A/AA Regions

[hamlet7478]

hamlet7478, on reflection I have to apologize for my tone. I shouldn't have been so sarcastic and I am sorry.

 

This issue has been a sore spot for as long as I can remember, going all the way back to the Div. I / Div. II split. That's why so-called "public-private debate" posts have their own home (exile?) on Coach T because everyone gets pretty opinionated based on their own situations.

 

In any event, I'm sorry for sounding the way I did and, seriously, good luck to your girls tonight at ND.

 

 

No problem. You seem like a nice guy.

 

I look forward to adding some value with future comments.

 

By the way, I don't live in Sweetwater. I just like the team. Maybe it's the great name of their town. Maybe it's the fact that they're underdogs.

[BigG]

the brackets are set so that ND, CAK, and FRA should all have to get by each other before any of them get an opportunity to challenge the Sweetwater team.

Unfortunately, you are right. IF things go as I think they may (NOT saying that they will) then Notre Dame has a good chance of playing FRA in the first game at state, then IF CAK wins the first game, the winner would play each other in the quarters. I think it is a shame, for those teams to meet so early, but... ?

 

Hamlet, I understand your frustration, and I don't know a good answer for you about the public private thing. I think it is a debate that, as Hoya has said, has been waged for quite a while, and will continue to be. Contested enough to have its own thread! When I was a newbie on Coach T (before my massive addiction!) I did the same thing you did, because the argument was new to me, too.

 

I'd say more, but I don't want to have to move this to that debate. If you would like, you can start a thread on that board about private schools and soccer. (They are mostly about football)

 

I wish you good luck.

[East10soccer]

Unfortunately schools like Pigeon Forge, And Elizabethton get shafted with playing either CAK or Knox Catholic in their Sectional match up. As Well as the chattanooga team facing Notre Dame or CCS. Very tough in the East in A/AA no doubt

[superdog]

Unfortunately schools like Pigeon Forge, And Elizabethton get shafted with playing either CAK or Knox Catholic in their Sectional match up. As Well as the chattanooga team facing Notre Dame or CCS. Very tough in the East in A/AA no doubt

Which schools have the better softball and basketball teams? Maybe soccer is a little better because of the fact that there are 3 or 4 competitive soccer clubs on the west side of Knoxville. It sounds like the Catholic/Elizabethton game should be pretty close. Whoever is going against CAK will likely have long odds.

[akula21]

my opinion on the public/private goes like this, when I was still playing a decade ago, everyone was together and there was no argument as far as who was the best team, because they all had the same road to the championship. Do I feel that some of the private schools have an advantage, yes, their transfer rules are different from public schools, but so what. If we split it completely, how many threads would we have arguing who the true state champion is? I personally like to have the challenge of playing against strong teams and think it would be a false confidence in my team's ability if we didn't have to compete against the private schools in soccer. Our concern as coaches is swaying way too far to the "WIN" mentality. I see both sides of the arguments. I coach at a public school (Alcoa) and I want to face the best regardless so that there is some true honor and pride in the games we play. If they were split again and we were lucky or capable enough to have success, I would always know in the back of my mind that it was not the true success or message that I want my young men and women to take into their lives after high school.

[Soccer Gypsy]

I'm sorry, but I could not hold a good conversation about public-private so I will just talk soccer. The advantage will always be with the the areas that have good competitive soccer programs that feed into the schools in the area. I don't think it has anything to do with public or private. Would a smaller public school have more of advantage without a CAK or ND? Yes, but eventually you would run into another team from Nashville, Memphis, or Chattanooga who has the same problem as schools around Knoxville have right now.

 

I am just a fan of good soccer and it is nice to see all three divisions have quality teams. Good luck to all the schools, public or private. I am still pulling for Fairview on the right side of the bracket, my Cinderella this year. Go Fairview!

 

Big G, I found a topic for us in the spring for the public-private forum. Evidently they are having a contest when publics and privates play during the week. Maybe we can do that with boys soccer.

 

Akula, I think your post says it all about youth sports. Sometimes we do lose sight of the big picture.

[VolunteerGeneral]

I`m a Madison fan. And as a public school fan I don`t care who we play, public or private. Last year Madison and McNairy County left all the private schools in West TN behind as they both went to the state tournament. This year USJ plays McNairy and Madison plays JCS. It could very well be that both JCS and USJ win this year. Who knows? But it won`t be because they did anything unfair. It will be because they are the better soccer teams.

 

Championships are for the best teams to worry about. High school sports are for learning, competing, developing character and sportmanship, and learning values that will help them in life. Way too many people get caught up in what`s fair and what`s not fair. No schools are alike. There are public and private schools, urban and rural, affluently located and inner city schools, open zoned publics, closed zone publics, big schools, little schools, schools with a lot of small town support, schools with very little support, schools with very good coaches and schools with not so good coaches.

 

Everyone should just stay focused on the important aspects of high school sports. If you are an athlete..enjoy it while you can and always play hard and fair and do your best. If you are a fan...be a good fan and give your support in a positive manner.

[rbrooks_65]

Very well put, Volunteer General.

 

Winning games and championships are fun and great, and are certainly very rewarding. But, games and championships are eventually forgotten by most folks. Hopefully our athletes are building character and learning lessons that will ultimately be more imporant and take them farther in life than just winning on the field.

 

Good luck to all the remaining teams.

[Hoya]

 

Winning games and championships are fun and great, and are certainly very rewarding. But, games and championships are eventually forgotten by most folks. Hopefully our athletes are building character and learning lessons that will ultimately be more imporant and take them farther in life than just winning on the field.

 

 

rbrooks_65 and VolunteerGeneral,

 

Now that's just crazy talk! How did you two ever get to post on CoachT?

 

Seriously, great posts! You know when you are competing as a player or a coach(or even when you are a fan) and you're in the middle of a season, it is sometimes hard to keep in mind what really matters. It's good to step away and see the big picture now and then. And it's good to have folks like you to remind many of us, including me, who sometimes forget what it's all really about. Thanks.

[insidepitch]

FRA, ND, and CAK. All private schools. This will undoubtably be the 5th straight year for a private school to win A/AA.

 

Small public schools are shut out of the possibility of an A/AA State championship due to the concentration of good soccer players in the private schools, relative to size.

 

Good players concentrate in the private schools because of the socioeconomics of competitive soccer.

 

Large public schools in urban areas can compete with these privates based on shear numbers, but not the smaller schools. Not any more. And of course the large publics do not play the privates in the State tourney due to absolute size requirements for classification.

 

Smaller publics can have 1 or 2 really outstanding players (e.g. Sweetwater with Morgan Gruenfelder and Melissa Morris who, along with Laura Novacoff might be the best A/AA players in the State) but not as deep a supporting cast.

 

 

Food for thought. Is this fair or right? Is this good for TN soccer?

 

The irony in this post is if I am not mistaken Laura Novacoff LIVES in Madisonville, about 10 miles from Sweetwater. If she would have went there the privates would have really been in trouble with Sweetwater.