11U State Tournament Results

[sports_dad]

1st = FCA Lady Eagles

2nd = Lady Trotters

3rd = TN Extreme

4th = Memphis Elite

I would just like to say congrats to all the young ladies that worked hard to get there and job well done. I can take nothing away from the performance of the players from any of these teams. In my opinion the officiating could have been a little better, especially in a state tournament, but that may be just me. I do think, however, that the attitudes of some of the parents is shameful. To boo and hiss at any of these young ladies on any of these teams or yell and act like 3 year old children when the other team is trying to shoot foul shots is a disgrace. I can understand it from children sitting in the stands but not the adults. What does everyone else think about this?

Now, on a personal note. I would like to say a very special congrats to the "Magnificent Seven", as I heard they were called, the Lady Trotters out of Jefferson City. Very good job for a team that wasn't suppose to make any kind of a showing at state. You proved you deserve to be there and now maybe all the rumors and trash talk will subside about y'all. Just get ready for Nationals because you know you'll have to disprove several of the "gossip columnists" again. I can see great things coming from y'all and look forward to watching you at Nationals.

Edited May 15, 2006 by sports_dad

[just_do_it]

Now, on a personal note. I would like to say a very special congrats to the "Magnificent Seven", as I heard they were called, the Lady Trotters out of Jefferson City. Very good job for a team that wasn't suppose to make any kind of a showing at state. You proved you deserve to be there and now maybe all the rumors and trash talk will subside about y'all. Just get ready for Nationals because you know you'll have to disprove several of the "gossip columnists" again. I can see great things coming from y'all and look forward to watching you at Nationals.

I too congratulate the Trotters. They are a quality team and proved it this weekend. Having said that, I have to agree with ptguard that their lack of depth, particularly at post, will eventually be their archilles heel. When their only post sits because of foul trouble, they are a different team. Hopefully, they can pick up some depth before nationals.

Edited May 15, 2006 by just_do_it

[go tigers]

1st = FCA Lady Eagles

2nd = Lady Trotters

3rd = TN Extreme

4th = Memphis Elite

I would just like to say congrats to all the young ladies that worked hard to get there and job well done. I can take nothing away from the performance of the players from any of these teams. In my opinion the officiating could have been a little better, especially in a state tournament, but that may be just me. I do think, however, that the attitudes of some of the parents is shameful. To boo and hiss at any of these young ladies on any of these teams or yell and act like 3 year old children when the other team is trying to shoot foul shots is a disgrace. I can understand it from children sitting in the stands but not the adults. What does everyone else think about this?

Now, on a personal note. I would like to say a very special congrats to the "Magnificent Seven", as I heard they were called, the Lady Trotters out of Jefferson City. Very good job for a team that wasn't suppose to make any kind of a showing at state. You proved you deserve to be there and now maybe all the rumors and trash talk will subside about y'all. Just get ready for Nationals because you know you'll have to disprove several of the "gossip columnists" again. I can see great things coming from y'all and look forward to watching you at Nationals.

 

 

the officiating was fine this weekend....I floated betweend gyms and it appeared to me the games were decided by the players and not the refs...It appears you are a "trotter" fan so I'll it's interesting you are complaining about the refs yet you made the finals and when I walked in the gym of the championship game the ref had just given a tech to the lady eagles bench. I watched for a good bit and I didn't see perfection (who is?) but I saw good, consistent officiating which allows the coaches and players to understand how the game will be called and how they can play for that game. I personally appreciated the refs keeping the game in control which in turn keeps the stands in control. I thought both sets of fans cheered hard and loud and I didn't hear nor see any problems with fans in the stands......However....

 

I also want to speak to your comment about people saying stuff during free throws. During the second half when the trotter coach didn't like the foul called on his player, he yelled "rebound" intentionally and exactly at the moment the opponent was shooting the front end of a two shot foul. She missed the shot and the head coach turned with a grin to his bench. It is amazing how individuals like yourself see what they want to see and only hear what they want to hear. If I were you and you want to help clean up the sportsmanship then you may want to start with your coach and the leadership (or lack of) being shown at that moment in the game. Before that incident and afterwards, the trotter coach was excellent and spent his time coaching his girls. We all make mistakes and we all learn from those mistakes......just make sure your house is clean before you start hammering on others.

