Improving Our Sport

[WrestlingGod]

Mr West is right. Ok this thread is 100% dedicated to posting ideas on improving the sport here in TN. No mindless arguments, no copy and pasting, ONLY IDEAS TO IMPROVE. If you've got anything else to say at all go to a different thread.

 

Improvement starts with us. We need to grow up, stop fighting and think on how we can fix things cause they'll only get worse if we don't.

 

WG

Edited February 11, 2014 by WrestlingGod

[Newestguy]

Nothing but suggestions:

 

1) Better venue for state 1) Nashville 2) Murfreesboro 3) Chattanooga 4) anywhere else

2) Organized training (at least 2-4 weeks) between USA state's and Fargo. Possible duals with states on the way to Fargo with a cost effective team bus (like GA)

3) Beat the streets kids programs in Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis

4) One individual state champion (separate big/small/private team scores - separate duals)

[rlwest40]

My Suggestions:

 

1. Compare and analyze possible proposals to improve high school wrestling in TN. Basically brainstorm and suggest improvements.

 

2. Selection. Deciding which of these ideas benefit the sport the most and are actually feasible. Basically narrowing down the choices. I've seen the ability to set up voting polls in other forums, not sure if it is available here. Fantastic tool though IMO.

 

3. Collecting and prioritizing all of the ideas that are agreed upon by the majority. Be realistic about how many proposals to submit at once. Ideally this should be done in waves probably once each year. Yes it will take time but the progress will be rewarding.

 

4. Organizing the proposal. This should be a joint effort by qualified individuals. Allow proof reading and constructive criticism by everyone involved. Make necessary revisions and acquire final approval. Should the proposal include a petition or at least reference a documented petition?

 

5. Submit the proposal through the proper channels within the required time frame. Post a copy of the finalized proposal on this board for public record and reference.

[rlwest40]

In addition,

 

Contact CoachT and lobby for this thread to be permanently pinned to the top of the forum. Inquire about the ability to add a voting poll to this thread in the near future.

[rlwest40]

Poll Topics:

 

Traditional Divisions

Dual Divisions

State Championship Venue

Championship Event Details

State Seeding Criteria

Individual Championship Awards

Traveling Restrictions

Competition Dates

[rlwest40]

Personally I believe the dual divisions are great just the way they are right now. The current three divisions provide an even playing field for each member school.

 

1. The private schools can compete with each other to determine the champion of their sector without any of the disputes between public schools and private schools. This is their prep state championship with some great rivalries. Should the region and state duals be reformatted using different qualification and seeding methods?

 

2. The small division public schools can compete with each other for a championship without being at a disadvantage to much larger schools. This will increase participation at the high school level within the smaller schools. Should the region and state duals be reformatted using different qualification and seeding methods?

 

3. The large division public schools can compete for a championship with other equal sized public schools without having the advantage over smaller schools or being at a disadvantage to the alleged 'recruiting' private schools. Should the region and state duals be reformatted using different qualification and seeding methods?

 

Tennessee high school wrestling does not have the participation numbers to warrant any additional dual championships. The TSSAA has done a great job in my opinion in regards to the latest dual classifications and meeting the needs of everyone involved. There may be a need to adjust the qualification and seeding methods in some of the divisions though.

[silverpie]

Here come my opinions:

 

Traditional Divisions—two. One for boys, one for girls. Keep separate team standings for sub-groups if desired.

 

Dual Divisions—given current TSSAA politics, the current four is probably best, plus one more for girls. But consider changing D2 from "championship/invitational" to a true A and AA structure.

 

State Championship Venue—the two should be in different parts of the state. One in Chattanooga (preferably the Roundhouse), the other somewhere in the Nashville area (Municipal Auditorium would be my first choice, with a dream of one day moving to Bridgestone Arena).

 

Championship Event Details—Mostly ok as they are, but the different areas should potentially have different numbers of qualifiers. And strength should count—unlike most other sports, coming out of a tough region actually hurts a team at state, as it has to leave marginal point winners at home while teams from lesser regions can bring theirs. (This is also an issue for track and field.) A single state traditional would probably be a 40 or 48 bracket.

