coacherdude

I have seen most every football field in ET. Hands down, by far, the best is at Happy Valley. The stands are lousy but the field is as good or better than most colleges. I cannot imagine a school the size of Happy Valley having such a showpiece, but it is a dandy.

Help out a pal from District 1, would you? We are going to be traveling down there next week and we would like to know what the schedule looks like. District 1 Seed 1 plays District 2 Seed 4 @ _________ on ___________. District 1 Seed 2 plays District 2 Seed 3 @ _________ on ___________. District 2 Seed 2 plays District 1 Seed 3 @ _________ on ___________. District 2 Seed 1 plays District 1 Seed 4 @ _________ on ___________. Could you also do this for the girls? We kind of like them too! Thanks P.S. Have some good stuff in the concession stand. It's a long trip.

Try to get a scholarship playing at a P&R or church league. That is not where the high level competition exists. They are for exercise, fellowship, and fun. High school is different. It is to be fun but there is the high priority of winning games. Profanity does not create success. Good coaching of good athletes will. There is NO need for a coach to curse at a student athlete. If I do that in the classroom, I get fired. If the field of competition is an extesion of the classroom, then should this coach not at the very least be reprimanded? He most likely deserves directions to the unemployment line. P.S. What ever happened to encouragement as a means of motivation for success?

RVD, Do your records show that the Cyclones have gone toe-to-toe twice with the number 10 team in the state? Do your records show that the Cyclones went toe-to-toe twice against the number 4 team in the state? Do your records show an overtime loss to Happy Valley, one of the most talent laden teams in the area? Did you see the SG game? Derrick played his heart out with a bum ankle. Austin gave his best performance of the season, as did Andrew. Brian threw up a prayer and it was answered. I could go on and on about the good things that happened Friday but I don't think you will listen. This team is making strides. What they need from you is encouragement, not the rantings of a fan who only sees the bad. Unless you are a coach or a player, you do not get to make game decisions. All you need to do is cheer their effort or save your four bucks and stay home. P.S. If you are a student, you could have made a difference as a player. Yet you chose to take the easy road and put a dent in your recliner. If that is the case - be quiet.

As all of the turmoil was taking place last summer, each of the factions had their own agenda. This one wanted that one fired. This one wanted that one replaced and/or transferred. All of it was a political power struggle with no educational benefit whatsoever. At no point was the best interest of the student athletes accounted for. These Cyclones on the floor are the victims of that self-centered nearsightedness. Tony Hardin was also a victim. Coach Hardin is an outstanding individual. He served his players as more than a coach. He was a mentor and a friend. He picked them up when they were down and always had something positive to say about ALL of his players, even when that something good was hiding itself. He understood the importance of a lifelong commitment to Elizabethton and Carter County. He realized that the things that he did as a coach to make the kids better as players on his floor would translate into making them better men in the community. I will remember so many things that he said and did for his players, one in particular. I also know that Tony has instilled in his own children some of his ideas about character and respect. I hope that one of them in particular realizes that not too far in the future, Elizabethton will be looking for a young, energetic coach to come and lead the Cyclone basketball program. I also hope that the younger Coach Hardin can find forgiveness for those who offended his dad. There are young men coming up through the ranks who need him, and others like him, to help bring back the pride.

A kid should NEVER play both freshman ball and JV. The two teams play on different nights. When you throw in two freshman games per week, two JV games per week, practice the rest of the week, and adjusting to high school academics, that is too much for a fourteen or fifteen year old student athlete. If he is talented, let him play JV, and/or varsity(same night) but keep him away from the freshman team.

Hey coachh, There is a reason the freshmen are being successful. Talent will take you so far but if the players are not taught, they will not continue to win. Dugger teaches team basketball. I truly believe Coach Len Dugger is one of the best coaches in Tennessee. He is a huge asset to the overall program. He preaches and teaches defense, rebounds, and discipline. The varsity could use his experience in practice and on the bench. I hope Wilson asks him to help out a little more with the big boys.

