GoTNwrestling

How do you figure? You will go to 10 nationally recognized tourneys for two or three of your kids and let your other kids suffer and quit? I said you do tough tourneys for the elite kids and do some dual tourneys so there are multiple matches for all kids and then have easier tourneys so your rookies or not as elite wrestlers get more matches and your elite kids still get the 1-2 tough matches. Like I said it’s a balancing act. Not sure I would want to have only 2-3 kids on my team because the others got tired of losing in the first min. of every match. Not sure that would be “enjoyable, and worth it” for those not as talented kids. You have to prepare all your kids and get them better. It can’t always just be about your best kids or your program will be run into the ground. Not everyone is equipped as Cleveland, Bradley, Baylor, etc. so how you all run things will be different until others can have 7-10 years of experience coming into high school. Not everyone has feeders like Higher Calling so you have to take that into consideration. As you know, tourneys are usually won in the CONSOLATION bracket, therefore your elites do their thing and win it all while you not as “elite” kids have to be prepared to be better and run through consolations. If you don’t prepare the ones that aren’t elite you probably won’t win the tourney. Not saying coaches not enter tourneys know they won’t win, they just don’t enter them every weekend to help ALL kids.

Absolutely not. I am not apart of any program at this time, but I’m saying why put your kids who can’t compete at that level to be on the mat for less than 2 min. in two matches and not have the self-confidence feel like they can compete and potentially quit? Like I said you go to some duals, some tough individual kids and some “easier” individuals where your elite wrestlers still get 1-2 good matches. Each coach is different and they went to a couple of tough tourneys. I bet, I am not a betting man, you look at almost every teams schedule, they do things very similar.

That’s amazing! What I love about this sport is sacrifice (from Bowers) but the grit from Evan. Wrestling teaches you when the going gets tough, that doesn’t mean you stop going.

So then we should take steps to ensure this over-site doesn’t happen again along with the TSSAA? If we all work together we can get so much more accomplished.

Yes DB did, but they also went to tourneys that helped their kids as well and not go 1-4 or 0-5. Some teams are not equipped to take a beating every weekend or even some weekends as these are kids. The coach who coaches that team has to make those decisions to best prepare their team for the end of the season and manage his/her kids accordingly. Every make up of a team is different and that’s the responsibility of the coach to determine what’s best for them and how to prepare the elite ones for states but also the newbies to prepare to try to even qualify for states. There is a fine line, and I’m not sure one size fits all here. I believe Science Hill’s tourney is very tough and they did pretty well. They also wrestled Bradley in a dual as well. Not defending any team or coach here, but it’s a balancing act you have to decide as the coach. It would be easy if ALL kids on the team are in the same boat talent and technical wise, but they never are.

Rather than bashing the TSSAA on what we think they are thinking, let’s approach the TSSAA with why Prep Nationals is good for these schools and how it helps the state of Tennessee and even get kids from other states into our prep schools. Why can’t this also be brought up in the coaches meeting state-wide? If the public school coaches take interest in this as well, this might make more of an impact?

Clarksville did very well. Science Hill seemed to be overrated, but it looks like things just did not go there way. For some reason, they did not bring all 14 kids to regionals, which always hurts, but as we all know, sometimes it is the draw. They also had two kids everyone thought, or at least I thought had a shot, who would be in the finals. I picked one of those two kids to win it. That is roughly 12 team points which puts them at 5. Not sure how overrated is being 5th, or even 6th for that matter in the state. My underrated regions are regions 2 and 8. Halls, Collerville, Bartlett, Anderson County and Arlington did very well as we usually mention those two regions being very weak (outside Arlington). Props to them for showing out this week. We can only hope those two regions and Region 1, with their newfound success, can keep this up. This will make the state as a whole better. Dobyns-Bennett showed out this week. I thought they had a chance to be top 5, but I thought some things would have to go their way. Even one of their kids who we thought would place or be in the finals didn’t! They also had two kids who were scratches on the first day which hurts. I was very impressed with them and they bring everyone back, barring transfers and injuries, but one, who had a losing record after the season. They might be a force next year, if everything goes their way.

