OnThaBall

Maybe. I guess I'm giving Iamthatguy the benefit of the doubt because his post says nothing about the player in question losing the game. I believe he actually complimented her previous play by saying she rarely makes mistakes. His second statement about her unexpected mistakes is what you all are interpreting as saying she lost the game. DRAMA! As to the NBA player reference. This is about the second time you have mentioned it in your posts. It's an ANALOGY about style of play. Not physical strength, skill, or ability. She see's the floor "like"... DRAMA! If this is just an attempt to keep the 7AA topic at the top of the page just reply "BUMP."

Off topic but did LA play Ensworth Saturday? I have not found the results and was curious.

I agree about the strength-in-number theory being a good thing for the high school basketball programs. Coaches have a lot to choose from. But from an individual athlete's perspective it would be nice to have the opportunity to choose between multiple sports. An athlete may not be a great basketball player but may be a phenom soccer player or track star. Without being exposed to the sport early on or never at all they will never know. This applies not only to sports but to art, drama, you name it. The more good things our kids are involved in the less time they have to get involved with the bad. Some elementary schools are so small there would not be enough participation in that individual school to offer other sports or clubs not taking into consideration the cost.

Imagine playing in an elementary school conference where every conference game is a rival game. Where you join the school team in the third grade. May be a starting varsity by 5th. Spend four years being pitted against opposing players in knock-down-drag-out battles for bragging rights that last for years. And after you have spent half your life battling those enemies you go to high school and there they are. From enemies to teammates. Foes to friends. Such is the life of a Grundy basketball player. Sort of corny but true.

One of the biggest drawbacks to having so many feeders schools is not the availability of good athletes for basketball but the lack of opportunity to play other sports that are offered in most middle schools (track, soccer, golf etc.). Until about two years ago basketball and basketball cheerleading were the only two sports offered at the elementary school level in Grundy County. Girls' volleyball was added when Ricky Richards the previous girls' high school basketball coach switched to coaching the high school volleyball team. Softball is not offered as a school sport but ran by an organization of parents and volunteers and usually coached by parents. Basketball has very strong participation from players and parents because for generations it has been the sport offered in elementary schools. There is a player on the high school team whose mother and grandmother both played for Grundy. The "Big 8" conference for elementary basketball is highly competitive and draws crowds that rival most high school contests. It consists of 6 teams from Grundy (Pelham, Tracy City, Coalmont, North, Swiss Memorial and Palmer), 1 team split between Grundy and Marion (Monteagle) and St. Andrews-Sewanee. It is not unusual for 2 or more of these team to participate in the James C. Haile or TNT tournaments.

This was by far one of my favorite games of the season (so far). I think both teams brought a great competitive attitude. (Side note: If we could all just post with the dignity and class shown on the court during this game this would be a much better forum.) Sequatchie is a young team and is going to get even better. I don't think they start any Seniors I've known the Barkers for years and have nothing but respect for all and what they give to girls' basketball. Melanie is a awesome shooter and was dead on. Got to give her kudos. I'm glad Sequatchie gave us some tuff competiton. I hate a blow-out. Winning or losing. Grundy is also a young team; starting one Senior, 3 Sophs and one Freshman They are at a disadvantage in one respect. Where most schools in AA have one middle school and AAA two that feed into their program, Grundy has seven K-8 schools. It's a disadvantage because when only one middle school is involved your girls learn to play together from 6th grade on with a coach that is on the same page with the high school coach. With 6-7 feeder schools they never play together until 9th. You also have 7 coaches who may not be on the same page with the high school coach. Grundy has a huge upperclass. At last count 14 Sophomores. They sent so many 10, 11 & 12th grade players to summer camps that Freshmen were not allowed to play varsity. So they have a Freshman point guard that has played only four camp games and 8 varsity games. They are 8-0. But Grundy has a huge learning curve just adjusting to playing together. For Sequatchie or Grundy to get past 7AA we all need to be glad we have the opportunity to push each other to be a better team by pointing out each other's weaknesses. I just think it would be more productive for the coaches to do it in the gym than posters on this forum. And with all that being said... My favorite quote from one of my favorite coaches "It is what it is."