AAU State Tournament--Disaster!

[humorwrestling]

Tennessee AAU wrestling has taken some strides forward in the last few years, unfortunately on Saturday at Crossville much of that work was erased with the debacle they called the State Tournament. I’m not sure what caused the amnesia at Team TN leadership that caused them to forget the last combined state tournament and the mess it was. I’m sure there is some underlying reason the tournament was combined again, probably financial, but once again, Team TN failed.

 

The location was completely unacceptable for the number of participants and spectators. At times there were major safety issues with the number of people surrounding the mats. The general running of the tournament was inconsistent. There were wrestlers who did not wrestle their first match until after 6 pm. In a tournament that was supposed to begin at 1 pm. Unacceptable. This is a great way to destroy participation. There were times when mats were open for 10 mins.

 

The same speech is always made at the coaches meeting about working to improve, but the improvements never come. No one outside of the select inner circle of puppet masters has input. How many years in a row has Stone Memorial hosted state? They’ve yet to come up with an acceptable bout calling system. There are options available. The small dry erase boards are unacceptable. Why is there no climate control in the gym? At times it was close to 90 degrees. This is unacceptable for a wrestler to sit in this heat for 8-9 hours waiting. The set up for mats 1-3 was terrible. Parents on the bottom row of bleacher were on the mat. They had no choice. When Team TN develops guidelines about space requirements to host the tournament, it seems the guidelines are meant to exclude as many as possible. Sure SMHS can get 10 mats on the floor but it is efficient and safe? Many other schools can get 10 mats down if they don’t have to worry about seating, safety, etc.

 

I have attempted to offer suggestions for improvement but it seems my concerns fall on deaf ears. I am committed improving wrestling in Tennessee but events like Saturday put all a few steps back.

[JBoskenUSAW]

I thought it was a huge success, TN is beginning to produce quality wrestlers. Sure the gym was hot and there were gaps between matches but welcome to youth wrestling. I was there from 7am to midnight and my kids got great matches, and i got to watch a handfull of future studs coming through TN.

 

Josh Bosken

Higher Calling Wrestling Club

[maj]

Tennessee AAU wrestling has taken some strides forward in the last few years, unfortunately on Saturday at Crossville much of that work was erased with the debacle they called the State Tournament. I’m not sure what caused the amnesia at Team TN leadership that caused them to forget the last combined state tournament and the mess it was. I’m sure there is some underlying reason the tournament was combined again, probably financial, but once again, Team TN failed.

 

The location was completely unacceptable for the number of participants and spectators. At times there were major safety issues with the number of people surrounding the mats. The general running of the tournament was inconsistent. There were wrestlers who did not wrestle their first match until after 6 pm. In a tournament that was supposed to begin at 1 pm. Unacceptable. This is a great way to destroy participation. There were times when mats were open for 10 mins.

 

The same speech is always made at the coaches meeting about working to improve, but the improvements never come. No one outside of the select inner circle of puppet masters has input. How many years in a row has Stone Memorial hosted state? They’ve yet to come up with an acceptable bout calling system. There are options available. The small dry erase boards are unacceptable. Why is there no climate control in the gym? At times it was close to 90 degrees. This is unacceptable for a wrestler to sit in this heat for 8-9 hours waiting. The set up for mats 1-3 was terrible. Parents on the bottom row of bleacher were on the mat. They had no choice. When Team TN develops guidelines about space requirements to host the tournament, it seems the guidelines are meant to exclude as many as possible. Sure SMHS can get 10 mats on the floor but it is efficient and safe? Many other schools can get 10 mats down if they don’t have to worry about seating, safety, etc.

 

I have attempted to offer suggestions for improvement but it seems my concerns fall on deaf ears. I am committed improving wrestling in Tennessee but events like Saturday put all a few steps back.

 

Very sorry to hear this. I had hoped TN was long past this kind of debacle. Thankfully it has been many years since I endured the absolute worst of the worst and also my last AAU tournament. I know for a fact wrestling ended for several families following the AAU state tournament 7 or 8 years ago. Parents who came expecting kids to wrestle starting at 10am waited until after 7pm for some to get their first match. These same parents said " never again " and sadly they meant it. Those kids were playing B-ball or soccer the next year. Pretty discouraging if this is indeed happening again.

[mat73557]

Things that need work.

