About the Recent Split......

[RealSoddyBoy]

I will remain vocal critic of splits in wrestling.  I have never heard of a compelling reason not to have one unified state championship.  As I have stated here often, have multiple divisions of Dual competition.

 

A-AA will have to resolve itself to little brother status.  Now and forever.  And that might be just fine but it so goes against the grain and spirit of the sport.

An A-AA competitor might defeat and be seen as overwhelmingly the best in the state at his weight, but if it doesn't occur in February, it really doesn't matter.

 

The statements have already started that "he could beat anyone in AAA."  Sorry.  Even if defeated in December it wont matter if it doesn't happen in February.  I somehow doubt if you will hear anyone say, "well, he could have won A-AA."

 

I could see A-AA talent moving into AAA zones.

A-AA coaching talent moving into AAA schools.

 

Why?  Because in our sport you want to compete against the best.  Always.

 

But a hat tip to A-AA, you have what you desired and supported your division well at the State tournament.  I love the enthusiasm. 

How about the fact that in all other sports there are multiple State Champions. Would South Pittsburgh have won the State Championsips they have won if they were having to go through Riverdale to get it?

[reftn]

They can win state championships through multiple divisions of Dual State Championships

[Taxman]

I just don't see winning your weight class at the state individual tourney the ultimate accomplishment anymore. The D1 tourney is tough because of the 32 man bracket but lacks the other two divisions competing.  D2 is almost like wrestling in a district tourney in the 1970s-1990s.  A-AA looks more like a 1988 Region tourney.  I may be wrong but it seems that the proponents of the split are teams that have a history of being weak or are weak now.  The current format is not as exciting to me and reminds me of the YMCA.  Does winning state individual tourney mean you are the best in your weight class in Tennessee?  

[TeamTN]

How about the fact that in all other sports there are multiple State Champions. Would South Pittsburgh have won the State Championsips they have won if they were having to go through Riverdale to get it?

I agree and I have brought this point up in the past.  Wrestling, the grandest of all sports deserves the same treatment as other sports.  Tennis, Track and Field, Bowling, even cross country, kids get the chance to compete against kids who attend high schools that are about the same size or at least same classification as their school.  Why should wrestling be treated any different? 

 

Give the A/AA a few years.  You will see more participation and you will see improved skill levels.  I was approached by several small school coaches and parents of small school wrestlers asking me about what off season camps and programs they need to be involved.  These people were excited about what the future of the A/AA holds for their school/wrestlers because they now believe they have a chance to compete on a fair playing ground.  In 4 or 5 years, then re-evaluate 

Edited February 20, 2014 by TeamTN

[Tronado]

I agree and I have brought this point up in the past.  Wrestling, the grandest of all sports deserves the same treatment as other sports.  Tennis, Track and Field, Bowling, even cross country, kids get the chance to compete against kids who attend highs schools that are about the same size or at least same classification as their school.  Why should wrestling be treated any different? 

 

Give the A/AA a few years.  You will see more participation and you will see improved skill levels.  I was approached by several small school coaches and parents of small school wrestlers asking me about what off season camps and programs they need to be involved.  These people were excited about what the future of the A/AA holds for their school/wrestlers because they now believe they have a chance to compete on a fair playing ground

No. A move made for participation and medal redistribution. Life's not fair, and 1 kid weighing 120 vs. another kid that weighs 120 is about as fair a shot your going get in this world. Telling them any different and your not being honest with them. What does student enrollment have to do with an individual sport. It will only take you one word. I see, they were losing thru no fault of their own, it was due to the size of the school they were facing and because of this change they now believe, Id believe too if they took the majority of the best wrestlers in the state out of play. FAIR PLAYING GROUND., what a farce.

[Taxman]

I agree and I have brought this point up in the past.  Wrestling, the grandest of all sports deserves the same treatment as other sports.  Tennis, Track and Field, Bowling, even cross country, kids get the chance to compete against kids who attend high schools that are about the same size or at least same classification as their school.  Why should wrestling be treated any different? 

 

Give the A/AA a few years.  You will see more participation and you will see improved skill levels.  I was approached by several small school coaches and parents of small school wrestlers asking me about what off season camps and programs they need to be involved.  These people were excited about what the future of the A/AA holds for their school/wrestlers because they now believe they have a chance to compete on a fair playing ground.  In 4 or 5 years, then re-evaluate 

Bad analogy. Tronado makes more sense.

