Future Champions

[sbwrestlermom]

Has anyone heard of Future Champions? It is a traveling team that Coach Tommy Badon (from Dickson High School)

runs. If you know anything about it, please reply!

[rasslinlite]

Has anyone heard of Future Champions? It is a traveling team that Coach Tommy Badon (from Dickson High School)

runs. If you know anything about it, please reply! /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

 

 

I do not think it is called Future Champions anymore I think they wrestle kids that are closer to the Mid-State area. There are several teams in Middle Tennessee. 1. Copperheads, that practice at Brentwood, there is a team that works out at Centennial High School I think,Tullahoma I believe still has one, and Murfreesboro has the Sharpshooters and there are several more out there. Maybe someone eles can help with the other teams.

[hollowman]

Has anyone heard of Future Champions? It is a traveling team that Coach Tommy Badon (from Dickson High School)

runs. If you know anything about it, please reply! /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

 

 

 

 

rasslinlite is correct. future champions was an orginaztion much like usa, aau, etc... it never grew to that magnitude and there were quite a few communities in the state that wrestled under "future champions". i'm pretty sure that all have realigned themselves with aau or usa wrestling. more tournaments, better liability coverage and so on. i personally know tommy and he's a fine gentleman. he's been around a long time and is well liked and respected. if you've got one that is going to wrestle for him...if it were me, i'd let him. hope this helps and good luck.

[justsomeguy]

Has anyone heard of Future Champions? It is a traveling team that Coach Tommy Badon (from Dickson High School)

runs. If you know anything about it, please reply! /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />

 

It used to be a minefield for the young grapplers. No matter who you were you were in for a heckuva scrap every weekend. Leaving the gym with any hardware, hopefully, gold, was a bit of a feat in itself. Alabama would show up with young cuthbertsons, Seth Garvin, Tyler osborne, and a host of up and comers. Chatt boys were always tough. Lots of studs from north of there . Cody Cleveland and Tullahoma boys. Some Nashville area (Justin Cash, etc.) But a HUGE contingency of future 5-A Georgia studs would come up every weekend from Valdosta on up. TOUGH. BIG BRACKETS. Then at the Challenge Cup Ken Chertow punched Coach Studenick in the mouth about 5 times in 1.5 seconds. Most all georgians south of Calhoun boycotted FCI and went totally USA. That was the beginning of the end for FCI. I think this past year was when it officially evaporated into thin air and became no more. A lot of you Dads, coaches, etc with kids that are now college age remember though... It was good while it lasted.

[bear cat brown]

It used to be a minefield for the young grapplers. No matter who you were you were in for a heckuva scrap every weekend. Leaving the gym with any hardware, hopefully, gold, was a bit of a feat in itself. Alabama would show up with young cuthbertsons, Seth Garvin, Tyler osborne, and a host of up and comers. Chatt boys were always tough. Lots of studs from north of there . Cody Cleveland and Tullahoma boys. Some Nashville area (Justin Cash, etc.) But a HUGE contingency of future 5-A Georgia studs would come up every weekend from Valdosta on up. TOUGH. BIG BRACKETS. Then at the Challenge Cup Ken Chertow punched Coach Studenick in the mouth about 5 times in 1.5 seconds. Most all georgians south of Calhoun boycotted FCI and went totally USA. That was the beginning of the end for FCI. I think this past year was when it officially evaporated into thin air and became no more. A lot of you Dads, coaches, etc with kids that are now college age remember though... It was good while it lasted.

 

 

 

I can recall a tournament down in Dalton, where we left the gym at 2:45 in the morning. It seems that our tournament directer was making a killing off the concession stand, either that or he was having meetings on his own.

 

bcb iii /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

[justsomeguy]

I can recall a tournament down in Dalton, where we left the gym at 2:45 in the morning. It seems that our tournament directer was making a killing off the concession stand, either that or he was having meetings on his own.

