Blount County Schools Football

[lowkee]

I do not believe he ever applied ... but I do believe the job was discussed with him at one point in time.

I feel as though things happen for a reason, and I feel the man that is coaching at wb now is going to do great things. If people just give him the chance. GO GOVS!!!!!!

[GREYRIDER]

LOLOLOLOLOLOL.... why would he?

[jake]

Mike White is a great guy and speaks kindly of WB, but you can forget him leaving Maryville to come back and coach there.

 

Tpoole, you are a great guy and I think everyone in Blount County knows by now that you don't favor the Wing offense. Gregory does not run a true Wing T offense, it is sort of a hybrid Wing T. WB started the year putting in the spread type offense that Maryville runs, after about six weeks and no offensive production, they went back to using the old offense and started moving the ball. The problem is that WB does not have the athletes to run the spread, mainly on the O line. The blocking schemes in a true spread are extremely sophisticated and they could not pick it up with the time they worked on it in spring and fall practice, on top of the fact that they were just not athletic enough up front to block it. When you go watch Maryville play, instead of watching the ball just watch their O line, Quarles is in a league by himself when it comes to coaching, but David Ellis is a very huge factor in that success as he is the best O line coach in the state, IMO. As for me, I like a more open offense also, but I have been around football long enough to know that just because that is what I prefer, that doesn't mean they have the athletes to do it. You have to work within the parameters of the players. Heck, they don't even have a QB that can drop straight back and be consistent throwing the ball 15 yards down field, they have to roll him out for every pass and that cuts the field in half, but you have to do what your players can do.

 

The fact is that I can sit down and draw up plays from any offense and on paper, every play will be a success whether it is from the Wing T, the spread, the power I, or any other offense. The difference in paper and the field is the athletes to accomplish each play.

 

I am a Gregory fan. I think he has made some crucial steps to moving the program forward, but the #1 thing that will have to be done at WB for them to be successful is to implement discipline. Gregory has to make the rules, have a parent/player meeting, let them know that he truly cares about the kids, but if those kids cannot abide by the rules then they will not be a part of the team. Kids standing on the sidelines texting during a game is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids undermining the plays that a coach calls in the huddle is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids backtalking and even using profane language directly at a coach on a continuous basis is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. I could go on and on but I won't. There is some purging that has to happen before the program can begin to grow in the right direction. We hear a lot about senior leadership and I continue to hear about the lack of senior leadership the last two years. I have a different take on that, I believe that the seniors are leaders, someone will be watching them, the question is what way are you going to lead, and the answer is that these leaders have led the rest of the team in the wrong direction. Now, I am speaking as a collective group, I know they have had some lead in the right direction, but very few. I could give several examples from this year but I think that would be a little too personal for a message board, so I won't. I know there are many out there that want to blame the kids attitudes on the turnover in coaching the last few years and I really do feel sorry for the kids, but at the same time most of these kids are juniors and seniors and they are young men that are about to enter the real world and the real world is going to deal you adversity on a continuous basis so how are you going to deal with it. Are you going to pick yourself up and meet the adversity head on and make the best of the situation or are you going to wallow in your self pity and play the blame game your whole life. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of them are doing the latter and that will follow them in life.

 

This won't be popular, but the next problem is parents. It was apparent to me after the West game that there was a kid at a certain position and he either needed to be replaced or moved to a different position. This was also apparent to many of the coaches by what the kid had told teammates and coaches. To make a long story short, he was finally replaced for the Farragut game. If you were in the stands that night, in front of the pressbox, you witnessed his father challenging one of the coaches coming out of the pressbox at halftime. This is just one incident, there are others over the course of the year and this may be one thing that leads a coach to not be as disciplined as he should be. If every time he tries to discipline, he has to have a parent conference with the parent, he may deem the discipline to not be worth the time he has to spend in meeting with parents.

 

I would have an easier time supporting the program if the coach laid down the rules and the ones that could not abide by them would leave. I don't care if they are good athletes or not, if they can't abide by the rules and put the team ahead of themselves, they are not winners, you can't win with them. I would be ok if they went out and lined up in 6A football with 20 players, but all 20 would look the coaches in the eye and say yes sir and no sir, do everything that was asked of them, and give 110% every play of practice and games. Forget the outcome of the game, you have to get the foundation there before the outcomes are going to change. Winning is a process of doing the right things, the wins on the field can only come after a whole lot of right things have been done elsewhere.

