GoldenGoose85 Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Some good points. However, people tend to not acknowledge that AA competition of the 1980s is nowhere near the DIi of today. Even in the 1980s, we lost to Baylor 14-7, lost to Smyrna in 87', we even got whipped by the powerhouse known as Lewisburg in 84 and 85. Let's just get our facts straight before talking about how far the program has fallen off. If Potter, and all the other leadership in the athletic program is not sufficient- then the Board and key donors should do a true due diligence and take corrective action on the root causes. Any responsible company does this. It might be nice if the school did a survey of parents, coaches, alumni and students and get feedback. Lack of urgency to identify root causes just shows me they might not be as serious about putting the best product on the field, court and track. As a parent, alumni, and donor- I have never been asked for my opinion. There is no quick fix- but I am not sure what is going to be done any different than before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafeT Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Didn't BA just win the Div II State in both boys track and cross country? Doesn't seem to be a problem there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baeagles1982 Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Some good points. However, people tend to not acknowledge that AA competition of the 1980s is nowhere near the DIi of today. Even in the 1980s, we lost to Baylor 14-7, lost to Smyrna in 87', we even got whipped by the powerhouse known as Lewisburg in 84 and 85. Let's just get our facts straight before talking about how far the program has fallen off. If Potter, and all the other leadership in the athletic program is not sufficient- then the Board and key donors should do a true due diligence and take corrective action on the root causes. Any responsible company does this. It might be nice if the school did a survey of parents, coaches, alumni and students and get feedback. Lack of urgency to identify root causes just shows me they might not be as serious about putting the best product on the field, court and track. As a parent, alumni, and donor- I have never been asked for my opinion. There is no quick fix- but I am not sure what is going to be done any different than before. Remember that BA was also much, much smaller back in the A and AA days. Also remember that Carlton played his teams up in levels above what he had to compete in. They could have stayed in the lower levels but moved up through the divisions and won at all levels, even though our student level would allow us to stay at a lower division. They also didn't have the facilities they do now to attract great players. They just had a great coach to attract them. You are talking apples and oranges. My goodness, some of these private schools have nicer facilities than Vandy. Hopefully Vandy is finally about to change that and I do not want to start a Vandy discussion. It is daylight and dark from what it used to be. The creation of Div. II has created this dilemma. BA now has to deal with it. They have been failing for the past five years in their approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baeagles1982 Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 Just a little video to remember our football beginnings. Worth the watch if you have not seen it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGoose85 Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 BA Eagles says it well when he says BA was built by getting in environments where we stretched ourselves- and through grit and determination we prevailed. State Championships- whether D2 or AA back in the day were huge. Not something taken for granted and definitely not expected year to year. I think we lost our focus when everything goes so big that we lose our focus of developing kids. We have plenty to focus on within D2- and need to implement systems to get us to that top level. Yes- it does appear we do not look prepared at times and do look like we are somewhat predictable. However, I am loyal to my school- and know that there is no such thing as Dominating D2 year end and year out- just like there is no such thing as dominating the SEC. Programs have cycles- and we are trying to get the right identity after retiring the most successful high school coaches in football and track of TN history. I only wish the school would do a comprehensive study- including all parties to get the input of students, parents, alumni, and coaches to get input of how the program needs to move forward. More important, the school needs to gauge what everyone is willing to put in- in regards to commitment, time, assistance, and facilities to move forward. It is much deeper than just the head coach and/or the facilities. I think the school would be amazed of what everyone would pitch in if involved in the process. I do agree that the status quo will not win championships- if that is the true desire of the program. Talent is no better today than it was back then. Our skill positions were arguably better caliber. Austin, Hockaday, Windham, Stahl, Jones, Brothers, Spivey, Miller, Wells. Our lineman may have not been of the stature- but had better quickness and strength. If you question the above statement, just look at weight room statistics, wrestling champs (which were unclassified), track times and distances. In many cases the old talent was arguably much more skilled- especially when coupled with the coaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakinthefat Posted December 5, 2011 Report Share Posted December 5, 2011 I only wish the school would do a comprehensive study- including all parties to get the input of students, parents, alumni, and coaches to get input of how the program needs to move forward. More important, the school needs to gauge what everyone is willing to put in- in regards to commitment, time, assistance, and facilities to move forward. It is much deeper than just the head coach and/or the facilities. Here is my suggestion...Call (615) 373-0611 Ext. 116 and ask for the headmaster and voice your concern. Then ask for the numbers of the Board of Trustees and bend their ear too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nike7 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Don't worry about calling, Coach Potter is gone. He is resigning tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGoose85 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Don't worry about calling, Coach Potter is gone. He is resigning tonight. Let's get a new thread going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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