Why is it..............

[takedown3]

Is it in the water? Is it in the genes? Is it in the coaching, the athletes or just desire?

 

Why is it that the smallest metropolitan area in the state (Bradley, you're part of it), year in and year out, decade in and decade out, consistently fields the finest teams and wrestlers? If we could throw in Ringgold, it even gets sillier.

 

40 out of 54 traditional and 22 out of 35 dual championships. When you compare individual wrestlers, it even gets more lopsided. And remember, Baylor and McCallie weren't even participating in the championships until the early '70s.

 

Personally I like to steer clear of controversial subjects.

[Sommers]

Is it in the water? Is it in the genes? Is it in the coaching, the athletes or just desire?

 

Why is it that the smallest metropolitan area in the state (Bradley, you're part of it), year in and year out, decade in and decade out, consistently fields the finest teams and wrestlers? If we could throw in Ringgold, it even gets sillier.

 

40 out of 54 traditional and 22 out of 35 dual championships. When you compare individual wrestlers, it even gets more lopsided. And remember, Baylor and McCallie weren't even participating in the championships until the early '70s.

 

Personally I like to steer clear of controversial subjects.

 

Interesting topic...

Why is Christianna, VA consistently good. How did Collins Hill, GA, along with a few other GA teams all of a sudden get good. Maybe it's RMC?

 

Ringgold had been building for some time as as LFO, and La Fayette down the road. Similar to BC. It's a community support thing that builds enthusuasm and desire.

 

To make varsity is a pretty big thing at these schools. You know you've accomplished something. It's a tradition and only grows generation after generation. Coaching and financial support is important and seems to be there more in the burbs.

 

More stability in families helps (like BCB, HT,76, Mtnrasslin, WV and his neighbor Jakesdad are perfect examples ) because kids are reinforced at home around the dinner table, with the right diets to support making weight and stay healthy & strong, e.g., "Hey, kid do as I say, not..."

 

 

Note: Hey, before anyone says anything, I've been working hard on my gut. It's nearly perfected!!!

Edited February 2, 2006 by Sommers

[Sommers]

Prediction: Blackman will become a power that will rival any over the next five years. Did anyone notice that they came out of no where to break into the top ten last year? There's lot more of that coming as well as other schools impacted by the Sherriff's Sharp Shooters and other off season clubs in the area.

 

Mr. Patton and others around this area are a good example of the family support and enthusiam needed to boost a program.

 

Sure was pleased to see Oakland boost their program so quickly. Desire to succeed from everyone has been strong there.

 

I also see this growing all over Coffee Co. too as well as Putman, Warren, Cumberland.

 

The North side of Middle TN has impressed me in recent years and it may be a spin off of the great success Clarksville and Kenwood has had over the years. I know this area has a great desire to rival Chattanooga one day.

 

Beech, Whitehouse, Springfield and Hendersonville has something going on, as does Williamson Co. with Brentwood, Franklin, and Ravenwood.

 

Many of these areas have momentum now. There's pockets of growth developing all over.

 

 

I'll also be interested to see how the Left side with the Houstons, G-town's, Cordova's, Collierville's, and Ridgeway's progress; as well as continued growth in the Tri-cites with The Hill & G-ville, and Knoxville w/M-ville, Farragut, Karns, Webb and others (seems like Sevier Co. has lots of support).

 

Okay... The power or edge goes to Chattanooga over anywhere else because tradition and confidence is deeply embedded in schools trophy cases, administrators, coaches, referees, parents, athletes, press and the general public. It has been building steady for over 45 years there and has spread from there, i.e., No. Ga., Cleveland, BC, (MUST ADD WALKER VALLEY NOW), Soddy, Rhea Co. & Ooltewah, AND is still one of the strongest hot beds for wrestling in the SE.

 

PS: glad to see The big Red and Blue, AND HT/ijx/rawn/BCB's Green still going strong...

 

Stay out of this GA!!!!! I've heard Baylor may have one of GA"s finest 8th graders coming up next season.

 

BUT, again, watch Middle TN grow

 

I love this sport.

Edited February 2, 2006 by Sommers

[takedown3]

Ok. Since only Sommers rose to the bait, here's the answer: It's the high concentration of Scots-Irish in the area (and for North Georgia too). See Admiral James Webb's Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America . It was so simple. We're just fiestier than other folks.

[cbread]

Prediction: Blackman will become a power that will rival any over the next five years. Did anyone notice that they came out of no where to break into the top ten last year? There's lot more of that coming as well as other schools impacted by the Sherriff's Sharp Shooters and other off season clubs in the area.

 

Mr. Patton and others around this area are a good example of the family support and enthusiam needed to boost a program.

 

Sure was pleased to see Oakland boost their program so quickly. Desire to succeed from everyone has been strong there.

 

I also see this growing all over Coffee Co. too as well as Putman, Warren, Cumberland.

 

The North side of Middle TN has impressed me in recent years and it may be a spin off of the great success Clarksville and Kenwood has had over the years. I know this area has a great desire to rival Chattanooga one day.

 

Beech, Whitehouse, Springfield and Hendersonville has something going on, as does Williamson Co. with Brentwood, Franklin, and Ravenwood.

 

Many of these areas have momentum now. There's pockets of growth developing all over.

