cocheese

To say that it's an even playing field between privates and publics is a bit absurd. A blind man in the dark could tell you that it's not. However, it is what it is and all the teams knew this before the season began. What would you privates say if TSSAA allowed kids to go to any schol they wished? No zones at all. If a kid from Houston County can really swing it and Farragut likes him, the parents can work it out, he can signed up in the fall for classes in Knoxville??? I don't want to take anything away from any private school team, they work hard and if they win the championship, well then they earned it, but why have field leveling classifcations at all if some teams have different rules than the others? Makes zero sense. I would like to see stricter zoning rules, keep the classifcations, move all privates over to their own, have championships for each classifcation and then have those champs compete in a winner takes all tournament of champions for a true State champion. This would probably mean that in football 20 teams out of the whole state get left out of the playoffs instead of just 5, but we got to make room. I just thought I'd drop my two cents in, don't have a dog in the fight and don't really care, but I would really love to see that TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!!

You have to give some details if you're going to make a statement like this one.

Coachrop is right. I would add that the regular season district champ shoud get an automatic bid to regions and then the tourney winner as well. If regular season champ wins tourney, then the 2nd place tourney team advances. It's crazy that the regular season can mean so little and this one Monday night game means so much.

I'm hearing around Dickson that Barrett is the new coach at DCHS.

TSSAA has made it very clear they are serious about speeding up the games. This is just something else that is delaying the game and isn't necessary. Some of these games are taking way too long and the kids are out too late for school nights. I am assuming this is their reasoning behind the rule, that and it's just plain stupid. If you have a 7pm start, and you're the visiting team, you're not getting home till after 10pm, on a good night, maybe not till 11pm. The kids probably didn't have time for homework/studying before leaving and then they'll have to stay up pass midnight to get anything done afterwards. These kids' education should come first and somewhere way down that list should come baseball. Sadly, that is not the case at a lot of schools these days.

strongly disagree with the above comment.

This would be the first time I have heard someone say something bad about Coach Cash. He is obviously well respected in the area. Winning isn't everything in high school sports, at least for some people it still isn't, and the program is bigger than just one kid. Not a classy move secondtoone.

I think letting them start in January is a good idea. I know some will say "what about kids that play basketball", well, that's their choice. Keep the start of the season where it is, but let the teams start practices in January.

I don't have a dog in this fight. Couldn't even tell you where Gibson Co. or Riverside HS are, but this forum caught my attention. To blame, or even closely insinuate that a team loss because they had to remove their headbans is simply ridiculous. Not sure why the refs thought they were illegal, but in post season play little things like this gets more attention from them because there is a better chance someone from Hermitage is in attendance. I also saw a post, think it was the pioneer, saying the refs should be fined. Yeah, let's go down that road. Start fining refs for mistakes and see how fast teams will have to pull people from the crowd to ref a game. These guys aren't breaking the bank doing this, it is not their full time job, they spend a lot of time away from home, take time off from work, blah, blah, blah, ya'll know. I've been a part of a lot of contests, from all four corners, I cannot recall a single game that was decided by an official. Teams win or lose, period. Lighten up, remember IT IS HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL, in the grand scheme of things, winning or losing this game isn't even a blip on the radar. Now, let's pray the weather cooperates with the State tourney, so these young girls can enjoy their moment.

As a complete outsider that never attended Creekwood or CPA I feel confident in saying that CPA has the best coaching staff in Tennessee. The staff showcases the players at the national level and therefore the program receives national accolades. If families are moving to the Nashville area and have a child that is a good player they seek out the best available program. That program could be a public school program or a private school program. For those that are asking for all public & private schools to be in different classifications I ask the question; when public & private school graduates go to college do they attend different colleges or are they mixed together? When they enter the job market will the public school graduates have to compete for jobs against the private school graduates or just public school graduates? IMO, all public & private schools should compete against each other if for no other reason than to show everyone that at it's core it is just kids playing basketball.

That makes no sense. Colleges and employers can recruit/hire who they please. Public schools, mostly, are stuck with the cards they're dealt. All private schools should be in a separate division. It's not about the individual kids and their own abilities, it's about ensuring an even and fair competition. Privates have an unfair advantage, that's as clear as day.

I could have wrong information here, but I was told by a TSSAA old timer a few years back that the reason the tourney is set up this way is because powerhouse schools pitched a fit about getting knock out after only losing one game. I don't recall which schools he said raised the fuss, but said there were some schools that went undefeated all year and then lost a close game in the postseason and ended their season. So, the coaches lobbied the TSSAA to change the format so an undeated team's season wouldn't end because of one bad game in district, regionals, etc.. He could have had dementia, anyone remember?

It funny… as I read these comments, most of you’ve seen a short clip or read the papers, but hardly none of you was actually at the game.

As a Riverdale parent I will say repeatedly the girls didn’t know! I can’t vouch for Smyrna, but Riverdale girls didn't have a clue they were going to be coached not to win. Riverdale starters had 4 3’s the first quarter! There were steal attempts and everything. When Smyrna cleared its bench at the beginning of the second quarter, Riverdale followed suit. That’s where it all went downhill. Middleton wants to lie and save face by telling the news he only cleared his bench because Riverdale wasn’t scoring. The score was 21-22!