 

The venue......WAY too small. The seating up top was unbearable due to the heat. Closer to the floor, you could not spectate due to the numbers of people standing and walking by. To their credit, they kept asking people and wrestlers to go in to the stands but there simply wasn't enough room for them.

 

Timing...I agree with the OP...there were several kids who didn't wrestle their first match until 630 or 700. Middle and Juniors started at least two hours late.

 

Concessions....Did they not expect 2700 people at least. (900 wrestlers plus 2 parents each). Half the time...no pizza, no buns, no soda..and they closed way early. I know people who had to leave and go down the road to get snacks.

 

Medal presentation....I think if you are going to place 1-6, you should have a larger podium so that each kid can be properly recognized. Not a bid deal, but I hate seeing those guys standing on the floor.

 

My suggestion. Move this event somewhere large enough to accommodate the crowd.

 

On the plus side, I did think the wrestling went quick after we got going. I do think it would be nice to time things better so you can have the finals matches at one time. Wouldn't it be nice to be a spectator and have the opportunity to see the finals of each weight class? Most people had no idea when there was a finals match unless it involved their kid.

 

Just my opinion.

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Tennessee AAU wrestling has taken some strides forward in the last few years, unfortunately on Saturday at Crossville much of that work was erased with the debacle they called the State Tournament. I’m not sure what caused the amnesia at Team TN leadership that caused them to forget the last combined state tournament and the mess it was. I’m sure there is some underlying reason the tournament was combined again, probably financial, but once again, Team TN failed.

 

The location was completely unacceptable for the number of participants and spectators. At times there were major safety issues with the number of people surrounding the mats. The general running of the tournament was inconsistent. There were wrestlers who did not wrestle their first match until after 6 p.m.. In a tournament that was supposed to begin at 1 p.m.. Unacceptable. This is a great way to destroy participation. There were times when mats were open for 10 mins.

 

The same speech is always made at the coaches meeting about working to improve, but the improvements never come. No one outside of the select inner circle of puppet masters has input. How many years in a row has Stone Memorial hosted state? They’ve yet to come up with an acceptable bout calling system. There are options available. The small dry erase boards are unacceptable. Why is there no climate control in the gym? At times it was close to 90 degrees. This is unacceptable for a wrestler to sit in this heat for 8-9 hours waiting. The set up for mats 1-3 was terrible. Parents on the bottom row of bleacher were on the mat. They had no choice. When Team TN develops guidelines about space requirements to host the tournament, it seems the guidelines are meant to exclude as many as possible. Sure SMHS can get 10 mats on the floor but it is efficient and safe? Many other schools can get 10 mats down if they don’t have to worry about seating, safety, etc.

 

I have attempted to offer suggestions for improvement but it seems my concerns fall on deaf ears. I am committed improving wrestling in Tennessee but events like Saturday put all a few steps back.

 

I probably shouldn't reply to this right now but sometimes a person can only take so much. I just got home a few hours ago from Crossville as we held the first ever youth state duals tournament today. After today, coaching my kids on Saturday and staying up the entire night Friday trying to get the brackets lined up Im more than a little tired. I will try to not let my frustration with your post show. First and foremost I would like to thank all of the people who pitched in together on Friday night and Saturday to make sure we even had a state tournament. The person that was supposed to run the tournament couldn't at the last minute. His replacement had something come up at the last minute and he had to back out so a handful of people did the absolute best job possible under the circumstances. Then to make matters worse we had huge problems with track wrestling that are too in depth to even go into on here. This is an open youth tournament. Not a high school tournament with 14 weight classes and only one wrestler per school so its impossible to make them perfect. Sometimes due to seeding criteria you will have kids form the same tea on the same side of the bracket, same regions on the same side of the bracket ectt..

 

I will attempt to address all of your comments.

1) I do not think the tournament was a debacle at all. In fact, considering it was the largest one day tournament in the history of Tennessee I think it went amazingly well. The reason it was made into a one day tournament is because that is what most people in the state have been wanting for years. So while it wasn't up to your standards it was one of the biggest requests we have had. The reason being is because a lot of coaches are very dedicated and the season is very long and grueling for them. They are tired and dont want to continue into the spring. We lose kids every year due to baseball and we wanted the kids to be able to wrestle in the state and not miss baseball. Also the Ncaa tournament is coming up and we have had a huge number of kids,coaches, refs, and parents beg us to not have the state on the same weekend as the ncaa's so we tried to accommodate everyone. Your comment about the decision being based on financial reasoning couldn't be more wrong. The Aau would have made almost double the money if the tournament was two separate weekends. A large number of parents have more than one wrestler. Separating it into two tournaments means more parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, ectt.. paying gate fee's, concessions, ectt..

