CAK/Catholic ... Farragut/Bearden

[Hoya]

QUOTE(shoehp @ May 16 2007 - 08:56 AM) 826460093[/snapback]Most of us just have a problem with the Geographic boundaries and their limitations on the Public Schools, vs none on the Private Schools.

 

 

I really do understand your concern, but it isn't that simple. How do boundary limitations explain Bearden or West for example? By the early '90s Bearden was an almost dead school. It was old and surrounded in its fairly tiny boundary by an aging population with fewer and fewer high school aged kids and the school itself was running down. Its population was shrinking as Knoxville's younger families moved toward Farragut. As I recall, West had exactly this same problem as well and there was serious talk about closing or consolidating these schools.

 

Then along came Eric Turner, an excellent and experienced soccer coach with a real plan for how to succeed at Bearden in soccer despite its boundary and enrollment limitations. Very quickly a soccer power was born that has maintained itself for nearly a decade. The same is obviously true for Coaches Gohn and Ashe at West. They had a plan and worked it to the max with great results. Boundaries and shrinking enrollments were never used as an excuse for being uncompetitive at these schools and they are examples for every other school to follow of how to succeed.

 

On the flip side, Farragut has much smaller boundaries than CAK, Webb and Catholic, but year after year it seems it has more club players standing on its sidelines (between varsity and jv) than the other three schools have combined. In the last 10 years I don't think I can name a year when Catholic had more than a couple "extra" club players outside of its starting line-up and in most years we didn't even have 11 club players on the entire team. I know this has been true at Webb and CAK as well. Farragut's boundaries sure haven't held it back. It's cup of soccer talent runneth over.

 

I can't speak for other sports, but I really think that in soccer the schools that have brought in solid and experienced soccer coaches have turned into the schools with solid soccer teams. A couple of "severly limited" public schools illustrating this point just this season are the rise of Morristown West with Shane Calvert and Karns with Mike McLean. They were not very competitive until experienced soccer people arrived on the scene. Same border, different coaching ability, vastly different result.

 

I know it's not that simple, but coaching is a huge part of the differences between the soccer powers and the rest. I don't think public v. private or big v. small is the key.

[gridironguy]

Somebody (easttnref):

a.) Doesn't know what the definition of recruiting is

b.) Hasn't heard of open-zone public schools

c.) Should stop posting before he makes himself look like even more of a fool

[ah20]

QUOTE(easttnref @ May 16 2007 - 07:03 AM) 826460099[/snapback]yes and when you get outside those boundries it is recruiting because you are taking that player away from the highschool team they play on i just think private school kids should play the best compittion possible and they are not doing that right now they should be 3AAA in everything but football and basketball they should stay were they are

 

So you want schools to pick and choose what sports play AAA and which ones don't? That doesn't make much sense, the school should play every sport on the same level, whichever level it is. A team that the soccer team beats will most likely beat the football team- its not like the schools dominate in every sport in their classification. And with the whole recruiting thing, I know some public school teams who have excellent players who have transferred in from a school with a weaker team by taking advantage of a random rule or by moving. Just because a school has some good players, it doesn't mean its a result of recruiting. There's things called coaching, hard work, team unity, etc. that make a team what it is. Talent only goes so far. And CAK and Catholic don't recruit, I think the TSSAA would have them both in DII if they did. I know this should be in the private/public debate board, but oh well, haha sorry.

[Hoya]

QUOTE(easttnref @ May 16 2007 - 09:03 AM) 826460099[/snapback]i just think private school kids should play the best compittion possible and they are not doing that right now they should be 3AAA in everything but football and basketball they should stay were they are

 

 

I would also suggest that, despite their size, the vast majority of AAA soccer teams are no where near the soccer equals of Webb, CAK, Knox Catholic or any of the other strong small school programs like Alcoa, Baylor, CCS, CSAS, LC, , CPA, MUS, CBHS, MBA,etc. Bearden, Farragut, West, Science Hill, Brentwood, Hendersonville, Germantown Houston and other similarly stong AAA schools that are administratively committed to their soccer teams are clearly their equals, but the range between good AAA soccer schools and most AAA soccer schools is vast.

