Clarksville Academy - Lighthouse Christian

[Guest 481]

Given what recently occured with CA dropping football, I cannot help but wonder if and when the same will not occur at Lighthouse sometime soon. You cannot help but feel for those young men who play their hearts out week after week against schools with more players and better facilities only to be victimized by programs seeking to boost statistics and scoring 40 points before calling off the dogs.

 

I do think that a reorganization is taking place in 1A in the Nashville area and it seems the athletes are starting to migrate to a select few programs. CPA is a striking example of this. Ten years ago no program today a contender although a pretender.

 

Given CA success in years past, it should be a concern to those schools enrolling fewer and fewer potential players for the future.

[rollredroll]

Posted by 481:

 

 

I do think that a reorganization is taking place in 1A in the Nashville area and it seems the athletes are starting to migrate to a select few programs. CPA is a striking example of this. Ten years ago no program today a contender although a pretender.

 

What do you mean by "pretender"? I'm not affiliated with CPA, but I would think they are now considered a Top 10, if not Top 5, program in Class A, with a state championship to boot. Many other schools who have been around a lot longer can't even claim one state title.

[Guest 481]

By "Pretender" I am referring to their pretending to be a Christian environment and all along time teaching selective recruiting, deception, and a winning is everything attitude, while hiding behind the skirt of religion to the young people attending that school.

[Guest UtahPass]

I am sure you will hear from a few CPA folks concerning your comments, but speaking as an observer of the Nashville region from afar, what you say about CPA sounds like hostility and jealousy disguised behind the mask of fairness and equality.

 

They must have beaten you like they have beaten so many others along the way. I don't like to be beaten by them, and I wonder how they got so good so fast, but degrading their school curriculum, their school values and their staff, all of whom that I have met are great folks, seems to go way over the line.

Do you have any facts?

 

h

[Guest UtahPass]

What I want to see is a school like Lighthouse, as well as Clarksville Academy and Mt Juliet Christian and some of the other struggling DI A Nashville area schools join DIIA.

 

Football-wise, they would compete with SAS and Kings, the only DII A team s currently east of the Tennessee River. All Memphis A privates are in DII (and none of Nashville's are) and currently SAS and Kings each go to Memphis twice during the regular season.

 

DIIA could be a fun, competitively balanced division if some of th ose Nashville schools would come on board. It makes so much sense I just don't understand why they haven't done it yet.

 

Any supporters of those schools want to comment as to why they have not made that switch yet? Or do you see an advantage for them i n DI that I am not seeing?

[Edited by UtahPass on 8-10-02 9:19A]

 

[blueboy]

That makes sense to me. TSSAA, School Administraters need to make a more even playing field for those really small programs private and public. When all the kids are having fun is when football is a success. Everyone wants to win sometimes. Lets at least give them a chance. Getting beat by 40 at the half is not much of a chance. Politics, money or I don't know what seems to take favor over trying to help the kids that play.

[OnlineLC]

Lighthouse did in fact request DivII A 2 years ago but were denied by the TSSAA because their application was late. This is a real shame because they are a tiny school and would struggle with most Public 1A schools and yet find themselves in the same Region as Ezell, DCA, CPA, FRA etc. I really wish the TSSAA had shown a little more flexibility at that point.

 

As to 481's comments on CPA, speaking as someone who is intimately involved with the school I am unsure where your hostility comes from. The school has it's share of problems as you would expect but there is nothing that would want us to instill in our kids a "Winning is Everything at all costs" attitude. I am not isolating CPA out in this regard because I know other faculties and teachers who have the same values.

[scout]

Posted by UtahPass:

What I want to see is a school like Lighthouse, as well as Clarksville Academy and Mt Juliet Christian and some of the other struggling DI A Nashville area schools join DIIA.

 

Football-wise, they would compete with SAS and Kings, the only DII A team s currently east of the Tennessee River. All Memphis A privates are in DII (and none of Nashville's are) and currently SAS and Kings each go to Memphis twice during the regular season.

 

DIIA could be a fun, competitively balanced division if some of th ose Nashville schools would come on board. It makes so much sense I just don't understand why they haven't done it yet.