 

bcb iii /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

 

Little bit o both. Ah, those were the days. I recall reclining in the front lawn with coach J knockin out a couple a Marlboro lights gazing at a ga. full moon ( @ about 1:00 am) just about to start the semis. BCB, I hear youre lookin for Harry. He aint dead, he's just gone to Carolina in his mind. I'll see if I can tell him to get with you

[rigger101]

Little bit o both. Ah, those were the days. I recall reclining in the front lawn with coach J knockin out a couple a Marlboro lights gazing at a ga. full moon ( @ about 1:00 am) just about to start the semis. BCB, I hear youre lookin for Harry. He aint dead, he's just gone to Carolina in his mind. I'll see if I can tell him to get with you

 

Yeah a lot of the State Champs out of Baylor, Bradley and other schools (Mocsters) in the Chattanooga came up through Future Champions. The Mocsters were based at UTC and we had kids from all over the city in that program and they had the UTC grapplers helping sometimes.

It was great!

Lots of good comp out of N Ga.

[BuckLateral]

It used to be a minefield for the young grapplers. No matter who you were you were in for a heckuva scrap every weekend. Leaving the gym with any hardware, hopefully, gold, was a bit of a feat in itself. Alabama would show up with young cuthbertsons, Seth Garvin, Tyler osborne, and a host of up and comers. Chatt boys were always tough. Lots of studs from north of there . Cody Cleveland and Tullahoma boys. Some Nashville area (Justin Cash, etc.) But a HUGE contingency of future 5-A Georgia studs would come up every weekend from Valdosta on up. TOUGH. BIG BRACKETS. Then at the Challenge Cup Ken Chertow punched Coach Studenick in the mouth about 5 times in 1.5 seconds. Most all georgians south of Calhoun boycotted FCI and went totally USA. That was the beginning of the end for FCI. I think this past year was when it officially evaporated into thin air and became no more. A lot of you Dads, coaches, etc with kids that are now college age remember though... It was good while it lasted.

 

 

I agree, justsomeguy. As a dad with one of those college age kids, I can remember some late nights down in Scottboro, Alabama, watching FCI kids from Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee and wondering how many would go on to be successful in high school. Here are some of the kids who wrestled in the 7th-8th grade Future Champions Inc. Tennessee State Championship that was held at Oakland High School in March 2003. This was the tournament that decided who would be part of the FCI team from Tennessee that would wrestle in the national tournament at Camp Jordan several weeks later. I'd say quite a few of them went on to become pretty decent high school wrestlers--------and 125 was certainly one of those minefields you mentioned:

 

85---Justin Cash (wrestling up as a 6th grader)

Ben Johnson ( before BCB was referring to him as " Mr. Johnson)

 

90---Ryan Konz

 

95---David Mang

Wiley Davis

 

100--Josh Baucke

Colton Popp

Dustin Ortiz

Jason McCroskey

 

105--Reed Doster

Darius Williams

Jariett Toney

Cameron Croy ( wrestling up an age group as a 5th grader)

Tanner Winthrow

 

125--Brandon Wright

Mike Goodrum

Kelly Felix

Pat Flynn

Travis Creagan

Ryan Burdette

 

145--Justin Spain

Tyler Robertson

 

155--Aaron Bateman

 

170--Matt Lettner

 

220--Courtney Coffey

[WingIt]

To go back a little further, this conference started when Cody was in the second grade. The first year or two, it was known as the Tri-State Conference, consisting of teams from AL, GA and TN. As someone stated above, it was a room full of man eaters every week.

Shortly after it became Future Champions, several teams from Florida joined and we saw some of best wrestlers from FL a week or two each year.

Future Champions originated the Challenge Cup. This was a tournament consisting of all star teams from several states. I think one year there were all-star teams from 13 different states that competed. Several kids from the Challenge Cup later became NCAA National Champions. I was fortunate enough to coach several of those teams from Tennessee and all the kids I coached were class acts. Some of you old timers might even remember Jona Koehn on the micro phone.

In my opinion, that conference produced the best classes of wrestlers that ever came out of TN. The Simpsons, Keller, the Blackmons, the Dunnings, McKnight, Yost, Ward, Brewster, Sweeton, Cleveland, Welsh, Manley, Hagen, James, the Cregans, Spain, the Marables, Leen, the Mansons and countless others who have had great success on and off the mat.

