2012 pre-season discussion, Transfers, Coaching changes and Rumors

[cbg]

I would be willing to bet, that over half the the talent that goes to Father Ryan, are not even Catholic!!!! So be careful who you are calling out.

oldblazedad,

After reading your post I phoned Jim Simpson to see how many of the Father Ryan wrestlers were Catholic. He informed me that during the 2011-12 season only one (1) wrestler that participated in the state tournament was not Catholic. He also told me that to the best of his knowledge only one (1) wrestler (Mike Hooker a transfer who's father & mother were Father Ryan graduates) did not participate in the Nashville Catholic Wrestling program. It seems as if the Irish have built their program through the Nashville Catholic middle school program.

Edited August 28, 2012 by cbg

[Sommers]

Nothing new guys 'cept they go a little further out than in the 70's. I remember a Hixson feeder program that enjoyed a Baylor feast in front of the student body of Hixson Jr high. We also enjoyed something like 100 straight wins, but when the 9th grade year was over all that was left was a few scrubbs like me after Baylor had a feast of their own. Just kidding as we Did get to keep bazemore, Arnold, donavan, Voss and one Baylor really missed out on... Until today,,, next generation... Murphy! Now retired I hear!?!?

 

Even my little brother Mike Blosser chose not to go, but managed to make a few things happen as did Jacky... Congrats on what he is making happen even today. Proud of ya Bro!!!

 

It is true that opportunities are augmented from a Baylor diploma, but again, Pat Murphy may be as successful as any 79 Graduate in Chattanooga and right up their with earlier grad under Gordon Connell's Hixson team, Tom Popp. (just a modest little dentist shop or two ) All from Hickson as Tex23 likes to spell it! Me? (ol flunky) Just glad to raise 10 and keep momma at home, and now 7 grand babies with anothr generation of wrestlers coming!!!

 

No doubt Baylor is helpful to many, but not necessarily essential to make some great things happen.

[mtnrasslin]

And this is a new phenomenon? If you have been watching Chattanooga or TN wrestling for a while it has always been this way. Baylor gets the majority of its top wrestlers from other middle school programs, other high school, other cities and often other states. They play by a different set of rules due to being a boarding school. The strangest thing is that everyone let's them and then complains/whines about it??? If you don't like it, pressure your school to vote to change the rule about letting kids going to a boarding school transfer without sitting out a year and it will conclude some of their more agregious pilfering of other teams talent. Also like other states vote to not let the boarding schools play, make them go to the national prep tournaments. Otherwise, no whining when you wake up next week without your returning 106 lb state champion because he went to Baylor for a better offer.

 

Baylor has one of the strongest wrestling traditions in the state, but they do get talent from alot of different places. Great school, great tradition, good academics and student athletes from across the southeast region and farther--them's the facts!

 

I agree. Vote to punish those kids who choose to go to a boarding school by making them lose a year of eligibility. We wouldn't want them to choose to go to what they see as an improved educational opportunity without a little retribution. After all, that would relieve the pressure on some schools to offer a better product so there would be no reason for a kid to transfer to a school like Baylor in the first place.

 

Personally, I would love to see Baylor forced to leave the TSSAA so they wouldn't have to follow the silly rules that do nothing but penalize kids.

Edited August 29, 2012 by mtnrasslin

[Sommers]

 

 

I agree. Vote to punish those kids who choose to go to a boarding school by making them lose a year of eligibility. We wouldn't want them to choose to go to what they see as an improved educational opportunity without a little retribution. After all, that would relieve the pressure on some schools to offer a better product so there would be no reason for a kid to transfer to a school like Baylor in the first place.

 

Personally, I would love to see Baylor forced to leave the TSSAA so they wouldn't have to follow the silly rules that do nothing but penalize kids.

obama thought?

[YOUTHCOACH16]

I think it might have already been said, but I thought I would throw it out there again... Has anyone else noticed that nearly 1/2 of Baylor's team is transfers? How do they manage to get ALL of the transfers...? Is it recruiting or what? Just saying everyone always seems to pat Baylor on their back for their wrestling dominance,,, when you have that many quality transfers they should be even more successful than they have been. Father Ryan particularly has always been able to pride themselves in developing the talent they have from a young age starting with the Nashville Catholic Wrestling program. With the exception on Michael Hooker, who came to Ryan without being recruited, I can't think of a wrestler our program has sought after granted we still are able to compete and often hold the upper hand on a team that does. The TSSAA needs to deal with this issue sooner rather than later as it seems to be getting out of hand ... numbers dont lie... see for yourself.

