Brentwood Academy

[32Skidoo]

People are well versed here. Why did they have to forfeit basically the entire 72 season?

 

As I recall it was a dispute over a transfer and not sitting out. I don't recall the specifics.

[WesVLT]

Ya know what's funny.......In all the years I have posted on CoachT, I have never heard a BA player/alumni trash Coach Flatt. Going thru BA was one of, if not THE hardest thing I ever did in my life, and Coach Flatt was at the helm. This man and his coaches helped more kids that needed toughening up, a break, you name it, than any coach I know. If you really know Coach Flatt, you don't have to like him, but you will respect him. He is a man who has molded many of our business leaders, NFL players and college players from BA, and to be honest just some good all around guys. Many of you may not have known this but last year, BA had more alumni in the SEC than ANY school in the country. It's a fact.....look it up.....it was in the Atlanta newspaper and I have a copy. There have been many success stories out of that school beyond college, and I attribute it plenty to guys toughness of playing for him. He taught us not to be losers, and to go 110% at everything, even if we didn't have the talent. I appreciate Coach Flatt and his coaches.

 

 

I will say this about Coach Flatt: he wasn't the goody-goody, loving, teddy-bear type; as his former players could attest, he was often the complete opposite. I never played for the man, but I attended BA for seven years (sixth through twelfth grade), enough to clearly see how deeply his toughness affected the school's mission and psyche.

 

At the time I graduated, Flatt was the only faculty member/coach who remained from the school's founding; as such, he acted as a sort of historian, carrying on not only the stories of the school's early days, but also its very attitude -- competitive, passionate, and tough. Bill Brown and Curt Masters have excelled in their leadership of the school, but the real head of Brentwood Academy was undoubtedly Flatt. The school's stated mission is to "nurture and challenge the whole person...to the glory of God." Flatt wasn't a nurturer -- he left that to the teachers (except for Barbara Stewart...you BA alums will agree that she didn't exactly "nurture" our GPA's). Flatt was a challenger, and, as such, he surely went too far at times, but only in the name of producing stronger people. Every student or athlete who found himself or herself under Flatt's tutelage became stronger under his leadership.

 

I didn't play for Flatt, but I produced and commentated for the tape-delay broadcast of BA games. One Monday night while the broadcast was on, he called my house to tell me the broadcast looked good. He didn't have to do that...but he passionately cared about the development of his players and students. I never played on a team of his...I never took any of his classes...but he still impacted me.

 

Just take this as a glimpse of Flatt from someone who knew him very well during a seven-year tenure at Brentwood Academy.

[WarriorFan]

I will say this about Coach Flatt: he wasn't the goody-goody, loving, teddy-bear type; as his former players could attest, he was often the complete opposite. I never played for the man, but I attended BA for seven years (sixth through twelfth grade), enough to clearly see how deeply his toughness affected the school's mission and psyche.

 

At the time I graduated, Flatt was the only faculty member/coach who remained from the school's founding; as such, he acted as a sort of historian, carrying on not only the stories of the school's early days, but also its very attitude -- competitive, passionate, and tough. Bill Brown and Curt Masters have excelled in their leadership of the school, but the real head of Brentwood Academy was undoubtedly Flatt. The school's stated mission is to "nurture and challenge the whole person...to the glory of God." Flatt wasn't a nurturer -- he left that to the teachers (except for Barbara Stewart...you BA alums will agree that she didn't exactly "nurture" our GPA's). Flatt was a challenger, and, as such, he surely went too far at times, but only in the name of producing stronger people. Every student or athlete who found himself or herself under Flatt's tutelage became stronger under his leadership.

 

I didn't play for Flatt, but I produced and commentated for the tape-delay broadcast of BA games. One Monday night while the broadcast was on, he called my house to tell me the broadcast looked good. He didn't have to do that...but he passionately cared about the development of his players and students. I never played on a team of his...I never took any of his classes...but he still impacted me.

 

Just take this as a glimpse of Flatt from someone who knew him very well during a seven-year tenure at Brentwood Academy.

Very well written, and well said! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> I'll never forget one day in 10th grade playing sick(think I put the thermometer under hot water) at home, and Coach Flatt calling my house. My mom came in the living room while I was watching TV and said Coach Flatt was on the phone and wanted to talk with me....I about fell in the floor. He asked what was wrong, and why I wasn't in school....I said I had "bronchitis"....it was the best thing I could think up quickly......I could tell he was perplexed.....he asked if I could breathe, which I said "yes", then he said, "if you can breathe at home, you can breathe in the classroom.....I expect you at the school in 30 minutes." That was the last day I EVER played hookey. Every morning, he would check attendance rolls to see who was and wasn't at school......I never wanted that phone call AGAIN!

[KWoodroof]

Very well written, and well said! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> I'll never forget one day in 10th grade playing sick(think I put the thermometer under hot water) at home, and Coach Flatt calling my house. My mom came in the living room while I was watching TV and said Coach Flatt was on the phone and wanted to talk with me....I about fell in the floor. He asked what was wrong, and why I wasn't in school....I said I had "bronchitis"....it was the best thing I could think up quickly......I could tell he was perplexed.....he asked if I could breathe, which I said "yes", then he said, "if you can breathe at home, you can breathe in the classroom.....I expect you at the school in 30 minutes." That was the last day I EVER played hookey. Every morning, he would check attendance rolls to see who was and wasn't at school......I never wanted that phone call AGAIN!

