Red Bank's Cody Slatton, left, wrestles Hixson's Jonas Shackleford during a January match in Red Bank. The Lions are trying to raise funds to purchase rings honoring the Class A/AA state duals title they won this season.For almost all of the athletes you have ever heard of, their first big goal is to win a state championship.
For guys like Peyton Manning, LeBron James and Derek Jeter, playing high school sports with the teammates they grew up with is a special and irreplaceable moment in time. That's true whether an athletic career arc swerves to the Hall of Fame or slowpitch softball.
And winning a state championship is the pinnacle for everyone who played on the prep level. If you need proof, ask someone who played high school sports how cool it would have been. If you need more proof, ask someone who has won a high school state championship how cool it was, then try to get them to stop talking. It's a moment that is shared with teammates and coaches and communities. It's a memory commemorated by signs and signatures, a time that lives forever.
With that baseline, meet the Red Bank High School wrestling team. Earlier this winter, the Lions roared through the TSSAA's Class A/AA state duals. It's the ultimate team crown in arguably the ultimate individual-based team sport. Red Bank worked its way to the title with grit and graciousness. The Lions were the best when they had to be.
That they delivered their best performance on their biggest stage is a testament to wrestlers, coaches and the will of all involved.
Now, with those championship memories fresh in their minds, the Red Bank athletic program faces a dire situation.
There are not enough funds to buy commemorative state championship rings for the wrestling team. Let's go to a poignant message from Red Bank wrestler Devon Suddeth, who sent an email our way.
"Almost six weeks ago our wrestling team won the 2016 A-AA state duals tournament," he wrote. "This great achievement was accomplished because of the blood, sweat, tears and sacrifice this team has paid to the program, myself included. We need a donation of any amount to the Red Bank wrestling program, in order for the members of my outstanding team to receive state championship rings that we have all surely earned. I know this is a long shot, but we need help. Our funds were exhausted by sending us to the state tournament, and we are running on reserve."
Suddeth is assuredly not begging. Far from it, in fact. He's merely voicing the dire circumstances facing all high school sports programs, from the ultra-successful state champion to the run-of-the-middle team just trying to compete.
If you are interested in helping the Red Bank cause, you can contact assistant principals Elaine Harper or Rashaad Williams at 423-874-1900. Certainly every school is counting every penny, especially when it comes to extracurricular activities. In truth, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, a group that charges one of the highest percentages of gate receipts of any state association in the country, should look at providing state championship rings for all of its winners.
(The TSSAA is quick to demand its cut from every postseason gate or holiday tournament - amounts that range from 18 to 50 percent, depending on the event - and is flush with funds far beyond the "catastrophic insurance" rationale it uses to justify its lofty fees.)
That should happen sooner than later, but knowing the TSSAA, don't hold your breath.
In the interim, the Red Bank wrestling champions are left hoping their memories will be remembered by more than memories. It's a tough spot for sure, because asking the community to pick up another tab for another school endeavor seems like a different verse with the same chorus that ends with "Where will it stop?"
But in a time when we know far too much about the money about to be spent on a December basketball tournament involving another public school in Hamilton County, it seems tragic the Lions' success can't be rewarded or supported.
By everyone - especially the TSSAA.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.