State Tournament in 2007

[BigG]

Murfreesboro put in a bid for the tournament... but Chattanooga said coaches told them they liked having different venues. So TSSAA went with that.

 

Personally, I'd rather it be at one venue.

Are you sure about that? Every coach that I know (at least for the guys season) says that they love it at one location. I thought it was more about $$$.

[mjuhb]

Are you sure about that? Every coach that I know (at least for the guys season) says that they love it at one location. I thought it was more about $$$.

it was about money

 

chattanooga offered 20,000 and murfreesboro and hendersonville offered only 10,000

[bapride]

Murfreesboro would be great for many reasons, but if they are going to keep it in Chattanooga it seems like they should at least move the classifications around to different locations so that people did not have home games at state. GPS is a fantastic location but A/AA or AAA should play there instead of DII.

 

It seems unfair that a Memphis school like St. Agnes or Collierville has to drive 5 or 6 hours when another team just has to walk down a hill to play.

 

IMO, all sites should be neutral sites.

[h2odog]

Murfreesboro would be great for many reasons, but if they are going to keep it in Chattanooga it seems like they should at least move the classifications around to different locations so that people did not have home games at state. GPS is a fantastic location but A/AA or AAA should play there instead of DII.

 

It seems unfair that a Memphis school like St. Agnes or Collierville has to drive 5 or 6 hours when another team just has to walk down a hill to play.

 

IMO, all sites should be neutral sites.

Agree completely. Most tournaments move around the state to give balance and fairness for all teams and not have a geographical bias. Why is this any different. As far as an ideal site goes the Mike Rose Complex in Memphis would accomodate every game for evey Division. None of the local games are played there, except Regionals and this year they were played on the school fields.

[BigG]

Agree completely. Most tournaments move around the state to give balance and fairness for all teams and not have a geographical bias. Why is this any different. As far as an ideal site goes the Mike Rose Complex in Memphis would accomodate every game for evey Division. None of the local games are played there, except Regionals and this year they were played on the school fields.

Mike Rose started off in great condition, and then in the last 2 years of the state tournament, the fields were quite torn up. The championship field, though, is still my favorite (outside of Finley before turf)

 

Richard siegel Park is perfect for the tournament. It is nearer to the middle of the state, they are all neutral sites, and the fields were in terrific condition.

[Canesoverhere]

Mike Rose started off in great condition, and then in the last 2 years of the state tournament, the fields were quite torn up. The championship field, though, is still my favorite (outside of Finley before turf)

 

Richard siegel Park is perfect for the tournament. It is nearer to the middle of the state, they are all neutral sites, and the fields were in terrific condition.

 

Our experience with these fields are that they are probably the best we have played on. Unfortunately, one December a decision was made to not cancel a boys tournament in the rain and the older boys essentially destroyed the park. The fields are now overplayed, no rest/rotation, and the initial care/cost seems to have diminished over the years. Even when they loook their best, the ball will lift off the ground. Too bad, at one time they rivaled many golf courses. Even the stadium field is showing the effects of play. Hopefully, either another park will open to permit a rest or someone will make the hard decision to hold back the tournaments for a year. Funny, the attraction was the fields, now the fields may be what saves the complex if they rest them.

 

RE Finley....nice place. Too bad about the turf. Too confusing for the players. Seems like your trying to play chess on a monopoly board.

[kickgrass]

The best that I can count they hold major tournaments about 22-23 weekends each year. Plus they have league play on them during the week. That's an awful lot of play. They are also very good about not stopping tournaments due to rain or wet conditions.

 

Our girls played a Showcase tournament there at the end of last February and the fields were wet and muddy on Saturday, overnight the fields froze and were completely frozen for the early Sunday games. They played all games regardless. The fields apparently are beginning to show the wear. For the State Cup last June they looked like they had never recovered from that February weekend. They are all Bremuda turf and it really doesn't come in till about May in Memphis.

 

They are making a bunch of money, but I imagine they are also spending a bunch to keep them playable. I'm surprised they are as good as they are.

[Hoya]

I seem to remember that a nearby golf course's greenskeeper had a substantial role in the turf at Mike Rose in its early years. I wonder if he or she is still involved. Back then the fields were amazingly good. The last time I saw them (about a year ago) they appeared no different than any other overused venue---huge barespots, rough surfaces, inconsistent texture, etc. Tennessee is too far north to expect even the best kept surface to survive the pounding that facility has taken. The weather extremes in Memphis from freezing in December to the extreme heat of July are tough on the grass, just like the players. They probably need to close some of the fields completely for a couple of seasons, but that may not be economically feasible.

[bruinsoccer]

The complaints about the artificial turf seemed to come from people who didn't play on it. I heard nothing but good things about the quality of play from players who played on it. It isn't the "concrete" - type surface that used to exist.

[kickgrass]

The biggest complaint that I heard about Finely with the turf was not that it played bad, just that it played different. The ball tends to skip and skid a bit more...the touch is a little different, tougher for keeprs because the ball moves faster and while you can play with cleats, turf shoes would be better. It just doesn't seem right that you play on grass all year and then the games that mean the most in a season are played on a different type of surface.

[Canesoverhere]

The complaints about the artificial turf seemed to come from people who didn't play on it. I heard nothing but good things about the quality of play from players who played on it. It isn't the "concrete" - type surface that used to exist.

Your right. It is not the play of the ball, it was the confusion of the lines. In each game that i watched it seemed that the girls were at one point second guessing what was out and what was in.

 

RE Mike Rose. The fields do "look" nice in May however it is the actual surface that remains in disrepair and is starting to increasing affect the roll of the ball.

[dubyah]

The complaints about the artificial turf seemed to come from people who didn't play on it.

 

The complaints that I have heard are from people that did play at Finley before and after the turf. Although, the turf was a great improvement from the newly sandy/sodded center of the field in 2004, which was horrible. The turf in 2005 did cause the ball to handle differently and if you went down on it, the turf burns were much more harsh to the hips and knees than natural grass. You play on grass all season, you should play on grass during the state tournament.

 

As far as other locations of the tournament. In going to Mike Rose, for the boys, it felt too much like a "select" tournament. I thought the way the girls tournament was handled this year was fine. You might change venues for different classifications, but they did have three excellent fields to play on.