My most cherished wrestling memories are from the old Future Champion days. Some of you might remember one year when Matt Sweeton and Matt Keller wrestled (knock down-drag out may be a better word) six times in one year with each Matt winning three times. I think five of the six times they got best match. In Bear Cat Brown??™s post about the tournament ending at 2:45 AM, that??™s correct. One of the Keller/Sweeton matches was the last one of that night (or morning).

Back then when the majority of Tennessee teams were in Future Champions, it seemed the state was more united in the wrestling arena. The goal back in those days was as the title stated "Future Champions". If you wanted to bring home hardware in the 4th or 5th grade, this wasn't for you. The goal was to develop wrestlers to win High School State titles and wrestle in College.

Personally, I enjoyed the camaraderie and the friendships I developed in those years. There wasn't a single coach in the state that didn't welcome me and Cody in there wrestling room for a little extra practice. I want to thank you coaches for that.

 

David Cleveland

[WingIt]

To go back a little further, this conference started when Cody was in the second grade. The first year or two, it was known as the Tri-State Conference, consisting of teams from AL, GA and TN. As someone stated above, it was a room full of man eaters every week.

Shortly after it became Future Champions, several teams from Florida joined and we saw some of best wrestlers from FL a week or two each year.

Future Champions originated the Challenge Cup. This was a tournament consisting of all star teams from several states. I think one year there were all-star teams from 13 different states that competed. Several kids from the Challenge Cup later became NCAA National Champions. I was fortunate enough to coach several of those teams from Tennessee and all the kids I coached were class acts. Some of you old timers might even remember Jona Koehn on the micro phone.

In my opinion, that conference produced the best classes of wrestlers that ever came out of TN. The Simpsons, Keller, the Blackmons, the Dunnings, McKnight, Yost, Ward, Brewster, Sweeton, Cleveland, Welsh, Manley, Hagen, James, the Cregans, Spain, the Marables, Leen, the Mansons and countless others who have had great success on and off the mat.

My most cherished wrestling memories are from the old Future Champion days. Some of you might remember one year when Matt Sweeton and Matt Keller wrestled (knock down-drag out may be a better word) six times in one year with each Matt winning three times. I think five of the six times they got best match. In Bear Cat Brown??™s post about the tournament ending at 2:45 AM, that??™s correct. One of the Keller/Sweeton matches was the last one of that night (or morning).

Back then when the majority of Tennessee teams were in Future Champions, it seemed the state was more united in the wrestling arena. The goal back in those days was as the title stated "Future Champions". If you wanted to bring home hardware in the 4th or 5th grade, this wasn't for you. The goal was to develop wrestlers to win High School State titles and wrestle in College.

Personally, I enjoyed the camaraderie and the friendships I developed in those years. There wasn't a single coach in the state that didn't welcome me and Cody in there wrestling room for a little extra practice. I want to thank you coaches for that.

 

David Cleveland

[Raider76]

I believe the Challenge Cup was future Champions. It was first held at UTC and later moved to Camp Jordan. I remember watching C P Slater and Matt Keller having a war in McClellan gym when they were in middle school. Both went on to become All american.

[mtnrasslin]

I believe the Challenge Cup was future Champions. It was first held at UTC and later moved to Camp Jordan. I remember watching C P Slater and Matt Keller having a war in McClellan gym when they were in middle school. Both went on to become All american.

 

The Keller/Slater match was one of the best matches I have ever seen. For some reason I remember it being at Camp Jordan but memory is a precarious thing for older guys like me.

 

The future champions experience was great for the young ones and parents alike. Every weekend was a war with big tournaments and many of the same faces week in and week out. One of my boys had the "pleasure" of wrestling a pony tailed Ian Stephens a couple of times each week because they both would wrestle in their own age group and the one above as well. Each time they wrestled it became a bigger and bigger grudge match always coming down to a tight finish. Fortunately for my son Stephens outgrew him in high school. It was a lot of time spent in gyms but they are great memories.