The girls should not have been punished. They were simply obeying their coach’s orders. I know if my daughter was told that (to lose) out right she would’ve had an issue with it……but they didn’t know. Anyone on here who blames the girls or states that they should have done something is unrealistic that girls were going to come together and overrule the coach in the middle of a game situation.

The girls have bared the brunt of this punishment, especially the seniors. If T$$AA can judge these girls so harshly and swiftly, I want to see what they do to fix the situation. YES THIS HAPPEN EVERY YEAR! If you say it don’t you lie!

Is the T$$AA responsible? Yes, because they know it’s been going on for years

Are the coaches, AD, and principals responsible? Yes, because they are the adult we chose to be the administrators over our children and advise them on right and wrong. NO ONE STOPPED THE GAME

Are the girls responsible? No, innocent bystanders. Their season should not have ended. It’s not fair to them.

Btw both teams had two girls each make all district…..Riverdale should’ve had at least three placing second in the regular season. But that’s another coaches integrity issue!

That's not what Coach Barrett is telling the TSSAA. He's saying all he did was discuss bracketology with the girls before the game. He says all he told them is who they would play if they won and who they would play if they lose. I read this in an article this morning on USA Today. I'll correct myself, a Riverdale administrator told the TSSAA this is what Barret told him. Either Barrett is throwing the girls under the bus or they took on themselves to do this, at least to some extent.

I keep seeing "it happens every year". I've spoken with several people that have been involved with HS basketball for decads and not a single one could recall something like this happening. Maybe the team did it more discreetly, but this was flat out horrid. I don't like punishing the girls for the coach's horrible decision, but they did comply, that's obvious from the video. Now, they were just doing what the coach said, so I guess I'm on the fence. The coaches should have been suspended for one year, at least. If I was a parent or school administrator, these coaches wouldn't be back next year. TSSAA shouldn't ban them for life, leave that to the school. I don't care how the bracket is set up, you play to win. If you want to be a real champion, then you want to beat the best, anything else is lame and would leave me feeling disappointed. My two cents.

You may want to study up on some of the previous coaches there before you try to accuse ALL of them of having little to no knowledge of the game. One former coach there has some experience that may surprise you unless you're too ignorent to notice it. After all the Marlins GM has recommended him for that and other jobs. As for Parker, I have to admit this is a surprise move but he is a great coach who has done very well everywhere he's been and I have a lot of respect for what he's accomplished. Best of luck Eagles!

I remember that coach. I remember the Marlins recommendation as well. He didn't impress too many people, although I hear he's doing well in his current position. I didn't say he or any of the other ones didn't have any knowledge, just that Ray surpasses them all.

Heard this morning that Ray is now the new asst. coach at East Hickman. Amazes me he didn't get a head job somewhere, but maybe he wants less wear and tear these days.

East Hickman has been pretty horrible since the start. Maybe the new coach can bring some stability and knowledge to the program. I heard that former Dickson Co. head coach, Ray Ragan, is his assistant. Don't know Parker, sounds like his legit, but Ray has more knowledge in his little toe than all the previous coaches combined. Nothing against any of them, but they were first timers and this past yerar were "okay, no one else wants it, I'll do it" kind of coaches. good luck to East.

This sounds great. Maybe more will start up around the State. Anyone know of any others?

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/25992334/baseball-league-for-kids-with-special-needs-starts-in-manchester

But seriously, this looks like a lot of fun and I hate my schedule kept me from attending. How does the home run derby work? Similiar to the pro one?

Why didn't you nominate any umpires? Are you some kind of umpire racist? Geez! Just because you're doing something for free, out of your busy schedule, to reward kids' hardwork, to showcase the game we all love, you think it's okay to completely ignore the guys in blue? The nerve!!! You're fired!

Doesn't matter if they go to college or pro, an arm injury due to overuse can still cause problems for the kid down the road. I would like to see stats that back up the claim that arm issues are a modern problem. I don't know how one could definitively say that is true. Tommy John didn't exist that long ago, guys sucked it up and others just hung it up. I know most accept it as true, but how do we really know? Another issue is kids these days start throwing breaking pitches when they're 9 years old! That is never a good idea and really stupid because probably 99.9% can't throw one. When I was 9, pitchers threw two pitches; in the dirt and not in the dirt.

I say yes, there should be one at the high school level. I'll let someone esle decide the number. I say this due to having first hand knowledge on the subject; A. I'm an athletic trainer and B. I was overused as a teenager and my arm turned to mush and it still bothers me till this day. I was not a great pitcher, just the best pticher on a team that was subpar at the time, so it didn't ruin any future career for me, but it could for some kid. I was also a catcher and that needs to be remembered as well. The catcher is throwing, not as violently, but as much as the pitcher does and does it every game.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Parker was an assistant at DC in the 90's with that coach that didn't last very long and shall remain nameless so I don't say things I shouldn't. That coach was only there two years and I think Parker only spent a year with him.

Thought so, that kid is a good all around player but I was most impressed with his catching. I only caught two of his games.

What position does Hutchins play at Franklin?

Yeah, Rye was the baseball coach for years before taking several years off to coach the basketball team. The field at DC is named after Coach Rye as well.