Strength of wrestling in TN

[cowcatcherII]

1 hour ago, TotallynotLEO said:

All great points.  I'm confident you'll see an 8th different team this year in the Small Division. 

I am confident you are correct, Leo! 8 different state champs in 11 years... how can that not be entertaining??? 

Although I do think your Trojans are big favorites going into next year, I will add that one thing that makes Single A so fun is that you usually go into the year where you have 3-5 teams with a legit shot at winning it. That's something you just don't see in the other two divisions where Cleveland and Baylor are king, and you certainly would not see if in a combined division.

[RMC]

cbg....you're my hero.....you're like a walking encyclopedia of Tennessee wrestling.  Brought back memories of the old summer freestyle sessions at UTC.

[cowcatcherII]

19 minutes ago, RMC said:

cbg....you're my hero.....you're like a walking encyclopedia of Tennessee wrestling.  Brought back memories of the old summer freestyle sessions at UTC.

@cbg and @oceansize42 are easily two of the most knowledgeable posters on this board. I always look forward to reading their posts!

Great to see you back on the board @RMC ! You are one of the OG's! I remember you always having the inside scoop on Collins Hill during the height of their dynasty. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by cowcatcherII

[oceansize42]

@cbg has me beat by miles but I appreciate it. My knowledge is short lived as my son is out of high school and on to college so I've only got a few years before everyone I know has moved on.  I really enjoyed wrestling and I miss the day to day father/son time and you bet I'm envious of all dad's still in the middle of it.

Edited April 18, 2023 by oceansize42

[cbg]

2 minutes ago, oceansize42 said:

I really enjoyed wrestling and I miss the day to day father/son time and you bet I'm envious of all dad's still in the middle of it.

Back in the day, moms and dads were not at practice or the training camps unless the father was a coach.  Dads had to work to put food on the table and mothers typically were working or had other kids to watch after.  I really don't remember a parent attending the national tournaments during the summer. Most of the kids did odd jobs to come up with enough money to attend the training camp and national tournament.  The parents would drop off the kids and say bye and good luck! To say that times have changed would be an understatement. 

[oceansize42]

7 minutes ago, cbg said:

Back in the day, moms and dads were not at practice or the training camps unless the father was a coach.  Dads had to work to put food on the table and mothers typically were working or had other kids to watch after.  I really don't remember a parent attending the national tournaments during the summer. Most of the kids did odd jobs to come up with enough money to attend the training camp and national tournament.  The parents would drop off the kids and say bye and good luck! To say that times have changed would be an understatement. 

You aren't lying.  Parents can be really over-the-top.  As for me, I removed myself from all coaching once he hit high school. In four years I think I talked to all of his various coaches for a grand total of 60 minutes.  I knew where I belonged.  What I miss are the car rides home, the trips in the summer I was able to go on (where I did sit in his corner looking like I knew what I was doing if no one else was available), having his friends at the house hanging out, etc.  The little things as it were.

Cheers to all the Dads out there who know what I'm talking about.

Edited April 18, 2023 by oceansize42

[Biffmar4]

26 minutes ago, oceansize42 said:

You aren't lying.  Parents can be really over-the-top.  As for me, I removed myself from all coaching once he hit high school. In four years I think I talked to all of his various coaches for a grand total of 60 minutes.  I knew where I belonged.  What I miss are the car rides home, the trips in the summer I was able to go on (where I did sit in his corner looking like I knew what I was doing if no one else was available), having his friends at the house hanging out, etc.  The little things as it were.

Cheers to all the Dads out there who know what I'm talking about.

I'm a dad/coach and if you saw me at Virginia Beach when Kendrick was in 8th grade and he was still in his pajamas under a blanket at the end of one of those long rows of mats playing video games on his phone when he was on deck, you would've called me an over the top dad.  Now I help coach our HS team, but I work with the other kids and let Denny and Bubba work with Kendrick as I don't have anything to offer him other than support.  I will say getting to be around my son and in his corner for the last 10/11 years has been the biggest joy of my life.  I work for a living too, but I've busted my tail to put myself in a position to spend time with all three of my kids.  What I'm doing now, wasn't an option a decade or two or three or four ago.  I always say I'm coaching bc of my son, but not for my son.  I love all the kids in the room and I plan to keep coaching next year when my he's in college.  I put together a travel team that competed in Va Beach last year assuming my son would be on it.  We had some of the biggest names in TN wrestling.  He ended up not competing bc of other high school related priorities, but my wife and I still ran up there, drove three kids from Clarksville, Lebanon, and East TN up there so they could get experience, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Then we took another team last July, this time with my son, down to Alabama and whooped up on Morris Fitness to win the Deep South Dual Championship.   He had a football scrimmage Friday night, so he wrestled his matches Friday, we busted it to get to Marshall Co for the scrimmage where he played both ways at MLB and FB, got back to AL about midnight and he wrestled and won all his matches Saturday.  I often think back to me being "that over the top dad" in VA Beach and what impact that had on my son.  I think that was an inflection point in his wrestling journey, my coaching journey, and my parenting journey.  After that day, I never had a reason to doubt his effort and desire again and he never questioned my expectations of him again.  I'm going to miss him next year.

