Id take out some high schoolers, if they are having tourneys in Jan Feb March. Where do you find the schedule?

Jeff, see that you�re an Ex SERE instructor. Man, you guys were too realistic! I left survival school thinking no way you guys are right, you�re way too god at doing your job.

haha, I enjoyed the training, imagine 10x what you went thru.. I didnt enjoy the job much.

Ok tough guy. I fish 2-3 days a week year round, somewhere north of 35 tournaments a year, organize and run 26 tournaments a year. Was on the water both Saturday and Sunday last weekend. I know what I�m talking about, come see me when you�ve actually organized, directed, and fished half as many as I have. In this case your the key board warrior.
Limiting the size of the field is a very logical thought, not because I�m predicting the worst but because I fear the worst. Qualifiers could determine the people that get to fish the actual big tournaments, the anglers finishes would determine if they get to move on not a decision made by an individual. Your thought process it�s whats wrong with our country and why today�s youth can�t handle loss or being told no. Let em all fish... we can�t hurt anyone�s feelings...Heck give them all a participation trophy while your at it.

This thread is the Energizer Bunny!

BTW......Well Said Buda!!!

If they would have had high school tournaments back in my high school days, I would have dominated .... probably would have become better than KVD.

Again, every year the THSBA does make an effort to limit the size of the tournament field. They expand their divisions every year so the number of boats will hopefully get smaller. The divisional tournaments are the actually qualifier tournaments. I can assume, since you organize tournaments yourself, that you must have some type of qualifing tournament rule prior to being able to participate in one of your tournaments, or are you allowing anyone who shows and pays to be able to play because......"we can�t hurt anyone�s feelings...Heck give them all a participation trophy while your at it."

The only difference between THSBA and Media/TTT/etc. is that the THSBA is exclusive to high school aged kids. Media/TTT/etc. they arent limiting the number of boats in the field, and they dont care the age of the participants. If 2 high school kids wanted to fish TTT this year they could register, pay, and fish all events the same as THSBA only without a captain in the boat.

People just love to get on TFF and bash the high school trails because they can. Please remind me the number of lives that have been lost in a THSBA event? Maybe just provide the actual data that is being used to determine how often the THSBA has caused these kids to be injured? Or put the kids in a situation where there was a catastrophic, or even significant, injury? I am not saying something cant happen, but anything can happen on any given weekend regardless of whether there is a tournament, and so far the THSBA has provided at least enough rules and regulations to have prevented anything major from happening at one of their events.

That is quite the resume! I'm sure they would love to have a veteran tournament guru like yourself volunteer. You should give them a call and dontate your time. I believe their two paid positions are filled so it would need to be done out of the goodness of your heart.

Ok tough guy. I fish 2-3 days a week year round, somewhere north of 35 tournaments a year, organize and run 26 tournaments a year. Was on the water both Saturday and Sunday last weekend. I know what I�m talking about, come see me when you�ve actually organized, directed, and fished half as many as I have. In this case your the key board warrior.
Limiting the size of the field is a very logical thought, not because I�m predicting the worst but because I fear the worst. Qualifiers could determine the people that get to fish the actual big tournaments, the anglers finishes would determine if they get to move on not a decision made by an individual. Your thought process it�s whats wrong with our country and why today�s youth can�t handle loss or being told no. Let em all fish... we can�t hurt anyone�s feelings...Heck give them all a participation trophy while your at it. [/quote]


I will never be able to fish 35 tournaments or organize 26 tournaments a year, but I can still come see you if you would like.

My assumption is you're not a member of any high school bass fishing organization and you don't have a child that participates in one (please correct me if I'm wrong). Yes the THSBA has a very large field of participants which makes it a challenge logistically. The field begins to thin itself out over the course of the season due to inclement weather, poor performance and the teenage nature of loosing interest. As stated before, it's the Tournament Director's, parent's and captain's decision to fish or not to fish, not the kid's. You should probably read the rules and bylaws for a better understanding for future discussion.

[ Your thought process it�s whats wrong with our country and why today�s youth can�t handle loss or being told no. Let em all fish... we can�t hurt anyone�s feelings...Heck give them all a participation trophy while your at it.]