Coachh17, I agree that the boys are not very exciting to watch right now. A lot of this can be traced back to the summer when the boys had no coach, no practice, no team camps. Wilson still has a very limited offensive scheme and most of that offense is focused toward the guards. With the posts coming out to set the high screen, the opportunities for rebounds and put-backs by the posts have been cut significantly. Therefore, there have been few points spread out among the baseline players. In the best two outings of the year, Sullivan East and Crockett, the ball was distributed well and Nave still had a bunch of open looks. Without a better distribution, the main offensive threat has been covered completely by the opposing defenses and he has had to work hard to score. I don't know if these limitations are because of the summer of politics or if Coach Wilson is still figuring out what kind of team he has. Maybe when the heart of the conference games get going, the team will start to play like a team. There is too much talent on this team for them to continue to struggle to score. The bottom line has to be that team has to do a better job spreading the ball around the court. When that happens, I truly believe that we will be very successful.

East will win a bunch of games. They can play. I saw them at the Hardee's Classic and they are capable of scoring a lot of points. They are small inside and that will hurt. If they play smart, hit the open shots, and get after it on defense, they will give teams a run for their money. They are a scrappy group. Happy Valley had better bring the A game or it could be a win for East.

The top bracket has UH playing Cherokee and Hampton playing Unicoi County. UC should come out on top in that bracket, but watch out for Hampton. The bottom bracket has Crockett vs. Happy Valley and Sullivan East vs. Elizabethton. It should be HV vs. Betsy for the top spot in that bracket. That should be a good game when they tip it off for real. My guess is that Erwin will win it all over Elizabethton. Erwin is solid! They toyed with South Greene in the jamboree. Their third team played a bunch of minutes and they still did a great job.

Prospective starters from what I hear are as follows Point - Micah is the new kid from SH. He will make a difference SG - Nave, a pure shooter and scorer. Taylor will play both guards and do well. Posts - may be a round robin. If Henson is healthy, he will probably be a starter. He was a hustler on defense but he was injured a lot. Norman is solid and should start. He is somewhat of an unknown. Transfer and injury have kept him off the floor for two years and he played behind Peters and Jeffers last year. Jeffers is not going to play this year as of two weeks ago. That may change. The other big man may be Jared Tetrick, Tim Franklin, or one of the 10th graders. If I left anybody out, I didn't mean to offend. Only Coach Wilson knows who will start and play. He will put a good product on the floor. I hope the boys do a good job. If you remember last year, they lost a ton of close games. The talent lost is Harris, Hardin, and Peters. The talent gained from transfer and maturity will be fairly significant, more than they lost. Give 'em a chance and a pat on the back and they make you as proud as peacock, or content as a clean pig in a wollerin' hole, or as happy as a hairy-backed woman with free electrolysis. Oh wait those line are Tim Chambers' job. Go get 'em Cyclones!!!

Last year was Norman's first year of high school ball. He didnt even try out at HV and transferred to Betsy as a 10th grader and broke his leg. He has only played one year of HS ball. He will start and he will do a good job.

He is in East Tennesse and everybody up this way knows who he is!

Matt Dykes. He's about 6'4" or 6 '5" and somewhere aroung 225 - 240 lbs. Not a lot of experience. He played a lot of JV behind Bowman and Carroll. Speaking of Bowman and Carroll, did I hear that they had left or were going to leave Milligan? Please reply if you know.

I have been an official for quite some time and without naming names, our assigning officer is absolutely awful. He has a priority list. Number 1 - Where is my check? Number 2 - Wind the clock. Number 3 - Where is the closest game so that I can be home by my ten o'clock bedtime? Nummber 4 - How can I take care of my geriatric buddies and prevent these younger guys from taking our places? He is a weak a official and a weaker leader for officials. He needs to retire but no one is pushing the envelope because no one watches over his shoulder. He considers himself untouchable.