[BobCorker]

devil's advocate viewpoint: 

Tennessee has not produced a D1 college All-American since 2008.  15 years. 

Japan has produced more D1 All-Americans than Tennessee 

Tennessee is still light-years away

[Biffmar4]

9 minutes ago, BobCorker said:

devil's advocate viewpoint: 

Tennessee has not produced a D1 college All-American since 2008.  15 years. 

Japan has produced more D1 All-Americans than Tennessee 

Tennessee is still light-years away

Cody Chittum, Brayden Palmer, Trae McDaniel and I'm sure there's more that will AA in the next year or so.

[BobCorker]

53 minutes ago, Biffmar4 said:

Cody Chittum, Brayden Palmer, Trae McDaniel and I'm sure there's more that will AA in the next year or so.

They are all certainly talented enough, but that is the same narrative the whole state has been saying for the last 25 years.  Everyone always points to a few superstars who will carry the torch, but it never actually happens for whatever reason. 

[cbg]

11 minutes ago, BobCorker said:

They are all certainly talented enough, but that is the same narrative the whole state has been saying for the last 25 years.  Everyone always points to a few superstars who will carry the torch, but it never actually happens for whatever reason. 

People forget that to AA at the D1 level kids must not only be exceptionally good but they must also stay injury free.

[oceansize42]

3 hours ago, Biffmar4 said:

I'm a dad/coach and if you saw me at Virginia Beach when Kendrick was in 8th grade and he was still in his pajamas under a blanket at the end of one of those long rows of mats playing video games on his phone when he was on deck, you would've called me an over the top dad.  Now I help coach our HS team, but I work with the other kids and let Denny and Bubba work with Kendrick as I don't have anything to offer him other than support.  I will say getting to be around my son and in his corner for the last 10/11 years has been the biggest joy of my life.  I work for a living too, but I've busted my tail to put myself in a position to spend time with all three of my kids.  What I'm doing now, wasn't an option a decade or two or three or four ago.  I always say I'm coaching bc of my son, but not for my son.  I love all the kids in the room and I plan to keep coaching next year when my he's in college.  I put together a travel team that competed in Va Beach last year assuming my son would be on it.  We had some of the biggest names in TN wrestling.  He ended up not competing bc of other high school related priorities, but my wife and I still ran up there, drove three kids from Clarksville, Lebanon, and East TN up there so they could get experience, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Then we took another team last July, this time with my son, down to Alabama and whooped up on Morris Fitness to win the Deep South Dual Championship.   He had a football scrimmage Friday night, so he wrestled his matches Friday, we busted it to get to Marshall Co for the scrimmage where he played both ways at MLB and FB, got back to AL about midnight and he wrestled and won all his matches Saturday.  I often think back to me being "that over the top dad" in VA Beach and what impact that had on my son.  I think that was an inflection point in his wrestling journey, my coaching journey, and my parenting journey.  After that day, I never had a reason to doubt his effort and desire again and he never questioned my expectations of him again.  I'm going to miss him next year.

The key thing is you were able to be introspective and course correct because that is what good parents do.  I sure as heck yelled at my kids and I'm sure I did it when they didn't deserve it lol (builds character).   But unfortunately so many cannot let it go or ever seem to learn. When I'm talking about "bad parents" I should be clear. I'm mostly referencing society as a whole.  Kids who are decent enough athletes but have parents who simply don't care and their kids show up for a practice or two and then vanish.  Those are the parents I'm talking about who are killing participation.  I don't want to say its worse for fear of having rose colored glasses but it does sometimes seem that the amount of kids with uncaring parents is really high.  Uncaring parents yields uncaring kids who lack discipline.  Good on you for you for still coaching. I'm going to help coach MS next year, be fun.  

Edited April 18, 2023 by oceansize42