 

From a neutral observer

[L84thegame]

Congratulations to all the girls !!! It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get that far regardless of how you placed.

 

I think everyone probably has fans that they can't control and at some point or another are an embarassment or disgrace to their teams organization and do not represent the things that the majority of their organization stand for.

 

Free throw attempts: we have played several teams where the girls from the opposing team yell from the bench. I think that is equally tacky. However when you grow up and take it to the next level, there is never silence from the stands during free throw attempts, and is it not against the rules for the opposing teams PLAYERS to stand, yell, stomp, and whatever in the middle of free throws. I always thought it was but maybe that's what I get for thinking; you can't win a close game by missing your free throws. Do I blame the fans or the opposing team for ours girls missing their free throws. NO I blame it on lack of shooting practice, not someone else.

 

The officiating could have been better but I never blame a loss on that either.

 

However while we are discussing what is good sportsmanship and what is morally and ethnically right I MUST say I find it highly unethnical for the coach from the winning team (which in this case was not the host of the tournament) to go to the concession stand and buy the referees food after the game, which I did witness with my own eyes this weekend. Even if the two are best of friends (which in that case he shouldn't have been officiating the game) it was poor judgement for them both. No matter what it was it just doesn't look right.

 

Although I was not proud of a lot of the adults conduct this weekend, overall I was proud of the girls conduct. Some parents could learn a lot from their own children.

 

Congratulations to all you girls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am looking forward to seeing you play at Nationals. I know you will represent Tennessee well and remind your parents to do the same.

[sports_dad]

Thanks Just do it. Yes it would be good for the trotters to have a couple more tall post players and I would say the trotters will try to pick up 1 or 2 before Nationals.

Go Tigers, I didn't post that to get an argument started and I didn't mean for it to sound as if the officials were terrible. All I said was with it being a state game, the officiating could have been a little better. And I never said that it was one sided. I guess you read into my statement what you wanted to read into it. Or maybe you had pressure from other teams about the officiating as well. That is not for me to speculate. And yes I am a fan of any team that has worked as hard as the Trotters have. I like to see a good game regardless of who the teams / players are. The Trotters were looked upon as not even suppose to be at state and yet they came in second. I would call that pretty amazing. As for the Trotter coach yelling, I heard a lot of people yelling rebound on both sides. I think the trotters have been coached very well and I don't personally think the coach would intentionally yell to make another player miss a shot. He may have just been upset because the girls were not boxing out and rebounding the way they should and wasn't thinking. That too is not for me to speculate. Again, maybe you read it the way you wanted too.

the officiating was fine this weekend....I floated betweend gyms and it appeared to me the games were decided by the players and not the refs...It appears you are a "trotter" fan so I'll it's interesting you are complaining about the refs yet you made the finals and when I walked in the gym of the championship game the ref had just given a tech to the lady eagles bench. I watched for a good bit and I didn't see perfection (who is?) but I saw good, consistent officiating which allows the coaches and players to understand how the game will be called and how they can play for that game. I personally appreciated the refs keeping the game in control which in turn keeps the stands in control. I thought both sets of fans cheered hard and loud and I didn't hear nor see any problems with fans in the stands......However....

 

I also want to speak to your comment about people saying stuff during free throws. During the second half when the trotter coach didn't like the foul called on his player, he yelled "rebound" intentionally and exactly at the moment the opponent was shooting the front end of a two shot foul. She missed the shot and the head coach turned with a grin to his bench. It is amazing how individuals like yourself see what they want to see and only hear what they want to hear. If I were you and you want to help clean up the sportsmanship then you may want to start with your coach and the leadership (or lack of) being shown at that moment in the game. Before that incident and afterwards, the trotter coach was excellent and spent his time coaching his girls. We all make mistakes and we all learn from those mistakes......just make sure your house is clean before you start hammering on others.

