Signal Mountain

[Indian]

"Lennon out at Signal"

 

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/feb/04/lennon-out-at-signal/?sportspreps

"There was a conflict with the administration over the discipline of a young man and I felt strongly about it," he said. "It was a bad situation and I couldn't in good conscience continue in that type situation."

[UMAKETHECALL]

"Lennon out at Signal"

 

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/feb/04/lennon-out-at-signal/?sportspreps

"There was a conflict with the administration over the discipline of a young man and I felt strongly about it," he said. "It was a bad situation and I couldn't in good conscience continue in that type situation."

 

 

Very interesting! Is this another SM Not doing whats RIGHT? I respect a coach that stands for morales and doing what's right- even if it mean sitting kid to learn a lesson

[csemary]

Very interesting! Is this another SM Not doing whats RIGHT? I respect a coach that stands for morales and doing what's right- even if it mean sitting kid to learn a lesson

 

After all the mess SM football program went through and now this. How does this principal keep his job?

[TNWrestling]

This is too bad. Johnny Lennon was a great wrestler as well as a coach. He knew what it took to win. SM really screwed the pooch on letting him slip away from their program

[THEANIMAL]

THIS SINKS. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE SITUATION, BUT I DO KNOW JOHNNY WAS WORKING HARD TO BUILD A QUALITY PROGRAM. HE BROUGHT HIS JV BOYS AND GIRLS TO OUR HALLS FR/JV/GIRLS TOURNAMENT ON M.L. KING DAY. HE DID A GREAT JOB AND HIS KIDS WERE WELL COACHED. IT LOOKS LIKE SIGNAL MT. LOST A GREAT COACH.

 

THE ANIMAL

[UMAKETHECALL]

Sounds like SM has lost control- when you turn your head when things are wrong and don't back coaches that do the right thing, TSSAA needs to investigate as well as County BOE. Wrestling cant afford to lost good coaches.

[pantheon]

Johnny Lennon is an exceptional person. I trust his call completely.

[DoctorP]

Sounds like SM has lost control- when you turn your head when things are wrong and don't back coaches that do the right thing, TSSAA needs to investigate as well as County BOE. Wrestling cant afford to lost good coaches.

As the saying goes there are always 2 sides to every story and I felt compelled to register and reply. When our wrestling coach of two years quit and we were told John Lennon would be taking over, I thought it would be fantastic. I was very wrong. He has two faces, one the public sees and the one the wrestlers see. The public face looks good, but the wresters have been treated very differently. He is very erratic and inappropriate. He repeatedly bit one student in practice...who bites kids? He "shanked" a wrestler and fully exposed him at Father Ryan last year and then subsequently pulled out that same student's pants, put his hand into his pants to put a harmonica that he was playing into the crotch of the wrestler's pants. What do you do as a 17 year old kid when a 50 something year old coach does those things to you? If it were your peer, you could "handle" it, but not your coach. So the team wrote letters to our principle hoping he would protect them, but instead, he gave the letters to the coach and the real verbal abuse began. Coach Lennon frequently curses the kids and loves the F word. The student who suffered the most humiliation finally had had enough and he and the coach had it out in a yelling match. The student was punished, but Coach Lennon wanted him off the team. When the administration told him no, he resigned and that ended a nightmare that we as a family have been living for the last two years. The fact that the people on this board think he was building a team shows that you have not been to any of our matches. We lost the majority of our returning wrestlers including four state qualifiers in weight classes that we are now forfeiting as they would not come back out. We have huge holes in our line up as a result and are putting JV wrestlers out there. He has no idea how to manage weights, line -ups, etc. My husband was a college wrestler and it has been very difficult for him to take, but we feel great relief that he is gone from wrestling. He is still at the school as a teacher over the theater department. If you think he is so great, please please recruit him so he will really be gone from our school.