 

2) The tournament was not ran inconsistently at all. It was as consistent as possible. There was the smallest amount of dead-time on mats as I have ever seen at a tournament. Most 3 mat 250 kids tournament I have been to in the last 10 years have had more dead-time than what we had saturday. There was some dead-time at the end of the tournament as the weight classes finished up but we moved as many as possible to other mats. You cant move everyone to other mats due to the kids wrestling back to back to back. Sometimes you just have to leave the kids on their mats so they get a few minutes break. There were no bracketing issues, wrong wrestlers wrestling, refs missing or table workers not at their tables causing delays. The only delays at all were due to injuries or kids not showing up on their mat at their scheduled time. Considering this was a 10 mat 750 kid tournament that is amazing. Im not sure if anyone had to wait until 6 p.m. for their first match but I will explain to you how large tournaments work. The computer divides all the entries evenly and assigns them to mats. The larger weight classes will wrestle first and sometimes even go through a second round before the smaller ones do. Its done this way to space out the break time needed at the end for the larger weights. When you have this many kids in a tournament sometimes it may take a while to get to your first match if you are in an 8 man bracket and there are two 32 man brackets on your mat also.

 

3) Im not sure how you dont see that Tennessee is improving? I could write a book on how much its improved. 1. Our wrestlers are getting better and better as evidenced by their national level experiences. 2. We have doubled in size in just a few years and have grown more than any state in the country on a percentage level

. 3. We are doing things never done before in Tennessee like the top 100 belt series creating larger more competitive tournaments which gets the wrestlers competing against each other across the state multiple times a year instead of just once at the state. 4. We are keeping up with team points and awarding team championships to create even more enthusiasm for the kids. 4. Our website and face book page have helped improve communication and information tremendously. I only wish my son who is now in high school had the opportunities these kids today have through the Aau. I can assure its light years better than what we have ever had. By your comment of "puppet masters" it leads me to think you have a personal issue with Team Tennessee or one of its VOLUNTEERS. The people running things are some of the best people I have ever known and I can assure their hearts are in the right place. I am not only honored to work with them but also to call them my friends. So until you roll up your sleeves and put in 1/4 of the time and effort they do then you shouldn't belittle people who are trying to do the best they can for our sport and kids. 5. Did you happen to see the first place plaques with a slot for the kids bracket , picture and medal? Thats pretty impressive and the kids will treasure that for a lifetime.

 

4) Stone Memorial was awarded the state tournament for multiple reasons. They are big enough to host the tournament on one day and because coach Parker and his staff do an extremely good job of making it as fan friendly as possible. There were 96 teams present and I dont know how many coaches but they went above and beyond trying to take care of everyone. They fed several hundred coaches, refs and workers better than most 250 people tournaments. It was amazing to say the least. You claim you know of all these places that can host a tournament this large? Well, my suggestion would be for somebody to come to the state meeting and put in your proposal. Before you blast Team Tn and Stone Memorial you should realize that only 2 teams even requested the state tournament this year. Stone Memorial and McCallie were the only two willing to step up to the plate .So for all the other options out there it might help if someone would actually propose them because we arent psychic.

 

5) As far as crowding, no seating, and hot temperatures. Yes, it was all those things. When people agree to host a tournament like this almost a year in advance they have no idea how many people are going to show up. In fact we didn't know until Thursday night at midnight when registration was closed online. I guess putting the tournament on one day did increase numbers like we had hoped. Ive ben to every tournament location in Tennessee the last 10 years and I haven't been to one that wasn't crowded.

 

Im not sure what suggestions you have made that have fallen on deaf ears since you are posting on a public forum under a screen name. I can assure you were are always looking for ways to improve and we will never settle for mediocrity. If you have valid suggestions and not ulterior motives then the best way to show your sincere hopes would be to actually come to a meeting where we discuss things. I can tell you this. Not one person from the public even showed up at this years meting so that tells me in itself that you arent all that concerned. But if you do have some ideas or questions fell free to contact me directly and maybe we can get you on board to help out.