 

From a neutral observer

Edited May 15, 2006 by sports_dad

[sports_dad]

Very well said L84thegame. You put it much better than I could have. As a coach of grade school children, There is a lot of yelling and fussing at school games. This is expected. And yes, we all do make mistakes and let our tempers flare at this level. But I think at this level a little professionalism from the parents will help their children understand that in order to receive good sportsmanship, you first have to show good sportsmanship. It is great to see fans cheering for their teams. It would be kinda boring to sit and no one say anything. It is not great to sit and listen to someone downgrade the players of the opposing team. This is a learning stage / experience for all these girls at this age and should be viewed as such. Again this is my personal opinion and not meant to "offend" anyone.

 

Congratulations to all the girls !!! It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get that far regardless of how you placed.

 

I think everyone probably has fans that they can't control and at some point or another are an embarassment or disgrace to their teams organization and do not represent the things that the majority of their organization stand for.

 

Free throw attempts: we have played several teams where the girls from the opposing team yell from the bench. I think that is equally tacky. However when you grow up and take it to the next level, there is never silence from the stands during free throw attempts, and is it not against the rules for the opposing teams PLAYERS to stand, yell, stomp, and whatever in the middle of free throws. I always thought it was but maybe that's what I get for thinking; you can't win a close game by missing your free throws. Do I blame the fans or the opposing team for ours girls missing their free throws. NO I blame it on lack of shooting practice, not someone else.

 

The officiating could have been better but I never blame a loss on that either.

 

However while we are discussing what is good sportsmanship and what is morally and ethnically right I MUST say I find it highly unethnical for the coach from the winning team (which in this case was not the host of the tournament) to go to the concession stand and buy the referees food after the game, which I did witness with my own eyes this weekend. Even if the two are best of friends (which in that case he shouldn't have been officiating the game) it was poor judgement for them both. No matter what it was it just doesn't look right.

 

Although I was not proud of a lot of the adults conduct this weekend, overall I was proud of the girls conduct. Some parents could learn a lot from their own children.

 

Congratulations to all you girls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am looking forward to seeing you play at Nationals. I know you will represent Tennessee well and remind your parents to do the same.

Edited May 15, 2006 by sports_dad

[hoopsinstead]

TRUE

The Lady Trotters are a class organization and their 11u coach was very cordial and displayed good sportsmanship both before and after both of our games. I really liked their team and they presented an interesting matchup for us given their good size and strength at all positions and all the players were very solid fundamentally. Congratulations on your 2nd place finish.

 

The semifinal game between my FCA Lady Eagle team and the TN Xtreme was exactly what I expected it to be--one for the ages. It was a chess match the whole way with either team having an excellent chance to win on any given day. The crowd for both sides was very much into the game and got their money's worth from both teams. Congratulations to the Xtreme on their 3rd place finish. The consolation game had to be very tough to get their girls mentally ready after our semifinal game. It was great to see the FCA Lady Eagle players and the Xtreme players together on the court at half time of the game preceding the finals playing knockout and having a good time together. That was great sportsmanship exhibited by the kids.

 

The Elite Tigers fought their hearts out in the consolation game losing a close one to the Xtreme. They have a very quick and athletic team and are well coached. They should be congratulated on their 4th place finish.

 

The officiating was fine and no different than what I have experienced in the many state tourney games my teams have played over the years. Some times you feel like a particular ref has it in for you (first half of the Xtreme game) and sometimes it just seems fair. As a naturally biased coach or parent or fan, you never think it is going your way.

 

The Memphis Elite did a fine job in organizing and running the tournament and should be commended.

FALSE

I never heard the Trotter coach yell during our free throws. I can only assume that comment is sour grapes from another team that didn't make it to the championship game.

 

I never saw any parents do anything during any of the 11u Sunday games that I would consider to be extremely unsportsmanlike. If anything was said or done, it wasn't so extreme that I even noticed it. Again, this must be sour grapes.

 

The comment about a coach buying the refs food after a game is probably the most humorous. What game? Which coach from which winning team? I can assure you that I didn't buy any ref anything and if I did, I would have wasted my money because it sure didn't get me any calls. Again, sour grapes.

 

There were several other very good teams that made it to state and they too should be congratulated: Express, Cookeville, Pearls and CDF.

