I am having a hard time understanding how a wrestler can get 2nd at a open tournament then the following week get a first in novice. My son wrestled a kid last week and beat him 10-8 for first, this week he wrestled at novice and tour it up. My sons record is 23-8 ,5 from same kid,so he isn't weak. I just don't understand why people are entering in novice to just get a gold.It doesn't affect me just don't see the benefit.It isn't fair to the true novice kids. By the way with results being posted it is hard to do with out people noticing.

I saw an open-level wrestler doing the "take 'em down, let 'em up" at a novice tournament on Sunday. That was a first for me.

Call the club out, it is also their job to ensure that wrestlers are getting entered like they should.

Had that done to my 7-year-old last year at a novice.

I hate this. This is one of the roadblocks to increasing the numbers for our sport. As a head coach you have the ultimate responsibility to know your wrestlers and make sure they are competeing where they should be competeing. This..."I didn't know" or "His parents signed him up" doesn't cut it. Your team. Your responsibility. As far as the whole take down and release situation....The other coach should have let him know. Stand up for your novice. It helps. You don't have to be beligerent, but don't let the other coach get away with out him understanding what just happened.

my boy was a true first year kid last year he was 6 and had never seen a bit of wrestling till his first practice. We entered him into several novice tournaments and he was known to let kids up just to take them down he knew he could gain easy points that way. My kid won two or three novice tournaments, so we put him in a few more novice tournaments at 8 and under. He did well in those so we moved him to open tournaments. He went on to qualify for 8 and under state. I guess point is I was worried as a parent to throw him into open tournaments cause I didn't want him getting murdered he was a true first year novice and he gained alot of knowledge from his novice experience.

My son started wrestling the end of november 2010. I have entered him in four tournaments this 2010/2011 season. It has been amazing to me how many accomplished novices he has wrestled. Soo I looked up the wrestling history on a couple of these so-called novices they have been wrestling for two years and some more than that?? I have to agree with Jerry on the point that everyone knows what's going on. My son is six he out for the fun and for the sport. Get REAL people. If you cannot teach you wrestler what is right who will??

Let's just say I let him know I wasn't happy about it.

I guess the question is then? At novice tournaments, should they be doing take down, let up.

I don't think I ever let my son do that at a novice tournament, at a open tournament you can, but I don't know what it teaches them. They can learn that stuff in practice.

Steve Schroeder

And keep in mind, there are typically several novice brackets at each weight. I've had kids blow thru novice brackets, but if they would have been in the other bracket at that weight, he'd have had his tail handed to him.

I don't think this is enough of a problem for anyone to get their panties in a bunch. We can't get to the point of setting up brackets so that each of our kids can win a match, that is impossible...........

I really don't care at all about wins and losses, especially at the novice level. But I don't like someone instructing their wrestler to embarrass another by padding stats at a novice tournament.

Sure you can fix some of it.....quit making 10 brackets for each weight division....put them ALL in one bracket. Then you can truly see who belongs in novice and who doesn't. Then you can call a club out on it..3 wins as novice you should move on anyway....enter a C bracket in an open..

As I coach, I try to judge my kids at his/her ability. I have seen 1st year kids excel quickly and then I have seen some kids not catch on for 4 years or more. Mat time is valuable for everyone and that is why we see novice wrestlers entered in both open/novice tournaments. As a coach, I can see talent a little better than others. The truth is, at some weight classes, the novice tournaments are tougher than the open tournament.

My baby boy wrestled his 1st tournament at the a couple weekends ago at the 6&under 49 lbs. bracket. He ran into a kid from Maize who was pretty good. He was more advanced than my son and most other 6 year olds in Ks. He competed hard and dealt with some things he had not seen before. I take ownership of that, because I did not prepare him. It was hard to see, but I understand that is the nature of the sport. He eventually ran into some kids who were on his level and did well. Those people who don't understand the nature of the sport should get out of the sport or train harder.

I believe everyone is novice in 6&under. If Ks. did not believe so the 6 year olds would be able to participate with the big boys in Topeka at the real state tournament.

Problem:
- Parents/Coaches who believe that a wrestler is not a novice based on the results of an open tournament.
- Judging the ability of Open/Novice wrestlers.
- The emphasis is on novice tournaments is revenue.
- Regulation of who is entering a Novice tournament.


Solution:
- Any coach caught entering a kid in a novice tournament illegally will be suspended for 1 week.
- Any club hosting a tournament caught "KNOWINGLY" allowing a open level wrestler to enter a novice tournament will be fined by the state.
- Make rules CLEAR

Gaylen Taylor

Here is how it goes:

Our kid goes out and gets his a$$ handed to him, and mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and hopefully not, but sometimes, his coach all tell the kid "that kid isn't a novice, he shouldn't be here"

Next match, our kid goes out and pins another kid in 10 seconds. and mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc tell him good job, and forget that the kid (and mama, daddy, granddad, etc ) that you just pinned, feels the same way you did after your kid got whipped. It is all a matter of perspective.

Coach strategy: As a coach, I coach each individual match. Some matches I don't ever want my wrestler to wrestle on the top position. In other matches, I don't ever want my guy on his feet. Know the intention of the coach opposed, to making an assumption of their strategy. I have had wrestlers winning matches while they are on their feet and get pinned as soon as they wrestle on the mat.

Coach, shouldn't you be practicing your submission holds on the inmates right now!!!????? Get back to work!!!

LOL! My off day.

I have a kids that is pretty advanced for a 6U 1st year wrestler. Does he know what he is doing, well lets just say he is getting better, but the kids is a beast. He can walk on his hands up and down the matt do a standing back flip, more push up than dang near anyone else and good ones not the girl kind.

He wrestled the novice in Valley Center. He was in one match and locked his hands three times and one more time that the ref didn't catch. I told him to keep letting the kids up and take him down. He did it several times.

Was that wrong? I probalbly saved him from getting DQ and we talked about it that day and all week at practice about the locked hand thing.

Same kid wrestled at Goddard open, he didn't place but he lost his first match and won three on the backside and eventually lost to the same kid that beat him in the first round.

He won Great Bend Open, without much trouble.

I alomst think he should be done in novice, but he still makes tons of mistakes and really his limited wrestling skills that have had little to do with his wins, he is just a gifted little athlete and is really aggressive.

Novice or Open kid?

I've done the same thing on the locked hands, put 'em on their feet the rest of the match. Or at least until you are able to get him in a locked closet somewhere and beat him until he agrees to not lock his hands anymore!!!!!

I think the kid needs a mix of both open and novice, then next year all open.

I have kids, as do probably all other coaches out there, that are identical to what you describe. We should not have to apologize that we have a great athlete. Now if that same athlet was working a bunch of advanced moves, different story.

I agree next year it won't even be a choice, Open all the way.