hollie sanders, c, should both have made it. anyone agree? littrell is a great leadoff and has a tremendous arm at short, while sanders was rock solid in the third position and no one better dare run on her while she is catching. both of these girls have great size and are definite d-1 players.

thanks. i'm a former player who is now a young coach, and i am seeing why so few people are going into teaching and coaching. many times parents never get their facts straight and get the whole story--only their kid's story. they will back their kid no matter what. maybe i'm old school, but that kind of behavior is one of the main problems in our schools today. kids don't have to face the consequences for their actions b/c their parents will stand behind them no matter what. whatever happened to the days when kids got a whipping at school and then got a lot worse one when they got home? how i long for those days again...

what really gets me about parents is when they start saying stupid things like, "she only gets to play b/c....the coach likes her, her parents paid off the coach, she's sleeping with the coach, etc." i mean, get real. coaches play the people they think give them the best chance to win the game. period. anybody agree? i can't stand it when parents try to cover up that their kid is not very good and make remarks like the ones above as reasons why little susie isn't playing. and when the kids hear the parents say things like that, they start disliking the coach and believing it and pretty soon it spreads like wildfire amongst the team. i totally agree with the post about not caring about the team winning but about MY kid only. some parents go so far as to yell for their own kid during a game but never for anybody else's. maybe AT somebody else's...many times it's not the kids that aren't team players, but the parents. most of the time, however the parents behave and think, that's how the kids will behave and think. maybe something to think about parents!!!