 

Murphy-McCallie

Powell-Knoxville

Holloway-Knoxville

Canada-Heritage

Brunner-Tullahoma

Robinson-Christian Bros

Southerland-Central

Clements-McCallie

 

That's EIGHT starters from their line up that originally came from other schools... ABSURDITY!

 

 

As always, no hard feelings to my friends from Chattanugga Go Irish!

 

I normally wouldnt post on something like this but for the average reader they would read your post and think Baylor is cheating. I will give a breakdown of each kid you mentioned.Im not sure what you are considering transfers but I will clarify each kid you listed. Baylor is a private school with no elementary school so all 1,000 or more students "transfered" at some point just like all students at 90% of all private schools in Tn.

 

Murphy- Never attended McCallie high school. Came to Baylor as an 8th grader. His older brother was already attending Baylor. Im not sure what their reason was but Im pretty certain Pat Murphy did what he thought was best for his son and wouldnt let anyone sway his decesion.

 

Powell- Caleb is from Chattanooga and has been at Baylor since the 6th grade. He wrestled for me in Harrison and then came to the Red Raiders club when I swapped over. His parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for him and they felt that was Baylor. They contacted Baylors admissions office and went through all the proper procedures.

 

Holloway- Holloway didnt transfer from another high school. He came to Baylor in the 8th grade. His parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for their son and felt that Baylor was his best fit. Cole had always wanted to go to Baylor and he told me so as a young 4th and 5th grader on Team Tn.

 

Canada- Calebs parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for their son. They contacted Baylor and went through the process. He never attended any other high school.

 

Brunner- Brandon did switch schools after his 9th grade year. He actually applied while in junior high well before turning into the stud he is today. He was accepted but decided to attend Tullahoma due to loyalties to the coaches and friends. After his 9th grade year he decided he wanted to wrestle a more competetive schedule and get the best education he could. His father contacted Baylor and they went through the admissions process again.

 

Robinson- Tate has transfered from cbhs for his own personal reasons.. Baylor did not contact him and try and sway them to come to Baylor. He had already left Cbhs before his family contacted Baylor.

 

Sutherland- not (southerland). Never attended Central high school. He has been at Baylor since the 6th grade he just sat out a bit with some injuries. I contacted Baylor when Blake was in the 5th grade and went through the process because I wanted him to receive the best possible education. I wasnt worried about the wrestling because I would make sure he got what henneded nio matter where he attended.In fact Baylor was about the only school, private or public that didnt contact me trying to get him to come their school.

 

Clements- Houston left McCallie for his own personal reasons and then contacted Baylor about swapping over.

 

As far as recruiting goes I can assure you 100% that any student athlete that has enrolled at Baylor has approached Baylor first. Baylor is very strict on their admissions process and many great wrestlers arent accepted or their parents cant afford the tuition. As far as Nashville Catholic building their team from the ground up I agree thats commendable. I can assure you I would like nothing more than the kids I coach to go to Baylor as my youth team has won the state in every age group since Ive been at Baylor. Sadly, many kids do not qualify or cant afford it so dont think for a minute Baylor is lowering their standards or making exceptions for athletes. In fact there are many kids starting at the top wrestling schools all over town that have came through our youth program but did not get accepted to Baylor. The previous coaches at Baylor coached whoever showed up in their room. They never attended any youth tournaments to "spot" talent or anything of that nature. They couldnt have told you one kids name on our own club team. The fact of the matter is top wrestling programs recruit themselves. Its that simple. How many parents moved to Soddy or Cleveland to wrestle because they wanted the best for their children? There are about 6-7 on Soddys team and Clevelands that came over from another area of town after elementary school so their kids can have the best opportunity to succeed. Did they recruit them? Are they cheating? No, the parents made a decesion as to their kids futures and the parents at Baylor merely did the same.

[texas23]

sounds to me like those young wrestlers at hickson that became a feast for Baylor were pretty darn smart. No way they do not go to Baylor after seeing their future.....

 

and let us hope all new coaches get a full season under their belt and everything goes really, really smooth.

