AAU Top 100

[CoachJones]

We are talking about TSSAA refs.. not just AAU refs. The Halls Invitational was going on. They had 4 mats. That calls for 6 officials. Im sure we had other tournaments(high school) going on that called for our TSSAA officials to be hired.. and that leaves only the AAU officials along with a Select few TSSAA refs. I don't have all the high school and youth schedules directly in front of me, however i am certain that more than 2 or 3 tournaments we conducted this saturday.

 

TSQUAD- Are you a coach or parent, both? If a parent, I would suggest letting the coaches in your club know your concerns so that if they feel the same way, they can pass it on the the Regional directors whom attend these meetings. Each Region is assigned such a director. They are always trying to better the sport. Rome was not built in a day, however since i have been here(2007) I have seen great strides to better the youth wrestling in TN.

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Im not sure where all the animosity is coming from. Tennessee wrestling has improved leaps and bounds from a quantity and quality standpoint. The tournaments are larger and better ran than ever. The top 100 series has been a great success in attracting the more talented kids from across the state and bordering states and Sundays duals were a great success as well. While I am a board member I am also a coach who is very passionate about what he does like Bosken and many others. I agree with many of the things you have complained about but there are always reasons things happen and your approach will be taken with more seriousness if handled in a proper and professional manner. We always need more volunteers so the best way is to go to your regional meeting and offer to help. If you arent happy with the leadership your regional director is providing then simply run against him or offer to assist him or her. If your fellow coaches feel you are better suited to do the job you will be chosen. We let your peers in your area chose who represents them. Im not privy as to why there were some variances on the guidelines for this tournament but I will find out from Don Barnett and Greg Foreman and have them reply or I will reply. I can assure you you wont find two people more dedicated to Tennessee wrestling than them. I personally do not like using Aau refs and dont for my tournaments but we have an abundance of quality officials in Chattanooga. That being said there are a few Aau refs I would chose any day over some Tssaa officials. As mush as it pains me to say it, we do have to train them somewhere and unfortunately thats always going to be at kids tournaments. I had a a couple of issues in the tournament with officiating and table workers that cost my kids some matches. I handled it the right way though and didn't blow it out of proportion and thats hard for me as Im too competitive at times. I think there may have been some issues with snow days and matches and tournaments being moved that took away the Tssaa refs this weekend. As many have already stated we have a shortage of Tssaa officials. You were wrong about it being a cost saving decision to use Aau refs. The refs are paid the same. In fact its posted on the Tennessee Aau website. You can click on the officials tab and click on pay schedule to see exactly what they are paid. As we move further and further into the electronic running of tournaments we are working through some kinks but if we dont do it we will never progress. A lot of the problem was last minute adjustments and additions that require changing the brackets and renumbering the whole tournament. I didn't think it was that much of an issue as we finished ahead of time if Im not mistaken. The last top 100 at east hamilton was the best tournament we have ever had as it was pretty much flawless. When you can run a 600 person tournament without any major issues you have accomplished something. There were some "bugs" in the system with track this week that caused a small delay in setting up each computer for each mat but other than that it ran perfectly once started. Like I said, I understand some of your issues and can agree to some extent but Im sure there were circumstances that caused whatever very minor problems there were. If you would like to pursue this further you can contact me and I would be glad to listen to your ideas and help explain why things were done the way they were. My contact info is on the Tn Aau website. One last note... On the way voting is handled for the best wrestlers and best match I can shed some light on that. We asked and asked for people to come vote and very few do. Those that do vote dont take it seriously and 90% of the time voted for their own wrestler regardless of if he was qualified for such an award. There were actual votes for kids for Ow who did not win the tournament. There were votes for best match for kids not in the finals. In one age group nobody even voted for best match and we had to go online and look at the results and chose the closest match in the finals. Some people voted for best match for matches that were 20 second pins. Its almost laughable to be honest. That being said, I have no idea which Aau board member you say voted multiple times for their own son. My son is in high school and none of the other board members had kids wrestling. Foreman is the only board member with a son that age and he is in a cast at the moment.

