MoonDogRex

No dog in this fight, but that might be the worst call I have ever seen in a basketball game. I read the earlier posts in this thread. The film quality is fine. The only contact that could even remotely be said to occur happens after the player slips and is falling to the floor. The fact that this happened directly in front of the official who made the foul call (on the baseline) is atrocious. It's unbelievable when referees choose to display their incompetence at the most crucial moments.

Consolidation is good, but until TN gets either an ECNL club for girls or a USSDA club for boys, players here will be at a major competitive disadvantage. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/sports/committing-to-play-for-a-college-then-starting-9th-grade.html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=2

That's the stadium field at Siegel. 120 x 80. And those kids are just mashing it down the middle or dribbling needlessly. Agreed that it's ugly. Stopped watching after about 60 seconds.

"Could / Should". It depends. Tiki-taka is probably a misnomer and a stretch -- many clubs throughout the world play a tight-passing, possession-oriented style like you see here. However, La Masia inculcates a special form of this philosophy into its players from the age of 7, and those who grow further into the Barcelona system play something very, very different from what you are watching in the video by the time they are high school age. Tiki-taka can only occur when a team plays an extremely high pressure form of defense, and the one-touch passing system in the attack is designed to pull apart opposing players from their preferred organization - to create the opportunity for penetrating passes. It's some pretty complex stuff, and it can't be taught in its truest form over the course of three months' worth of afternoon practices. Despite that technicality, kudos to the Seymour coach for trying to get the players to emulate a style. That is truly an educational endeavor, and as such the Seymour players will likely come to appreciate the game even more than they did before playing for their team. As you acknowledge, it's probably easier for them to play this way against weaker teams. You can only play the teams you're scheduled against, but Seymour was bounced from the first round of regionals 4-1 by Dobyns Bennett, so at some point the short-passing, possession game didn't work. And therein lies the rub. Unfortunately, high school soccer in the US is often plagued by the quick-fix mentality (necessitated by absurdly short seasons) of playing direct, fast, and physical. Couple that with what are often narrow fields, and attempts to play the "beautiful game" are often overwhelmed. I don't think this is the fault of coaches, necessarily, but the constraints are significant. Thus, when a high school coach is trying to get his kids to actually "play", it should be commended. I watched Franklin play this past spring, and it was wonderful watching them knock it around and patiently look for opportunities instead of trying to force them.

Outpouring of support for injured Indy wrestler Looney thanks Huntsville community for help THOMPSON’S STATION — There’s been outpouring of support from the Independence High School community for student wrestler Hunter Garstin. The freshman sustained a spinal cord injury Saturday during a wrestling match in Huntsville, Ala. A Facebook page has been set up for the young man, and friends and his parents have been regularly updating the site with his recovery process. Friends, community members and local officials have been writing words of encouragement. “It's still very hard for me to post updates and get back to everyone, but I can't even begin to explain to you how your love and prayers are impacting Hunter,†said Emily Garstin, Hunter’s mother. “Every word I share with him motivates him and makes him stronger. Hunter is strong, motivated and is trusting God's healing hand on him. Keep praying prayer warriors! This time is critical. I thank God for each and every one of you! Hunter will recover and he will walk!†A community meeting with more than 100 people in attendance was held at Independence High School Monday to discuss how people can help the Garstins. Words of encouragement and well-wishes can be entered on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Prayers-for-Hunter-Garstin/1394077424172673, which has already received more than 6,000 likes, and on Twitter.com at @huntergarstin, use the hashtag #hunterstrong. Garstin is regularly checking these two social media outlets as well as email at prayersforhuntergarstin@gmail.com. For those interested in making donations, the Hunter Garstin Benefit Fund has been opened at Sun Trust Bank. Donations can also be made at Independence High where a blue bucket has been set aside in the high school’s front office. This can include loyalty points for the family’s hotel stay. Garstin will more than likely undergo rehabilitation. The family has applied to the Shepherd Center Rehab Facility in Atlanta for rehabilitation. Organizers helping to support the family, say Garstin’s family is beyond grateful for all of the prayers, encouragement and support they have been getting. Williamson County Schools Director Mike Looney wrote a letter to media outlets in Huntsville thanking them for the response to the athlete’s injury. “Members of Huntsville High’s booster club, parents, and coaches visited the hospital Saturday,†Looney wrote. “On Sunday, your folks returned with food for 25, made arrangements for the family to have lodging at a local hotel, and displayed genuine concern during our time of crises. Their concern for our Hunter and willingness to give time, energy and resources in support of Hunter and his family is nothing short of remarkable.†Source: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20131210/WILLIAMSON/312100092

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Here's what's ridiculous, however. In this morning's Tennessean, Bernard Childress basically said that he wished the TSSAA could have UPHELD the insane decisions made by the referee, but since the TSSAA doesn't have language in its rules to supersede NFHS guidelines, they were forced to let Bowers and Wade coach. This tells us two things: 1) Ensworth probably had legal representation that put to Childress quite clearly the reality that the TSSAA was facing a situation it could not win if taken into the courtroom; and 2) Childress still doesn't have the courage to use common sense in a leadership position. He wants to be able to hide behind a policy. That's sad, but it makes sense coming from someone who was a public school administrator. What kind of leader (I'm referencing you, Bernard Childress) actually WANTS to have his hands tied when a referee basically fails his obligations and imposes an injustice on a member school? I think Childress's expressed sentiments show clearly that indpendent schools would be better off leaving TSSAA and forming their own organization. Other states have done this to excellent effect.