 

So, the people that want to blame the offense as being the problem with the program, don't have much of a clue. The problem is a lot more deep seated than the wing offense. It can be changed, but a coach will have to lay down the rules and have a "my way or the highway" attitude about it. If you trust your coach, you should not have a problem with it, because "his way" should be the right way, and if you don't trust your coach enough that you do have a problem with it then you either need to get yourself straightened out or get another coach.

 

I have two years to decide whether they have gotten it fixed, that is when my kid will be there. My kid doesn't have to be on a state champion team, but he will not be a part of an undisciplined program either, that would take all the lessons that I have taught him for 14 years and flush them down the drain.

[GREYRIDER]

Mike White is a great guy and speaks kindly of WB, but you can forget him leaving Maryville to come back and coach there.

 

Tpoole, you are a great guy and I think everyone in Blount County knows by now that you don't favor the Wing offense. Gregory does not run a true Wing T offense, it is sort of a hybrid Wing T. WB started the year putting in the spread type offense that Maryville runs, after about six weeks and no offensive production, they went back to using the old offense and started moving the ball. The problem is that WB does not have the athletes to run the spread, mainly on the O line. The blocking schemes in a true spread are extremely sophisticated and they could not pick it up with the time they worked on it in spring and fall practice, on top of the fact that they were just not athletic enough up front to block it. When you go watch Maryville play, instead of watching the ball just watch their O line, Quarles is in a league by himself when it comes to coaching, but David Ellis is a very huge factor in that success as he is the best O line coach in the state, IMO. As for me, I like a more open offense also, but I have been around football long enough to know that just because that is what I prefer, that doesn't mean they have the athletes to do it. You have to work within the parameters of the players. Heck, they don't even have a QB that can drop straight back and be consistent throwing the ball 15 yards down field, they have to roll him out for every pass and that cuts the field in half, but you have to do what your players can do.

 

The fact is that I can sit down and draw up plays from any offense and on paper, every play will be a success whether it is from the Wing T, the spread, the power I, or any other offense. The difference in paper and the field is the athletes to accomplish each play.

 

I am a Gregory fan. I think he has made some crucial steps to moving the program forward, but the #1 thing that will have to be done at WB for them to be successful is to implement discipline. Gregory has to make the rules, have a parent/player meeting, let them know that he truly cares about the kids, but if those kids cannot abide by the rules then they will not be a part of the team. Kids standing on the sidelines texting during a game is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids undermining the plays that a coach calls in the huddle is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids backtalking and even using profane language directly at a coach on a continuous basis is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. I could go on and on but I won't. There is some purging that has to happen before the program can begin to grow in the right direction. We hear a lot about senior leadership and I continue to hear about the lack of senior leadership the last two years. I have a different take on that, I believe that the seniors are leaders, someone will be watching them, the question is what way are you going to lead, and the answer is that these leaders have led the rest of the team in the wrong direction. Now, I am speaking as a collective group, I know they have had some lead in the right direction, but very few. I could give several examples from this year but I think that would be a little too personal for a message board, so I won't. I know there are many out there that want to blame the kids attitudes on the turnover in coaching the last few years and I really do feel sorry for the kids, but at the same time most of these kids are juniors and seniors and they are young men that are about to enter the real world and the real world is going to deal you adversity on a continuous basis so how are you going to deal with it. Are you going to pick yourself up and meet the adversity head on and make the best of the situation or are you going to wallow in your self pity and play the blame game your whole life. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of them are doing the latter and that will follow them in life.

 

This won't be popular, but the next problem is parents. It was apparent to me after the West game that there was a kid at a certain position and he either needed to be replaced or moved to a different position. This was also apparent to many of the coaches by what the kid had told teammates and coaches. To make a long story short, he was finally replaced for the Farragut game. If you were in the stands that night, in front of the pressbox, you witnessed his father challenging one of the coaches coming out of the pressbox at halftime. This is just one incident, there are others over the course of the year and this may be one thing that leads a coach to not be as disciplined as he should be. If every time he tries to discipline, he has to have a parent conference with the parent, he may deem the discipline to not be worth the time he has to spend in meeting with parents.