You are dead wrong about me and my children. My son wrestled for 6 years (junior & high school) and was a state qualifier his last 2. They don't give participation trophies in that sport. He fishes in inclement/crowded functions because he is good at it and he put the time in to be competitive. My daughter plays varsity tennis and is sub 1% academically in a 6A school, she expects nothing without hard work. I'm about as RED blooded of an American as one can get. I believe in survival of the fittest, I don't need additional GOVERNING from someone not a part of the organizations I or my children participate in.

Sincerely, 'tough guy'

Shallow water there is a difference. I coach high school and when I coached basketball we had 30 kids try out. Since I can't use 30 kids on the team I had to cut 15. I narrowed down the field. NOT everyone made the team. Now when I picked my 15 players not all them played not unless we were by 20 with 5 minutes to play. You said they limit the size of the tournaments. NO they just add another region. That does not narrow down the field. NOT everyone who wants too fish should be able to. Yes kids can fish TTT but do they sign a wavier since they are minors? Probably.... Shallow waters have you been a captain for a high school team? I have and have seen the boat captains and their in experience first hand. I do not fault the kids. They are playing by the rules given to them. Yes no lives have been lost in a THSBA tournament yet. If one does happen they will get sued beyond belief and well as the boat captain.

We have parents who pay thousands of dollars to send their kids to all kind of sports camps or travel teams in hopes that they will become the next great Magic Johnson, Tom Brady or Tiger Woods... Why not buy a boat so they can fish with their kids and be their boat captain? I am not letting my kid get on some on boat and not know if they are capable of being a boat captain. Parents are not involved in the sport. I am sorry but if one of the kids does not have a boat to which they can fish out of then sorry you should not get to fish. Question for you. So why are they fishing in highschool? Because it is cheap and inexpensive for them since they most don't own a boat.

This thread has potential.

Hey Coach, yeah I captain. This is my third year. And your facts are not correct. the THSBA was able to add a new region last year but they have also split current divisions in an effort to limit the field. Yes, they expanded with a further reach, but also restructured in order to cut down on size.

What does the waiver have to do with anything? The kids have to sign waivers for THSBA, hell they have to sign waivers to go on a school field trip. I am sure they have to sign waiver to pay basketball for you. As for your basketball team analogy, that sport requires a maximum number of players, fishing doesnt. The only level of fishing that stops at a number of boats is The Elites, and would like to tell me what that number is? 100-150 boats. The THSBA East Divisions tournaments have been around 130 boats this year.

These reports that the field is full of kids in boats with unknown captains is completely ridiculous. And you saying the "Parents are not involved in the sport", is even more ridiculous. The majority of captains are parents. The majority of the kids have been fishing with their parents since they were toddlers. Most of the kids grew up in boats on the weekends and are very skilled. Are there some that novice, or even newbies .... yes, of course, but that happens in every walk of life. Are people supposed to stop trying new things once they get a certain age? Maybe kids who havent played basketball by the time they are 13 should just never try for their entire life.

By the way, no one ever, in the history of life, has claimed fishing is "cheap and inexpensive". Even for people who dont own a boat, fishing is not cheap and inexpensive. It has been said many times on this thread, if you expect money when you volunteer to captain then let the participants know.

Last note, why on earth would you think the THSBA operates any differently then your basketball organization as far as insurance coverage and liability. The THSBA has an insurance policy that covers them for liability. They also have signed waivers from all participants. This isnt a fly by night, steal your money, organization. Try looking up facts, allow me to point you in the direction of a good resource - http://www.texashighschoolbassassn.com/_ufiles/files/bylaws.pdf

And why are kids fishing tournaments in the winter?, can they not move the schedule during the warmer months... like summer... no connection to UIL so why not?

I have captained also. yes parents are NOT involved. Give me a break. That is why I had two kids, that did not have a boat but wanted to fish. It is also why I did not captain this year. We had 5 captains from our bass club because their parents don't own a boat and 80 % of our kids from the school we captained the parents were not involved. I know of kids right now that are not fishing because NO boat captain.These kids parents could care less about what they do. Insurance and liability will not enough should something bad happen. The east is probably the smallest field they have. Go figure.. Fishing as non boater their a lot less cost than owning a boat and if you think other wise than you are clueless. You give $40 to the boat captain to be a guide for you. I know Tim a little bit ( don't know if he is still the president or not) and I think he has done a great job of managing it. The problem is the grew to fast. Insurance and liability. I could tell you my story on it but it would take up an entire page.