oceansize42

I heard Chittum was ruled ineligible (true?). Too bad was looking forward to watching him wrestle here in TN, not that there would have been much competition outside a select few. Anybody heard anything different?

For the first time NE TN has a seemingly legit private school in their backyard and as such this will definitely pull some talent from Dobyns Bennett and Science Hill in the coming years assuming they can keep a quality coach and be competitive. Supposedly Lakeway has a full roster this year as last year they never entered more than two kids or three kids in any tournament or dual (that I could see) so I'm curious to see what they have.

Colby Dalon and Caleb Gumlick. Private schools recruiting, nothing more to it than that. Perhaps more opportunities to wrestle national level tournaments?

Why can't we get at least D1 AAA and AA together for individuals? Imagine Bennett and Foreman in AAA 138? Kannedy at 145? Mason at 126 with Trae? Dalon at 152. Great to see those kids compete against the best AAA.

Agreed. At a minimum D1 AAA and AA should be joined again. A lack of kids which leads to many teams without a full roster which leads to really weak wrestle offs. I would love to see many of those big school small school match ups matter. I was talking to a coach this year and early in the season he had a full team. At the end he had hardly anybody so I asked what happened. He said that one of the kids dad's said too much risk of injury and therefore could effect football so that kid quit and then a bunch of the other football kids quit. I cannot imagine my old man telling me there was too much risk involved in HS athletics. Edit: When I say joined I mean for individuals at the end of the season.

Yeah sorry didn't mean to derail the thread quite this far. On a lighter note the 138 bracket is completely screwy which I gathered is no surprise. Fisher should have been the two seed with Mann at three but they are both in region 1 so I get it. What I don't get is how the Knox Halls kid got seeded second with a .583 win percentage.

Fair point. I can say in my case then I would tell the kid personally, particularly since I would know him. This rule is well known and so the instant it is brought to the ref's attention everyone is aware of what is likely to happen. Why I typed that last part of my last sentence in the prior post.

That is a good point DAKEKO. It truly is and it cannot be dismissed. However, I just don't understand why a coach within our own region chose this path. A coach who knows these kids and sees them wrestle week in and week out. A coach who has had Ethan in his own room practicing with his kids didn't have the courtesy to simply tell Ethan or his coach to move on. Should an opposing team's coach have to do that? No, they shouldn't. I myself am torn on this as I understand what we did and failed to do but dang it I wish some courtesy, or compassion, had been displayed even if we lacked it ourselves.

Ethan was outside the rules and there can be no doubt on that subject. As for me I couldn't do this to a kid, be it right or wrong. If that hints at a lack of ethics within myself as a sideline participant in this sport then I'll live with that.

Do keep in mind that Miller and the ref were within the rules and Ethan was outside the rules. Then why did I bother posting is the next obvious question? IMO a coach should let the officials officiate and the coach's concerns should fall upon their own. As for me I couldn't do this to a kid right or wrong. If that hints at a lack of ethics within myself as a sideline participant in this sport then I'll live with that.

Honestly I think he was overly nervous about the weigh-ins. We should have caught it and reigned it in. We did fail. Ethan paid the price.

I only mentioned his character as it is natural to wonder if the kid in question is a problem child. Perhaps difficult or gives attitude towards other coaches and the refs. He does not. I have heard, from reliable sources, as I was not in the physical area, at that time, that multiple (many?) kids were cutting. The issue is why was one, just one, DQ'd? Do I personally think there was a conspiracy? Probably not. However, if rules are rules then DQ them all. Do I want to that happen? Of course not as IMO it was a foolish business and a warning would have sufficed. But again, we as a team failed Ethan. We are 100% at fault but choices were made and I've no problem airing those out for discussion.

You are correct in that the blame is 100% ours. I'm not a coach but highly involved. Jimmy made his choice and I have no problem, zero, in stating his choice on a public forum. I'm sure he stands by it. Nonetheless I'm very very surprised it went to the level that it did. Edit: I changed my original post to make it more clear we are at fault.

I can shed some light. First Ethan is an outstanding student, dedicated wrestler, team captain, and all around exemplary kid. He never missed a single practice this season nor did he ever miss weight for any event. Not a single disciplinary issue. He is low key and humble. The kind of kid every team wants in their room. Ethan was under weight at the time he was "caught" by at least .6 to .8 lbs. Ethan, like any responsible kid, is a worrier about his weight. He cares perhaps too much. Our coach volunteered to put him on the scale right then and there. We failed Ethan as a team. We should have handled our pre weigh-in business better and the incident should not have occurred. All of us deeply regret this and I've personally lost a lot of sleep over this incident. Jimmy Miller from Science Hill made a choice to report Ethan (were there other kids? I don't know) to the referee. In the end an outstanding kid, a really really good kid, was denied his chance to compete for the podium. We, his team, all share blame but I'm flabbergasted that another coach, and a referee, took it to the level they did.

Not my son but my son does train with Kodiak regularly and I enjoy the conversation with Kodiak's dad Ben during those times. Good dude and he would never publicize his kids name, ever. Also not the kind of guy, as you are, who throws out snide comments. I'm just a long time lurker. I'll DM you my name if your interested. I have nothing to hide. That seventh place finish at NHSCA is more than respectable. Watch his matches in that tournament on Flo. If you are not impressed well then I would assume your just biased. Anyways he turned a corner after the Braxton Mann (second at 126 last year and lost to Palmer) match right around January of 2019. Looked very sharp from there out. He will and is going to beat a bunch of kids in this state with well known last names this year if he gets the chance. Perhaps I threw his name out too early but he is impressive and I think he proves it this year.

Kodiak Cannedy should get a mention at 138/145. I get to see him on the regular and he is going to beat a lot big school kids regardless of their big school status. Hopefully he gets a chance to prove it. 7th at 2019 tournament of champions 7th at 2019 nhsca 3rd at 16U SE Regional Freestyle Won three matches at 2019 Super 32 at 138 lbs and both his losses were by two points.