 

Michael Sutherland

Aau Region 3 Director

Red Raiders Coach

423 580 2739 msutherland16@aol.com

region 3 representative

[TDArtist]

I would just say this. I think you guys did the best that you could possibly do under the circumstances. I don't see very many places in the state that would have pulled off what you guys pulled off.

 

My one suggestion is that I think that is time to move past this being an open event. That is crazy to have an open state tournament. Why do we even bother to have a qualifier. If this is to be a k-8 state tournament, then it is time to run it like one. We had several wrestlers from our region that qualified in one weight class and then competed in another. You would have your brackets done the previous weekend if the qualifing tournaments mattered. If this is just another AAU open tournament then there are plenty of other options out there.

 

Again, I appreciate your effort and I say this as purely constructive criticism.

[YOUTHCOACH16]

I would just say this. I think you guys did the best that you could possibly do under the circumstances. I don't see very many places in the state that would have pulled off what you guys pulled off.

 

My one suggestion is that I think that is time to move past this being an open event. That is crazy to have an open state tournament. Why do we even bother to have a qualifier. If this is to be a k-8 state tournament, then it is time to run it like one. We had several wrestlers from our region that qualified in one weight class and then competed in another. You would have your brackets done the previous weekend if the qualifing tournaments mattered. If this is just another AAU open tournament then there are plenty of other options out there.

 

Again, I appreciate your effort and I say this as purely constructive criticism.

 

Thanks Td. There are differing opinions on the tournament being an open tournament or a qualified event. They have always kept it an open tournament trying to get as many kids as possible be a part of the event and create some enthusiasm. I agree with you though. I think we have grown so large its time to make it a qualified event. Your exactly right about making it a whole lot easier to prepare for.

[foreman]

Well said Mike !!!

Rarely do I post, but Mike said it all in his. I've been involved with the youth part of wrestling (Team TN and USAW) for a long time, and this years state tourn. was the most competitive TN youth state tournament I've every been involved with. I saw some amazing talent from these young kids. So, as far as moving in one direction, we are moving forward at light speed.

Also, the Elementary Regional State Duals was AWSOME! Most of these kids & parents rarely get to experience a dual meet situation. Great Job to all that were involved.

I thank GOD each and every day that I'm involved with great people of the greatest sport in the world.

 

Greg Foreman

[russianbear]

I probably shouldn't reply to this right now but sometimes a person can only take so much. I just got home a few hours ago from Crossville as we held the first ever youth state duals tournament today. After today, coaching my kids on Saturday and staying up the entire night Friday trying to get the brackets lined up Im more than a little tired. I will try to not let my frustration with your post show. First and foremost I would like to thank all of the people who pitched in together on Friday night and Saturday to make sure we even had a state tournament. The person that was supposed to run the tournament couldn't at the last minute. His replacement had something come up at the last minute and he had to back out so a handful of people did the absolute best job possible under the circumstances. Then to make matters worse we had huge problems with track wrestling that are too in depth to even go into on here. This is an open youth tournament. Not a high school tournament with 14 weight classes and only one wrestler per school so its impossible to make them perfect. Sometimes due to seeding criteria you will have kids form the same tea on the same side of the bracket, same regions on the same side of the bracket ectt..

 

I will attempt to address all of your comments.

1) I do not think the tournament was a debacle at all. In fact, considering it was the largest one day tournament in the history of Tennessee I think it went amazingly well. The reason it was made into a one day tournament is because that is what most people in the state have been wanting for years. So while it wasn't up to your standards it was one of the biggest requests we have had. The reason being is because a lot of coaches are very dedicated and the season is very long and grueling for them. They are tired and dont want to continue into the spring. We lose kids every year due to baseball and we wanted the kids to be able to wrestle in the state and not miss baseball. Also the Ncaa tournament is coming up and we have had a huge number of kids,coaches, refs, and parents beg us to not have the state on the same weekend as the ncaa's so we tried to accommodate everyone. Your comment about the decision being based on financial reasoning couldn't be more wrong. The Aau would have made almost double the money if the tournament was two separate weekends. A large number of parents have more than one wrestler. Separating it into two tournaments means more parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, ectt.. paying gate fee's, concessions, ectt..

