Suggestions for the TSSAA

[silverpie]

And by the way, the Board of Control has no say in D1/D2 matters. That's decided by the Legislative Council.

[FarKnee]

For those out there lobbying for improvements to the TSSAA, here are some suggestions.

 

1. Tennessee does not need multiple divisions for the traditional individual state championship. Reformat the regions and state qualifiers so that they are combined and balanced. SEED the state championships.

 

2. The girls should not be wrestling folkstyle, they should wrestle the style that is available to them in college.

 

3. Three days is not needed to wrestle a 32 man bracket. We can do without the two 4-5 hour breaks. Wrestle all rounds, girls finals first in the afternoon then the true state finals last that evening on one mat with proper bio introductions. There should only be one mat during the state finals. Award ceremonies for all medalists following the finals.

 

4. Use a proper venue for the state championship. Bring back the programs and televise/stream the finals. Dim the lights, spotlight the wrestlers, and introduce the 28 finalists and their bios on one mat before each match not all at once. Reserve seating for the parents of the finalists. Take pictures of the champions for the programs and allow parents to take podium pictures. In Georgia the coaches of the finalist were given 2 passes to hand out to the parents for reserved seating. Same could be done for podium pictures, 1 floor pass per medalist.

 

5. Keep the state duals at three divisions. Modify the qualification process to allow for some type of wildcard teams. The top teams in the state should be competing at the state duals in order to determine the true top four teams. Balance the regions in D2. Televise/stream this event and bring back the programs. The defending state champion in each division should be able to host this championship just like home field advantage in the playoffs of other sports, it was earned. The atmosphere of the finals would be incomparable to what we are doing now. Similar to the Baylor/McCallie and Cleveland/Bradley dual meets.

 

6. Improve the awards for our student athletes. Region and State medals should stand out and honor a prestigious accomplishment. True these wrestlers do not compete for the hardware they are given but the awards do represent our recognition of them and what they have accomplished. The team (school) awards and coaches awards are fantastic, why short change those who truly earned it with inferior medals?

 

7. Improve the referee training so that all officials are consistent with each other throughout the state. Implement some type of grading/auditing process where officials are regularly being evaluated throughout the season. Use a grading scale that determines who is most qualified to officiate at post season events. The grading scale can also be used to temporary suspend those who fail to meet certain standards. Anonymous evaluations by the coaches at each tournament. There must be accountability.

 

8. Eliminate the current restrictions on teams traveling during the season. This does nothing but hinder the sport. Teams and individual wrestlers cannot gain the necessary exposure while being sidelined by this restriction. The state will lose elite wrestlers to neighboring states because of this senseless rule.

Couldn't agree more. The 4-5 hour breaks drag the event on longer than needed. I also like idea #4. When I wrestled in the WI state tournament years ago, the lights were dimmed other than the ones over the mats. It was a phenomenal experience that the wrestlers enjoyed and they looked forward to "wrestling under the lights" at state.

[reftn]

And by the way, the Board of Control has no say in D1/D2 matters. That's decided by the Legislative Council.

Is the legislative council from with in TSSAA or is it a Tennessee Govt instrument?

[clintabbott]

Is the legislative council from with in TSSAA or is it a Tennessee Govt instrument?

The Legislative Council is composed of nine high school administrators from the nine athletic regions in the state of Tennessee- just like the board of control.  They make and change rules and the board enforces rules.

[reftn]

The Legislative Council is composed of nine high school administrators from the nine athletic regions in the state of Tennessee- just like the board of control.  They make and change rules and the board enforces rules.

Thanks Clint. 

 

So whats the difference between the Legislative council and the Board of Control? 

 

Who trumps who?

[reftn]

Thanks Clint. 

 

So whats the difference between the Legislative council and the Board of Control? 

 

Who trumps who?

Oh I see. 

 

You answered it.