[mocs2011]

 

 

I agree. Vote to punish those kids who choose to go to a boarding school by making them lose a year of eligibility. We wouldn't want them to choose to go to what they see as an improved educational opportunity without a little retribution. After all, that would relieve the pressure on some schools to offer a better product so there would be no reason for a kid to transfer to a school like Baylor in the first place.

 

Personally, I would love to see Baylor forced to leave the TSSAA so they wouldn't have to follow the silly rules that do nothing but penalize kids.

 

 

Let's treat the transfers to Baylor like any other wrestler that transfers from Soddy to Bradley or any other school when the parents have not moved. If they wanted to wrestle at Baylor or any other school they should have enrolled there as a 9th grader. Oh wait, but Baylor wasn't offering a free tuition at that point because the wrestler had not yet won D1 state or placed in GA or AL. It's not "punish" its called "FAIR".

 

Baylor is a great school and I cannot blame any student athlete that decides to better themselves and improve their opportunities in life. That said, there should be a price for transferring schools so that students are not being bought for purely athletic reasons--every state has these types of rules. The odd thing in TN is that the boarding schools can get around them. If you transfer and your parents do not move, you should not be eligible for a year.

 

I have heard several Baylor parents say they wanted to leave the TSSAA and that is probably the right answer. They are a prep school and one of the best in TN, but as long as they are recruiting kids from Knoxville, Tullahoma, Georgia, Alabama, etc. they need to go compete with Blair, Wyoming Seminary and similar boarding schools at the National Prep Tournament.

 

 

[hoosierdad]

oldblazedad,

After reading your post I phoned Jim Simpson to see how many of the Father Ryan wrestlers were Catholic. He informed me that during the 2011-12 season only one (1) wrestler that participated in the state tournament was not Catholic. He also told me that to the best of his knowledge only one (1) wrestler (Mike Hooker a transfer who's father & mother were Father Ryan graduates) did not participate in the Nashville Catholic Wrestling program. It seems as if the Irish have built their program through the Nashville Catholic middle school program.

 

oldblazedad,

 

I have lived in Chattanooga for a long time and seen many transfers occur; between both Public and Private; however, I have never understood the TSSAA rules on the issue.

 

However, I want to take your bet and please give me your bookies name so that I may profit on your statement about Father Ryan.

[hoosierdad]

I would be willing to bet, that over half the the talent that goes to Father Ryan, are not even Catholic!!!! So be careful who you are calling out.

 

In case you do not remember, I am sitting at the corner willing to make a bet whether it is in the 'boro or c'hatt town.. I think based on a previous statement. I could become rich.

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited August 29, 2012 by hoosierdad

[mocs2011]

 

 

I normally wouldnt post on something like this but for the average reader they would read your post and think Baylor is cheating. I will give a breakdown of each kid you mentioned.Im not sure what you are considering transfers but I will clarify each kid you listed. Baylor is a private school with no elementary school so all 1,000 or more students "transfered" at some point just like all students at 90% of all private schools in Tn.

 

Murphy- Never attended McCallie high school. Came to Baylor as an 8th grader. His older brother was already attending Baylor. Im not sure what their reason was but Im pretty certain Pat Murphy did what he thought was best for his son and wouldnt let anyone sway his decesion.

 

Powell- Caleb is from Chattanooga and has been at Baylor since the 6th grade. He wrestled for me in Harrison and then came to the Red Raiders club when I swapped over. His parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for him and they felt that was Baylor. They contacted Baylors admissions office and went through all the proper procedures.

 

Holloway- Holloway didnt transfer from another high school. He came to Baylor in the 8th grade. His parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for their son and felt that Baylor was his best fit. Cole had always wanted to go to Baylor and he told me so as a young 4th and 5th grader on Team Tn.

 

Canada- Calebs parents wanted the best education and wrestling program for their son. They contacted Baylor and went through the process. He never attended any other high school.

 

Brunner- Brandon did switch schools after his 9th grade year. He actually applied while in junior high well before turning into the stud he is today. He was accepted but decided to attend Tullahoma due to loyalties to the coaches and friends. After his 9th grade year he decided he wanted to wrestle a more competetive schedule and get the best education he could. His father contacted Baylor and they went through the admissions process again.

