AAA District Final Match-Ups

[benjani]

 

And to be clear, Brentwood lost in the district tournament semis? (which is a knock out round for every other district in the state?) Using this same rule, Catholic should be advancing to the region tournament next week.

 

Yes, Brentwood lost yesterday to Independence, 1-2.

 

But that's the thing...TSSAA does not dictate the rules of how the districts determine their top 2 representatives for the region semis. We should enjoy the freedom, whether your district sticks with the tradional format or decides to do something different. I predict that most districts will stick with the traditional setup.

[BigG]

Yes, Brentwood lost yesterday to Independence, 1-2.

 

But that's the thing...TSSAA does not dictate the rules of how the districts determine their top 2 representatives for the region semis. We should enjoy the freedom, whether your district sticks with the tradional format or decides to do something different. I predict that most districts will stick with the traditional setup.

You are correct. The TSSAA once told me that we could do a coin flip to determine champions. They just need 2 teams going to region.

 

To me, it's not about "freedom", it's about every district doing the same thing. I think it would be better for all to do it, or none.

 

But, I do like that it puts an emphasis on winning the regular season, outside of hosting.

[Owl-Tracker]

Ooltewah 4-0 over Cleveland

[BarcaFan]

You are correct. The TSSAA once told me that we could do a coin flip to determine champions. They just need 2 teams going to region.

 

To me, it's not about "freedom", it's about every district doing the same thing. I think it would be better for all to do it, or none.

 

But, I do like that it puts an emphasis on winning the regular season, outside of hosting.

"G", I always value what you have to say but I have to tell you if I am Independence or Knox Catholic I am not a happy camper right now. Independence gets hosed because they just lost to Ravenwood after beating Brentwood and in every other district they would advance. Catholic gets hosed because they lost to Maryville and if they were in district 11 they would still advance. This is a tricky one...all of a sudden my favorite team to win state to begin with has another chance to do so.

Edited May 11, 2012 by BarcaFan

[BigG]

"G", I always value what you have to say but I have to tell you if I am Independence or Knox Catholic I am not a happy camper right now. Independence gets hosed because they just lost to Ravenwood after beating Brentwood and in every other district they would advance. Catholic gets hosed because they lost to Maryville and if they were in district 11 they would still advance. This is a tricky one...all of a sudden my favorite team to win state to begin with has another chance to do so.

I agree with you Barca.

 

The only thing I like about it is the importance it puts on regular season. Outside of that, I don't think it's right.

[TheFactsOnly]

"G", I always value what you have to say but I have to tell you if I am Independence or Knox Catholic I am not a happy camper right now. Independence gets hosed because they just lost to Ravenwood after beating Brentwood and in every other district they would advance. Catholic gets hosed because they lost to Maryville and if they were in district 11 they would still advance. This is a tricky one...all of a sudden my favorite team to win state to begin with has another chance to do so.

 

And, possibly the biggest "hosee" is the "winner" of District 12 (Antioch or Cane Ridge). Instead of facing a solid Independence team in Region Semis, they have to face a well-rested Brentwood team. Crazy.

[PHILLIPS]

(Coach Phillips here from Independence...)

I appreciate everyone's comments about District 11's changes. They have challenged some of my previous thoughts. After we defeated Brentwood I received at least 5 emails from coaches around the state offering congratulations and each of them included the same question: "Is the paper correct in reporting Brentwood is still advancing to the Region." I realize this has caused confusion and controversy (both of which we District 11AAA coaches didn't foresee) and it is something we will have to discuss at our next meeting.

 

The spirit behind the change is to reward the regular season champ. Obviously we (Indy) got the raw end of the change this year being the first team that "would have advanced" but honestly I am OK with that because we all unanimously agreed upon the change. So I want to offer congratulations to Ravenwood and Brentwood for advancing.

 

I am thankful for the comments about how this affects the State as a whole and the need for equality from District to District. I believe that TSSAA probably should require all District rules to be the same, but they don't currently. (Maybe this situation will prompt them to look into options.)

 

But I think there is another larger question of inequality that overshadows this one... District Alignment... (there are at least 2 "Districts of Death" as many call them, 11AAA being one of them. Centennial, Brentwood, Independence, Ravenwood and Franklin are all power programs (and please believe me when I say that humbly, not boastful) and that maybe this is just the start of a bigger discussion that needs to be addressed or District re-alignment or better yet, a "Wild Card" option that Football and other sports use. I have been and will continue to be a HUGE FAN of introducing a WILD CARD into soccer. It's a shame that some of the best teams aren't represented at the state tournament and some teams that have weaker Districts/Regions are represented and it results in lopsided games at the State Tournament level.

