Elizabethton vs. Chuckey -Doak

[coachh17]

The Chuckey-Doak vs. Elizabethton match was stopped this week with Elizabethton leading 2-0 with 36 minutes remaining in the second half. Five red cards were issued for an on- field brawl. Published reports in the Johnson City Press say that Cyclone Athletic Director Mike Wilson took action to restore order and called 911 for local police support to get Chuckey-Doak out of the stadium without further incident. The reports also say that the officials failed to gain control of the game early and did not act decisively when the brawl began. The TSSAA has not made a ruling on the outcome of the game or the penalties that may ensue.

I did not see this particular game, but have witnessed many girl's soccer games between these two schools. I have also seen many girl's basketball games between Elizabethton and South Greene. When Elizabethton plays these two the Greene County schools there is always a good possibility of things turning ugly. I am a Cyclone fan all the way, so call me biased if you must, but the pushing, grabbing, holding, and verbal intimidation tactics must stop. I witnessed it routinely in the twelve years I coached. This may be the incident that finally forces the TSSAA and the game officials to investigate and put an end to this type of physical play. The coaches and school administrations need to clean it up. Clearly, somebody is going to get hurt if it does not end.

[CoachMikeLHS]

If the refs were doing what they were taught, when the brawl began, they should have just stood back and started writing down player numbers. The coaches should have been the ones to control the players.

[coachh17]

The reports say the refs did just back off and watch. The coaches apparently stayed on the sidelines to restrain their benches from coming on to the field. That left the AD and some other players on the field to try and break it up and restore order. I can see officials not wanting to put themselves at risk by and getting in the middle of such melee's. It appears that the coaches need to be made aware that it is their responsibility to come on the field and break it up; quite a dangerous responsibility. The officials also need to control the physical play with some early yellow cards or warnings before it erupts.

[OnThePitch]

When Dogs fight you can throw water on them and Most of the time it will work to shock them and they will seperate. If the official had kept blowing his whistle instead of watching and taking numbers, this might have never escalated.....I feel sorry for the ref put in this position but a more seasoned ref would have blown his whistle over and over

[rebelfan1969]

It clearly states that if a coach comes onto the field without the acceptance of a ref, they will be carded. In my opinion I believe both coaches were trying to keep that from happening and letting other players into the brawl.

 

I hope Elizabethton fans do not judge ALL Greene County teams by what happened with Chuckey-Doak. Some coaches teach respect and understanding to their players and demand that from them. If they do not get it, they take care of it in practice. I have known Coach McClay for the past 5 years and have never had any problems with playing his team. He always has an outstanding team and starting as a young soccer coach, I have the upmost respect for him as a coach. He has always treated me with respect and I admire his hard work from him and his team. I also have known Coach Ricker for numerous years, even before she was a coach. Her team works hard as well. If the refs had stopped the first two players, then I believe the other players wouldn't have had to get involved. Of course team mates are going to stick up for each other no matter what is going on.

 

I hope this decision will be rendered soon and handled in a timely manner.

 

Coach K /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" />

[woodeng]

"When Elizabethton plays these two the Greene County schools there is always a good possibility of things turning ugly. I am a Cyclone fan all the way, so call me biased if you must, but the pushing, grabbing, holding, and verbal intimidation tactics must stop. I witnessed it routinely in the twelve years I coached. This may be the incident that finally forces the TSSAA and the game officials to investigate and put an end to this type of physical play."

 

More than a little biased I think! Verging on slander!

[BigG]

There is an updated article about this in the Johnson City press about the options that TSSAA might take. If I get a chance, I'll put a link.

[MFC9]

...but the pushing, grabbing, holding, and verbal intimidation tactics must stop

 

 

This goes on in all sports at all levels. Soccer is a contact sport and High School soccer is a contact sport played by teenagers. I don't condone brawls, and fighting on the field, regardless of calls or lack thereof is inexcusable. However, whistles for simply breathing on an opponent is not the answer either.

 

Consistency is always the key to a well refereed game. If a ref allows physical play, then the teams need to adjust to his calls and the ref should make consistent calls. If a ref is a bit whistle-happy, then the players should adjust to these types of calls.