 

Any supporters of those schools want to comment as to why they have not made that switch yet? Or do you see an advantage for them i n DI that I am not seeing?

[Edited by UtahPass on 8-10-02 9:19A]

 

I agree that the small privates should join DIIa. Lighthouse & Mt.JCA needs time to grow up before jumping into the fight with older programs. I do not know why Mt. JCA has not joined. I know the financial aid restrictions are an issue for Mt. JCA. They are part of Mt. Juliet First Baptist Church that trys to support poor children in their community.

 

Mt. JCA is a program to watch over the next five years. It will take a while, but that is a good school with a strong community of support and have competed well in soccer before starting a football program. The Church is in the process of buying more land to build a new h/s.

 

As to 481's comments about CPA, it is my assumption that he is young and has a limited knowledge of h/s football. When CPA comes to DCA, their fans actually pick up the trash on the vistors side after the game. CPA has the reputation of being one of the most sportsman oriented programs in 1a. Each year TSSAA officials give an award to the most sportsman like football program. If I am not mistaken, CPA has won it in the past few years. Any CPA people out there who can comment on that?

[Guest 481]

True, I am young at 48.

 

My problem with 1A is the severe disparity in the teams in this class. You have schools like CPA with huge football budgets playing small rural schools with limited financial resources and boundaries associated with the school district that prevent an outside the boundary selection process. To this you add parental contributions which are so prevelent in private school programs but not in public school programs.

 

Then you expose these small program's players to constant losing and no chance to rise in the rankings, it is no wonder the football programs have declining count. Let's not forget how TPS used to get mauled on a weekly basis. These kids had been mauled enough in life and did not need more of it on a football field.

 

So what happens? A tradition of winning develops at a school and everyone wants to be part of a winner, so they naturally attract the athletes. They become stronger and severe stratification develops.

 

Finally, as to CPA winning the sportsmanship award. I can only say they are the most gracious winners I have ever seen. But let's see how they react when the tide turns.

[BiggestElk]

If Lighthouse was late in their request last time, then I hope they are early this time! With football scheduling coming up in a few months, they will need to apply soon, or get stuck in DI again.

 

I agree about the need for the small privates in Nashvil le/Clarksville to get out from under that super competitive region most of them are in. But I don't understand what is meant by this statement from Scout:

 

"I do not know why Mt. JCA has not joined. I know the financial aid restrictions are an issue for Mt. JCA. T hey are part of Mt. Juliet First Baptist Church that trys to support poor children in their community."

 

DI, which is what MJCA is currently in, has financial aid restrictions----you can't do it! DII has restrictions----you have to qualify and then receiv e no more than the amount that SSS says you can receive.

 

Scout, does Mt Juliet First Baptist Church help poor children who are MJCA students with aid? Could you clarify your statement, please??

[Edited by BiggestElk on 8-10-02 1:59P]

 

[scout]

BiggestElk,

Prior to joining the TSSAA Mt.JCA did, through the Church, provide financial assisstance to poor children as part of their ministry. That had to stop. If they joined DII, they could most likely continue that program under the oversite of the TSSAA. If you saw them play last year it was apparent they are not recruiting athletes.

 

481,

If your point is that Lighthouse, CA, and Mt.JCA should not be playing DCA, FRA, CPA etc., then you will probably get strong agreement from DCA, FRA, and CPA. I'm thrilled we are not playing CA this year and wished we would not play Lighthouse. They, along with Watertown, Monterey, RBS, etc., need to be in a separate Division. Maybe DIIa would fit all of those teams. But questioning the sincerity of someone's religion because the TSSAA has problems with school classifications sounds like a teenager comment.

[Guest 481]

My problem with CPA is the hypocricy of the situation.

 

In another thread I read today where someone was asking when CPA would start playing BA on a regular basis. If CPA wants to be a football powerhouse like BA, fine, but play up in classification as did BA. You now have the facilities, coach staff, and access to the player base, the only thing missing is fortitude to make the choice.

 

In other states where the Catholic schools are strong, they may have low male enrollment, but they play a schedule of the largest public schools in enrollment in the state.

 

Leave 1A to the schools that are small and trying to operate with some sort of educational balance.