Venue still an issue

[10-2-4]

I agree that there are so many other sites in which to hold the State Tournament. The site of the TSSAA State Duals and Individuals should be rotated every four years to either a neutral location or a host school. The question is should the State Duals and Individuals both be held at the same location/site during each four period? There could be a site rotation starting in the 2009-2010 season with Chattanooga hosting until the conclusion of the 2011-2012 season. In the interim the powers to be with the collective input of the coaches across the state can be determining another suitable location for the 2012-2016 seasons. By evaluating the success of the McKenzie Arena site as well as its shortcomings/limitations as a guide in determining what would best for the wrestlers, coaches and the fans. I'm certain there are suitable sites in Middle TN, East TN and West TN that can more than accomodate the TSSAA State Tournament.

 

This in my opinion would help promote the sport even by making it accessbile to communities across the state and provide a fair solution to the many concerns people have over the same location(s) each year.

 

 

 

Glad to hear you agree that "there are so many other sites in which to hold the State Tournament" and that you want to "help promote the sport evenly by making it accessbile to communities across the state and provide a fair solution to the many concerns people have over the same location(s) each year". You are right on the money. Getting a concensus on this is the first thing. Fairness is the first issue. The second is finding adequate locations and the third is how to rotate. There really is no fair location that can be used year after year.

 

Personally I think that having it in the same place two years in a row is not necessary but these are things that can be worked out once people are of the same mind to mix things up. I also don't believe that Chatt. is the first place where the tournaments should be held. The individual is already there this year and they have had their turn several times over. Even some of the Chatt. people are startiing to complain about McKenzie and the scheduling. Both can be held in Chatt. but I don't think it should be more often than once every three years (nor anywhere for that matter)

 

Here is another possible way to do it:

Let the tournaments rotate through all eight regions. Let each region determine where in their region the events will be held following guidlines provided by TSSAA. If a region cannot provide an adequate location then they can choose to forfeit. This way they also have NO basis to complain AT ALL about the tournaments. Surely the TSSAA, with inputs from coaches, can determine an adequate set of guidelines that can make this happen. I know that others will come up with good ideas on how to do this too.

 

No doubt there will be those that will try to gain advantage from the process but as a group we can do this. All of you coaches have dedicated your lives to developing our children and I doubt there is a better group of people anywhere to do this for all of the right reasons. For a time though, the coaches have to stop looking at this as Bradley kids, or Clarksville kids, or any other subset... we need to think of the "Tennessee" kids and continue to build this sport in the entire state in a manner as fair as possible to all. The TSSAA has to also recognize this and undertake a sincere effort to work with the regions accordingly.

 

Just for the record, I am not a coach. I am a parent that will not have a horse in this race after next year, but this is a sport that I have learned to recognize as something great for our children and I would like to see it continue to develop and thrive in TN.

[countrypk]

I was there and It didn't seem that there was any advantage toward Clarksville other than the fact that they slept in there own beds at night. BC had more fans( it seemed). Are you saying that because you think they have home team advantage they would never have any legitment complaint on any issue or is it just when it comes to ref's?

 

 

After 30 years of coaching, publicly whining about where the referees come from is beneath him. Chattanooga's refs are arguebly (Well, isn't everything on CoachT?) in the state. Does he want refs from only Memphis to call his matches? After all, Nashville is kind of close to Clarksville and K'ville is kind of close to Cleveland and Chattanooga. Memphis is a long way from Cleveland but closer to Clarksville, so they might be more biased towards his boys. We might be able to recruit some refs from Georgia, but they're closer to Cleveland. Kentucky would be an option but, frankly, the quality of high school wrestling there is not that high. Maybe, hold the duals in Cleveland and he could bring refs from Clarksville.

[retired rebel 64]

I'm with Grinder here. Independence should have been placed in the bottom side of the bracket, but guess what, they weren't and they dealt with what was handed to them. I was so mad about this when the brackets came out that I contacted him to complain about it. Apparently Texas23 has either forgotten or never experienced the psychology of sports. There is a lot of; if this, then that possibilities, but I do feel like had Independence been where they should have been seeded, they would have met Bradley in the finals and given a much better match than Cleveland. I will say this for Coach Grindstaff, although he agreed with me that he felt they should have gotten a different placement, he didn't complain/whine about it once and went full steam ahead into the tournament. If it couldn't have been us from Franklin, I am at least glad that Region 6 was well represented.