[TNWrestling]

As the saying goes there are always 2 sides to every story and I felt compelled to register and reply. When our wrestling coach of two years quit and we were told John Lennon would be taking over, I thought it would be fantastic. I was very wrong. He has two faces, one the public sees and the one the wrestlers see. The public face looks good, but the wresters have been treated very differently. He is very erratic and inappropriate. He repeatedly bit one student in practice...who bites kids? He "shanked" a wrestler and fully exposed him at Father Ryan last year and then subsequently pulled out that same student's pants, put his hand into his pants to put a harmonica that he was playing into the crotch of the wrestler's pants. What do you do as a 17 year old kid when a 50 something year old coach does those things to you? If it were your peer, you could "handle" it, but not your coach. So the team wrote letters to our principle hoping he would protect them, but instead, he gave the letters to the coach and the real verbal abuse began. Coach Lennon frequently curses the kids and loves the F word. The student who suffered the most humiliation finally had had enough and he and the coach had it out in a yelling match. The student was punished, but Coach Lennon wanted him off the team. When the administration told him no, he resigned and that ended a nightmare that we as a family have been living for the last two years. The fact that the people on this board think he was building a team shows that you have not been to any of our matches. We lost the majority of our returning wrestlers including four state qualifiers in weight classes that we are now forfeiting as they would not come back out. We have huge holes in our line up as a result and are putting JV wrestlers out there. He has no idea how to manage weights, line -ups, etc. My husband was a college wrestler and it has been very difficult for him to take, but we feel great relief that he is gone from wrestling. He is still at the school as a teacher over the theater department. If you think he is so great, please please recruit him so he will really be gone from our school.

 

Well its pretty clear that the one who "suffered the most humiliation" is your kid and this submission is slanted. I highly doubt they lost the "majority" of their team, and from what I understand most lost were due to the whole I want to focus on football thing. Total BS but another topic for another day. Any ways its clear your child has a beef with him and this information is coming from a high school kid who if he is like any other high school child blows everything out of proportion and manipulates the facts at hand. I think its impossible for a coach to get things moving in the right direction when everything he tries to do is questioned and argued by either a parent or a faculty member. Again I support John Lennon

[MountainAir]

Well its pretty clear that the one who "suffered the most humiliation" is your kid and this submission is slanted. I highly doubt they lost the "majority" of their team, and from what I understand most lost were due to the whole I want to focus on football thing. Total BS but another topic for another day. Any ways its clear your child has a beef with him and this information is coming from a high school kid who if he is like any other high school child blows everything out of proportion and manipulates the facts at hand. I think its impossible for a coach to get things moving in the right direction when everything he tries to do is questioned and argued by either a parent or a faculty member. Again I support John Lennon

 

I don’t have a kid on the team but I did talk to several of the kids. Of all the ones I talked with none were sad to see Coach Lennon gone. In fact it was just the opposite, they were all glad and said they thought it would be better for the program. Usually if the kids think something was done wrong they will be quick to say so, and this just isn’t the case.

[bear cat brown]

Dear Mrs Pressley,

 

I have never had a beef with you or your kids, as a matter of fact they wrestled with us back in the old OLPH days, now I have one!!!!

 

My family Loves Coach Lennon and knows the kind of man he is...... To slander a great mans name, that has more love in his heart for teaching young men and women chaps my asss.

 

You said there is 2sides to every story, should I post the side that you aren't saying? I won't cause today I'm taking the high road.but if there is another attack, then f ing a I will.

 

I know that when Coach Lennon left Notre Dame, it weakened our program and I felt sorry for the kids that did not get a chance to learn life lessons from him.

 

Today I'm glad that Signal Mtn was built!!!

 

Coach, I love you and all that you have done for Tee and Jack

 

Tommy Boone

[RAIDER87]

I am close to the above situation and feel it necessary to reply.

 

It is one thing to question coach lennon's coaching style, however,

his individual acheivements as a wrestler in high school and at the

collegiate level speak for themselves as does john's impeccable career as a coach

at the high school level. The wrestler in question, although

taleneted, has repeatedly been disciplined to the point where Coach Lennon had

no option but to dismiss him from the team. In fact the most recent incident occurred while said athlete was serving a suspension NOT handed out by Coach Lennon. Again, this wreslter had been disciplined numerous times prior to coach lennon taking ANY action. To make wild and otherwise ludicrous accusations regarding

Coach Lennon's behavior is not only irresponsible but highly

inappropriate and only serves to distract from the actual facts

of the situation. Further, this takes away from the rest of the team following and abiding by school and team policies. Often we as parents do not hold our children accountable for their actions but rather defend the behavior their child has exhibited. I also understand each member of the team signed a TEAM policy/behavior contract prior to the season.

Coach Lennon has NEVER exposed any child nor has ever bullied, cursed, or treated any student inappropriately either in the theatre or on the mat. While we all get very emotional when our children

are involved it would behoove everyone to step back and look at the

FACTs of the situation. I stand in FULL SUPPORT of Coach Lennon