Father Ryan 2008 Schedule

[Ole Dad]

"PS, does being successful in any sport depend on how much money you have? If so, perhaps the biggest banner that Father Ryan could hang at their school is that they have refused up to the recent past to focus too much on one sport at the expense of all the other sports, especially women's sports."

 

The answer to that question is yes and in how much of it you are willing to spend. It takes facilities, equipemnt and resources to compete. All of those things cost money and require support and not just lip service.

 

Ole Dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

The principal of Father Ryan is Paul Davis. The President is Jim Mcintyre. You stated that you are proud of the fact that Father Ryan has a balanced athletic program. You also stated that they are looking at financial aid to see if more can be offered to those who deserve more. I would think that even if more were offered that the impact on football would be mild. I say this with the understanding that if more financial aid was offered, that this would include all sports and all students, athletes or not, and not be unfairly distributed among some students who happen to play football. As another poster has already stated, they already have dismissed two girls coaches and took the money and put it in football. They extinguished the P.E. job of Paula Jackson and put the money in football. Lussier heads up the P.E. dept at Ryan. While this doesn't fall under the discussion of financial aid, it should be included in any discussion of fairness and equality among all students when it comes to financial aid. If all sports are looked at by Ryan as being played by their students and therefore important, then Ryan's reputation will be great whether they ever win another championship or not. Their greatness will show in the faces of all the students who know that they are important and treated fairly by a school that preaches just that on a daily basis. PS, does being successful in any sport depend on how much money you have? If so, perhaps the biggest banner that Father Ryan could hang at their school is that they have refused up to the recent past to focus too much on one sport at the expense of all the other sports, especially women's sports. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[fiftyfifty]

"PS, does being successful in any sport depend on how much money you have? If so, perhaps the biggest banner that Father Ryan could hang at their school is that they have refused up to the recent past to focus too much on one sport at the expense of all the other sports, especially women's sports."

 

The answer to that question is yes and in how much of it you are willing to spend. It takes facilities, equipemnt and resources to compete. All of those things cost money and require support and not just lip service.

 

Ole Dad

You may be right about what it takes to be the very best. But is that the best way for all the students at Ryan? I am not at all sure if you took a poll of the Ryan parents that a majority would not want one sport to be so focused on, that the other sports would suffer because of it, especially financially. The recent past has shown that when that happens, people and students are hurt. I am also not at all sure that doing whatever it takes as some other schools have demostrated to the community is the way that the Ryan community desires. We have a great coach, had a very good season, had no holes in the uniforms that I am aware of, and practiced every day just like all the other teams. I am very thankful for Ryan to get their own stadium along with the other upgrades when this building project gets started. We were by all standards successful, unless one holds the thought that not winning it all is akin to failure. Is that the message we want to send the students, that unless you win it all, you are a failure. I believe that trying your hardest, with dedication and hard work, that you never fail, win or lose. Perhaps the message the Ryan kids are learning is more how it really is in the world where you hardly ever are the very best. You can still have a good and happy life. When we win it all, great, when we fall short, still great because they gave it all they had. That is sports greatest lesson and ranks pretty close to the top of life's lessons. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[Ole Dad]

Trying your hardest is quite the point. Your post apparently means trying your hardest with what you presently have and not trying to attain any more, whether that is financial or otherwise. If actually having kids in a Catholic educational environment is the goal and giving a fine parochial education is the result, then offing the financial aid to bring outstanding athletes into that program should not be viewed as bad. In most instances a successful football program supplies the financial resources for the support of most other non-revenue producing sports, especially women??™s. Ryan getting a stadium on campus is wonderful, but the ability to fill those seats and generate income to support the other sports programs at Ryan is one of its greatest benefits. The cap on financial aid is arbitrary and antiquated and should be based on needs of the student and not some outdated rule. Bringing in students that might go somewhere else because of the better financial aid offered is not detrimental to the education of the remaining student body. It actually makes them proud to support the school and the athletic programs. You ever see 6,000 people at a Volleyball game? Me either, but you have at many football games. So, in the end, being satisfied with mediocrity is not what we should be teaching our youth and trying your hardest requires more that just physical talents of hard work, but the mental talents of how to increase your resources and ability to compete at the highest level. If we were competing in a lumber jack competition and all the schools had shiny new chain saws could we feel good about sending our students out with shiny new axes to try and compete?

