Khromax

I think you meant THANKS, DAD....Bobcat

Tims a beast.....darn good Coach too.

Im with slingshot on this.......these guys were and are the best of the best. I loved watching all of them get after it. Do you guys remember kellers match with the kid from michigan, kellers throw by was a thing of beauty. Kid was killed in a car wreck a couple of years later....his younger brother was pretty good as well.

It probably is ignorance to a certain degree, i dont know everyones level of dedication to a measurable degree. but i will promise you this, if and when Kevin Emily returns home to chattanooga, we are gonna start a new club, I bet within 5 years the program is sending good quaility kids to any school they desire. No money, alot of poor folk but the man can run a youth program second to none. Not sure what you would call that but its not ignorance. Coach, i do understand some of the things you talk about. Somethings may not be able to get done in an area like your in. Kevin and I have talked about building one some where that needs it, to see if we can get the kids to achieve at a higher level. Not sure where just yet. I get and understand, even like some of the ideas posted. Ive just always believed that when it comes to an individual sport....WRESTLING, school size shouldnt factor into the equation. Go for Gold. Im sorry if any of this came off as argumentative, im truly a very lighthearted guy

Pull your panties out and calm down....so much red anger talking. Soddy Daisy, didnt wrestle any you listed but Hixson. Whats even more intresting is these small schools you listed used to be the state powers they will no longer compete against, how about that big guy.

Traditional wrestling states.....up there its a way of life, it means something to them. Soddy, Bradley, Cleveland, CBHS, Baylor, we all know the schools that wrestling means something too. I was talking too a family from Michigan one year at a national tournament...their kid had already wrstled in 200 matches, and thats what he had averaged for a couple of years. I tried to enter every chattanooga league tournament, FCI, USA any i could get blaike in one year. 68 matches is the best i could do, they have so many more kids wrestling than we do. . Wrestling has to be important to the people of Tennessee to get them to get their kids to wrestle. Its a tradition handed down in Chattanooga, i think it came from the league we had growing up. Most people included wrestling season right up there with football and baseball. You can do better than name dropping traditional power states in wrestling to ours....please

Coach, all your points sound fine in theory. These same schools have had an oppurtunity to build a kids club, build a middle school program, and proceed to the highschool to reap the benefits of that infrastucture. As you said" it takes time and dedication", it seems that we are wanting to bypass that step throw some gold around by lowering the competition and then we have Quantity. When i was younger before having kids, friends and i would go the the state tournament and outside of upsets you were pretty sure to see the 2 best wrestlers our state had to offer. Im talking from a wrestling and overall population standpoint where are we going to get the wrestlers to ensure some decent competition. Maybe the quality doesnt matter anymore, im not saying your wrong. Id rather say...Hey, im taking my kid to Coach Jones for wrestling instruction. I like his work ethic and enthusiasm, my kid can be one of the best working with him. Im not taking my kid to a program because they dont wrestle good competition and they still get a medal. If im spending my money and my time for my child to be good, i want him to wrestle against the best kids, against the best teams because i want him to be tested. Not given a medal. I hope your right, but alot of these Coaches voted for it because its gonna lower the competition level from a small school perspective, its a win at all costs society. Im not looking to argue, i did that with Coach Henry over this topic last summer....LOL

I wanted to put a few things out there before we ride off in to the sunset. In my opinion we are hurting our sport splitting into all these divisions. Something that i always wanted to see was my sons wrestle in the matches that our fans wanted to see. Our state doesnt have the wrestling population to support 3 divisons with quality wrestling throughout. We are hardpressed to get our best kids into the big matches with two.......now 3. A couple of years ago a coach, Ward Gossett and I were talking outside the cowpalace about what may be coming with regards to a small school split. I told them both that wrestling is our most purest sport, it requires shoes and a mat. If you want to be good, work harder than your opponent. I know that there are more varibles but broken to its simplest form....thats all you need. When i dropped Blaike off last week to ride up to the state tournament, i was standing in the round gym watching about 30 or more little kids just going to town on each other. I grabbed John Lane by the neck, i was tearing up and i said John, I hope your telling them that this is were it all begins. Ive watched Blaike go from tapeing his shot foot at 4 years old to what we saw the other night, im sure Rob has done all the little things to get Ethan to where hes at, and we saw the best 2 182 pound kids in the state go toe to toe, the sport cant help when upsets happen and the two that people think are best dont match up.....beauty of our sport as well. Last year Cody Davis was the best 195 in state, small school. and we can go on,and on and on. We are about to water our sport down in hope of building it up......really, really. Wrestling is the greatest sport on earth, to be one of the best you need to find a kids club and buy your child a pair of shoes and support their dreams. I want our wrestling to grow in state but guys this is not a school size problem. Our problem is not having enough coaches with the vision and dedication that Steve Henry took to Soddy Daisy 30 years ago to build a network of support that fed his program.

Who has decided to go. We need to get a good practice group going for the next four weeks.

It seems you guys know each other very well, both of you are two of my favorites.

I will write something more in a few days, but i have yet to really get any sleep. All i ask is that whether your Blaike supporters or not, do not attack either of those boys. We are not about any of that, the boys wrestling spoke for itself. I do not know Rob, but after watching Blaike and Ethan go toe to toe twice this year i have only the utmost respect for Ethans wrestling skill and tenacity. Blaike has said not only can he wrestle, hes a good dude. If you dont know Blaike heres some insight.....he said my heart broke when A. Lopez lost, and he hated like heck to see Stukanov get put out. He loves his TROJANS and sacrificed alot to try an ensure his team was succesful, after that hes for the good dudes......

My bracket shows them split at 220. Tennessee has always been by blind draw.

Rob, jordans not seeded at all. Only returning medalists that won their region are seeded in the bracket. Only 3 seeds are built into bracket....rest blind draw. Blaike coulda caught Davis in quarters, Wilson in Semis, and presumably Ethan in Finals. There are some tuff guys throughout this bracket so really dosent effect Blaikes mindset on who or when he has to wrestle them. I knew who the only seeds would be by knowing region champs and medalists

Buddy, I wished we had lived closer to Central to stay wih you. But i will always remember those times. I know of two men in chattanooga youth coaching that carried the fire and true joy of wrestling. My sons were so lucky to be around you and Kevin, I care so much about the both of you. Its not sentimenal bro, its a celebration of this wrestling life we all shared together. Ive grown used to seeing these same people for 14 years, guys like you have been an extension of our family. Life want ever seem the same....blaike started tonight with 9 matches left......7 to go. Hope your Blake reaches his full potential and does the things we have always known hes capable of..come up to Ooltewah tomorrow. Its gonna be a show.

Good Luck to all, Our last region tournament. Leave it all on the mat. The good Lord and fate blessed me with 3 of the best young men a man could hope to raise. Jonathan with his state championship a few years ago, and Blaikes grit and determination. You have made your father and family proud. Its been a pleasure watching every ones kids grow into men. Something to cherish for all time. To all our friends, The Henry's