 

2) The tournament was not ran inconsistently at all. It was as consistent as possible. There was the smallest amount of dead-time on mats as I have ever seen at a tournament. Most 3 mat 250 kids tournament I have been to in the last 10 years have had more dead-time than what we had saturday. There was some dead-time at the end of the tournament as the weight classes finished up but we moved as many as possible to other mats. You cant move everyone to other mats due to the kids wrestling back to back to back. Sometimes you just have to leave the kids on their mats so they get a few minutes break. There were no bracketing issues, wrong wrestlers wrestling, refs missing or table workers not at their tables causing delays. The only delays at all were due to injuries or kids not showing up on their mat at their scheduled time. Considering this was a 10 mat 750 kid tournament that is amazing. Im not sure if anyone had to wait until 6 p.m. for their first match but I will explain to you how large tournaments work. The computer divides all the entries evenly and assigns them to mats. The larger weight classes will wrestle first and sometimes even go through a second round before the smaller ones do. Its done this way to space out the break time needed at the end for the larger weights. When you have this many kids in a tournament sometimes it may take a while to get to your first match if you are in an 8 man bracket and there are two 32 man brackets on your mat also.

 

3) Im not sure how you dont see that Tennessee is improving? I could write a book on how much its improved. 1. Our wrestlers are getting better and better as evidenced by their national level experiences. 2. We have doubled in size in just a few years and have grown more than any state in the country on a percentage level

. 3. We are doing things never done before in Tennessee like the top 100 belt series creating larger more competitive tournaments which gets the wrestlers competing against each other across the state multiple times a year instead of just once at the state. 4. We are keeping up with team points and awarding team championships to create even more enthusiasm for the kids. 4. Our website and face book page have helped improve communication and information tremendously. I only wish my son who is now in high school had the opportunities these kids today have through the Aau. I can assure its light years better than what we have ever had. By your comment of "puppet masters" it leads me to think you have a personal issue with Team Tennessee or one of its VOLUNTEERS. The people running things are some of the best people I have ever known and I can assure their hearts are in the right place. I am not only honored to work with them but also to call them my friends. So until you roll up your sleeves and put in 1/4 of the time and effort they do then you shouldn't belittle people who are trying to do the best they can for our sport and kids. 5. Did you happen to see the first place plaques with a slot for the kids bracket , picture and medal? Thats pretty impressive and the kids will treasure that for a lifetime.

 

4) Stone Memorial was awarded the state tournament for multiple reasons. They are big enough to host the tournament on one day and because coach Parker and his staff do an extremely good job of making it as fan friendly as possible. There were 96 teams present and I dont know how many coaches but they went above and beyond trying to take care of everyone. They fed several hundred coaches, refs and workers better than most 250 people tournaments. It was amazing to say the least. You claim you know of all these places that can host a tournament this large? Well, my suggestion would be for somebody to come to the state meeting and put in your proposal. Before you blast Team Tn and Stone Memorial you should realize that only 2 teams even requested the state tournament this year. Stone Memorial and McCallie were the only two willing to step up to the plate .So for all the other options out there it might help if someone would actually propose them because we arent psychic.

 

5) As far as crowding, no seating, and hot temperatures. Yes, it was all those things. When people agree to host a tournament like this almost a year in advance they have no idea how many people are going to show up. In fact we didn't know until Thursday night at midnight when registration was closed online. I guess putting the tournament on one day did increase numbers like we had hoped. Ive ben to every tournament location in Tennessee the last 10 years and I haven't been to one that wasn't crowded.

 

Im not sure what suggestions you have made that have fallen on deaf ears since you are posting on a public forum under a screen name. I can assure you were are always looking for ways to improve and we will never settle for mediocrity. If you have valid suggestions and not ulterior motives then the best way to show your sincere hopes would be to actually come to a meeting where we discuss things. I can tell you this. Not one person from the public even showed up at this years meting so that tells me in itself that you arent all that concerned. But if you do have some ideas or questions fell free to contact me directly and maybe we can get you on board to help out.

 

Michael Sutherland

Aau Region 3 Director

Red Raiders Coach

423 580 2739 msutherland16@aol.com

region 3 representative

 

I wasn't at the tournament, so I'm not qualified to comment on how effeciently/effectively it was run. However, from past experience, I've found complaints usually aren't offered from the parents of kids that did well.