 

Ole Dad

You may be right about what it takes to be the very best. But is that the best way for all the students at Ryan? I am not at all sure if you took a poll of the Ryan parents that a majority would not want one sport to be so focused on, that the other sports would suffer because of it, especially financially. The recent past has shown that when that happens, people and students are hurt. I am also not at all sure that doing whatever it takes as some other schools have demostrated to the community is the way that the Ryan community desires. We have a great coach, had a very good season, had no holes in the uniforms that I am aware of, and practiced every day just like all the other teams. I am very thankful for Ryan to get their own stadium along with the other upgrades when this building project gets started. We were by all standards successful, unless one holds the thought that not winning it all is akin to failure. Is that the message we want to send the students, that unless you win it all, you are a failure. I believe that trying your hardest, with dedication and hard work, that you never fail, win or lose. Perhaps the message the Ryan kids are learning is more how it really is in the world where you hardly ever are the very best. You can still have a good and happy life. When we win it all, great, when we fall short, still great because they gave it all they had. That is sports greatest lesson and ranks pretty close to the top of life's lessons. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[itzme]

The fact is that MBA and BA give many times more financial aid to football athletes than FRHS.

Ole Dad

 

That is an assumption, not a fact.

 

I think both MBA and BA use financial aid to attract a broadly diverse student body, much as I assume FRHS does. You would probably be very surprised who is and is not receiving financial aid, and at what level. BA's total financial aid budget for last year was about 9% of the total tuition. That includes middle school, where the percentage is about the same. My understanding is that MBA's aid budget is not too different. If you think that all of that is going to high profile football players, you are misinformed.

 

If FRHS' financial aid cap is 50%, that certainly would have an impact. BA's cap is 90%, although very few if any get that much. I think the real difference over the past 10 years has been the general attitude at the schools about the importance of football (it's pretty obvious that there is more of a commitment and spirit at both BA and MBA) facilities, and the quality of coaching. Success breeds success, and Ryan just hasn't had much lately.

 

It's good to hear that FRHS has re-committed to football. It may take a few years to really get back to a competitive level with the top tier, but it will eventually happen.

[fiftyfifty]

Trying your hardest is quite the point. Your post apparently means trying your hardest with what you presently have and not trying to attain any more, whether that is financial or otherwise. If actually having kids in a Catholic educational environment is the goal and giving a fine parochial education is the result, then offing the financial aid to bring outstanding athletes into that program should not be viewed as bad. In most instances a successful football program supplies the financial resources for the support of most other non-revenue producing sports, especially women??™s. Ryan getting a stadium on campus is wonderful, but the ability to fill those seats and generate income to support the other sports programs at Ryan is one of its greatest benefits. The cap on financial aid is arbitrary and antiquated and should be based on needs of the student and not some outdated rule. Bringing in students that might go somewhere else because of the better financial aid offered is not detrimental to the education of the remaining student body. It actually makes them proud to support the school and the athletic programs. You ever see 6,000 people at a Volleyball game? Me either, but you have at many football games. So, in the end, being satisfied with mediocrity is not what we should be teaching our youth and trying your hardest requires more that just physical talents of hard work, but the mental talents of how to increase your resources and ability to compete at the highest level. If we were competing in a lumber jack competition and all the schools had shiny new chain saws could we feel good about sending our students out with shiny new axes to try and compete?

 

Ole Dad

If there is a cap on financial aid and whether it should be changed is something that maybe should be looked at. But if the cap is lifted, then it should be for all students with no preference for any particular type of student such as a football player. I disagree with your assessment that mediocrity is being taught due to not having the best football team. When you give it all you have, you are not mired in mediocrity. You are successful, just not the best. You do not have to be the best in sports to be regarded as successful. But with how Ryan presently gives aid, they have won multiple state championships in different sports, just not football. That is a success no matter how you look at it. The fact is if you look at the history of Ryan football, they have won two state championships in the modern era, or the last forty years or so. For some, that would be considered successful, but compared with a handful of teams in Tennessee, it is nothing special. Many posters talk of Ryan storied history in football, but other than those two championships, they were many times just another team on the schedule except they were known as the hardest hitters in Nashville. The primary focus of Father Ryan High School is to educate each child and teach faith and morals along the way. I am not at all sure that bringing the best athletes by the highest bidder is conducive to reaching those goals. I have a sneaking suspicion that if Ryan starts doing what you are stating, then tuition will go out the roof and all of a sudden the entire nature of the school will change. If that happens, then many Catholic families who otherwise might be able to afford Ryan would no longer be able to do so. If Ryan adopts the win at any cost atitude, so be it, but many will suffer from that train of thought. I wonder how Ryan won the state championship in the 1970's. Did they bring in a bunch of athletes and allow them to attend school for free or did some alumni pay their tuition, or did they get their athletes from the same place they get them now, from the parocial feeder schools. If Ryan keeps their school in a position to where the maximum number of Catholic students have a real option to attend the school, then they are doing what the school was created for. PS. When the stadium is built on the Ryan campus, 6000 fans at a game will be a thing of the past. The capacity will be somewhere around 3500 seats due to their continued catering to a neighborhood that wishes they would disappear. But thats another story. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[play4keeps]