[TeamTN]

Larger school enrollment = larger pool of athletes to draw from, which is one of the reasons there are different divisions for other sports.  I recall the complaining of Division I coaches about Division II schools having the advantage of Nation wide and state Wide recruiting base and this was not fair to the public schools, who did have have that same benefit.  Tronado believes that only thing that matters is a wrestlers weight.  What makes a wrestler a champion is having good drilling partners and competition in the wrestling room.  Larger pool of athletes is a nice benefit to have to increase  the possibility of increasing the numbers, quality wrestlers, in a room.  Now I know that increase athlete pool is not the only factor that allows wrestling programs to be successful, coaching, admin. support, etc all play a part.  I understand both sides of this issue.  

Edited February 20, 2014 by TeamTN

[Tronado]

Larger school enrollment = larger pool of athletes to draw from, which is one of the reasons there are different divisions for other sports.  I recall the complaining of Division I coaches about Division II schools having the advantage of Nation wide and state Wide recruiting base and this was not fair to the public schools, who did have have that same benefit.  Tronado believes that only thing that matters is a wrestlers weight.  What makes a wrestler a champion is having good drilling partners and competition in the wrestling room.  Larger pool of athletes is a nice benefit to have to increase  the possibility of increasing the numbers, quality wrestlers, in a room.  Now I know that increase athlete pool is not the only factor that allows wrestling programs to be successful, coaching, admin. support, etc all play a part.  I understand both sides of this issue.  

I've moved on. Parents, if you have a good wrestler, take them to the big programs that face the best competition. These big programs need kids too, look all across the state AAA programs don't have full lineups, you can help them. Wrestlers aren't born, their made. It could be the reason a lot of schools don't have them and then we have to lower the level of our competitive wrestling here in Tennessee to say we are growing. Chattanooga has 3 big schools, Soddy Daisy, Ooltewah, and East Hamilton at which two of them cant even fill out a full line up. Yet the small schools needed the help. Please take your great little wrestler and go to these schools. I'm partial to Soddy these days, so go there friends.

  P.S. for those worried about the size of the medals, win a state championship and you get a RING at Soddy.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Tronado

[oldwrestlingcoach]

I do not understand this controversy. I think the split was good for wrestling in general and will make it better in Tennessee in the upcoming years. If a wrestler really wants to see how good he is, convince the coach to go to the big tournaments where the top teams wrestle each year. See where you stand among the big boys and see if you are good enough to place there. The Bradley Invitational, GP West, etc... are all good measuring sticks for how good a wrestler is. Just because there is not a unified state championship does not mean that most of us cannot figure out the best wrestlers in the state by these tournament results.

 

When you are asking yourself why we split, keep in mind that several years ago, a very well known private school had a Tennessee state champion and a Georgia state champion in the same school year.

[Old Warhorse]

I agree and I have brought this point up in the past.  Wrestling, the grandest of all sports deserves the same treatment as other sports.  Tennis, Track and Field, Bowling, even cross country, kids get the chance to compete against kids who attend high schools that are about the same size or at least same classification as their school.  Why should wrestling be treated any different? 

 

Give the A/AA a few years.  You will see more participation and you will see improved skill levels.  I was approached by several small school coaches and parents of small school wrestlers asking me about what off season camps and programs they need to be involved.  These people were excited about what the future of the A/AA holds for their school/wrestlers because they now believe they have a chance to compete on a fair playing ground.  In 4 or 5 years, then re-evaluate 

 

Totally agree. It is the fear that increased participation at A/AA level will diminish the pool of talent that is available to the larger schools. Wrestlers will choose to stay at the home school rather than go to the "wrestling" school. Why has there been a decline at Soddy Daisy? maybe because there are more choosing to wrestle else where is Chattanooga. How hard does Cleveland have to work continue to the get the best in Bradley County?  Wrestling at small schools is just like girl's softball was 25 years ago. As participation grows, so will the skill level. There will more attention placed on youth league development. Kids will get better coaching at a younger age and have higher skill levels when they get into high school. As far as Alcoa goes, they wrestle Cleveland, Walker Valley and Maryville every year. You will see them compete in lots of tourneys in Chattanooga. As Greenville, Alcoa, Pigeon Forge and Hixson continue to improve, they will have to wrestle better competition. That is part of the process.

 

I can not believe that the coaches at AAA and D2 Private schools have negative thoughts on the success of the A/AA division. It was the Cleveland Wrestling staff that was one the first to congratulate Alcoa's coach on his team's performance. 

And for the same reason Cleveland is successful...........they love the sport of wrestling!

[CoachBlair]

Looks like the argument for California only having 1 state champion might be weakened a little if this happens.  A bit more extreme of a split than we've done though.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/20/california-state-division/5661143/

 

Coach Blair

[cbg]

Looks like the argument for California only having 1 state champion might be weakened a little if this happens.  A bit more extreme of a split than we've done though.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/20/california-state-division/5661143/

 

Coach Blair

The federal government will never allow this to happen. This is nothing more than some politician grandstanding to get attention.