 

And can someone please explain to me, if Chattanooga is not in East Tennessee, then where the crap is it? North Georgia?

[drem2acheve]

Let the TSSAA come up with suitable locations through out the state. In the Tri-Cities Duals

could be held at Viking Hall or Freedom Hall. The individual could be held at the Mini-Dome.

Dobynes-Bennett could host the dual maybe the individual. Middle Tn. has locations at MTSU

Vandy. Many other locations. Knoxville has 6or8 also, Memphis has a bunch. You could move

the tournaments no problem, it would allow other schools to save on travel some years, and make

money off of the events as does Soddy Daisy and Clarksville and who knows who else.

[2blLeg]

Does he want refs from only Memphis to call his matches?

 

 

oh no, trust me, you don't want that

[texas23]

I'm with Grinder here. Independence should have been placed in the bottom side of the bracket, but guess what, they weren't and they dealt with what was handed to them. I was so mad about this when the brackets came out that I contacted him to complain about it. Apparently Texas23 has either forgotten or never experienced the psychology of sports. There is a lot of; if this, then that possibilities, but I do feel like had Independence been where they should have been seeded, they would have met Bradley in the finals and given a much better match than Cleveland. I will say this for Coach Grindstaff, although he agreed with me that he felt they should have gotten a different placement, he didn't complain/whine about it once and went full steam ahead into the tournament. If it couldn't have been us from Franklin, I am at least glad that Region 6 was well represented.

 

And can someone please explain to me, if Chattanooga is not in East Tennessee, then where the crap is it? North Georgia?

 

 

 

here is the if this than that deal. If Indy is put on the lower bracket they get beaten by the Cleveland Raiders and put right where they ended up anyway. And then maybe they get beat again and maybe they do not. Who knows?

 

What we do know is two straight losses and no placement and a bunch of arguments about what ifs.

[Cowboy Curtis]

I'm with Grinder here. Independence should have been placed in the bottom side of the bracket, but guess what, they weren't and they dealt with what was handed to them. I was so mad about this when the brackets came out that I contacted him to complain about it. Apparently Texas23 has either forgotten or never experienced the psychology of sports. There is a lot of; if this, then that possibilities, but I do feel like had Independence been where they should have been seeded, they would have met Bradley in the finals and given a much better match than Cleveland. I will say this for Coach Grindstaff, although he agreed with me that he felt they should have gotten a different placement, he didn't complain/whine about it once and went full steam ahead into the tournament. If it couldn't have been us from Franklin, I am at least glad that Region 6 was well represented.

 

And can someone please explain to me, if Chattanooga is not in East Tennessee, then where the crap is it? North Georgia?

 

I think that your perception as to if Chattanooga is East Tennessee or not depends on where you are from in Tennessee. Chattanooga is three hours southwest of Johnson City.

Most people up here in East Tennessee consider East Tn. as starting about Knoxville and Chattanooga is even southwest of Knoxville. Personally, I think of Nashville as West TN.

If you draw a line down the exact middle of the state, then I guess Chattanooga would be east and Nashville would be west.

If you divide the state into three equal parts, then both Nashville and Chattanooga would be in the Middle Tennessee section.

Hope this helps. /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

[MatWizard87]

i'll just throw this into the east,middle,west classification debate. East Tennessee classification. I'll quote some notable info from the page:

"The major cities of East Tennessee are Knoxville and Chattanooga."

 

"East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee is the portion of the state located within the Eastern Time Zone and four counties in the Central Time Zone, namely Bledsoe, Cumberland, Marion, and Sequatchie Counties (however, the current legal definition of the Grand Divisions places Sequatchie County in Middle Tennessee). East Tennessee is noted for its mountains, particularly the Great Smoky Mountains portion of the Appalachian Mountains, but in fact has many and varied landforms. East Tennessee is also known for being the birthplace of country music."

 

I guess Nashville stole East Tennessee's claim to fame and now they've got wrestling and us Middle Tennesseans are trying to take that too. No wonder it's such a heated debate.