The principal of Father Ryan is Paul Davis. The President is Jim Mcintyre. You stated that you are proud of the fact that Father Ryan has a balanced athletic program. You also stated that they are looking at financial aid to see if more can be offered to those who deserve more. I would think that even if more were offered that the impact on football would be mild. I say this with the understanding that if more financial aid was offered, that this would include all sports and all students, athletes or not, and not be unfairly distributed among some students who happen to play football. As another poster has already stated, they already have dismissed two girls coaches and took the money and put it in football. They extinguished the P.E. job of Paula Jackson and put the money in football. Lussier heads up the P.E. dept at Ryan. While this doesn't fall under the discussion of financial aid, it should be included in any discussion of fairness and equality among all students when it comes to financial aid. If all sports are looked at by Ryan as being played by their students and therefore important, then Ryan's reputation will be great whether they ever win another championship or not. Their greatness will show in the faces of all the students who know that they are important and treated fairly by a school that preaches just that on a daily basis. PS, does being successful in any sport depend on how much money you have? If so, perhaps the biggest banner that Father Ryan could hang at their school is that they have refused up to the recent past to focus too much on one sport at the expense of all the other sports, especially women's sports. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

 

 

I have noticed that you know a lot about FR...is your child a student or are you an alumni. I have enjoyed reading your perspective.

[KWoodroof]

If there is a cap on financial aid and whether it should be changed is something that maybe should be looked at. But if the cap is lifted, then it should be for all students with no preference for any particular type of student such as a football player. I disagree with your assessment that mediocrity is being taught due to not having the best football team. When you give it all you have, you are not mired in mediocrity. You are successful, just not the best. You do not have to be the best in sports to be regarded as successful. But with how Ryan presently gives aid, they have won multiple state championships in different sports, just not football. That is a success no matter how you look at it. The fact is if you look at the history of Ryan football, they have won two state championships in the modern era, or the last forty years or so. For some, that would be considered successful, but compared with a handful of teams in Tennessee, it is nothing special. Many posters talk of Ryan storied history in football, but other than those two championships, they were many times just another team on the schedule except they were known as the hardest hitters in Nashville. The primary focus of Father Ryan High School is to educate each child and teach faith and morals along the way. I am not at all sure that bringing the best athletes by the highest bidder is conducive to reaching those goals. I have a sneaking suspicion that if Ryan starts doing what you are stating, then tuition will go out the roof and all of a sudden the entire nature of the school will change. If that happens, then many Catholic families who otherwise might be able to afford Ryan would no longer be able to do so. If Ryan adopts the win at any cost atitude, so be it, but many will suffer from that train of thought. I wonder how Ryan won the state championship in the 1970's. Did they bring in a bunch of athletes and allow them to attend school for free or did some alumni pay their tuition, or did they get their athletes from the same place they get them now, from the parocial feeder schools. If Ryan keeps their school in a position to where the maximum number of Catholic students have a real option to attend the school, then they are doing what the school was created for. PS. When the stadium is built on the Ryan campus, 6000 fans at a game will be a thing of the past. The capacity will be somewhere around 3500 seats due to their continued catering to a neighborhood that wishes they would disappear. But thats another story. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

 

You obviously have a good grasp of a school's mission and priorities (or at least the proper ones), as well as the function of scholastic sports. These are qualities often missing on these boards. Occasionally, we all need to remember that we're talking about children here (albeit very large ones).

PS-I saw the chaos of trying to get people into a freshman football game at Ryan; I can't imagine what it would be like to try to get even 1,000 in there.

[fiftyfifty]

I have noticed that you know a lot about FR...is your child a student or are you an alumni. I have enjoyed reading your perspective.

 

Thanks alot, the answer is both. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

[big red big blue]

As an outsider, my observation is that Kurt Page leaving was the devastating blow for FRHS.