 

What I think the seperatists really want is for all the good teams to go and play amongst themselves---regardless of size--- leaving all the weaker teams lacking institutional commitment to soccer to have their own weaker team "championship".

 

I am old school enough that I'd rather go back to no divisions at all. There would be a single, meaningful, champion in each sport just like it was before the "everybody has to be a winner" mentality leeched into TSSAA thinking in the mid-'90s.

[NedNatterjack]

Wow, this topic sure has taken a turn for the worse!

 

Let's forget about Public vs. Private and make it a little simpler. Let the respected teams stay where they are in classification, just put them in different districts. This will make for much more excited district play, giving rise to other good teams who are "doomed" from the beginning being in the same district as the powers of Farragut, Bearden, CAK, and Catholic. It will also make for a much more exciting regional tournament.

 

Look at the scores from Tuesday night in the region semis. These teams won very easily in a region game which should be a lot tougher. And maybe we are just going through a cycle now and in another couple of years the other districts will be stronger and these power houses won't be powers anymore, but the current cycle we are in now seems like it's been going for like a decade!

[BigG]

This happens every year at this time, and will always happen as long as private schools do well in a public school league.

 

As several people have stated, there is a seperate forum for this... You are more than welcome to join that debate, and if the debate continues on this thread, we'll just move it to that forum. Sorry, guys, site rules.

[ihavenofriendzz]

Last I checked, and no offense to anyone at CAK, but soccer is pretty much all CAK is actually good at. I wonder if it has to do with coaches? It has nothing to do with recruiting. I'm not saying anyone recruits, but you can recruit the greatest players around, but if you don't have the coach that can either deal with them or get them to play as a team then you have just a bunch of good players and not an acutal "good team". So once again, I am not trying to put any of the kids or coaches at CAK down. That is just my opinion.

 

Back to the games.. I am sure that both games will be good. I think the Bearden/Farragut game will be on tv. I guess they realized they missed a good one last time. I wish I could go to both games.

[Hoya]

QUOTE(BigG @ May 16 2007 - 10:09 AM) 826460152[/snapback]This happens every year at this time, and will always happen as long as private schools do well in a public school league.

 

As several people have stated, there is a seperate forum for this... You are more than welcome to join that debate, and if the debate continues on this thread, we'll just move it to that forum. Sorry, guys, site rules.

 

 

It's a reasonable rule. This debate is endless and not likely to ever be solved in a manner viewed as fair to all.

 

BigG, it looks like weather could be an issue again tomorrow. I hope for both teams' sake they don't have to sit around with a lightning delay again.

[stevescarb]

There's no way to resolve the public private debate. Some think they are simply unequal, some disagree, and there's no sense in arguing that here and now. Give it a rest and move on.

 

As for the business at hand...

 

Farragut over Bearden, even though I love Bearden's game. Turner does more with less but it's not enough if Farragut's defense stays home.

 

The Gorgeous Game of the Christians vs the Wrecking Crew of the Catholics is harder to call. The ref crew could have some bearing on this one. The refs keep it clean and CAK plays their game, I give them the edge... but then I thought they would win District.

 

At this point I get to sit in the stands and cheer for everybody. Which ever way these games go, the rest of the state has a problem if we can keep 'em all healthy.

 

(You listening, refs?)

[ValverdeTDF07]

I am going to go ahead and say that Bearden Farragut will be the better game this week, just my opinion

[ihavenofriendzz]

I think WMAK agrees. They will be showing the Farragut/Bearden game.

[BigG]

QUOTE(Hoya @ May 16 2007 - 08:14 AM) 826460158[/snapback]BigG, it looks like weather could be an issue again tomorrow. I hope for both teams' sake they don't have to sit around with a lightning delay again.

 

30% chance of rain in east TN could mean ANYTHING! Let's just hope it holds off or goes away, for that matter.