 

 

I'll also be interested to see how the Left side with the Houstons, G-town's, Cordova's, Collierville's, and Ridgeway's progress; as well as continued growth in the Tri-cites with The Hill & G-ville, and Knoxville w/M-ville, Farragut, Karns, Webb and others (seems like Sevier Co. has lots of support).

 

Okay... The power or edge goes to Chattanooga over anywhere else because tradition and confidence is deeply embedded in schools trophy cases, administrators, coaches, referees, parents, athletes, press and the general public. It has been building steady for over 45 years there and has spread from there, i.e., No. Ga., Cleveland, BC, (MUST ADD WALKER VALLEY NOW), Soddy, Rhea Co. & Ooltewah, AND is still one of the strongest hot beds for wrestling in the SE.

 

PS: glad to see The big Red and Blue, AND HT/ijx/rawn/BCB's Green still going strong...

 

Stay out of this GA!!!!! I've heard Baylor may have one of GA"s finest 8th graders coming up next season.

 

BUT, again, watch Middle TN grow

 

I love this sport.

Baylor can bring up that kid and let him compete in a six team state tournament that no one cares about.

[best_of_the_west]

This is a very interesting topic to me. I'm in college, so I have some broad sociological possibilities that they've fed me, but I think the Scotch-Irish influence is pretty evident. But there are some really good wrestling areas in Florida and California too. I have done a little bit of research on the history of wrestling in Chattanooga/North Georgia, and I've thought of trying to write a send-in article to a newspaper down there, but there just aren't many resources out there. I think it would be really fascinating to sit down with a Gordon Connell or a Jim Morgan and pick his brain about it.

[ijtx]

Ok. Since only Sommers rose to the bait, here's the answer: It's the high concentration of Scots-Irish in the area (and for North Georgia too). See Admiral James Webb's Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America . It was so simple. We're just fiestier than other folks.

 

Hoot-mon and begora! I'll have to think about that one.

[fhsd]

I'm not sure what the "broad sociological foundations" might be, but there are certainly a lot of areas up North and in the Midwest, Great Plains and all the way out to California that don't have the Scots Irish influence.

 

But there is one common factor that always seems to be at the heart of an area getting started and then staying tough - that's the development of a great (not good, but Great) feeder program that gets a school or two up and going, then helps them stay up for a while and then just keeps on pouring in new experienced freshman kids each year. As the success builds, then the younger kids look up at the high school success and want to be a part of that.

 

Somebody needs to ask Alan Morris what it was that got him to keep going with the feeder program he ran in Cleveland for 18 years. He certainly pumped a lot of future state champs into the Bradley program.

 

I remember taking a USA Wrestling coaching certification class from Al Miller at Cleveland about 8 years ago. The first question he asked was "What's the most important factor that contributes to a successful high school wrestling program?"

 

The answer was "A successful youth wrestling feeder program".

 

So, if anyone wants to know how to build an area, it's simple - just go out and recruit several former wrestlers who are willing to put in years to build the feeder program, give those kids to a qualified, passionate high school coach and see what happens.

Edited February 2, 2006 by fhsd

[Sommers]

The answer was "A successful youth wrestling feeder program".

 

So, if anyone wants to know how to build an area, it's simple - just go out and recruit several former wrestlers who are willing to put in years to build the feeder program, give those kids to a qualified, passionate high school coach and see what happens.

This is soooo true, IF there are less 1-2 AM ending tournaments, which can burn out the wrestler as well as the family and coaches with young families.

[slp2269]

If you want to dominate a sport then you need to start young and do it all year long - as a rule TN wrestlers don't do that. NJ, PA, OH are all states that offer youth clubs with year round practice facilities and good coaching for the dedicated individual. Check out www.edgewrestling.com as an example. Great coaching year round makes for elite competitors and awesome results, and it's what turns a sub par freshman/sophmore into a state placer in 2 years. Do that in Chattanooga, Clarksville, Oakland, Munford, wherever. You give me 15 athletes in the sixth grade, and I do mean athletes, wrestling year round and in 4 years you have a state placing team.

I do not care what part of the state you are in, you could have a state championship team.........It has nothing to do with geography.

It's all about coaching, desire and athletic ability - not in that order.

[RMC]

If you want to dominate a sport then you need to start young and do it all year long - as a rule TN wrestlers don't do that. NJ, PA, OH are all states that offer youth clubs with year round practice facilities and good coaching for the dedicated individual. Check out www.edgewrestling.com as an example. Great coaching year round makes for elite competitors and awesome results, and it's what turns a sub par freshman/sophmore into a state placer in 2 years. Do that in Chattanooga, Clarksville, Oakland, Munford, wherever. You give me 15 athletes in the sixth grade, and I do mean athletes, wrestling year round and in 4 years you have a state placing team.

I do not care what part of the state you are in, you could have a state championship team.........It has nothing to do with geography.

It's all about coaching, desire and athletic ability - not in that order.

 

I'll have to say we have 2 really nice year round facilities in the Atlanta area: The Wrestling Center, and The Wrestling Academy. I might be off by one or two, but I think TWC has kids that have wrestled at 21 division one programs.

[reftn]

What type of buildings are The Wrestling Center and Th.e Wrestling Academy? Were they built expressly for wrestling or converted existing buildings?

 

reftn