Before the Spring Fling comes to an end this week in Murfreesboro, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association will crown state champions in five sports: baseball, boys’ soccer, softball, tennis and track and field.
So for a lot of folks who think the TSSAA is the only governing body over high school athletics in this state that matters, McCallie’s stirring 13-11 victory over Memphis University School in the Tennessee Scholastic Lacrosse Association state title game last Saturday doesn’t mean much.
Even Blue Tornado senior Tyler Wilks, who’ll play at Providence College next year, admitted Tuesday, “Sometimes I don’t think we get the respect from people in general that we might if we were a TSSAA sport.”
But that doesn’t mean the Blue Tornado’s 10th state championship in its 25th year of fielding a recognized (non-club) lacrosse team shouldn’t be celebrated, whether it’s a TSLA title, a TSSAA crown or a shirts-and-skins scrimmage in coach Troy Kemp’s back yard.
After all, how many prep athletic teams anywhere can say they’ve won 10 state titles in 25 years at the highest level available to them? And whether the TSSAA sponsors lacrosse or not, McCallie has become so respected nationally that it recently rose to No. 15 in the latest Max Preps poll.