 

State Seeding Criteria—Region placement should matter. In fact, I would go so far as to say that no lower medalist should be seeded ahead of the winner of his own region (seeding one above a champion of another region is ok). I'm working on a proposal for how to implement that in the current 32 draw of AAA.

 

Individual Championship Awards—We are bound by a 5-year contract with TSSAA's current supplier, but I can't imagine that's the only style of medal they offer. I would take the TSSAA-wrestling logo (the one on the home page) and emboss it on medals of appropriate color (in other words, the visible surface would be all metal, with the logo raised). I would also have different color ribbons for each place, and possibly hot-stamp the year/class/place on the ribbon instead of engraving it on the medal.

 

Heck, while we're dreaming, why not a belt for first?

 

Traveling Restrictions, Competition Dates: I disclaim knowledge adequate to speak thereof.

[PUMMELKING]

If the TSSAA really wants to be leaders in Improving Wrestling they should make the girls style FREESTYLE.

It would keep them from wrestling boys during the season since they do not want them to compete against boys. It would allow the girls to get better at the style they have the opportunity to wrestle in at College and beyond. 

I have said before boys can wrestle the same style in HS and College, so the TSSAA needs to be leaders and offer girls the same opportunities.  Maybe this could even be looked at as discrimination if they have the chance to allow it but choose not to.

It could really get TN girls competing on a higher level of wrestling and help them be better prepared for College and National Level Competition.

[Sommers]

Here come my opinions:

 

Traditional Divisions—two. One for boys, one for girls. Keep separate team standings for sub-groups if desired.

 

Dual Divisions—given current TSSAA politics, the current four is probably best, plus one more for girls. But consider changing D2 from "championship/invitational" to a true A and AA structure.

 

State Championship Venue—the two should be in different parts of the state. One in Chattanooga (preferably the Roundhouse), the other somewhere in the Nashville area (Municipal Auditorium would be my first choice, with a dream of one day moving to Bridgestone Arena).

 

Championship Event Details—Mostly ok as they are, but the different areas should potentially have different numbers of qualifiers. And strength should count—unlike most other sports, coming out of a tough region actually hurts a team at state, as it has to leave marginal point winners at home while teams from lesser regions can bring theirs. (This is also an issue for track and field.) A single state traditional would probably be a 40 or 48 bracket.

 

State Seeding Criteria—Region placement should matter. In fact, I would go so far as to say that no lower medalist should be seeded ahead of the winner of his own region (seeding one above a champion of another region is ok). I'm working on a proposal for how to implement that in the current 32 draw of AAA.

 

Individual Championship Awards—We are bound by a 5-year contract with TSSAA's current supplier, but I can't imagine that's the only style of medal they offer. I would take the TSSAA-wrestling logo (the one on the home page) and emboss it on medals of appropriate color (in other words, the visible surface would be all metal, with the logo raised). I would also have different color ribbons for each place, and possibly hot-stamp the year/class/place on the ribbon instead of engraving it on the medal.

 

Heck, while we're dreaming, why not a belt for first?

 

Traveling Restrictions, Competition Dates: I disclaim knowledge adequate to speak thereof.

Anyone have any latest updates on some of these fine ideas, Venue? Belts? Complete Individual Competition?

[silverpie]

As far as the medals go, it occurred to me that the coin you can find on the team championship plaques would be a good design for a medal (although the antiqued finish should be switched out for a bright one).

 

As to sites, I still think having one in the Nashville area (have heard about the scheduling issues at Municipal--could A-Game Sportsplex up in Cool Springs be made to work?) and one in Chattanooga is the way to go. But pessimistic on that given we didn't even get a chance to try to retain the girls soccer tournament here.

[marshiebaby]

Different venue for state

girls freestyle instead of traditional

a follow-up tournament of division state top four in all classes for a single champion "super state"

reduce duals by one week to accommodate the "super state" tournament...

[Sommers]

Tally team points separated by division to help avoid that old head rearing those private/public/big/small conflicts and hurt pride of some.