rigger101

November thru Feb. FYI It's from Pride, tears on the mat SCOTT CHANCEY You know, it's sad that high school wrestlers sometimes don't get the respect and admiration they deserve. A few people even make fun of the sport. Then again, it's human nature to ridicule what you don't understand. Once you understand all that goes into being a high school wrestler, ridiculing them would be the last thing on your mind. All you have to do is watch a high school wrestling match to realize the blood, sweat and tears that are poured into the preparations. I was reminded of that earlier in the week. For the first time in quite a while, I covered high school wrestling during Tuesday's Albany city championship at Westover. There are the cries of anguish when a player is caught up in a hold. There is the resounding thump of the official's hand as it slams to the mat signifying a pin. And there is the joyous shout of a wrestler as he rises up from a quick pin or dramatic overtime victory. There are no shoulder pads in wrestling. There are no helmets. And hey, even though you're wrestling on a pad, it still hurts when your opponent slams you to the mat. In many ways, wrestling is the perfect sport. The perfection is in the parity. You see, the difference between wrestlers who go against each other is skill and desire. In all other aspects of the match, they're even. You can't say you lost because your opponent was bigger. Size is such a big factor in football. Size is such a big factor in basketball. But in wrestling, having 14 separate weight classes takes care of that. If you lost, you lost. No excuses. You either didn't have enough desire to win, or you didn't have enough discipline in practice. The discipline. It's so important. There's hardly a sport that requires the discipline that wrestling does. You have to do this, you have to do that. From jumping rope to running laps to lifting weights and doing sit-ups, you have to do it all. Knowing a scale is waiting for you on the morning of each tournament to see if you can compete in your weight class for the day, the discipline extends to the food table. If a teenager can adhere to this, class work is hardly a challenge. Most wrestlers I've interviewed have at least a 3.0 GPA. And the wrestlers know there's a difference between doing it and overdoing it while training. It's all about sensibly doing what needs to be done to stay within your weight class and stay on top of your performance. The Georgia High School Association team dual state championships are Feb. 6-7, the traditional area tournaments are Feb. 13-14, and the state meets in that category are Feb. 20-21. I promise you, for those who don't think high school wrestling is a real sport, just watch how these athletes train and watch them compete. If you do, you will take on a greater appreciation for the challenges and successes of these athletes.

We will have 1 State Champ, 1 State Finalist and a few other returning seniors who qualified for state last year. Our shakers and breakers this year will be: Paul Mountain- Senior, Who was injured last year but qualified for State. Scott Dix- Senior- Returning State Champion Chad Blankenship- Senior, Who was injured last year but qualified for State and gave or 152lb finalist Chad Turner a great challenge every day in practice. Justin Knox- Senior, Who was injured last year but was a State Finalist. Nick Reveiz-Placed 2nd in Region his first year wrestling and worked on his techniques all summer. Others to watch out for: Chuck Layton, Nick Montgomery, Younger brothers of Reveiz, Farinella, Turner and we had a State Qualifier who finished 6th from Denver, CO and a Heavy Weight move in from out west. Also, this will be the first year that we have more than one football player coming out for the team. We are excited about this team and our chances. Last year our team had over 6 kid's injured at one time and no back ups.

It's year round on Saaturday night. You can find it on WGN or UPN. I miss Hulk Hogan. How about U?

Give it a break.

What Weight class is your 152 from last year going? He seemed to be a really smart kid and really looked good as a freshmen.

Good Point I forgot about that. From what I've figured It would have been a bigger mess for the Mccallie team.

I am humbled by your words. Good Luck Coach! thumb

Cookeville, what weight Class did your young lady Freshmen Certi in? I was wondering how the Certification would effect the females?

What weight Class did your young lady Freshmen Certi in? I was wondering how the Certification would effect the females?

I was thinking about that today. Could McCallie pull off the same thing, if we had certification last year?

Wow, we finished 4th and didn't say anything negative about other teams kids prior to the Matches at State. thumb There must be something in the water down your way. There was allot of trash talk last year for a team that finished 41st and their top man only finished forth. Just let Max and your new coach do your talking. It's allot more impressive that way. What was Gesslers top finish? I was overseas and missed two seasons because of 9-11. I like Gessler, just not the uninformed trash talk from some of your fans. There is plenty of Wrestling going on in other parts of the State besides Middle TN and the Chattanooga area. I think Farragut and Science Hill has proved that. Last year Ty Cody went into the State with one lost(Spencer Manly) and Chad Turner went in undefeated since the Father Ryan Tourn. Your Folks talked trash and wrote them off. I have noticed your folks have a great respect for Franklin and it is well deserved. Good Luck to your team and Max. Trash talkers SHUT UP!

It sounds like if you pass you win!

The Cavs are fun to watch but I don't think from what I saw against Antioch they could beat an Oak Ridge, Farragut, Soddy or Ooltewah. I wish them well and really enjoyed being at their Stadium when they played the Bears. Your band knows how to have a good time. You have one of the best hometown football Atmospheres I've seen. But there are some Big Bad Teams out there so watch out.

Thanks Again! I think their ship is sunk then because the offence has only been explosive once this yaer and that was against OR. We were in the Red Zone 6 times and couldn't punch it in. I feel we have a great Run Defense but they are weak against the pass. What did you think of Nick Reviez? LB #45 the kid can hit.

Your telling the Truth. We lived 1 mile from Harrison Bay and the 5 years we lived there I saw alot of great athletes go off to McCallie and Baylor. They were talking to my son before we left for Kingsport then to Farragut. We played some good teams from your area when we lived there. We won some and lost some.

Thanks! That sounds about right. They had the same results against OR. Fromwhat you saw tonight do they have a Chance against the Owls.

I agree!

Knoxsoddyboy were you there tonight? If so, did Farragut's line backers have a good game or did the whole team fall apart?

TRUE! I forgot about Gallatin. Hendersonville didn't have it in the late 70's and 80's.

Not really You baby Birds are. Go back and read through this thread. You will see all kind of referances to past scores against Heritage etc. i never go by past scores. It's hard eating Crow. YUM!

Is it all the tradition of that field beside the interstate or what. this board had more BS then common Sense. I will cheer for the Ads but I don't think they will be on the level of a OR until the Coach gets replaced. I hope they represent the School better at Ooltewah than at SD. I f they stink down there we all know this the Trash talk want stop.

Now that we know the Owls are really Baby Birds and not birds of prey and this Board seems to base everything on the Score's of past games. Does that mean Farragut will beat the Baby Birds because farragut lost by less points to OR? And yes I know Farragut got Spanked tonight. Maybe that will get the coach fired. He should have been gone years ago.

Move to Faragut!

I think DB is a very close second. Both cities really support their teams. Owls you don't have a city U are in the suberb's of Chatt. You have to give those two schools and their fans their props. They are truly great Football Schools. The Ooltewah Owls are baby birds compared to the Tribe and OR. Give it 20 years and if you ever win a State Championship in anything except trash talk, then other folks will listen. Until then shut up and let them play.

Defense great, Offense hold onto the Ball.