Northeast Tennessee Conference Alignment

[Cap1]

I think the conferences should be lined up by 6A, 5A, 4A, ETC. No mix & match. Science Hill & DB can afford to travel to Knoxville & Sevierville and visa versa. Our non-conference games "could" still be South,Tennesse High, and Daniel Boone, but I would rather it be Oak Ridge, and maybe a team in the Nashville area. Playing the teams that are always ranked in the top 5 will give you a good ideal on what the playoff games are going to be like and what you need to work on to get ready. Playing teams like Central, Volunteer, etc. show you nothing. It does not help DB to beat Central, Volunteer, and Davy Crockett.

I totally agree... especially with the measuring stick of playing a top 5 team every year. It really isn't fair to DB and SH to have to play in a 5A conference. I agree that you should be in a conference with like peers regardless of how good or bad they are.

[compusatman]

I think the conferences should be lined up by 6A, 5A, 4A, ETC. No mix & match. Science Hill & DB can afford to travel to Knoxville & Sevierville and visa versa. Our non-conference games "could" still be South,Tennesse High, and Daniel Boone, but I would rather it be Oak Ridge, and maybe a team in the Nashville area. Playing the teams that are always ranked in the top 5 will give you a good ideal on what the playoff games are going to be like and what you need to work on to get ready. Playing teams like Central, Volunteer, etc. show you nothing. It does not help DB to beat Central, Volunteer, and Davy Crockett.

 

Not speaking to Jack but using his post as bulletin board material. I mean, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to get this. A perfect example of the lunacy of this is District 4 5A/6A. Incredibly ignorant.

[WaCoJaCo]

REALLY GOOD POST and great points!! And don’t worry about the WAC job… unless you are joining in with a chorus of WE ARE THE WORLD in the middle of JFJ stadium with the rest of their delusional followers, he labels you a hater. Several good points in your post. One being that this is only the second year that the DB Delusionals can make the claim (EXCUSE) that playing “weak†competition has hampered their playoff performance… and to be honest they can’t even say that about last year because the couldn’t even finish top two in a 5A conference, and Science Hill only won 4 games. IMO DB has had the coaching… and have talent and size… but just not enough LATELY (in comparison) to really compete in 6A football. Science Hill has had the talent but not the coaching… but hopefully that is changing.

 

IMO TALENT AND COACHING will dictate how good you are and how far you go in the playoffs. Who you play has NOTHING to do with the short term affect of a teams success. I will add that if you have the constant talent and the coaching your PROGRAM can and will benefit from being surrounded by strong competition. An example of this fact would be Greeneville (coaching and steady talent). But East has also been playing up for YEARS now… and are no better for their efforts (they may have coaching but the talent pool is low in comparison).

 

The Hater comment is not just a label, its a fact. Just like the fact that you are a DB Hater. Most if not all of what this Goat Roper said about DB in his post is not true....a lie. Im pointing it out and you Haters don't like that. Thats ok though, Im going to continue to expose you for what you are. A bunch of cry baby DB haters.

[THSVikings2004]

Agreed. However, according to the format and correct me if I am wrong, if Science Hill goes 0-10 and DB goes 1-9 with the win coming against Science Hill they make the playoffs, right? I know that will not happen just a far fetched scenario, but it would go that way, right? So I was just curious as to which WaCoJaCo would prefer. What's the stantard you are reaching for year in and year out? A winning program or a winning program against the best of the best? Does it matter if you go 10-0 but lose in the playoffs? No offense to the Vikings. Does each person have their own standards or is there one set standard?

 

I'm pretty sure that this year is different from last year; Now you're only guaranteed to make the playoffs if you come in 1st or 2nd in district, not your subdivision(5A or 6A). After that I believe it is based on overall wins.

[Cap1]

Agreed. However, according to the format and correct me if I am wrong, if Science Hill goes 0-10 and DB goes 1-9 with the win coming against Science Hill they make the playoffs, right? I know that will not happen just a far fetched scenario, but it would go that way, right? So I was just curious as to which WaCoJaCo would prefer. What's the stantard you are reaching for year in and year out? A winning program or a winning program against the best of the best? Does it matter if you go 10-0 but lose in the playoffs? No offense to the Vikings. Does each person have their own standards or is there one set standard?