 

You seem to have a pretty good recall of BA history...do you remember Steve Inglis?

[BigDaddy_1]

Very well written, and well said! /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> I'll never forget one day in 10th grade playing sick(think I put the thermometer under hot water) at home, and Coach Flatt calling my house. My mom came in the living room while I was watching TV and said Coach Flatt was on the phone and wanted to talk with me....I about fell in the floor. He asked what was wrong, and why I wasn't in school....I said I had "bronchitis"....it was the best thing I could think up quickly......I could tell he was perplexed.....he asked if I could breathe, which I said "yes", then he said, "if you can breathe at home, you can breathe in the classroom.....I expect you at the school in 30 minutes." That was the last day I EVER played hookey. Every morning, he would check attendance rolls to see who was and wasn't at school......I never wanted that phone call AGAIN!

 

That is the way all teachers, coaches, etc. need to be. That is a good story.

[fromthetop2]

BA's campus and Brentwood were not exactly in the sticks in'69 and early '70's. Granted, Brentwood was not as physically as big as it is today (it basically went from Old Hickory Blvd. and stopped at Church Street), but it was starting to become more and more of a bedroom community for Nashville.

 

Two things started BA on it's way: the desire for people in Brentwood to have their own school (Brentwood High was not built until 1982), and the bussing situation in Nashville in'70 and '71. The two options people in the area had were BGA and Franklin High School, or you could live on the Davidson County side and attend Overton or Hillsboro. Both of the schools that were affected by the desegregation order. MBA and Ryan were other options as well.

 

BA did not start out like other "segregation academies", but it benefited greatly from the turmoil.

 

Football success in the '70's, '80's until the mid-'90's (vs. the relative lack of success at Brentwood and Franklin) led many parents to send their sons to Carlton to play football who otherwise would have attended WillCo schools.

 

That situation changed in the mid'90's until the present when new schools and stronger programs with better coaches came on the scene in Williamson County.

[Red77]

In the 1969-70 school year, The Oak Hill School included grades K through 9. Bill Brown was the headmaster. The following year the school only went through the sixth grade, because Mr. Brown took the rising seventh through tenth grades, along with several teachers and coaches, to form Brentwood Academy. The founders of the school were able to work out an arrangement with First Pres to allow the move. The middle school teams at Oak Hill were perennial winners in the old HVAC, even traveling to Atlanta on several occasions to play Westminster. So there was a very good nucleus of talent, albeit young talent at BA from the beginning. For at least the first year, the school played a JV schedule, much as Ensworth did the past couple of years. However, it was no surprise that they succeed as quickly as they did. Not only did they have outstanding coaching, but also they had home grown talent from Oak Hill. There were also a couple of good players that came to BA from the Joelton area because of their relationship with Coach Flatt who contributed greatly, but to say they were recruited would not be fair, as one was his cousin and another a very good friend of the family. Although I am on the other side of the rivalry from BA, I have enjoyed my friendships with those who attended there and played there over the years and have a great deal of respect for them and their school. I hope tonight we'll have a great game from both sides. Roll Red.

[olddog]

The 8 games forfeited in the 1972 season resulted from use of an inelligible player, Dwight Bowers, who transfered from Cumberland Junior High to BA his freshman year. He wasn't a starter, but played on the kickoff team that year. TSSAA rules at the time required that he sit out a year to gain eligibility. This was an oversight on BA's part, not an attempt to cheat the system. Eight games was a costly price to pay for a marginal offense.

[KWoodroof]

The 8 games forfeited in the 1972 season resulted from use of an inelligible player, Dwight Bowers, who transfered from Cumberland Junior High to BA his freshman year. He wasn't a starter, but played on the kickoff team that year. TSSAA rules at the time required that he sit out a year to gain eligibility. This was an oversight on BA's part, not an attempt to cheat the system. Eight games was a costly price to pay for a marginal offense.

 

Along the same line as Red77's post, Flatt enjoyed great influence in the Bordeaux-Marrow Bone Lake-Joelton area because of the tie to Cumberland. The Flatt family had people at Cumberland forever, including football players up until almost the school's closing in '71.

 

Cumberland produced a lot of good athletes. Most of them, like Adolph Groves, went to Maplewood. BA wasn't the only one benefitting from Cumberland: Mike Wright and John Sneed (Ryan) also went there in 7th and 8th grade.

[32Skidoo]

Along the same line as Red77's post, Flatt enjoyed great influence in the Bordeaux-Marrow Bone Lake-Joelton area because of the tie to Cumberland. The Flatt family had people at Cumberland forever, including football players up until almost the school's closing in '71.

 

Cumberland produced a lot of good athletes. Most of them, like Adolph Groves, went to Maplewood. BA wasn't the only one benefitting from Cumberland: Mike Wright and John Sneed (Ryan) also went there in 7th and 8th grade.

 

A great QB from the 80's Tim Jones and the current QB Cody Nelson are from Joelton.

[WarriorFan]

A great QB from the 80's Tim Jones and the current QB Cody Nelson are from Joelton.

 

I believe Tim was All-American....of course, it didn't hurt he was throwing to All American Jimmy Hockaday (Georgia), Gregg Johnson (Penn St.) and Hoffman Brown (Florida State)...among others.....

[Schwiering]

The amount of info that I am learing about the founding of BA from this thread is amazing. I new that Mr. Brown had been at OHS before the founding of BA, but didn't know that OHS went to the 9th grade or that BA was an off shoot of OHS. Keep on bringing out the history guys, it is great.