Question for 1A fans that want a split

[Indian]

Trousdale has the right combination of coaching, stability, tradition and community support to be able to compete with the remaining 1A privates, if not beat them, and probably many privates and publics in 2A and 3A too. They're the exception to the rule, you just can't look at one team in a class doing well and say all should be able to rise to that level. That's like saying SAS should be able to be as strong as Friendship. Alcoa is the exception in 2A, no other public team in the class would be able to beat McCallie and challenge Maryville. Another exception would be Brentwood Academy, with 400 or so students they'd nearly be a Division I 1A school yet they won the Division II 3A title this year and have high level college prospects every season. As good as the likes of CPA and Goodpasture are, they aren't at that level even though they're similar in size to BA.

[Baldcoach]

Trousdale has the right combination of coaching, stability, tradition and community support to be able to compete with the remaining 1A privates, if not beat them, and probably many privates and publics in 2A and 3A too. They're the exception to the rule, you just can't look at one team in a class doing well and say all should be able to rise to that level. That's like saying SAS should be able to be as strong as Friendship. Alcoa is the exception in 2A, no other public team in the class would be able to beat McCallie and challenge Maryville. Another exception would be Brentwood Academy, with 400 or so students they'd nearly be a Division I 1A school yet they won the Division II 3A title this year and have high level college prospects every season. As good as the likes of CPA and Goodpasture are, they aren't at that level even though they're similar in size to BA.

 

Indian, I can name 20 small publics RIGHT NOW that are as good as or better than the small privates, so quit trying to pretend Trousdale is an exception. The big problem is that your program is getting beaten, not that publics in general are. Find the right coach, get some volunteers. You guys have the athletes, do what needs doing and turn your program around. We were far worse than you guys for 20 years, we turned it around in 3...with the exact same kids we were getting pummeled with for the 20 before that. You can too...I know, I know your kids and your people...I have relatives all through the valley. Good people, good community, great kids! But they have to believe they can do it...and blaming the privates for all the ills of the Football world just gives everyone an excuse...be brave, quit making excuses and start making winners.

 

Here are my all-staters from the 96 team (first winning region season EVER at Boyd)

John Chamberlain - MLB and quick tackle. 5'10 192 pounds 5.1 forty Sr.

Mark Keown - OT, DT 5'10 225 pounds 6.0 forty Sr.

Jason Blair - QB, FS 5'8 155 pounds 4.7 forty Sr.

Chris Talley - TB, OLB 5'7 150 pounds 4.7 forty Sr.

 

I think that is it off the top of my head. We started 2 kids that year that had never played Football before EVER. We had 31 on the squad. One of our starting guards was 5'6 and weighed 150 pounds. We had 4 paid coaches two of whom had never taught or coached before, and 2 volunteers. But the kids believed and knew how to execute. We went 10-0 and BGA beat us by 13 in the playoffs...defending state champs with Cory Fleming at TB. You have kids every bit this good and better...teach them to be winners!

[Indian]

Start naming them. I've been wanting a total split for a lot longer than Seq has been down in football, so stick to a topic you know about. That's not it.

[pujo]

Every single school that wins have advantages, successful public schools have their advantages and likewise with the private schools. Some areas of the state are gifted with better atheletes, some just have a hard working staff with a successful program. The private schools who are successful have their own recipe. I know what they are and so do you. Thats the reason Trousdale has 30 hard working kids and FA has 60. Its the nature of things ,and really nothing wrong with it,just a valid reason for the split. Now that we've tried to show the reason for Trousdales success, how about you telling us the secret of the better private schools.

VG ,I said exactly what what I was trying to say, check out the talent in regions 1 and 2 1a and I think you would see that I am right. Other 1a schools have more talent ,but they just don't do things as well as Trousdale. You still didn't answer the question as to what makes the better private schools so good.

[VolunteerGeneral]

VG ,I said exactly what what I was trying to say, check out the talent in regions 1 and 2 1a and I think you would see that I am right. Other 1a schools have more talent ,but they just don't do things as well as Trousdale. You still didn't answer the question as to what makes the better private schools so good.

 

pujo....the talent is the same. There may be some years when a school has a little extra talent, but overall you are talking about high school boys. Show me a poor football team and I`ll show you a community that is not 100% behindtheir team and a team that does not have a coach that can motivate the kids he has. That`s simply the bottomline.

 

Living in Trousdale does not make a kid a better athlete. It`s the people around him that support him and the leadership he has from his coaches that motivate him to work hard. But if you wallow around in a state of self defeatism then it`s hard to turn those things around. But once you do it gets contagious and great things that once seemed impossible begin to happen.

[pujo]

It take alot of things to be a successful team, teams that win year after yearknows what it takes to stay there, kids like being a part good winning programs. Some public schools have good coaches, some don,t, same thing with the private schools. I tend to believe any school has the talent to be good with the right coaching. Talent varies from one part of the state to another. Most private schools don't have near the talent of some of the 1a schools. The 1a schools just have a problem getting all the talented kids to work their butts off ,or for that matter even play. Private schools take average boys and make football players out of um. Oh they get a few talented kids and some transfers ,but mostly its just hard working ,disaplined kids. As far as I'm concerned ,a blind person could see whats happening, split um.

