VolBall14

I was a student at Hendersonville a few decades ago and my kids are students there now. We have had teams in the past thirty years who were contenders -- including the 1988 team who almost took the state title. In all those years, this years' Commandos team is generating the most excitement I've ever seen at that school. The passion among the team, the coaches, the band, the WAR TEAM (best student section in the state), the parents and the administration is amazing. I think this team has a genuine shot at going to Cookeville in a few weeks.

There is no point in arguing this. They obviously see only what they want to see. I saw firsthand the things mentioned in my post and stand by them 100%. I also witnessed the rant aby the HCHS fan at the end of the game. I especially enjoyed the part where, when he had no valid argument, began to call the coach a racist. It reminded me a lot of snowplow's response that my statements were "stupid." So when HCHS has no legitimate point, their strategy is to call names. Nice.

To the Henry County fans wanting to take on a tougher schedule in the coming years, YOU ARE NOT READY. Your facilities and town are not equipped to handle visiting schools from the larger "greater Nashville" area. Hendersonville's welcome to your school yesterday was definitely less than hospitable. The "Red Swarm" surrounded our kids' fan bus, chanting, and prevented them from disembarking. After that, one of your fine law officers threatened to arrest several of our kids and "keep them until Monday" for simply trying to organize their equipment in the parking lot. Your visitors' stands are arguably the most dangerous in the entire state. It is unbelievable that your county school system's insurance carrier allows such an unchecked liability to exist. We were told over and over last week during the build-up to last night's game that those visitor's bleachers had not been full all season. That is probably a good thing. With the kind of crowds that you would see coming in from bigger, tougher schools, it is only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured by falling through that death trap you call bleachers. And finally, the message that your fans send by drunkenly berating your own coaches' and threatening school administrators as they exit the field isn't exactly one of sportsmanship or civility. Having a Jumbotron and deafening artificial noise makers does not automatically put you in the same class as others in the 5A District. You can talk the talk all day long, but when it comes to being ready to host the tougher teams, you need to be able to walk the walk too.