 

Mike, I want to personally thank you for the countless hours that you spend giving back to the sport. I know most of what you do is never recognized nor compensated for. It's people like you that are going to put Tennessee on the map as far as being competitive. It's people like you that actually help to grow the sport. Thank you.

 

On another note, I've always found it odd that almost all kids tournaments hold up the smaller weight classes until the bigger ones dwindle down. I say wrestle them at the same time as the big ones. Why make the parents sit there all day when they could have been done in 2 hours max? OUT OF ALL THINGS THIS IS WHAT FRUSTRATES PARENTS THE MOST sitting there for hours on end until their sons first match. It also frees up valuable space in the gym by clearing out and finalizing weight classes. It also makes the awards ceremony less congested. I know in high school we deal with the 45 minute rule (word is it's going to be reduced to 30) but is this a rule in kids tournaments? Who cares about 45 minutes? They're wrestlers - let them wrestle. The baddest will usually win regardless of how much rest time they have between matches.

Edited March 12, 2012 by russianbear

[jcddmoon]

I probably shouldn't reply to this right now but sometimes a person can only take so much. I just got home a few hours ago from Crossville as we held the first ever youth state duals tournament today. After today, coaching my kids on Saturday and staying up the entire night Friday trying to get the brackets lined up Im more than a little tired. I will try to not let my frustration with your post show. First and foremost I would like to thank all of the people who pitched in together on Friday night and Saturday to make sure we even had a state tournament. The person that was supposed to run the tournament couldn't at the last minute. His replacement had something come up at the last minute and he had to back out so a handful of people did the absolute best job possible under the circumstances. Then to make matters worse we had huge problems with track wrestling that are too in depth to even go into on here. This is an open youth tournament. Not a high school tournament with 14 weight classes and only one wrestler per school so its impossible to make them perfect. Sometimes due to seeding criteria you will have kids form the same tea on the same side of the bracket, same regions on the same side of the bracket ectt..

 

I will attempt to address all of your comments.

1) I do not think the tournament was a debacle at all. In fact, considering it was the largest one day tournament in the history of Tennessee I think it went amazingly well. The reason it was made into a one day tournament is because that is what most people in the state have been wanting for years. So while it wasn't up to your standards it was one of the biggest requests we have had. The reason being is because a lot of coaches are very dedicated and the season is very long and grueling for them. They are tired and dont want to continue into the spring. We lose kids every year due to baseball and we wanted the kids to be able to wrestle in the state and not miss baseball. Also the Ncaa tournament is coming up and we have had a huge number of kids,coaches, refs, and parents beg us to not have the state on the same weekend as the ncaa's so we tried to accommodate everyone. Your comment about the decision being based on financial reasoning couldn't be more wrong. The Aau would have made almost double the money if the tournament was two separate weekends. A large number of parents have more than one wrestler. Separating it into two tournaments means more parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, ectt.. paying gate fee's, concessions, ectt..

 

2) The tournament was not ran inconsistently at all. It was as consistent as possible. There was the smallest amount of dead-time on mats as I have ever seen at a tournament. Most 3 mat 250 kids tournament I have been to in the last 10 years have had more dead-time than what we had saturday. There was some dead-time at the end of the tournament as the weight classes finished up but we moved as many as possible to other mats. You cant move everyone to other mats due to the kids wrestling back to back to back. Sometimes you just have to leave the kids on their mats so they get a few minutes break. There were no bracketing issues, wrong wrestlers wrestling, refs missing or table workers not at their tables causing delays. The only delays at all were due to injuries or kids not showing up on their mat at their scheduled time. Considering this was a 10 mat 750 kid tournament that is amazing. Im not sure if anyone had to wait until 6 p.m. for their first match but I will explain to you how large tournaments work. The computer divides all the entries evenly and assigns them to mats. The larger weight classes will wrestle first and sometimes even go through a second round before the smaller ones do. Its done this way to space out the break time needed at the end for the larger weights. When you have this many kids in a tournament sometimes it may take a while to get to your first match if you are in an 8 man bracket and there are two 32 man brackets on your mat also.

