rjennings91

Thank you sir, looking forward to it!

Is the clinic open to all TN coaches?

BIG thanks to Josh for putting this on, as well as, Al and his guys for allowing us to use there facility. Going to be a great day of wrestling & learning!

Thank you! We have a few young ladies that are looking forward to it!

Thanks coach! I thought you guys did too as well last year but could not remember.

I know the Keller Classic had a pretty decent girls division last year. Hopefully they will build off of it!

Do we know yet if these tournaments will offer a separate girls division? I know a few did last year and with the continued growth was hoping that all would this year. Looking forward to a great FS&GR season!

Another thing that will hurt it is the TN AAU State Tournament the same weekend in Knoxville. I love the idea of this event, I just don't see it panning out like hoped. Either way I would love to watch some more great wrestling, but I'll be coaching the little guys in Knoxville. Hopefully it surprises us all and is a great event!

Curious to see how many State champs actually attend this. Any clue on numbers as of yet?

It's hard for me to put into words to the young men and women I coach what it felt like for me to walk into McKenzie Arena and compete in the state tournament. I had only started wrestling as a freshman and had no real knowledge at the time of UTC's history or anything like that, but walking into a college facility with that look and environment...that was just a feeling like no other. Now, I just can't imagine the young men and women today get that same feeling walking into the Ag center and that's what disappoints me. I do see the positives as it is much more centrally located in the state which make travel easier and obviously the cost is unbeatable. I would just like to see a little more prestigious venue to reward our wrestlers for their hard work and dedication. I feel as though it should be a memorable experience for them, and I know that's what McKenzie Arena was for me. Just my 2 cents!

Hard to understand Blackman falling when they went down to Georgia and cleaned up at the Carpet Classic. Already tough and I'm sure Bray will have them even tougher come the end of this year

Still weighing in on Saturday morning 7-7:30 as well? Thanks!

Are you guys still planning on hosting? I had sent an email asking about the tournament last week and hadn't heard back so I was just curious.

Huge thanks goes to Bray and all the Blackman coaches and parents that helped to make the Ironman possible! It was a great tournament where all of our kids (bantam-high school) were able to get at least 6 matches throughout the day. Coffee County had a great time!

I just copied this from a previous post on here about the FS & GR schedule. Hopefully this will help outa little. Still not the clearest communication. Qualifications for FARGO or Kids Nationals: All Qualifications have been voted on by the Executive Board, any issues with the following qualifications may be brought to the Board for consideration and Vote. Fargo and Kids Nationals is a State Organized Tournament, so all wrestlers wanting to attend must fall into one of the exceptions below: 1. Attend TWF State and Southeat Regionals Tournament. 2. Place Top 4 at Regional Tournament and recieve an exemption. 3. Place Top 8 at UWW Tournament and receive an exemption. 5. Attend TWF State, be Chosen for Schoolboy, Cadet, or Junior Team and receive an exemption. Anyone who needs an exemption to the above rules must submit a request to Ben Bowers BMBowers@aol.com. Waiver request must be received 5 days before the event that the waiver is for. All Waivers will be Voted on by the Executive Board. The TWF's mission is to grow the sport of wrestling and support wrestlers who compete for Tennessee. Any questions please call Ben at 574-215-8586

With you being so close, you may want to check out Georgia's USA site. They have a few more tournaments and have them all listed as well. Plus some great competition from what I've heard.

Good luck on finding any other info. I have been working to put together a FS & GR team this year for our area. Unfortunately there is little to no help as far as the TN USA website, most info is years old at this point. Blackman always does a great job putting on the Ironman, but outside of that I am honestly not sure. Many have asked about Best of the Best, with no reply on that one either, so once again who knows. Hopefully we will have more clarity in the future so we can get that to our athletes and try to continue to grow wrestling in TN. Feel free to reach out and I will share any info I have as well, jenningsr@k12coffee.net

I'd be in

Thank you for the response! That definitely helps to clarify and will help me be able to answer questions for my parents. Looking forward to a great Freestyle & Greco season!

I appreciate the response! That's kind of what I was expecting, but wanted to get a solid answer to give to my parents. I have had a decent amount of interest in it and just didn't want them to get to invested or their hopes up just yet.

Thanks Coach Bray! We will have a crew there for sure!

It is looking that way! I will be doing that this evening and will post the answer I get so that others will know as well.

Bump.....any help with the above question on this?

Any idea of the lowest age group usually at the TN tournaments? I've had some interest from parents of my younger kids in our club but didn't want to get them excited for something and then them not be able to compete. Also, will there be a separate Girls division? Thanks in advance!

I appreciate all of your responses and input very much! I have been in contact with the administration over the last 2 years trying to continue to push for a new team, but to be honest I'm not sure they know the route they'd like to take either. But, I will take this new info and talk with them more and see what we can't get done. We currently have 10 middle school wrestlers competing for our club, but i think those extra matches before the AAU season could really help, plus I believe having a school team would only mean more numbers as mentioned previously. Again, thank you all!