[retired rebel 64]

I think that your perception as to if Chattanooga is East Tennessee or not depends on where you are from in Tennessee. Chattanooga is three hours southwest of Johnson City.

Most people up here in East Tennessee consider East Tn. as starting about Knoxville and Chattanooga is even southwest of Knoxville. Personally, I think of Nashville as West TN.

If you draw a line down the exact middle of the state, then I guess Chattanooga would be east and Nashville would be west.

If you divide the state into three equal parts, then both Nashville and Chattanooga would be in the Middle Tennessee section.

Hope this helps. /blink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":blink:" border="0" alt="blink.gif" />

 

 

 

This is hilarious to me. I have lived in Franklin TN for 23 of my 25 years on this earth and I have never heard of Nashville being a part of West TN. Any time the state is divided into section it is West, Middle, and East. Sorry friends, Chatt Town is East TN. Sorry to change the subject on a board for State Duals, but this one couldn't slide.

 

Congrats to Bradley. They consistantly bring the heat every year. See you in two weeks.

[BayouBear]

Fellows....I'll save you a lot a time and effort. The Traditional Tournament will not be moved out of Chattanooga. It's not going to happen.

 

The Duals should be in Chattanooga also. There were maybe 400 people there last night for the finals and most of those were Bradley people. If the duals would have been in the McClellan Gym at UTC in Chattanooga. It would have been standing room only.

 

Question.....

 

Soddy-Bradley

Bradley-Cleveland

Baylor-McCallie

 

These matches draw the big crowds. Is there any other match in the state that draws a huge turnout? Perhaps MBA-Ryan when MBA is good. I won't name names but I attended the big DI rivalry match this year in Middle TN. Not many fans...Mostly parents and some students.

[countrypk]

oh no, trust me, you don't want that

 

 

My tongue was firmly in my cheek. Memphis refereeing is an oxymoron.

[mhhjnh]

I think there is a fair argument to be had for both sides. The site is small and not very accommodating for teams other the CHS. I am all for a bigger venue that is held elsewhere as long as it is rotated along with the individuals. I think the bigger problem that they need to address is the profits that are made at these events, where do they go? I take it that CHS pockets what they make and every other school in Clarksville goes without. I think if the site is hosted in Clarksville in the future ASPU could be used (with appropriate scheduling). I think that some sort of profit sharing should be used between all the local schools that help host the event. People know why CHS is the only school in Clarksville with its own wrestling facility (a lot of money lives on that side of town). I live in Clarksville for the record and have attended duals over the years. This year was the first year that I attended since the privates went to father Ryan and I was hopeful but it was the same crowded, hot, rude place. Me and my boys left early.

 

 

I think you need to take a little closer dive into why CHS has its on wrestlig building. Your comment of money on that side of the town has nothing to do with it. The parents of that booster club put a lot of time and devotion into there kids sport. Yes, they funded and they built that building not the school system. It was a group of parents that set out to make their team competitive and provide something for a group of kids and a coach that was dedicated to making that team one of the best in the state. I was a member of that team. I will forever be thankful to the time and effort my parents and the parents of my teammates put into not only fundraising but also the labor in the construction of it too. That tradition of the parents be exceptional boosters still is going on today and as long as Coach Jordan, Coach Cobb and Coach Manning have anything to do with it they always will. They are great motivators and are dedicated to the sport. They have not close it off to just those in the CHS zone either. They have consistently went to the board and to other schools to try and get middle school and youth programs started. The others don't want to put forth the effort CHS has and it shows year in and year out. If you ask around the state, that is what makes the top tier programs consistently competive. Yes it takes money to do that but the money comes when the work is placed into action to prove that it is deserved. Just look at the many posts of the feeder programs in the Chattanooga/Cleveland area and in Williamson and Rutherford county. That's why these teams are consistently in the top 10 to 15 programs. You can give all the money you want to it won't matter unless you dedicate yourself to the prize. It is mentioned on here many times that the Bradley and Cleveland programs have great boosters but I guarantee you if you walk into the wrestling room and get to know some of the people from the programs, you'll find that with or without that money they would still be the top knotch programs they are and the same would be true of Clarksville.

 

Also you obivously don't pay too much attention to detail because it has also been posted on here many times that APSU has not been cooperative with either the TSSAA or the organizers ot the tournament in bids to get use of their facilities.