 

I would have an easier time supporting the program if the coach laid down the rules and the ones that could not abide by them would leave. I don't care if they are good athletes or not, if they can't abide by the rules and put the team ahead of themselves, they are not winners, you can't win with them. I would be ok if they went out and lined up in 6A football with 20 players, but all 20 would look the coaches in the eye and say yes sir and no sir, do everything that was asked of them, and give 110% every play of practice and games. Forget the outcome of the game, you have to get the foundation there before the outcomes are going to change. Winning is a process of doing the right things, the wins on the field can only come after a whole lot of right things have been done elsewhere.

 

So, the people that want to blame the offense as being the problem with the program, don't have much of a clue. The problem is a lot more deep seated than the wing offense. It can be changed, but a coach will have to lay down the rules and have a "my way or the highway" attitude about it. If you trust your coach, you should not have a problem with it, because "his way" should be the right way, and if you don't trust your coach enough that you do have a problem with it then you either need to get yourself straightened out or get another coach.

 

I have two years to decide whether they have gotten it fixed, that is when my kid will be there. My kid doesn't have to be on a state champion team, but he will not be a part of an undisciplined program either, that would take all the lessons that I have taught him for 14 years and flush them down the drain.

EXCELLENT POST!

[PhoosballPhan]

Mike White is a great guy and speaks kindly of WB, but you can forget him leaving Maryville to come back and coach there.

 

Tpoole, you are a great guy and I think everyone in Blount County knows by now that you don't favor the Wing offense. Gregory does not run a true Wing T offense, it is sort of a hybrid Wing T. WB started the year putting in the spread type offense that Maryville runs, after about six weeks and no offensive production, they went back to using the old offense and started moving the ball. The problem is that WB does not have the athletes to run the spread, mainly on the O line. The blocking schemes in a true spread are extremely sophisticated and they could not pick it up with the time they worked on it in spring and fall practice, on top of the fact that they were just not athletic enough up front to block it. When you go watch Maryville play, instead of watching the ball just watch their O line, Quarles is in a league by himself when it comes to coaching, but David Ellis is a very huge factor in that success as he is the best O line coach in the state, IMO. As for me, I like a more open offense also, but I have been around football long enough to know that just because that is what I prefer, that doesn't mean they have the athletes to do it. You have to work within the parameters of the players. Heck, they don't even have a QB that can drop straight back and be consistent throwing the ball 15 yards down field, they have to roll him out for every pass and that cuts the field in half, but you have to do what your players can do.

 

The fact is that I can sit down and draw up plays from any offense and on paper, every play will be a success whether it is from the Wing T, the spread, the power I, or any other offense. The difference in paper and the field is the athletes to accomplish each play.

 

I am a Gregory fan. I think he has made some crucial steps to moving the program forward, but the #1 thing that will have to be done at WB for them to be successful is to implement discipline. Gregory has to make the rules, have a parent/player meeting, let them know that he truly cares about the kids, but if those kids cannot abide by the rules then they will not be a part of the team. Kids standing on the sidelines texting during a game is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids undermining the plays that a coach calls in the huddle is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids backtalking and even using profane language directly at a coach on a continuous basis is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. I could go on and on but I won't. There is some purging that has to happen before the program can begin to grow in the right direction. We hear a lot about senior leadership and I continue to hear about the lack of senior leadership the last two years. I have a different take on that, I believe that the seniors are leaders, someone will be watching them, the question is what way are you going to lead, and the answer is that these leaders have led the rest of the team in the wrong direction. Now, I am speaking as a collective group, I know they have had some lead in the right direction, but very few. I could give several examples from this year but I think that would be a little too personal for a message board, so I won't. I know there are many out there that want to blame the kids attitudes on the turnover in coaching the last few years and I really do feel sorry for the kids, but at the same time most of these kids are juniors and seniors and they are young men that are about to enter the real world and the real world is going to deal you adversity on a continuous basis so how are you going to deal with it. Are you going to pick yourself up and meet the adversity head on and make the best of the situation or are you going to wallow in your self pity and play the blame game your whole life. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of them are doing the latter and that will follow them in life.

