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State Tournament Field Conditions


PJM
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Your point on a facility which is used multiple times on a daily basis versus a single use school field is correct.  One is obviously going to be much harder to keep in proper condition than the other.  As I've not seen the Siegel Complex fields other than the pictures earlier in the discussion, I cannot make a call as to whether the match site should be changed, I was just glad to hear that was being considered it the fields were a problem.  And yes, rye seeding every year can cause problems if not properly taken care of.

 

As for having matches at multiple sites, I would have no problem with that.  Up until this past fall, that is how the girls tournament had been run in Chattanooga for years.  A/AA at CCS, AAA at GPS and D2 at Baylor, with all the finals at GPS.  Some may disagree with this, but having the tournament at a multi field facility with several matches playing at the same time makes the whole thing feel like just another travel team tournament with 20-30 teams playing rather than one field and one match at a time.

 

If notably better field conditions exist within 20-30 minutes driving distance to Siegel, I would support their moving the matches.  You would need 2 or 4 locations on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday, and 1 on Friday.

 

Does anyone actually like the site as a place to crown the state champions, even if the pitch was as green as White Hart Lane? I have personally spoken to TSSAA officials about it, trying to understand the reasoning. These are obviously high school games and should be treated as such. This isn't the Division 1 State Cup.

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We'll (Signal) play there tomorrow and I'll give an update.  If the Bermuda is just dead, it should be OK, and besides…both teams face the same conditions.  Thinking tomorrow night's game with Murf. Central and Signal should be a good match-up.  15-0-2 vs 14-0-2 will dash one of those teams' dreams of an undefeated season.  Middle of IB and AP exams here means (and a football scrimmage vs. Ooltewah) we won't bring many other than parents to watch.  But hopefully we'll come ready to play!

Our game was moved to Murf. Central on a fescue and clover field!  Led to an interesting game.  Field was obviously slippery and there were a few fouls called (both ways) when players slipped or couldn't stop their momentum.  But, conditions were the same for both teams.  Lots of corner kicks because rather than take a chance of slipping defenders sometimes just got rid of the ball.  Bottom line, we didn't see the complex fields and I have no input.

 

Someone worked hard to get a small pitch playable though, and since I'm usually that guy at Signal, I thank the MCM guy!  Also thanks for the Merrol Hyde coach and players showing up and coming to our end of the pitch.  If there was an "A" division instead of "A/AA" they'd be my pick to win it.  

Edited by tarp
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+1

 

Does anyone actually like the site as a place to crown the state champions, even if the pitch was as green as White Hart Lane? I have personally spoken to TSSAA officials about it, trying to understand the reasoning. These are obviously high school games and should be treated as such. This isn't the Division 1 State Cup.

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This story is a spin by the TSSAA and the Murfreesboro Park department.  Don't give me the fields are in bad shape because of a bad winter and over usage.  The TSSAA and parks knew it was a bad winter and anybody could look at the schedule to see over usage.  Anybody that was caught off guard by this was sleeping at the wheel.  I have a simple plan, move the games to fields that are mentioned in this article.  All these fields mentioned are gorgeous pitches.  The teams that make state do not care if it's in Murfreesboro, Franklin, or Chattanooga (The original spring flings in Chattanooga were far better then in M'Boro).  They would rather play on a good pitch in Bell Buckle than a hard, grassless field in Murfreesboro

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Just returned from Murfreesboro and the fields at Siegel are terrible. The middle of all the fields have no grass and are hard as a rock - its like playing on asphalt and the ball is bouncing all over the place. The stadium field actually looks worse than the others and the goal boxes are sandpits.

 

TSSAA needs to swallow their pride and move the semi-final and championship games to other venues.  I am sure their are plenty of fields in the Nashville area that are playable.  In fact, they only need 8 fields for Wed (only 4 if you play 2 games on each) and 2 for Thurs and Fri.  It is a shame that all these boys/teams have worked so hard to get to this point in the season and then have to play on crappy fields. 

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This is a perfect example of TSSAA caring more about the bottom line than the game it's self.  The article a week or two ago said the TSSAA looked at these fields then looked at fields at Webb, Father Ryan, BGA, and Page but decided to keep the games at the siegel complex that was known to have horrible playing conditions.  IMO,  this article was pure lip service.  There is no way an official would look at the siegel fields compared to the fields they looked at and decided to keep the games at siegel.  The TSSAA and Rutherford county parks really messed this up.

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Have to agree, the field conditions are extremely bad. Walked across field #2 at the end of the game and it was basically baked, uneven dirt. We have the best of the teams represented and they deserve better.

 

I am also not a fan of the Siegel Soccer Complex as there is very little seating and it is all low down. There are many great HS venues in the middle TN area that could have been used which would have been better for fans and players alike.

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Here is Mark Reeves, the TSSAA official who made the call to keep the games at siegel, quote on why they kept the games at siegel.....“It’s not idea, but the decision was made based on a number of factors,†Reeves said. “There are some logistical issues to overcome if we moved, coupled with the fact that there may be some competitive issues if we moved the some sites. We think it’s the best interest of the kids. They will all be on the same playing field, dealing with the same issues.

“It’s the fairest thing to do for the kids. We are suppose to provide a competitive neutrality.â€

 

The bolded portion above translate to, "We are protecting our interest with the city of

Murfreesboro by keeping people in the hotels and restaurants."   

 

 

"It’s the fairest thing to do for the kids. We are suppose to provide a competitive neutrality"........to use his philosophy, they would play in the parking lot as long as both teams had a equal playing surface.

 

Mark Reeves and TSSAA should be embarrassed but I assume they are sitting at a baseball game being played on a plush green playing field. 

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