PUMMELKING

I do hope that they do once again start a wrestling team, but they must get it past their AD. I tried to convince him this summer to get a program going but "Brian Hartsell" is a basketball man and just sees it as a cost. Yes it does cost the first year but after that price is not continous once mats and uniforms are purchased.

Yes they had a new coach this year his name is Greg Forman. He was an assistant at Kingsport Dobbyns Bennet the last couple of years and an assistant at South Doyle before that. He wrestled at Greeneville H.S. after coming here form OK. He also wrestled at Carson Newman. He is a super guy who does alot with freestyle also. He is working woith a lot of young wrestlers and will more than likely make that school, wrestlers and parents proud of the work he does. Give him time and his effort will produce.

Who should be the Coach of the Year? Not to take anything away from Bradley, he has done an outstanding job with that program, but I'm curious who has had to do the most work. A successful program is one that has a strong feeder program, not all Coaches are fortunate to have Middle School wrestling teams. So therefore it is not always the best Coach who wins. What Coach made the greatest improvement with their programs this past season. A good motivational and influential role to follow. A Coach who now has wrestlers who believe in themselves are able to win matches. Could the Coach of the year be a Coach who just starts a program??? Open for suggestions

Empro You do not know all that you think you do!! Apparnetly you know nothing about refereeing, each official must take a closed book exam and pass before allowed to do any post season work. And YES all state officials are picked from the State Office!! Regarding the case in point was the 275 wrestler from millington who lost the 3 matches in second over time fashion. Not taking anything away from Bonham but he did not wrestle well in this tournament, did not attack!! The state tourny is not seeded anyway it is set up for medalist to be seperated. No waiting in the middle of the mat is not stalling.!!!

Alot of info was true. But being from Ga. I personally know how wrestling is done there. The open tournamnets do run up until after Christmas. You must wrestle unattached it is not a state or school sanctioned event, therefore you are limited to how many events you can comnpete in. It does not go onto your regular season record. For instance the Parkview Tourny after Thanksgiving each year. Open to all h.s. wrestlers who have a valid usa wrestling card. Contrair to any form of wrestling more coaches must come to realize that Greco will never hender your kids but only make them better. Alot of coaches not all but Alot are timid of greco because they feel their kids will get hurt or have no experience with that style. Against most beliefs Greco wrestlers are the most uninjured wrestlers due to the fact no grasping and twisting of feet and knees. More coaches need to get familiar with that style or encourage their kids to try it and learn from it. Lets all remember whcih style came first where real men wrestled---GRECO!!!!!. Not to mention that we are the only continent that has colliegate--folkstyle. All other countries teach freestyle and greco for their kids which allows for natural reactions for kids to--LOCK HANDS. Here we teach not to lock then later let them adapt to locking in those two styles. Guess it goes to show why the U.S. has not been as dominant in international events as those other countries. Lastly I have can not understan why kids who go to Fargo and are there a whlo week do not wrestle Greco and learn from the experience but to choose and only do Freestyle. We are not fortunate to be able to send kids to the Nationals for each seperate style. Some kids have really enjoyed it and have learned to wrestle Greco very well and could have done much better with more training and preperations. Case in point Craig Johnson who wrestled for Seymour and Nick Breeden also from Seymour both came one match away from Greco--All American honors at the nationals. Both said they did it while they were their why not give it a try and both also said it was fun wich they would have done it sooner.