145! Wow! Hurst pulls the upset after getting majored in January by Williams

When you are peaking at the right time, anything can happen!

That’s amazing!!! Let’s keep this momentum going with not just our peeps, but all of our wrestling student athletes!

Good luck to all finalists today and all celebrating making history as an all-state wrestler! Cherish this moment! If you did not make the podium, stay for the end and tomorrow work with your coach, teammates, and community to figure out how to make the podium!

For sure. This could be the same for a lot of Tennessee wrestling if we grow this sport and keep growing our feeders. Once this occurs, and our duals, regionals and state tourneys are at a higher level we can even compete at a higher level on the national stage

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all coaches, parents, volunteers and school administration to allow each one of the student athletes to be able to compete on this level. Without your tireless efforts and commitment, these kids, cannot learn how to problem solve, overcome adversity, work ethic, drive, dedication, toughness and countless other skills it takes to be successful in life. We celebrate these kids who are wrestling and putting names in history now, but I also want to thank the FORMER coaches, athletes and volunteers who committed their time like the ones now. Remember your history as a school. Remember the people who came before you in your school and state who paved the way for this to be possible. If that one coach 5 years, 15 years, 30 years did not have the vision to start the program, we would not be where we are as a state without you. The fruits of your labor have been and will continue to be shown as schools make history, break records, and impact lives through this amazing sport. So once again, thanks to all who ever had a hand in this sport and we work together as a state to better each and ever program (even start a few more) and impact lives through this sport because that’s what it is about, impacting kids for the better.

Yes! He did a great job and you did a great job picking! You think about it as well, 170 - 1 vs. 2 wrestled in the quarters. You can’t predict that in your rankings on a blind draw.

They can! Through all of us working together to get everyone to that level. Joint practices, welcoming other kids to clubs, promoting clubs, helping with transportation, providing funding to start these programs, etc. it won’t be tomorrow, or 2 years from now, but starting with getting excitement and selling the vision at the high school, trickling it down to the middle school and youth programs. As we can see, our national brand of Tennessee wrestling is improving, but we need to keep pushing and finding more ways to help each other out. The only way to get better is mat time with kids that are your level or better than you.

Great job Cleveland! Keep up the good work and let’s push the state of TN to close the gap!

Oh yes, and now you’re not teaching the basics as much to start, but how to become more efficient with what they already know, different set-ups and perfecting the craft rather than learning the craft. Yes! And when you have teammates who understand your strengths and weaknesses, you do not have to depend on your coach so much to be so in-tune with what needs to be corrected with all the kids, because your teammates will have the knowledge and experience to help “coach” in the practice room and watching from the bench/stands.

Very true. Just think how much better, fluid and more technical every team would be with 2-3 years of experience prior to getting into the high school room, yet alone what WC, Cleveland, Bradley, etc. has kids starting their high school career with 7-10 years of experience.

That’s so true and very underrated. The room you practice in matters.

Brezna wins in the final seconds.

Watkins upset Shires who majored him earlier in the year

A good match-up I want to see is Brezna vs. Morrisette. They have already wrestled twice this year, and this is the one that counts. Can Brezna avenge the losses from Morrisette? Can Morrisette come back from the heartbreaking defeat in the Quarters?

And who is not to say the best in AA could win half of the state titles every year? I feel like the mindset sometimes since these kids go to bigger schools, they must be better. That isn’t always the case. Greeneville, PF, Hixon, Fairview have been pretty competitive when they wrestled the bigger schools in duals or individuals.

For AAA that’s only and average of 9.64 kids per team and for A-AA that’s an average of 8.16 kids per team. That begs the question, should we drop the state tourney down to 16 kids for the AAA and leave it at 16 for A-AA or join them back together and leave it at 32 man brackets? With some regions 8-10 teams mean you have to win one (if drawn in at the right spot) or possibly two matches to make it. You look at the small schools who not have “potentially” as much funding as the bigger schools and have to travel further (in some cases) to the regional tournament. Before people get on me about this statement, it is not one size fits all and the small schools could have more funding than certain bigger schools. This seems to be a problem.

That’s a tough pill to swallow being the first match of the day and at the end of the season.