Edited January 21, 2013 by YOUTHCOACH16

[truthsquad]

Jones--with all due respect, the "take it to your regional director" route never works. If you haven't noticed, the chosen regional directors are picked because they are yes-men for the organization. I've found, since we moved from USA to AAU that Team TN is not a democracy, rather is it a small select tight knit group that operates within their own thoughts and ideals. I'm not saying that they are not doing good for the sport, they certainly are, but they don't like someone calling their baby ugly and unless it benefits certain people in certain areas, the change is not happening.

 

I have a pretty good idea why there has been such resistance to using TSSAA refs and its not due to the lack of TSSAA officials. Again, I have ran tournaments for years, and with proper planning, officials can be located for youth events, as a matter of fact, if you pay them well, some TSSAA officials will pass up high school matches for youth. Did someone say pay? It seems maybe we could be onto something here...no the TSSAA officials are not cheap, you can't pay them in deer stew.

[TO338]

Deer meat stew sounds good...

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Jones--they won't sanction other AAU tournaments in the state (except beginners) on the same day as a TOP 100, and I always assumed that since this was the case they would get the best available officials. If what we had on Saturday was the best available, then we truly have a problem.

 

And have you been invited to the meetings? The Fall meeting is nothing more than scheduling and informational. The other meeting where the important issues and topics are discussed is in the Spring and as far as I know is not open to the public--I've tried to find out when and where for the last few years and never get a response.

 

The only spring meeting I'm aware of where the public was invited was several years ago when Kennedy was around and real issues actually were addressed, he seemed to make sure of it.

 

Again, your are severely mistaken. There are multiple tournaments going on each weekend even when there is a top 100. We had a tournament in Chattanooga at East Ridge this weekend in addition to the top 100 at Pigeon Forge.

 

Thats funny you should mention the open meetings. We posted the date on here last year when everyone was complaining about the state tournament. We also posted it on the Tn Aau website. Every region director also knew when it was and could have told you as well if you had asked. Guess how many people showed up besides board members? Out of over 5,000 Aau members in Tennessee not one single person showed up to address any concerns or offer any feedback. Thats why its hard to take last minute criticisms with much validity. If you are truly wanting to help then join forces and actually do something. Walking up 10 minutes prior to the start of a tournament when everyone is in full panic mode and telling us how it should be done is not really helping matters.

[truthsquad]

Youthcoach--apparently you don't know your board very well if you don't know which ones have kids wrestling. It is a fact that one of the board member's kids won Best Match. Look it up. And in one division, one team voted multiple times--suggestion: a better system is needed!

 

And I AM a coach that has been involved in TN AAU for several years since we moved over, and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER have I had the opportunity to step up and put my name on a ballot for regional rep nor have I had the opportunity to VOTE for our regional rep. Again, a closed society who chooses which teams and coaches get representation and a vote.

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Jones--with all due respect, the "take it to your regional director" route never works. If you haven't noticed, the chosen regional directors are picked because they are yes-men for the organization. I've found, since we moved from USA to AAU that Team TN is not a democracy, rather is it a small select tight knit group that operates within their own thoughts and ideals. I'm not saying that they are not doing good for the sport, they certainly are, but they don't like someone calling their baby ugly and unless it benefits certain people in certain areas, the change is not happening.

 

I have a pretty good idea why there has been such resistance to using TSSAA refs and its not due to the lack of TSSAA officials. Again, I have ran tournaments for years, and with proper planning, officials can be located for youth events, as a matter of fact, if you pay them well, some TSSAA officials will pass up high school matches for youth. Did someone say pay? It seems maybe we could be onto something here...no the TSSAA officials are not cheap, you can't pay them in deer stew.

 

OK, this will be my last reply. You know how to contact me if you truly want to help. I posted and explained that all refs are paid the same and its in plain English for all to se right on the website. I think the East Hamilton coach told me he paid out close to $3,000 for the officials at his Top 100. The majority of which were Tssaa referee's.

