kevinlhs37

Cumberland College (KY) is one of the best schools in NAIA. Believe me, they are no push-over school.

Which Cumberland will be there. Cumberland University from Tenn. of Cumberland College from KY?

He injured his shoulder a couple of weeks ago in a match. He toughed it out for a while, but it went completely out during a practice session. I've worked with Bates since his freshman year. I know he will be back next year ready to go. He's a tough, hard working young man who is well respected at Lebanon High. Good Luck, Billy, on a speedy recovery.

Hey Gann, It looks like you will have to wait until next year (pending that you are not a senior) to wrestle Bates. From my understanding, he's out until July with a severly torn shoulder. From what I know, he had surgery on it last week. Good luck big guy. Represent Wilson County well.

Three ways to settle this. #1-Re-align all of the regions. Have 16 regions, top two in each region goes to state. #2-Region 5 should have a district tourney to qualify for regionals. #3-Any region with more than, say 15 schools, should be able to qualify 6 wrestlers for each weight class to go to state. The smaller regions only allowed three wrestlers per weight class. Just three suggestions. Anyone else have an idea!!!!

Just to add, there can be NO certifications to a lower weight class after this date for the Region or State Tourney.

Seeing that I've worn all three of the shirts (wrestler, coach, and ref) I must honestly say that officiating is the hardest part of the sport. A ref has no fans. In other words, no matter what is or is not called, somebody is gonna get on you. I ref because I love the sport. When I was unable to coach, I knew that the only way I could be around the sport that I loved was to wear the stripes. For those of you who appreciate our jobs, thank you. For those of you who get their "jollies" by heckling a ref, all I can say is, pay the fee, take the test, and put on the stripes. Spend just one Saturday in those stripes. Then come and talk to me. Yes, refs, miss calls, we excpet that. But as compared to other sports in the TSSAA, I believe we have the best group of officials in the state!!! We love the sport so much that we are willing to take the heckling, name calling and booing, in order to be a part of it.

Ok, a couple of points... First of all, I wrestled for one of the best wrestling coaches in the state of Georgia. My school was in the same region as Ringgold and we wrestled all of the Chattanooga teams. My head coach would tell a girl that if she wanted to wrestle, she had to bring her DAD to practice. Then, my coach would demonstrate techniques and show how the girl would be handled. It only got that far one time in my four years of high school . Needless to say, the girl never came back. I myself have 4 little girls and there is no way I would let them wrestle on a guys team. If it was a girls team , then I would have no problem with it. My second point is about the "volleyball stunt." The reason why it did not work is because volleyball was introduced to coincide with foootball in the fall to satisfy Title IX. The problem that Title IX has with wrestling is that it is classified as a male sport and there is no female equal during the winter season. The only way to solve this is to introduce another sport for girls in the winter.

Women's wrestling is an Olympic Sport. I believe that there are 8 weight classes. I believe that women's wrestling will be good for the sport. It would end the Title IX debate and, there would be a new group of student athletes in the state. And, don't forget, another state tournament means more money for the TSSAA. Finally, girl's wrestling will end the controversy of guys wrestling girls.

Christmas Break is a pain isn't it!!!??

Hey fireplug, read my post again. I said I don't USUALLY call the slam in high school. I do call it, just not as often, because, like i said, you don't see it as much in a high school match where the two wrestlers are experienced. I've been around wrestling for more than 15 years. I've wrestled all over the country and I have coached for 6 years before I started officiating. I know what a slam is. The problem with this call is that it is so subjective. There is no black and white definition of a slam. What I see as a slam may be different from what you see as a slam. Thats the problem with the rule. Truthfully, there is nothing that can be done except let the refs do their jobs. If there was no rule addressing the situation, we would see a lot more serious injuries that now. Bottom line...the coaches need to coach their wrestlers on the rules, and the refs need to enforce those rules..

Did Bates (215) and Watson (112) wrestle at the Franklin Tourney. I was expecting to see both of them place and they are not listed. What happened??