[L84thegame]

Hoopsinstead

If I were going to make a story like that up I would have said I saw them at Red Lobster or Steak & Ale or maybe even Ryan's but NOT the concession stand. I just simply stated it doesn't look right and it was poor judgement. The gentleman that did it, shouldn't have, in looking back he probably realizes he shouldn't have.

 

You can't speak for what I saw with my own eyes this weekend. Just like I can't speak for what you saw. Because although we attended the same tournament you were not everywhere I was every second of the tournament, and I'm sure you didn't stand guard at the concession stand. You can only speak for yourself in saying it wasn't you.

 

Sour grapes, not hardly, and some of the parents in my OWN organization are the very parents that I am ashamed of.

 

Your girls played well and simply wanted it more than anyone there did and Congratulations to you and your team!! You have worked hard, the girls have worked hard, you earned the state title. .. but please don't tell me what I saw or didn't see.

 

Now what I WILL see is YOU at the Nationals......... and I'll be cheering you on!

[denise031]

Hoopsinstead

If I were going to make a story like that up I would have said I saw them at Red Lobster or Steak & Ale or maybe even Ryan's but NOT the concession stand. I just simply stated it doesn't look right and it was poor judgement. The gentleman that did it, shouldn't have, in looking back he probably realizes he shouldn't have.

 

You can't speak for what I saw with my own eyes this weekend. Just like I can't speak for what you saw. Because although we attended the same tournament you were not everywhere I was every second of the tournament, and I'm sure you didn't stand guard at the concession stand. You can only speak for yourself in saying it wasn't you.

 

Sour grapes, not hardly, and some of the parents in my OWN organization are the very parents that I am ashamed of.

 

Your girls played well and simply wanted it more than anyone there did and Congratulations to you and your team!! You have worked hard, the girls have worked hard, you earned the state title. .. but please don't tell me what I saw or didn't see.

 

Now what I WILL see is YOU at the Nationals......... and I'll be cheering you on!

[werballers]

Very well said L84thegame. You put it much better than I could have. As a coach of grade school children, There is a lot of yelling and fussing at school games. This is expected. And yes, we all do make mistakes and let our tempers flare at this level. But I think at this level a little professionalism from the parents will help their children understand that in order to receive good sportsmanship, you first have to show good sportsmanship. It is great to see fans cheering for their teams. It would be kinda boring to sit and no one say anything. It is not great to sit and listen to someone downgrade the players of the opposing team. This is a learning stage / experience for all these girls at this age and should be viewed as such. Again this is my personal opinion and not meant to "offend" anyone.

 

In my opinion, all the teams that played on Sunday could have won the championship. All the games were hard faught and sometimes it is the little things that make the difference in the end. FCA is a well discipline and well coached team who do all the little things. The core of this team has been together for a few years now and have taken their bumps to get to this level. My hats go off to Coach Little and his staff on a job well done.

 

The Trotters were a surprise. My Elite Tigers played this team and lost by 1pt in the semis. The Trotters are well coached and I did not hear the coach say anything while we were shooting free throws, so I don't know where this is coming from. The Trotters played like they wanted it more than we did, so my hats go off to the group of girls on that team. Good job ladies and congrats on your 2nd place finish.

 

The Extreme played well against my Elite Tigers, but I heard they could not get there post going against FCA. This is a really good team with all the pieces. They will be a tough outfit at nationals.

 

My Memphis Elite Lady Tigers fought hard, but could not take advantage of some layup and free throw opportunities during the Sunday games losing by 1pt in the semis and 2pts in the 3rd place game. This is not to take anything away from the teams we played because they were good teams and they also did their part in winning the games. This is the first year for this team so 4th in the State is a big accomplishment. We do look to make some noise during Nationals.

 

I hope all the teams and parents will just accept how they finished and take their hats off to the teams they lost to. Nationals are right around the corner, so lets get focused on that so we can represent Tennessee well. I will be rooting for all of you, except if you are playing my Elite Tigers

[go tigers]

Congratulations to all the girls !!! It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get that far regardless of how you placed.

 

I think everyone probably has fans that they can't control and at some point or another are an embarassment or disgrace to their teams organization and do not represent the things that the majority of their organization stand for.