Your next error is when you say the regional directors are chosen. They are voted on by the coaches in each region. The board does not even attend those meetings and has "0" say so in who is a regional director.

By the way.. the Deer stew and Deer chili were pretty good. lol

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Im not sure which region you are from but Im pretty sure its not mine. Contact me if you are serious about helping out and we can go from there. Its not a closed society. As I stated above in a factual comment not one single person attended the Fall meeting and it was posted on here, our website and your region director and the dates and times. All of our contact info is also on the website. If you feel you arent getting the help you need in your region then contact me and Ill see what I can do. As far as the person who wont he best match that you didnt feel deserved it please enlighten me. I think it may be you who is confused as to who the board members are. My son is in high school, Lauderdale, Don Elsea, Barnett, nor Kevin Wright had kids wrestling. Foreman has a son that age but he has a broken arm. Baucke wasnt there and he doesnt have a son that age. Wes Smith nor Shannon Sayne have kids that age nor did I see them at the tournament so I have no earthly idea who you are talking about. What age group and weight was it?

Edited January 21, 2013 by YOUTHCOACH16

[truthsquad]

I'd like to see that meeting: "Hey Don, whats say we get Sutherland to take care of the South and Shannon Region 2, Wes in Nashville...Can I get a 2nd...thanks Wes...All in favor aye, aye, aye. Thanks Greg, Shannon, Mike. Motion carried...Brian make sure you put down that no one else came to the meeting." JUST JOKING--I know it doesn't happen like that (everyone knows Brian doesn't take notes).

 

Great! So this year, prior to the meeting, can I get a commitment from you to post here and on the TN AAU website how I can elect and vote for my Regional Rep. I know you said it was posted, but I don't recall and I'm here a lot, so I hate I missed it. Also maybe have Vandergriff send a message to his email list and put it on Facebook. If you truly want everyone involved, you can do a better job of getting the word out.

 

As for other tournaments on the same date, the decision that was handed down at the fall meeting was that in an effort to spotlight the Top 100 tournaments, ONLY beginners tournaments would be offered an AAU sanction if they were planned on the same day as a TOP 100.

 

And my hats off to East Hamilton for actually paying for certified refs!

 

Lastly, you say it is easy to contact you...I don't know who you are? Tell me who you are and I will send you a private email offering some suggestions and offering a few candidates for regional representatives.

Edited January 21, 2013 by truthsquad

[TO338]

I think AAU has enough suggestions and nominations. I think they're wanting your time, commitment, sacrifice and involvement. Or better yet, your blood, sweat and tears.

[foreman]

Thank you, YOUTHCOACH16, I'm glad to know we did one thing right at the tournament. It was my deer and my wife cooked it. As I recall "Cousin Kevin's Roadkill Deer Chili" wasn't the only option at the tournament (although it was labelled). The 5 star restaurants on the strip failed to come through with enough hospitality donations to cover the entire tournament and varied palates that were in attendance. Instead, our gracious parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of our programs were up at 4am making homemade food to serve. We apologize that it didn't meet your sophisticatede palate standards. Evidently, more than one coach liked the "Cousin Kevin's Deer Chili" because not a drop was left of the 4 crockpots of it...

[YOUTHCOACH16]

Thank you, YOUTHCOACH16, I'm glad to know we did one thing right at the tournament. It was my deer and my wife cooked it. As I recall "Cousin Kevin's Roadkill Deer Chili" wasn't the only option at the tournament (although it was labelled). The 5 star restaurants on the strip failed to come through with enough hospitality donations to cover the entire tournament and varied palates that were in attendance. Instead, our gracious parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends of our programs were up at 4am making homemade food to serve. We apologize that it didn't meet your sophisticatede palate standards. Evidently, more than one coach liked the "Cousin Kevin's Deer Chili" because not a drop was left of the 4 crockpots of it...

 

You did a lot of things right. Tournaments are never perfect. Especially when you have snow days and matches get pushed back and you lose Tssaa refs, ect.. I will let you post what your options and reasons were if you want. To me whatever issues there might have been were trivial at best and the tournament was as good as it could have been given your options.