I agree, slams are a dangerous part of the sport. I find myself, as an official, being more strict about the call in the middle school matches. I usually will not call a slam in a high school match, unless the offensieve wrestler uses force and takes his opponent down with the intent of malice and harm. You usually don't see a slam between two good wrestlers who respect the sport and each other. The slams usually come from a beginner wrestler or a match of two wrestlers who hate each other. I believe its the coach's responsibilty to coach his team on the rules and the official's job to enforce them. Remember, the refs are their for the safety of BOTH wrestlers.

One thing that refs, coaches, wrestlers, and fans should understand is that there is a difference between a "hard" takedown or throw and a slam. Just because the crowd goes "Oaaaa"! or the kid thumps when he hits the ground, or the coach jumps up out of his chair, does not constitute a slam. In my opinion, as a second year ref and former coach and wrestler, if the opponent is taken to the mat, and is controlled by the offensive wrestler, and lands in a "safe" manner (not on his head), then there should be no slam called, eventhough, the opponent was taken down with force. Its a very judgemental call that will keep our sport interesting nonetheless. I have discussed this with veteran officials. They have told me that if you think its is illegal or you are second guessing your own instinct, then make the call.

Hey Hamm, Its about time that you guys won your own tournament!!! Just playing man, Congratulations!!!!!

Brent Dalton is playing fullback at Cumberland University and BJ West is coaching football at Lebanon with his "daddy" Bobby Brown!!!

Actually, the line came from "The Replacements" Cool football movie!!

I know that he has communicated with kids outside of Tennessee. One of his GA's is from Pennsylvania and has some recruits from that part of the country. Also, his other GA is a local boy from Lebanon, but I'm not sure how much he has recruited middle Tenn. I have talked with him about it, and he told me that most of the talent from this part of the country is in Chattanooga, North Georgia and Northeast Alabama. Honestly, I don't think they are considering many from middle Tennessee, maybe just a handful. But, like i said before, we have to wait and see what happens with the coaching position. CU may have a small recruiting class this year because of the university's procrastanation on the situation.

I know that he has communicated with kids outside of Tennessee. One of his GA's is from Pennsylvania and has some recruits from that part of the country. Also, his other GA is a local boy from Lebanon, but I'm not sure how much he has recruited middle Tenn. I have talked with him about it, and he told me that most of the talent from this part of the country is in Chattanooga, North Georgia and Northeast Alabama. Honestly, I don't think they are considering many from middle Tennessee, maybe just a handful. But, like i said before, we have to wait and see what happens with the coaching position. CU may have a small recruiting class this year because of the university's procrastanation on the situation.

First of all, I know they are recruiting because I have a couple of guys looking to go there. They are waiting to see what happens with the coaching situation. Right now CU's Head Coach is Danny Bryant. He wrestled fo UT back in 50's when the SEC still had wrestling. He was all-conference there for two years. But now, he may have to give it up if CU wants him to get is PhD. He was the first coach at CU and, along with another faculty memeber and 3 students, began the wrestling team. Their schedule can be found on the school website, www.cumberland.edu.

I dont think they have signed many right now because they will be looking for a new coach. From what I hear, the university has asked Coach Bryant to go back to school and get his Doctorate. So, I don't hink they will do much signing until after they have hired a new coach. Of course the job opening is not official yet, so this could be just hearsay.

I saw one of the kids listed, Justin Otis (165), wrestle in Delaware a month ago at the NWCA open. This kid is stud. He didn't give up a point until his semi-final match, eventhough those were the only points he gave up. He won the state in South Carolina as a junior and won it again as a Senior in Georgia. He won the NWCA Tournewy as well. Results from this tournament can be found at NWCAOnline.com.

I saw one of the kids listed, Justin Otis (165), wrestle in Delaware a month ago at the NWCA open. This kid is stud. He didn't give up a point until his semi-final match, eventhough those were the only points he gave up. He won the state in South Carolina as a junior and won it again as a Senior in Georgia. He won the NWCA Tournewy as well. Results from this tournament can be found at NWCAOnline.com.

I know Coach Johnson pretty well. I have coached with him here at Lebanon for the past two years. He has a wealth of football knowledge and is very demanding of his players. I wish him the best of luck at Stratford. You boys at Stratford better get ready to work. Coach Johnson will push you to be your best. He has a great offensive mind and will be sorely missed at LHS. You guys in Nashville are getting a very good coach. Good Luck, Kevin Adkins Assistant Coach Lebanon High School