 

Free throw attempts: we have played several teams where the girls from the opposing team yell from the bench. I think that is equally tacky. However when you grow up and take it to the next level, there is never silence from the stands during free throw attempts, and is it not against the rules for the opposing teams PLAYERS to stand, yell, stomp, and whatever in the middle of free throws. I always thought it was but maybe that's what I get for thinking; you can't win a close game by missing your free throws. Do I blame the fans or the opposing team for ours girls missing their free throws. NO I blame it on lack of shooting practice, not someone else.

 

The officiating could have been better but I never blame a loss on that either.

 

However while we are discussing what is good sportsmanship and what is morally and ethnically right I MUST say I find it highly unethnical for the coach from the winning team (which in this case was not the host of the tournament) to go to the concession stand and buy the referees food after the game, which I did witness with my own eyes this weekend. Even if the two are best of friends (which in that case he shouldn't have been officiating the game) it was poor judgement for them both. No matter what it was it just doesn't look right.

 

Although I was not proud of a lot of the adults conduct this weekend, overall I was proud of the girls conduct. Some parents could learn a lot from their own children.

 

Congratulations to all you girls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am looking forward to seeing you play at Nationals. I know you will represent Tennessee well and remind your parents to do the same.

 

 

More sour grapes....

To clarify...

There is nothing wrong with people cheering and yelling in the stands during free throws...In fact most players probably like a constant noise level then being able to hear a pin drop...I don't have a problem with players on the bench participating in cheering and doing organized cheers offensively or defensively....It is still tacky for opposing coaches, especially head coaches to yell intentionally to try to effect the shot of an 11yr old opponent. I like the way people try to rationalize the act because they were doing this to us or I saw this happen orwhatever....Be an Adult, Be a Leader.

 

Per your words you never blame an official for losing a game yet 2 sentences later you lay out a master accusation of snack food for victorys. Which is it? Did you shoot the movie JFK?

 

Just a little humor...again...the teams were really talented this weekend...the parents were well behaved. Good luck to all the ladies, coaches and parents at nationals....

[go tigers]

Thanks Just do it. Yes it would be good for the trotters to have a couple more tall post players and I would say the trotters will try to pick up 1 or 2 before Nationals.

Go Tigers, I didn't post that to get an argument started and I didn't mean for it to sound as if the officials were terrible. All I said was with it being a state game, the officiating could have been a little better. And I never said that it was one sided. I guess you read into my statement what you wanted to read into it. Or maybe you had pressure from other teams about the officiating as well. That is not for me to speculate. And yes I am a fan of any team that has worked as hard as the Trotters have. I like to see a good game regardless of who the teams / players are. The Trotters were looked upon as not even suppose to be at state and yet they came in second. I would call that pretty amazing. As for the Trotter coach yelling, I heard a lot of people yelling rebound on both sides. I think the trotters have been coached very well and I don't personally think the coach would intentionally yell to make another player miss a shot. He may have just been upset because the girls were not boxing out and rebounding the way they should and wasn't thinking. That too is not for me to speculate. Again, maybe you read it the way you wanted too.

 

I sincerely appreciate your words but you admittingly didn't witness what I saw and heard. As a coach if I'm disappointed with the way my team is rebounding I have plenty of time to let them know to box out, who has shooter, etc....the gym was fairly quiet at the particular incident and I expected someone in the stands to blurt out but it came from the coach and when he turned to his team and staff and grinned....that was all the verification I needed....I didn't read it the way I wanted to because I didn't have a horse in the race (or daughter in the game).

 

I would have never made this as an original post but once I saw criticizism of sportsmanship coming from a trotter fan, I wanted to present what I saw from a neutral point. again, if you read my original comments. i thought both parent groups where good, the game was under control and coaches could coach accordingly(and I specifically said the trotter coach did a good job of coaching his girls) and of course the game was very competitive.

 

I leave you with this....if you are team A and you beat Team B and then someone for Team B says the officiating could have be better and the sportsmanship was questionable....This sounds like what?

Please understand I have been guilty of some of these issues at times and it is when you can be a neutral observer and see it, you realize how bad it looks. I have learned a ton through my years of coaching and I'm sure I will continue to learn and grow. Good luck to all.