Grundy at Sequatchie Preview

[OnThaBall]

One of the biggest drawbacks to having so many feeders schools is not the availability of good athletes for basketball but the lack of opportunity to play other sports that are offered in most middle schools (track, soccer, golf etc.). Until about two years ago basketball and basketball cheerleading were the only two sports offered at the elementary school level in Grundy County. Girls' volleyball was added when Ricky Richards the previous girls' high school basketball coach switched to coaching the high school volleyball team. Softball is not offered as a school sport but ran by an organization of parents and volunteers and usually coached by parents. Basketball has very strong participation from players and parents because for generations it has been the sport offered in elementary schools. There is a player on the high school team whose mother and grandmother both played for Grundy.

The "Big 8" conference for elementary basketball is highly competitive and draws crowds that rival most high school contests. It consists of 6 teams from Grundy (Pelham, Tracy City, Coalmont, North, Swiss Memorial and Palmer), 1 team split between Grundy and Marion (Monteagle) and St. Andrews-Sewanee. It is not unusual for 2 or more of these team to participate in the James C. Haile or TNT tournaments.

[OnThaBall]

Imagine playing in an elementary school conference where every conference game is a rival game. Where you join the school team in the third grade. May be a starting varsity by 5th. Spend four years being pitted against opposing players in knock-down-drag-out battles for bragging rights that last for years. And after you have spent half your life battling those enemies you go to high school and there they are. From enemies to teammates. Foes to friends. Such is the life of a Grundy basketball player. Sort of corny but true.

[DelTavian]

I think the issue of getting the kids to come together at the high school isn't as bad as it used to be with the world being a smaller place. Cell phones and Internet have all these kids talking to each other all the time.

 

I think the biggest advantage to the Big 8 is that there are so many kids that get an opportunity to play. If you do the numbers just for the Grundy schools and made a SMALL estimate you could say that each team has 15 kids on the team that are 6th-7th-8th graders. Well 6x15 is 90 girls and 90 boys. If we had a middle school would we dress 90 on each team? Not hardly. So there's a lot of kids that would never get the "experience" and there's maybe even some who wouldn't find their way to the high school team.

 

It does hurt some sports like football where everyone isn't together because the kids aren't together and because the schools aren't big enough to field their own team. But I for one think the Big 8 does more to help the high school basketball teams than a middle school would.

 

DL.

[OnThaBall]

I agree about the strength-in-number theory being a good thing for the high school basketball programs. Coaches have a lot to choose from. But from an individual athlete's perspective it would be nice to have the opportunity to choose between multiple sports. An athlete may not be a great basketball player but may be a phenom soccer player or track star. Without being exposed to the sport early on or never at all they will never know. This applies not only to sports but to art, drama, you name it. The more good things our kids are involved in the less time they have to get involved with the bad. Some elementary schools are so small there would not be enough participation in that individual school to offer other sports or clubs not taking into consideration the cost.

[goldmom]

I have played in Grundys "Big 8" as we called from my 2nd grade year to my 8th grade year. Playing in this county is not a disadvantage as a matter of fact it helps. If your really into the sport and are serious about it as I was as I got older you watch study and learn this girls every year you play you see them. Everytime they did something new you knew it. Then we didn't hate each other it was all fun and games most of the time. I mean there was a few people that just took it to far but then again somebody always does. As a matter of fact most of my close friends where from other schools It actually helped you when you got into high school.

 

 

I also played high school ball for grundy and was on the varsity team all four years. I mean it took us a few games to get know each other completely but we never had any problems.

 

And as for the 25-50 lose that Grundy suffered to Seq I was there it was my Senior year. So most of the girls on the team now wasn't even there with the exception of this years seniors maybe. So why bring that up it has nothing to do with the players now. So drop that, that was when Katherine Barker, Lakin Ledford and Lockhart played which are no longer there either. Not to ruffle anybodies feathers but thats crazy to just bring that up lol. That game was against "US" not these girls lol!

 

As for the lose of Seq it was the free throws that lost the game. But thats nothing that can't be fixed by the next game. I know girls from both teams and they both very well coached girls they both have talent and it's really earlier in the season. All that matters is learning from your mess ups now and learning and fixing these little problems and not repeating these in the tourny.

 

As for Chatt Christian game Grundy played tonight they lost I was told but please don't hold me to that it is just hear say.