 

This won't be popular, but the next problem is parents. It was apparent to me after the West game that there was a kid at a certain position and he either needed to be replaced or moved to a different position. This was also apparent to many of the coaches by what the kid had told teammates and coaches. To make a long story short, he was finally replaced for the Farragut game. If you were in the stands that night, in front of the pressbox, you witnessed his father challenging one of the coaches coming out of the pressbox at halftime. This is just one incident, there are others over the course of the year and this may be one thing that leads a coach to not be as disciplined as he should be. If every time he tries to discipline, he has to have a parent conference with the parent, he may deem the discipline to not be worth the time he has to spend in meeting with parents.

 

I would have an easier time supporting the program if the coach laid down the rules and the ones that could not abide by them would leave. I don't care if they are good athletes or not, if they can't abide by the rules and put the team ahead of themselves, they are not winners, you can't win with them. I would be ok if they went out and lined up in 6A football with 20 players, but all 20 would look the coaches in the eye and say yes sir and no sir, do everything that was asked of them, and give 110% every play of practice and games. Forget the outcome of the game, you have to get the foundation there before the outcomes are going to change. Winning is a process of doing the right things, the wins on the field can only come after a whole lot of right things have been done elsewhere.

 

So, the people that want to blame the offense as being the problem with the program, don't have much of a clue. The problem is a lot more deep seated than the wing offense. It can be changed, but a coach will have to lay down the rules and have a "my way or the highway" attitude about it. If you trust your coach, you should not have a problem with it, because "his way" should be the right way, and if you don't trust your coach enough that you do have a problem with it then you either need to get yourself straightened out or get another coach.

 

I have two years to decide whether they have gotten it fixed, that is when my kid will be there. My kid doesn't have to be on a state champion team, but he will not be a part of an undisciplined program either, that would take all the lessons that I have taught him for 14 years and flush them down the drain.

 

Thank you for your post. This is the primary problem at both HHS and WBHS. There is a common question amoung some people, "Could George Quarrels win in the county schools?" I think he could IF the parents would not whine and cry when discipline is instituted. And it is parents like the one who accosted the WBHS coach after the Farragut game that are the problem. I saw the same thing from the stands, and it was disgraceful! It is no wonder that the boys of this county are so fragile and undisciplined.

 

The county schools are full of good kids. There are boys who not only need discipline, but crave it. Coachs need to be prepared, like you said, to play 20 boys if those are the 20 that respect the rules and give everything they have. 6A programs like Blount County's should be able to field consistently successful teams. There is no doubt that they play hard schedules - the hardest in the state IMO. But with the right support, the right coaches, and the right attitude these schools can win. It won't happen overnight, but it can happen. The question is do the parents, administration, and boys have the fortitude to make the change?

[GovMan]

Thank you for your post. This is the primary problem at both HHS and WBHS. There is a common question amoung some people, "Could George Quarrels win in the county schools?" I think he could IF the parents would not whine and cry when discipline is instituted. And it is parents like the one who accosted the WBHS coach after the Farragut game that are the problem. I saw the same thing from the stands, and it was disgraceful! It is no wonder that the boys of this county are so fragile and undisciplined.

 

The county schools are full of good kids. There are boys who not only need discipline, but crave it. Coachs need to be prepared, like you said, to play 20 boys if those are the 20 that respect the rules and give everything they have. 6A programs like Blount County's should be able to field consistently successful teams. There is no doubt that they play hard schedules - the hardest in the state IMO. But with the right support, the right coaches, and the right attitude these schools can win. It won't happen overnight, but it can happen. The question is do the parents, administration, and boys have the fortitude to make the change?