 

3) Im not sure how you dont see that Tennessee is improving? I could write a book on how much its improved. 1. Our wrestlers are getting better and better as evidenced by their national level experiences. 2. We have doubled in size in just a few years and have grown more than any state in the country on a percentage level

. 3. We are doing things never done before in Tennessee like the top 100 belt series creating larger more competitive tournaments which gets the wrestlers competing against each other across the state multiple times a year instead of just once at the state. 4. We are keeping up with team points and awarding team championships to create even more enthusiasm for the kids. 4. Our website and face book page have helped improve communication and information tremendously. I only wish my son who is now in high school had the opportunities these kids today have through the Aau. I can assure its light years better than what we have ever had. By your comment of "puppet masters" it leads me to think you have a personal issue with Team Tennessee or one of its VOLUNTEERS. The people running things are some of the best people I have ever known and I can assure their hearts are in the right place. I am not only honored to work with them but also to call them my friends. So until you roll up your sleeves and put in 1/4 of the time and effort they do then you shouldn't belittle people who are trying to do the best they can for our sport and kids. 5. Did you happen to see the first place plaques with a slot for the kids bracket , picture and medal? Thats pretty impressive and the kids will treasure that for a lifetime.

 

4) Stone Memorial was awarded the state tournament for multiple reasons. They are big enough to host the tournament on one day and because coach Parker and his staff do an extremely good job of making it as fan friendly as possible. There were 96 teams present and I dont know how many coaches but they went above and beyond trying to take care of everyone. They fed several hundred coaches, refs and workers better than most 250 people tournaments. It was amazing to say the least. You claim you know of all these places that can host a tournament this large? Well, my suggestion would be for somebody to come to the state meeting and put in your proposal. Before you blast Team Tn and Stone Memorial you should realize that only 2 teams even requested the state tournament this year. Stone Memorial and McCallie were the only two willing to step up to the plate .So for all the other options out there it might help if someone would actually propose them because we arent psychic.

 

5) As far as crowding, no seating, and hot temperatures. Yes, it was all those things. When people agree to host a tournament like this almost a year in advance they have no idea how many people are going to show up. In fact we didn't know until Thursday night at midnight when registration was closed online. I guess putting the tournament on one day did increase numbers like we had hoped. Ive ben to every tournament location in Tennessee the last 10 years and I haven't been to one that wasn't crowded.

 

Im not sure what suggestions you have made that have fallen on deaf ears since you are posting on a public forum under a screen name. I can assure you were are always looking for ways to improve and we will never settle for mediocrity. If you have valid suggestions and not ulterior motives then the best way to show your sincere hopes would be to actually come to a meeting where we discuss things. I can tell you this. Not one person from the public even showed up at this years meting so that tells me in itself that you arent all that concerned. But if you do have some ideas or questions fell free to contact me directly and maybe we can get you on board to help out.

 

Michael Sutherland

Aau Region 3 Director

Red Raiders Coach

423 580 2739 msutherland16@aol.com

region 3 representative

 

IMO and I have been critical in the past, great day for wrestling. I saw many high level matches. The future of TN wrestling is very bright. I am sure any issues will be worked out. I have to say that the tournament does continue to inprove and has done so every year. The plaques were a very nice addition. Thanks to Don, Darrell, and all the volunteers throughout the State for all they do!!!

[ALman]

It is easy to armchair quarterback how the tournament was run, so I will first thank all of those that put in the time and effort involved. I think it is important to get feedback from the stands to continue to improve the tournament and grow the sport. I would have to say that overall the tournament was a success. The biggest problem from my perspective was the view from the stands. It was hard if not impossible to see most matches from the stands. I didn't feel there was an excessive amount of dead time on the mats, but the tournament did start almost an hour late. The champion's plaques were awesome. There was a lot of great wrestling and some tough brackets. I would love to see the finals with a little more fanfare. It would take a little more time, but if the finals could be run at the end of the session for each division it would add to the excitement, and the fans would get to see some great match ups. A bigger venue would solve most of the issues.

[YOUTHCOACH16]

IMO and I have been critical in the past, great day for wrestling. I saw many high level matches. The future of TN wrestling is very bright. I am sure any issues will be worked out. I have to say that the tournament does continue to inprove and has done so every year. The plaques were a very nice addition. Thanks to Don, Darrell, and all the volunteers throughout the State for all they do!!!

 

Congratulations to Dustin! Even though he beat one of mine in the semi's and another in the finals I have to give credit where credit is due. He wrestled a great tournament in an absolutley loaded weight class.