 

Kurt Page was a unique figure in that he was a beloved alum of the school, and a highly recognizable figure in Nashville by virtue of having played QB at Vandy at a time when Vandy football (for better or worse) was the only show in town. Maybe in today's era it wouldn't be the same, but back then, before Titans, Predators, constant ESPN, etc., Kurt Page was a minor celebrity in Nashville. He was also a really good coach. We forget, but he beat a really good Ricky Bowers coached MBA team twice in 1997 to win the inagural D2 title.

 

Page had the stature and credibility that could have overcome some of Ryan's problems, imo (i.e., lack of a stadium, D2, lack of money, emergence of JP2, etc.). My view is that football-minded Catholic kids would tolerate Ryan's problems to play for Page. Once he left, (again, my opinion based on talking with some people over the years), a number of parochial school football players who should have been at FR opted for MBA and elsewhere. Even Lussier who is obviously a great coach, lacks the bond with the community that Page had. What was worse was that Page not only left, but left "guns a' blazin'" complaining about how FR wasn't serious about winning. I have to suspect that was a blow to the Catholic community.

 

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.

[Hadouken]

Blah Blah everyone hates Ryan cause they are poor Blah Blah Ryan football stinks cause they focus on other things.

 

We've heard this all before. I thought this thread was about the 2008 season and not the same recycled bull crap from other people (cbg COUGH COUGH) who say the same thing every year?

 

This year's scheduele is the same as last year, as Ryan is on the patttern of playing the same scheduele every 2 years, with location of games being only things changed.

 

Hillwod: Win

Pope: Win

BGA: Are you kidding? Win. How could Ryan lose to BGA, I am confused.

Overton: Win

McCallie: dont know, dont follow Chattanooga football much

Knoxville: Win (home game for Irish)

CPA: Win

Ensworth: Win

BA: Loss

MBA: Loss

 

As long as Ryan doesnt have players kicked off the team, like the mulloys, mid way through the season, they should do consistently well. Maybe they can stay healthy too. BA and MBA have tough schedueles from their start while Ryan rides a easy breeze. Is this good or bad? Well it goes both ways, MBA and BA might get better but they also are at risk of injuries, physically and mentally. Ryan's first Test will probably be McCallie. Its an away game but thats all I know. McCallie is a nice school and is pretty big. Mc definitely has the advantage.

 

Why do people go to Ryan? For a Catholic education. Its a pretty good place to send your kid to school when you live in a state where half the people think the world is only 4000 years old and that dinosaurs are products of the devil. PLEASE. Fundamental Christianity really ruins the South's image, but its schools like Ryan, who accept and teach the theories of evolution, big bang, that make the school worth it. Its a good prep high school as my siblings have gone on to St. Louis University and University of Southern Cal. I, myself, am at Michigan. Yea yea, hate me, go Wolverines.

 

Money is the BIGGEST contender in D2. Whoever has more looks best obviously. Seeing how Nashville probably has the top 3 richest schools in Tennessee: MBA< BA < and Ensworth, other private schools in Nashville, notably catholic schools, get overlooked and seen as public schools.

 

Please.

 

Father Ryan is up on the level of every other school in D2 in terms of academics and athletics. Football has recently not been FR's sport, but it quickly is becoming their main sport again. Not to mention Ryan remains a powerhouse in Wrestling and Soccer, and does well in Baseball and Basketball. So when fans who follow colors of red or orange get scared of what is reality, they ###### their pants and make up lies to cover their tails.

 

If I met a kid going to high school and was thinking about Ryan, I would tell him he'd probably end up going to a great college (which, by the way, going to college is an incredible feat in the state of Tennessee) and the FR experience is the greatest experience there is, where students can embrace their spirituality and community they are part of and feel comfortable where they are.

 

Ive ranted, sorry.

 

Go Ryan, grats on making it to the playoffs again this year. 2 years ago was quarterfinals, last year was semi-finals, this year its the championship. Thats a heck of a lot of progression for a school like Ryan.

 

im out.

[feverpitch]

He's back.... /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

[theocho]

yeah, he's back...after such profound posts last year as

 

"Brentwood Academy will win.Thats a certainty. Without a doubt. Inevitable. Only a matter of time. Not a question of 'if' but 'when'.And all the MBA fans went whining away...."

 

"I believe it. The refs did beat Ryan in last year's game. Without a doubt...."

 

"Class? What is this respect you speak of?..."

 

Now if only statebound comes back...