 

I'm writing this stream-of-conscious so please understand these are just thoughts (many of which have been voiced by others prior) and I'd love to hear constructive comments and your thoughts.

 

Thanks, Coach Phillips (Independence)

Edited May 11, 2012 by PHILLIPS

[BarcaFan]

(Coach Phillips here from Independence...)

I appreciate everyone's comments about District 11's changes. They have challenged some of my previous thoughts. After we defeated Brentwood I received at least 5 emails from coaches around the state offering congratulations and each of them included the same question: "Is the paper correct in reporting Brentwood is still advancing to the Region." I realize this has caused confusion and controversy (both of which we District 11AAA coaches didn't foresee) and it is something we will have to discuss at our next meeting.

 

The spirit behind the change is to reward the regular season champ. Obviously we (Indy) got the raw end of the change this year being the first team that "would have advanced" but honestly I am OK with that because we all unanimously agreed upon the change. So I want to offer congratulations to Ravenwood and Brentwood for advancing.

 

I am thankful for the comments about how this affects the State as a whole and the need for equality from District to District. I believe that TSSAA probably should require all District rules to be the same, but they don't currently. (Maybe this situation will prompt them to look into options.)

 

But I think there is another larger question of inequality that overshadows this one... District Alignment... (there are at least 2 "Districts of Death" as many call them, 11AAA being one of them. Centennial, Brentwood, Independence, Ravenwood and Franklin are all power programs (and please believe me when I say that humbly, not boastful) and that maybe this is just the start of a bigger discussion that needs to be addressed or District re-alignment or better yet, a "Wild Card" option that Football and other sports use. I have been and will continue to be a HUGE FAN of introducing a WILD CARD into soccer. It's a shame that some of the best teams aren't represented at the state tournament and some teams that have weaker Districts/Regions are represented and it results in lopsided games at the State Tournament level.

 

I'm writing this stream-of-conscious so please understand these are just thoughts (many of which have been voiced by others prior) and I'd love to hear constructive comments and your thoughts.

 

Thanks, Coach Phillips (Independence)

Coach I appreciate your insight. I hope your boys can take away all they did accomplish this year in knocking off probably the top team in the state (at that point in time). I think after that effort and the effort required to get back up for Ravenwood, play an outstanding game only to lose in OT, they deserved the chance to move on like every other district tourney runner-up in their position.

 

I also feel that if the regular season champ is crowned as moving on to the regions then they should not play in the district tournament. I say this for a couple of reasons...1) They may ultimately knock off the next best team to move on which defeats the purpose of having your district set-up the way it currently is if you are trying to get the top two teams into state. 2) If I am already in then what am I playing for. I know the rationale to question 2 is that you would be playing for a district tournament title but if you have won the district and you are moving on to state why does the tournament even matter.

 

As far as re-alignment goes...I think your district is great because of the alignment. Each team knows they have to continue to work hard because they always have to go out and give their very best effort every time they hit the pitch. When it comes to tournament time I think that is a huge advantage. One that could be lost if you did not have to face each other for important district games each season. The same could be said of District 4.

 

I will have to ponder the wild card question and how that could be set up to work appropriately. I do find it intriguing...perhaps the district champs that lost in the semi's could somehow be matched up for one or two play in games. Interesting concept.

[MoonDogRex]

(Coach Phillips here from Independence...)

 

But I think there is another larger question of inequality that overshadows this one... District Alignment... (there are at least 2 "Districts of Death" as many call them, 11AAA being one of them. Centennial, Brentwood, Independence, Ravenwood and Franklin are all power programs (and please believe me when I say that humbly, not boastful) and that maybe this is just the start of a bigger discussion that needs to be addressed or District re-alignment or better yet, a "Wild Card" option that Football and other sports use. I have been and will continue to be a HUGE FAN of introducing a WILD CARD into soccer. It's a shame that some of the best teams aren't represented at the state tournament and some teams that have weaker Districts/Regions are represented and it results in lopsided games at the State Tournament level.

 

 

This is a problem not unique to Tennessee.

 

In North Carolina at the 4A level (largest schools), 64 teams get into the state tournament, which is a ridiculously high number.

 

Two conferences in particular -- the Cap-7 Conference in Raleigh and the Southwestern Conference out of Charlotte -- each have 7 teams, with 5 or 6 of those teams in each conference loaded with USSF Development Academy players.

 

The #5 or #6 teams in those conferences could reach the Sweet 16 if they found a way to "power-rate" teams based on all results. But instead they don't get into the tournament, and you get schools getting drubbed 9-0 in the first round that managed to win 5 or 6 games and finish 4th in weak conferences.

 

It would be great if states had the flexibility to use a system like www.laxpower.com for seeding teams in soccer. It would make for a better tournament, IMO.