[croz6110]

A kid is not a better athlete because he lives in Trousdale, it depends on what bloodline he's from.

There are some of the same names on that team every year, and they are always standout players. Satterfield, Harper, Dillehay etc.

 

Also, they have one of the best atmospheres for football in the state plus one of the best coaches in the state who makes those boys work.

Not many players from other schools could make it in his program.

What other reason could a 1A school go to the semi's in 3A.

[mphstigerfan]

I see you didn`t bother to answer the topic question. Maybe that`s just because you simply don`t like privates. Or maybe it`s because you see a school like Trousdale that has been proving for years on end that small rural schools can actually take on and beat private schools and it just totally destroys your complaints about private school advantages.

 

Why haven't you answered the question as to why are the privates opposed to the idea of competing solely against other private schools. You do have one thing right I don't like the privates. You've done nothing to destroy that or to destroy any complaints that I and many across this state have against them either. A select few are making the decisions against what the majority want and that is a complete split of public and private schools.

[VolunteerGeneral]

Why haven't you answered the question as to why are the privates opposed to the idea of competing solely against other private schools. You do have one thing right I don't like the privates. You've done nothing to destroy that or to destroy any complaints that I and many across this state have against them either. A select few are making the decisions against what the majority want and that is a complete split of public and private schools.

 

Okay then. Don`t answer.

 

btw...when was I asked that question?

[Baldcoach]

Why haven't you answered the question as to why are the privates opposed to the idea of competing solely against other private schools. You do have one thing right I don't like the privates. You've done nothing to destroy that or to destroy any complaints that I and many across this state have against them either. A select few are making the decisions against what the majority want and that is a complete split of public and private schools.

 

The majority do not want a complete split. The majority, as usual, are uninformed and will vote with the shrillest or most angry viewpoint. On this board there are informed people, some of whom are prejudiced against privates and some who are not. I think that makes all of us on the boards who are informed regardless of our views the minority.

[Baldcoach]

Start naming them. I've been wanting a total split for a lot longer than Seq has been down in football, so stick to a topic you know about. That's not it.

 

Good, got your attention.

 

Trousdale Cnty, South Pittsburgh, Gordonsville, Tyner, Loudon, Alcoa, Smith County, Westmoreland, Knox Fulton, need I go on??? Those are all teams from the East only, mostly around Chatt or Knoxville. I didn't even include the totally dominating 4 and 5a publics, nor really good middle Tn teams like Cheatam Cnty or west teams like Milan and Huntingdon (3 more in 2a alone!). Year in year out there are plenty of 1a, 2a, and 3a public programs that are as good as or better than the privates they play.

 

And I would say of the two of us I probably know a lot more about Sequatchie Football than you do about small private schools. But I'm absolutely sure I know how to turn a small school program around, and I'm also sure you guys have the right stuff to do it. I hope you do...its up to you, no small private is stopping you. And once you have done it and your kids have won some titles and all the not-so-good small public schools you are clobbering start blaming you for the way they are performing come find me, we'll laugh about it over some dinner.

[oknative]

Are you saying Milan kept TSSAA's cut of the gate?

I'm saying that they weren't giving out tickets at the visitor's side gate and the gate by the concession stand. I personally saw the visitor's side gate, and was told by other parents that they didn't recieve tickets at the 2nd gate.

 

I arrived at the game at about 4:30 at the same time the GP team arrived. I helped carry team equipment in, going in and out of the gate several times. It would have been easy to stay in the stadium and not pay, but I offered my $7 to the man at the gate. He opened the box and gave me a ticket.

 

About 2 1/2 hours later, just before game time it was getting colder, the sun had gone down. I went back to the gate to ask if I could step out to my car, which was about 30 ft from the gate since I was so early, and get another blanket. There were two women there, the man was gone. When I showed the woman my ticket and asked to go to my car, she asked me how I got my ticket. I told her the story of how the man had given me the ticket when I paid earlier. She told me I wasn't supposed to have the ticket, so when I came back from my car, I would have to surrender my ticket.

 

I went to my car, came back and she took my ticket. But I thought it was very odd, so I moved about 20 feet away and watched. The two women took $7 from each each person walking through the gate, and never gave any tickets out (I watched them take cash from about 3 dozen people). Each woman had about a 3" stack of cash in their hands. When I went back to my seat, I asked around whether anyone else had a ticket. None of the GP fans around me had received a ticket.

 

Did Milan keep TSSAA's cut of the gate? I have no idea. Maybe they kept count in their heads. I just know what I saw. I sent TSSAA an e-mail with the same details and my contact information thinking they might call to confirm details, but haven't heard from them. Maybe they don't need to contact me. Maybe they already knew. Maybe its not an issue to them. All I know is that I've never been to a TSSAA playoff game without receiving a ticket, and thought they should know.

Edited December 8, 2006 by oknative