 

Robinson- Tate has transfered from cbhs for his own personal reasons.. Baylor did not contact him and try and sway them to come to Baylor. He had already left Cbhs before his family contacted Baylor.

 

Sutherland- not (southerland). Never attended Central high school. He has been at Baylor since the 6th grade he just sat out a bit with some injuries. I contacted Baylor when Blake was in the 5th grade and went through the process because I wanted him to receive the best possible education. I wasnt worried about the wrestling because I would make sure he got what henneded nio matter where he attended.In fact Baylor was about the only school, private or public that didnt contact me trying to get him to come their school.

 

Clements- Houston left McCallie for his own personal reasons and then contacted Baylor about swapping over.

 

As far as recruiting goes I can assure you 100% that any student athlete that has enrolled at Baylor has approached Baylor first. Baylor is very strict on their admissions process and many great wrestlers arent accepted or their parents cant afford the tuition. As far as Nashville Catholic building their team from the ground up I agree thats commendable. I can assure you I would like nothing more than the kids I coach to go to Baylor as my youth team has won the state in every age group since Ive been at Baylor. Sadly, many kids do not qualify or cant afford it so dont think for a minute Baylor is lowering their standards or making exceptions for athletes. In fact there are many kids starting at the top wrestling schools all over town that have came through our youth program but did not get accepted to Baylor. The previous coaches at Baylor coached whoever showed up in their room. They never attended any youth tournaments to "spot" talent or anything of that nature. They couldnt have told you one kids name on our own club team. The fact of the matter is top wrestling programs recruit themselves. Its that simple. How many parents moved to Soddy or Cleveland to wrestle because they wanted the best for their children? There are about 6-7 on Soddys team and Clevelands that came over from another area of town after elementary school so their kids can have the best opportunity to succeed. Did they recruit them? Are they cheating? No, the parents made a decesion as to their kids futures and the parents at Baylor merely did the same.

 

Haha...and Jed Hussein (GA), Mike Bell (AL), Chance and Cole Hayes (Knoxville), Brandon Brunner (Tullahoma), this list could go on for a long time. Several of these guys had already placed or won state before transfering to Baylor. Several were national level middle school wrestlers from other areas of the state before deciding on Baylor.

 

Can't knock any of these wrestlers or their parents for the decision they made, but to argue the playing field is level is ridiculous. I agree with nashwrestling, Baylor really may have underperformed considering the advantage that all the rest of us sheep have given them. If Baylor wants to recruit across the state and region and have an unfair advantage due to the transfer rule, go join the National Prep Tournament that Blair has now won like 32 years in a row. See if you can unseat them. That would be an incredible accomplishment.

 

[YOUTHCOACH16]

mocs2011, you are missing the point. Baylor does not go out and recruit these kids. The parents contact Baylor because they want whats best for their kids. Is Baylor supposed to turn them down because they have won wrestling matches? Should Soddy , Cleveland, McCallie turn away kids who want to go to their schools because of the wrestling programs?

[mtnrasslin]

 

 

 

Let's treat the transfers to Baylor like any other wrestler that transfers from Soddy to Bradley or any other school when the parents have not moved. If they wanted to wrestle at Baylor or any other school they should have enrolled there as a 9th grader. Oh wait, but Baylor wasn't offering a free tuition at that point because the wrestler had not yet won D1 state or placed in GA or AL. It's not "punish" its called "FAIR".

 

Baylor is a great school and I cannot blame any student athlete that decides to better themselves and improve their opportunities in life. That said, there should be a price for transferring schools so that students are not being bought for purely athletic reasons--every state has these types of rules. The odd thing in TN is that the boarding schools can get around them. If you transfer and your parents do not move, you should not be eligible for a year.

 

I have heard several Baylor parents say they wanted to leave the TSSAA and that is probably the right answer. They are a prep school and one of the best in TN, but as long as they are recruiting kids from Knoxville, Tullahoma, Georgia, Alabama, etc. they need to go compete with Blair, Wyoming Seminary and similar boarding schools at the National Prep Tournament.

 

Why stop at one year of eligibility?. After all, every year they are at a boarding school they are out of their government school zone. Is it "fair" that they ever compete? Should we not punish those kids with ineligibility to keep it fair for the rest of us?

Edited August 29, 2012 by mtnrasslin