Not sure what you meant by “no offense to the Vikingâ€â€¦ because OUR standard has always been play whoever the TSSAA lines up in front of us and DO YOUR BEST without (female doging) and complaining. The Vikings have chocked a couple years here lately and haven’t gone as far as their potential. But honestly… I think they have lived up to their potential for the most part in the playoffs up to this point… and I’ve only been really into it since 04’. I’m not one of those that think my team is better than reality shows. Just because we win allot of games against the locals. Last year has to be the biggest disappointment in THS history beause we just flat out CHOCKED!!! That team had the potential to go to the Big Dance… especially since Maryville was out of the picture. I’m just being real.

[RebelConvert]

Not sure what you meant by “no offense to the Vikingâ€â€¦ because OUR standard has always been play whoever the TSSAA lines up in front of us and DO YOUR BEST without (female doging) and complaining. The Vikings have chocked a couple years here lately and haven’t gone as far as their potential. But honestly… I think they have lived up to their potential for the most part in the playoffs up to this point… and I’ve only been really into it since 04’. I’m not one of those that think my team is better than reality shows. Just because we win allot of games against the locals. Last year has to be the biggest disappointment in THS history beause we just flat out CHOCKED!!! That team had the potential to go to the Big Dance… especially since Maryville was out of the picture. I’m just being real.

 

Simply meant the 10-0 comment. Don't read to much into it Cap. I was saying a hypothetical 10-0 and then I realized that was your record last year and was making sure you didn't take it wrong. oh well at least I tried. Sorry Cap.

[ChurchHillFootballFan]

I know high school teams can pick up optional sports so I assume they can drop them as well. Is it possible for a cellar team to drop their football program if it is costing them more than it is making the program? I guess I'm asking if a school isn't willing to invest in a program (i.e. coach), can they just drop it? If that happens what happens to the conference?... Anyway, the reason to the reply to you Comp is, If it is coaching which the system decides the program isn't important enough to invest in a coach, then what? Is it best to remain at the cellar, align the teams according to talent, or just let those programs die?

 

Teams are free to drop any and all sports at any time. Even if it means canceling an entire season midway if they like. There is no "right" for students to play football anywhere in the law.

 

Football is an expensive sport. It's not just about hiring a good head coach, you've got to give him the assistants, too. Then you've got to let him do it his way. A lot of schools refuse to let their head coach have a say over who he works with and who he doesn't, which creates horrible staffs where nobody's on the same page and you have assistants trying to undermine their superiors so they can steal his job, etc. Then you get administrators who want to meddle in everything from the weight room to the play calling and depth chart.

 

Besides coaching (you've got to figure teaching jobs and stipends for at least 6 coaches, plus an extra few thousand on part-time/non-faculty coaches), you've got to pay for expensive uniforms, pads, field and stadium maintenance, fuel for the busses, practice gear, maybe some new weights every few years... it's easily the most expensive sport, on average, that a high school can field. Starting a team from the ground up would easily cost several hundred thousand dollars.

 

But it can also be a great moneymaker. Volunteer's team turns a big profit even when they go 0-10 because their fans are very loyal, pack the house for every game, and buy lots of blue and orange merch. Which is probably why the Hawkins County admin never expects much from them. Instead of re-investing that money in the program, they take it for budget shortfalls in other areas. Areas like overpaid administrator's salary increases...

[ChurchHillFootballFan]

With the current system you are assured playoffs every year, barring a disaster. Would you trade that for not having that guarantee? In your opinion how often would DB see the playoffs in an all 6A conference? That may be the wrong question to ask a fan of the team, but you seem to be pretty objective.

 

This is the biggest flaw in the current system. Teams get assured playoff berths for only winning a couple of games here and there.

 

The playoffs should be an accomplishment. When you've got teams going 2-8 or even 1-9 and making it, especially while teams with better records other districts get stuck at home, that's a problem.

 

I wish there would be some type of minimum wins requirement placed on playoff spots. You should have to finish at least .500, preferably over .500, to make it. Otherwise, you don't go.

 

D-B's not completely assured a spot, though. They still have to beat Science Hill. That's not going to be a given anymore.