What is the deal with this state not uniteing in order to become a sound and proficient group. I believe that if this whole state came together on the same page and wrestled we would produce alot more wrestlers for the college and inter-national levels of competition. We are seperated by F.C.I., A.A.U., U.S.A. Wrerstling organizations. Not to mention that TSSAA holds a strong hold on all summer and pre-season tournaments. Take the state of Ga. for example the focus mostly on U.S.A. as the states association to belong to. It is a lil more costly but look what it does for their state as a whole. They make alot of money with several open tournaments in the high school season up until New Years not to mention all the Freestyle events after the regular season. Any kid can wrestle in as many open tournaments as he wants during the season as long as he purchases a U.S.A. Wrestling card and does not wear his schools uniform. Another great feature is that no coaches are allowed in the corners because it is a open event. The kids are representing themselves or clubs not teams!!! We must unite under one foundation in order to excel and get recognized as a proven contender in the sport of wrestling. When ever I travel with wrestling to the Northern States all northern Coaches and Wrestlers give southerners respect until after the match if they dont make excuses about being beaten. I have heard Officials say that the south has no Wrestling. It has gone as far as having a tennessee kid hold a national champion on his back and pinned but never got the call because of the other kids reputation and the Tn. wearing the TN uniform. Let's all become one so we can show that we do excel in wrestling and we can dish out butt whoopins as well as we have taken them!!!!

The ref was picked by the state office so he must have been recognized as an outstanding official. Besides the kid must have not been that good of a wrestler because I recall him loseing 3 matches in the same fashion, being on top and loseing control of the bottom wreslter in the tie breaker. In regards to the wrestlers waiting on their opponent, no that is not passivity or stalling. All officials should only use 3 words when talking to wrestlers: Action, Center and Open. These should never be followed by colors because that could be considered as coaching and refs. are not supposed to do that.

It should go to the way college does it and also tech falls. In college it the first person who scores an offensive point that gets choice. No an escape is not an offensive point because the top guy can just cut the bottom man. It must be takedown near fall or penalty point. Also with the tech fall the man must get near fall in order to get the full points for the tech it makes wrestlers be more sound and well rounded, not just takedown artist.

First off CoachBray: you need to know alot more about the sport and the ones on the mat. You are very much incorrect about the referee on the mat. Wrong Jack it was referee Coover and assistant Faircloth!!!!!!!! They called the match as they saw it. No where in any wrestling rules does it say one man must shoot, sum wrestlers are offensive and others are counter wrestlers. If they are good counter wrestlers why not let the other guy shoot and do all the hard work and beat him at his own move.

the kid got the escape. the referee did not hear the assistant say the grasp was broke and the hands broke the middle of the back, therefore it was an escape before the time did expire.

Was it a bad call, I would not have called it. I was sitting across the mat and saw what happened. It appeared that Creagan did not move on the whistle and Houston got in on him and the next thing he was being lifted and taken to the mat. It was like Creagan did not even try to resist and put his hands down further away from his face for support---more like he was expecting Houston to get cautioned for false start. It has always been evident that all good wrestlers usually put their hands down to support a fall. Not takeing away from Creagan he is a good wrestler but must have not been ready at that point in the match--which we all must wrestle from whistle to whistle. Old Saying-----THE BEST NEVER STOP SHORT!!! Yes I am a referee with 17 years experience and can call a slam also but I dont feel like it was, but we are all given our own choices. Yes his family has right to grumble about him feeling he has been unjustly done the past two years. The behavior afterwards IS totally unacceptable, but I can also see where he is coming from. As a wreslter I have had several decisions made against me and one cost me a state title(which the referee came up to me the next year and admitted he was wrong in his call--alot of good it did a year later but I knew I was right was the main thing). So Scotter must always know in his head and heart that he did not lose that match it was taken away from him by other persons. Which we all make mistakes but we must learn from our errors. Next time dont let the match come down to the final seconds. I have seen his family wrestle for years and watched them all compete with the fire and desire to never accept losing--which I greatly admire. In this day and time the kids need to be upset and mad when they lose, never get in your head that finishing second is good as long as you give your best effort. I like to strive for perfection--never stop until you have reached all your goals. Wrestling is not everything--it is the only thing!! It sets out boundries in life and lets us live life to its fullest. It is not a sport for the weak or timid, when something hurts turn over--who needs all the potentially dangerous holds. Need I say anything else about Mr. Creagan who made a scene all of himself when he added fuel to the fire when he was clapping in Houstons face, but this a whole different route.