You are deluded and sad.

Innaccurate quote of the day right there. 1) Bowers HAS denied using bad language. 2) There ARE consequences for the referees if they screw up -- they won't be assigned games in the future. 3) Ensworth could not appeal an ejection under the auspices of "unsportsmanlike conduct" but is fully able to appeal an ejection made under "misapplication of the rules". The school did the LATTER. 4) At the end of the game it was the REFEREE who approached Bowers and moved into Bowers' personal space. It was as Bowers was saying, "I'm trying to get by" that the referee performed his MLB "Yer' out!" histrionics.

Agreed. Tim Howard wins that title hands-down.

That's great and all, but my original point still stands. As a U-14, she has already been called up for U-15 USGNT training. Do you really think the advice she is going to get there is to keep playing high school soccer in Tennessee, or to stay with a club that can't even gain admission to ECNL? This is a 1 in 10,000 player we are talking about. If USWNT is her goal, it would be crazy to keep playing soccer in Tennessee. She will not face the day-in, day-out competition other girls are facing. (And please provide a link to results that show her club team is destroying ECNL teams. Tennessee SC 16 is not even ranked among the top 25 teams in the country in its age group.) http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-soccer/club-soccer-team-rankings/women/u16/4/310

If she is as good as you say she is, she won't be playing Tennessee high school soccer for long. With no TN clubs in ECNL, she is not facing the same level of quality that other girls her age are already confronting on a weekly basis. Being a big fish in a small pond won't get you far when the other fish your size are already fighting far bigger fish. She will either leave for an ECNL team or US residency if she truly wants to progress. Staying in Tennessee will leave her behind. And the any TFC appearances in national championships since 2009 should be taken with a huge grain of salt -- the best clubs in the nation left USYSA for ECNL then and others have been leaving ever since.

Point missed. Completely.

They wouldn't. In North Carolina the private schools are separate from the public schools, and their recruiting rule is the same as for private schools under the TSSAA. There has been no rampant recruiting in football in NC -- public school football there is stronger than private school football by a wide margin, but where there has been a noticeable difference is in basketball. In NC, AAU coaches can also coach high school basketball teams, private or public. (This may also be the case in TN) Some of the best AAU coaches are affiliated with the private schools. The result has been that private school hoops in NC is off-the-charts strong, and the public schools suffer. Many of the public schools won't play the private schools in hoops. What it has ALSO done is create "super-league matchups" like the fantasy high school football league for TN-KY-OH between different private schools that are must-see attractions, as well as create serious interest displayed by prospective student-athletes in going to private schools. The biggest difference? Private schools in NC are allowed to give merit aid to student-athletes. Game-changer if that ever happens in TN football.

You go to a triple option when you have no passing game. At the high school level, it is difficult to have a passing game. At any level, it is difficult to run the triple option.

(yawn)

Just Google the article in quotes "Canadian QB has big stake in States". It's a Rivals article and mentions he is going to Baylor.

That's ridiculous. Look to Virginia and North Carolina as states in the Southeast with viable, THRIVING alternatives to their public school associations. It could be done incredibly easily if there was the willpower from the heads of Tennessee independent schools.

Not the issues. No one is blaming the quality of the field for any results that have yet to occur, and two opposing teams always have to play on the same field. The issue is that the teams in the finals deserve a showpiece setting. The fact that the outlying fields at the same complex are better conditioned is crazy. How difficult could it have been to prioritize the maintenance of the fields at the complex?

So the reward for getting to the finals for all teams is the chance to play on an uneven surface that has not been well cared for by any standard befitting a "stadium field" with the potential for crazy bounces all over the place and several sand-filled spots in the penalty area. Do they actually hold club team practices on this patch of grass? It would appear so. Great field dimensions, but you'd get better play on the outlying fields. Wondering why the disparity between supposedly the most important field and the others?

This is a problem not unique to Tennessee. In North Carolina at the 4A level (largest schools), 64 teams get into the state tournament, which is a ridiculously high number. Two conferences in particular -- the Cap-7 Conference in Raleigh and the Southwestern Conference out of Charlotte -- each have 7 teams, with 5 or 6 of those teams in each conference loaded with USSF Development Academy players. The #5 or #6 teams in those conferences could reach the Sweet 16 if they found a way to "power-rate" teams based on all results. But instead they don't get into the tournament, and you get schools getting drubbed 9-0 in the first round that managed to win 5 or 6 games and finish 4th in weak conferences. It would be great if states had the flexibility to use a system like www.laxpower.com for seeding teams in soccer. It would make for a better tournament, IMO.

Charge dismissed. Now DP can get on with his life.

And I read in a book one time, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..."

I was always a big fan of Five Guys -- until I went to Burger Up. The Woodstock Burger, with Benton’s Bacon, Tennessee Sweetwater white cheddar, Jack Daniels maple ketchup, is perhaps the best burger I have ever tasted. Any burger lover who comes to Franklin and opts for a chain (albeit a good one in Five Guys) over a unique place like Burger Up is really missing out!