 

Phoosball,

 

Some good posts and for the most part I agree. I do want to be careful about --"blanket perceptions" when it comes to "the boys of this county". They are not all "fragile and undisciplined". I was part of the basketball staff and a parent of a player--under the direction of Head Coach David Baumann--at WB that graduated 7 seniors last year that were as disciplined and well-behaved and team-oriented and classy as any 7 seniors in the state. It wasn't a coincidence that all 7 had parents that "bought in" to what Coach Baumann was doing. I'm not saying that in 4 years with these young men there weren't moments when a mom or dad questioned a coach's decision, but I am saying that ultimately we all bought in to the big picture and to the fact that we were trying to build "quality young men"

 

I don't question your observations at all, cause I know you know of what you speak about, but I also know you don't want to "label the whole bunch of apples bad just because there are some rotten ones in there" !!

[Rebsguy]

Mike White is a great guy and speaks kindly of WB, but you can forget him leaving Maryville to come back and coach there.

 

Tpoole, you are a great guy and I think everyone in Blount County knows by now that you don't favor the Wing offense. Gregory does not run a true Wing T offense, it is sort of a hybrid Wing T. WB started the year putting in the spread type offense that Maryville runs, after about six weeks and no offensive production, they went back to using the old offense and started moving the ball. The problem is that WB does not have the athletes to run the spread, mainly on the O line. The blocking schemes in a true spread are extremely sophisticated and they could not pick it up with the time they worked on it in spring and fall practice, on top of the fact that they were just not athletic enough up front to block it. When you go watch Maryville play, instead of watching the ball just watch their O line, Quarles is in a league by himself when it comes to coaching, but David Ellis is a very huge factor in that success as he is the best O line coach in the state, IMO. As for me, I like a more open offense also, but I have been around football long enough to know that just because that is what I prefer, that doesn't mean they have the athletes to do it. You have to work within the parameters of the players. Heck, they don't even have a QB that can drop straight back and be consistent throwing the ball 15 yards down field, they have to roll him out for every pass and that cuts the field in half, but you have to do what your players can do.

 

The fact is that I can sit down and draw up plays from any offense and on paper, every play will be a success whether it is from the Wing T, the spread, the power I, or any other offense. The difference in paper and the field is the athletes to accomplish each play.

 

I am a Gregory fan. I think he has made some crucial steps to moving the program forward, but the #1 thing that will have to be done at WB for them to be successful is to implement discipline. Gregory has to make the rules, have a parent/player meeting, let them know that he truly cares about the kids, but if those kids cannot abide by the rules then they will not be a part of the team. Kids standing on the sidelines texting during a game is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids undermining the plays that a coach calls in the huddle is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. Kids backtalking and even using profane language directly at a coach on a continuous basis is not acceptable and it was tolerated this year. I could go on and on but I won't. There is some purging that has to happen before the program can begin to grow in the right direction. We hear a lot about senior leadership and I continue to hear about the lack of senior leadership the last two years. I have a different take on that, I believe that the seniors are leaders, someone will be watching them, the question is what way are you going to lead, and the answer is that these leaders have led the rest of the team in the wrong direction. Now, I am speaking as a collective group, I know they have had some lead in the right direction, but very few. I could give several examples from this year but I think that would be a little too personal for a message board, so I won't. I know there are many out there that want to blame the kids attitudes on the turnover in coaching the last few years and I really do feel sorry for the kids, but at the same time most of these kids are juniors and seniors and they are young men that are about to enter the real world and the real world is going to deal you adversity on a continuous basis so how are you going to deal with it. Are you going to pick yourself up and meet the adversity head on and make the best of the situation or are you going to wallow in your self pity and play the blame game your whole life. Unfortunately, I believe a lot of them are doing the latter and that will follow them in life.

 

This won't be popular, but the next problem is parents. It was apparent to me after the West game that there was a kid at a certain position and he either needed to be replaced or moved to a different position. This was also apparent to many of the coaches by what the kid had told teammates and coaches. To make a long story short, he was finally replaced for the Farragut game. If you were in the stands that night, in front of the pressbox, you witnessed his father challenging one of the coaches coming out of the pressbox at halftime. This is just one incident, there are others over the course of the year and this may be one thing that leads a coach to not be as disciplined as he should be. If every time he tries to discipline, he has to have a parent conference with the parent, he may deem the discipline to not be worth the time he has to spend in meeting with parents.