 

After years of watching competitive club and odp soccer, the biggest adjustment I see when these players transistion to high school is adjusting to the refs calls. That combined with a mix of less talented, or multi-sport athletes tend to make the High School game often a bit rougher (late tackles, hard shoulder charges, etc.). This in turn can cause referees to over-react to contact. All too often I see the year-round soccer player perform a text book slide tackle on the ball and the inexperienced player trip over his own feet to earn the whistle. This frustrates the player who then gets his ankles repeatedly kicked at by the basketball player turned midfielder. On the flip-side, inexperienced parents seeing "Johnny" knocked over for the first time often start yelling for non-existent fouls which feeds through to the players, escalating tension.

 

Tough balancing act for the players, refs, coaches and fans. However totally eliminating grabbing, holding, pushing and smack talk out of soccer would leave no expectation of the USA ever competing on the world soccer stage.

[akula21]

That is a very well spoken post MFC9, I couldn't agree with you more.

[gchunn]

This goes on in all sports at all levels. Soccer is a contact sport and High School soccer is a contact sport played by teenagers. I don't condone brawls, and fighting on the field, regardless of calls or lack thereof is inexcusable. However, whistles for simply breathing on an opponent is not the answer either.

 

Consistency is always the key to a well refereed game. If a ref allows physical play, then the teams need to adjust to his calls and the ref should make consistent calls. If a ref is a bit whistle-happy, then the players should adjust to these types of calls.

 

After years of watching competitive club and odp soccer, the biggest adjustment I see when these players transistion to high school is adjusting to the refs calls. That combined with a mix of less talented, or multi-sport athletes tend to make the High School game often a bit rougher (late tackles, hard shoulder charges, etc.). This in turn can cause referees to over-react to contact. All too often I see the year-round soccer player perform a text book slide tackle on the ball and the inexperienced player trip over his own feet to earn the whistle. This frustrates the player who then gets his ankles repeatedly kicked at by the basketball player turned midfielder. On the flip-side, inexperienced parents seeing "Johnny" knocked over for the first time often start yelling for non-existent fouls which feeds through to the players, escalating tension.

 

Tough balancing act for the players, refs, coaches and fans. However totally eliminating grabbing, holding, pushing and smack talk out of soccer would leave no expectation of the USA ever competing on the world soccer stage.

 

 

 

Great posts! don't you just love this game!!!

[soccerdadwc]

There is an updated article about this in the Johnson City press about the options that TSSAA might take. If I get a chance, I'll put a link.

 

 

 

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/09/News/article.php?ID=68451

[voice]

from todays Johnson City Press

"Elizabethton and Chuckey-Doak are still awaiting word from the TSSAA on the outcome of last week??™s soccer game.

 

The contest at Rider Field was stopped with 36 minutes remaining and the Cyclones leading 2-0. A fight broke out, and the referee issued six red cards before deciding the contest should not continue.

 

TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter said his organization has been gathering information from both schools and the officials.

 

???A determination will be made as to what disciplinary action will take place as a result of the incident which took place on the field,??? said Carter in an e-mail. ???That is the major situation at this time. We are not dealing with the issue of the score of this game or the issues regarding the concern over seeding in the district tournament.

 

???The first major decision will be the disciplinary action and whether the two schools will continue play in the district tournaments.???

 

It appears the TSSAA will take some form of major action, and Carter??™s comment apparently leaves open the possibility the schools could be placed on probation and not allowed to participate in postseason play.

 

Another possibility is letting both teams participate in the postseason, but not allow them to meet each other. If tournament play necessitated a contest in the District 1-A/AA title game, both teams would be regarded as losers in that contest and travel for the Region 1-A/AA semifinal contests.

 

The same scenario could be in place for a Region 1-A/AA title game, meaning both teams would travel for sectional contests.

 

A third possibility is simply declaring ???no decision??? for last week??™s game, and no postseason sanctions. This would mean that if Elizabethton defeated University High, and Chuckey-Doak beat South Greene, the Cyclones would travel to Afton for the championship game.

 

Carter said he expected the TSSAA to announce a decision no later than Wednesday. "