[Cap1]

Simply meant the 10-0 comment. Don't read to much into it Cap. I was saying a hypothetical 10-0 and then I realized that was your record last year and was making sure you didn't take it wrong. oh well at least I tried. Sorry Cap.

No problem. I'm just a little trigger happy with all the crying on these boards going on.

[WaCoJaCo]

Not sure what you meant by “no offense to the Vikingâ€â€¦ because OUR standard has always been play whoever the TSSAA lines up in front of us and DO YOUR BEST without (female doging) and complaining. The Vikings have chocked a couple years here lately and haven’t gone as far as their potential. But honestly… I think they have lived up to their potential for the most part in the playoffs up to this point… and I’ve only been really into it since 04’. I’m not one of those that think my team is better than reality shows. Just because we win allot of games against the locals. Last year has to be the biggest disappointment in THS history beause we just flat out CHOCKED!!! That team had the potential to go to the Big Dance… especially since Maryville was out of the picture. I’m just being real.

 

You said your not one of those that thinks his team is better than reality shows, and you also said your team had potential to go to the "Big Dance", all in the same post. You never made it out of the Tri-Cities. Im just sayin'

[ChurchHillFootballFan]

 

IMO TALENT AND COACHING will dictate how good you are and how far you go in the playoffs. Who you play has NOTHING to do with the short term affect of a teams success. I will add that if you have the constant talent and the coaching your PROGRAM can and will benefit from being surrounded by strong competition. An example of this fact would be Greeneville (coaching and steady talent). But East has also been playing up for YEARS now… and are no better for their efforts (they may have coaching but the talent pool is low in comparison).

 

Thanks for the compliments.

 

East has been playing up, but they've not really had much in the way of coaching. Nelson's overrated and a bit of a joke, based on stuff I've heard about him from former players. Colobro might be able to turn it around, but he doesn't have the luxury of football crazed parents raising their kids to devote their lives to Gate City football. Even if it means "redshirting" them in 8th grade.

 

IMO, "talent" in HS football is really more about developing the athletes you've got. Some kids mature earlier than others. A kid might be a big, fast stud in MS, but only because he hits an early growth spurt and he turns out to be average by the time he's in HS. A kid may be mediocre and undersized in MS, but a couple of good years in a quality weight, speed, and nutrition program can turn him into a beast by his senior year. Plus, football is one of the most technique intensive sports there is. Throwing a football, blocking a 300lb DT, backpedaling and keeping pace with a stud WR... these are not natural things for a kid to just "do." Especially if he's confused about his assignment or never gets any work on his weak points.

 

Most schools in a given geographic area will draw from the same general pool, though schools like D-B, Tennessee High, and Greeneville do get the luxury of drawing kids from the county to come play for them. It's not right or wrong, or even because of "recruiting" (which happens in some places), but it is what it is.

 

As for Maryville's talent, which someone else commented on... name some big time Maryville recruits over the last decade. There haven't been many and most of their stud players wind up going Div. 2 or 1-AA/FCS even with all the attention on that prgram. D-B, OTOH, has sent a few kids to Div. 1a/BCS schools over that time.

[ChurchHillFootballFan]

Agreed. However, according to the format and correct me if I am wrong, if Science Hill goes 0-10 and DB goes 1-9 with the win coming against Science Hill they make the playoffs, right? I know that will not happen just a far fetched scenario, but it would go that way, right? So I was just curious as to which WaCoJaCo would prefer. What's the stantard you are reaching for year in and year out? A winning program or a winning program against the best of the best? Does it matter if you go 10-0 but lose in the playoffs? No offense to the Vikings. Does each person have their own standards or is there one set standard?

 

I think the winner still has to finish in the Top 4 in the conference. The rule is complicated.

 

EDIT: When I checked the TSSAA website, this apparently isn't the case. Here's the rule based on last year's final standings, verbatim:

 

5A - The top 3 teams become playoff eligible. 6A--The team that finishes the highest in the final district standings becomes playoff eligible. If the two 6A schools finish 1st and 2nd in the final district standings both become playoff eligible.

 

Source: http://www.tssaa.org/schdir/regionalstandings2009.cfm

 

When I checked this year's, it just said the top 2 teams make it. I don't know if the other berths are awarded as wild cards or how they do it.

Edited September 10, 2010 by ChurchHillFootballFan