Hopefully this thread will allow the Triple A State thread to focus on the very deserving 8 teams that remain and not those that have completed their seasons. First, Congrats to SC for beating our Bearettes. SC was the better team last night. Good luck to Coach King and the Lady Hawks. Congrats to the other 7 that punched their tickets including Oak Ridge and Coach Paige (Redman) Green. (A former Bearette) I am a parent of a player and know every girl and every parent associated with our program. I know every story of each family's decision to enroll at Bradley. Discussions of "transfers, weak schedules," and discrediting our kids have gone on long enough. Please allow me to defend our young ladies. These are the facts:
1. Exactly 20 girls are in our program. (JV and Varsity included)
-19 of 20 entered BC on day one of their 9th grade year.
-1 transferred 2nd semester of her 9th grade year. (6th man) So all 20 were at BC in the 9th grade.
-18 of the 20 attended an in county middle school.
-1 attended East Hamilton MS- 9 miles down I-75 from BC.
The "transfer" talk relative to this specific team has been created by a few local fans and even Coaches who simply are not happy with their own program's level of success. Try to find another school with 1800 students who is successful and has fewer "transfers." Our team has as much or more home grown talent as anyone in the state. Please don't take the bait from others who are misinformed and/ or intentionally spreading "fake news" (especially a certain coach at a local school who uses this forum for self promotion and posts absolute lies under multiple usernames and has 4 "transfers" in his top 10 players- 3 of which "transferred" from.......you guessed it- Bradley Central) We've never complained and celebrate the success those girls have had across town. They did what they felt was best for them and we are all still friends with their families.
2. Bearettesalltheway has been called a "Troll." I'm not sure why some call him a troll yet continue to reply to his every post. It is disappointing to continue to take shots from users who know they are replying to junk. Please ignore him.
3. Our district is admittedly weak, but our Coach has attempted to do all he can to prepare our girls. Our players do compete at high levels in AAU and Exposure ball. National HS tournaments like some that Riverdale competes in require invites and 10's of thousands of dollars. (airline tickets, hotels, etc.) We competed in the best tournament we were invited to at the Andrew Johnson Bank tourney where 2 of the current final 8 and 4 of the sectional 16 teams in AAA TN competed. Non district games included 3 more of the final 32 AAA teams, 2 of the top private school teams and a final 4 -AAAAA team from GA. Additionally, we played Hamilton Heights and Smyrna in a play day at Riverdale the week before the season began. Source: www.Bradleybearettes.com
We were adequately prepared. We just got beat by a very good team in SC. We give them credit.
4. Recently someone called out one of our players in a negative way on CoachT. That was tragic in my opinion and it seemed like many of you felt that same and supported the young lady. For that, I thank you. My daughter was made aware of this and felt terrible for her teammate. I don't understand the logic by some of the same folks today who are bashing our program, our schedule and even our kids. (some by the players' names) As one poster said: "These are 14-18 year old kids and some of them see this." Yes they do see this. It's a shame for them to feel discredited individually and as a team by adults. We should all be better than that. I ask you to be a part of the solution.
All of you love your respective schools. That's the way it should be. We love Bradley Central and it's rich history of great players and families. We are proud of our girls. They have a collective 3.8 GPA and have made unforgettable memories. They have represented our school and community well off the court as well. This past week has been difficult for 100's of teams across the state as their seasons have ended with a loss. Last night, it was our turn. Many tears have been shed and the pain is very real. Now that our season is over and I have presented the facts, I respectfully ask you to please consider allowing us to reflect and celebrate the achievements of these young ladies. Good luck to the remaining 8 teams in each class.