 

I would have an easier time supporting the program if the coach laid down the rules and the ones that could not abide by them would leave. I don't care if they are good athletes or not, if they can't abide by the rules and put the team ahead of themselves, they are not winners, you can't win with them. I would be ok if they went out and lined up in 6A football with 20 players, but all 20 would look the coaches in the eye and say yes sir and no sir, do everything that was asked of them, and give 110% every play of practice and games. Forget the outcome of the game, you have to get the foundation there before the outcomes are going to change. Winning is a process of doing the right things, the wins on the field can only come after a whole lot of right things have been done elsewhere.

 

So, the people that want to blame the offense as being the problem with the program, don't have much of a clue. The problem is a lot more deep seated than the wing offense. It can be changed, but a coach will have to lay down the rules and have a "my way or the highway" attitude about it. If you trust your coach, you should not have a problem with it, because "his way" should be the right way, and if you don't trust your coach enough that you do have a problem with it then you either need to get yourself straightened out or get another coach.

 

I have two years to decide whether they have gotten it fixed, that is when my kid will be there. My kid doesn't have to be on a state champion team, but he will not be a part of an undisciplined program either, that would take all the lessons that I have taught him for 14 years and flush them down the drain.

Pretty good post, except you have no concept of how the spread offense works. The spread offense is much LESS complicated than the double wing or triple option that I saw WB run against the Rebels. The blocking scheme in the spread almost always involves zone concepts. This allows below average linemen, which WB has in spades, to simply get out in front of a man and basically cut him off. Do you remember how the undermanned Appy State team upset Michigan? Zone blocking in a spread offense. Michigan had much better athletes, but spread systems allow kids to "just play" because they are so SIMPLE. They give the appearance of complexity by running very simple plays out of multiple formations. I assure you that GQ and staff are not employing an offense that is hard for kids to learn, or complicated for them to execute. Switching offenses mid season is ALWAYS a huge mistake. It means you made a really bad coaching decision, either before the season when you picked a bad offense or later when you switched. If the Govs were more productive on offense at the end of the season they must have just stayed in the locker room at the beginning. I saw the Govs one other time at the jamboree in their "spread" offense. Here comes the twist, they never ran the spread... they blocked their run game the same way out of spread formations as they did out of the double wing and they did both poorly, with a gap blocking scheme. The Rebels are successful for two reasons. 1. they have the best head coach in the state 2. they have the best staff of assistants I have ever seen. I know who some of WB's assistants are and it is my belief that some of them do not have the knowledge of the game that is necessary to coach at the level they are currently at. I am starting to think maybe the head coach doesn't either. If what you say is true from a discipline stand point I suggest you send your son to MHS. I wish both county schools the best every week except one.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Rebsguy

[REBELRON]

Without discipline you can't have a successful program.

[oldrebel]

Can anybody confirm that the parent who "accosted" JY was the same man who delivered a chapel service to the team earlier in the year?

[lowkee]

Can anybody confirm that the parent who "accosted" JY was the same man who delivered a chapel service to the team earlier in the year?

Did not see it, but heard that's true

[tpoole12]

Mike White is a great guy and speaks kindly of WB, but you can forget him leaving Maryville to come back and coach there.

 

Tpoole, you are a great guy and I think everyone in Blount County knows by now that you don't favor the Wing offense. Gregory does not run a true Wing T offense, it is sort of a hybrid Wing T.

 

 

Jake

 

I am aware that what he runs is not wing t. I like it better than the true wing but as you said I'm not a fan. I am not a Gregory fan like you but I do wish him success because I care for many of the young men who will play there unless they and their parents choose elsewhere. I really feel he did the program a diservice trying to implement a new system his first year in with only four weeks of practice in the fall. He did and still does have a QB that can stand in the pocket and pass. His name is Zach Owens. Zach started varsity his whole freshmen year and put up respectable numbers. But still, I'm not going to beat a dead horse. I would only like to challenge Gregory to work to become a better coach, try to surround himself with the best staff he can and spend more time on special teams. Mistakes in this area cost WB more losses the last two seasons than any other part of the game.

 

"and thats all I've got to say about that"

 

tpoole12

[jake]

That is correct old rebel, very sad, but correct.