Last year we had 3,937 wrestlers sign up for subs. This year we have 3,674. That is a loss of 263 wrestlers! Heck that is the size of some novice tournaments! If your business lost 263 customers year over year or your profits declined by 7% I guarantee you that would be your highest priority. Folks, we have to start thinking outside of the box and come up with ideas that will invite MORE participation. This year we have to select the site and date for the next three state tournaments. If we are going to shorten the season, remove 16, add 6, or do anything we need to start figuring it out NOW or next year we might be looking at only 3,400 wrestlers. If your current leadership is not getting it done be it at the club, district, or state level it is time to figure out who can make a difference.

Is that information in here somewhere, or have you kept track? Is it trending down or was 2007 abnormal?

Thanks

I wonder at the club level how every one is doing...I know that the size of our club doubled in the last year and it was not only in the 6u age group. We added kids of all ages clear thru 14u. We added a Novice only practice in addition to our normal twice weekly practices.
We will have 41 kids at sub district this year and are excited to see how they place all the way thru state!

Those numbers are very interesting and more than a little puzzling. For the past several years we have been showing a slow, steady growth in our total numbers. At this point in the season we have 8092 competitor memberships compared to 7985 at this point last year. I'd like even greater growth, but for a mature program in a state with a stagnant youth population (in the past 16 years the number of youth in Kansas has only increased by a total of 5.2%) those numbers aren't too bad.

So why are the subdistrict numbers down this year? Will - can the one-year drop be attributed to a single subdistrict or age group? What has changed from last year?

I agree it seems that there are more kids through most of the year, but as many have said I think a large portion of the kids move on to another sport by mid-march. Thus they don't sign up for subs, etc. The season is too long!

really looooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggggg. for coaches, parents and the wrestlers.

The season is too long. I don't know of any other "kids" sports that run 4-5 months.

In our club we gained tons of kids but most of them were 6U. We also have had a problem with drama in our club and that makes parents not want anything to do with it. I hear this happens a lot. I try not to pay attention to it, but it is hard for first year parents and kids to deal with this. Does this happen anywhere else?

I think that not letting in kids that were left off of rosters somehow and not letting kids sign up at seeding has cut down on some of the numbers. Im not saying this should be allowed because I know that this is causing problems. however I think this could have something to do with the numbers.

What if kids season ended late January or early February? Then those young wrestlers and parents could watch, be a part of the HS league, regional, and state series. Great crowd support and the youth can watch their future HS teams and former club standouts go for gold.

This would shorten the season for kids, HS wrestlers wouldn't be involved the Kids Subs, District, State tournaments (quicker day - good for parents/families - and it becomes a tourney where the spotlight is all on the youth in 8th grade and below).

This a good/bad idea?

This is our first year wrestling,I've got to say my son loves it and is doing pretty well for a novice. With that said, had we known how long the season would be, we probably would have thought twice about it. We are now trying to balance wrestling, track and baseball! Secretly we are wishing this ends real soon so he can focus on one (or two) sports. Like I said this is our first year, but the season is much longer than we thought, if it ended even a month earlier that would probably help maintain our enthusiam.

I know in our situation....16/U...total burn out. After 42 matches in high school...my wrestler was ready for a break. He didn't know he would get it in the form of two broken ribs!!

I agree the season may be too long,but disagree that wrestling is the only sport this happens in.My sons baseball team started practicing in December, and our season wont end until late July.There are youth football teams that start practicing in April.I think we are turning kids into one dimenional atheletes by extending seasons and forcing them to choose between one sport or the other.

Mike,

I would attribute some of it to a spike in gas prices and a harsher than normal winter. I can remember a couple of the drives in late December and early January where I probalby should not have been on the roads but traveled anyway to make a weekend tourney. I have several out of state baseball tourneys to attend this summer and I am hearing talk of $4/gal gas. What is your point of pain? I can't help but think that some families found theirs this season.

The numbers in my room are up from last year...but only slightly so. We have two more entrees in subs than we had last year; I hope we have a better overall result

Mark

Mark Stanley,
Check your PM's please. Thanks!

Interesting topic.

Our club has nearly tripled in size this season, but the majority are novice wrestlers who simply are not prepared for the competitive level they might meet in subs/state. Most of the HS wrestlers are beginning baseball and a large part of our newest additions were 6u. Only 1/3 of our wrestlers will be in attendance @ subs and only 1/2 of our little ones will be at 6u state.

We are a dedicated wrestling family and actually enjoy the long season as it offers a chance to see great improvements in many wrestlers. However, we have seen the effects of the long season on several great wrestlers - even earlier this evening at practice the burnout is obvious through tears.

I have heard some moans and groans from a few new parents, but there are also several kids who want to continue coming to practice even though they will not be a part of subs. It is great to see the love of the sport which is something that cannot be taught.

That being said, wrestling is a full contact sport which requires exceptional mental and physical ability - something you cannot acquire while sitting in front of a Wii. There are several other sports that you can find year-round such as cheer, baseball/fall ball, gymnastics, soccer, martial arts - it all depends on what you are looking for and how much time you are willing to invest. We are involved in several sports, none of which interfere with wrestling.

There could be several reasons for the drop in numbers, it cannot simply be attributed to the long season (increased illness, gas $, other sports/activities). The season is only as long as you want it to be and those truly committed to the great sport really tough it out. So maybe the "loooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg season" does the sport a favor by weeding out those who treat subs just like another weekend...

The main problem our club is hearing from parents is the season is too long. Many of our wrestlers are getting started in track, baseball, and soccer.

yes i hear the same thing

"The season is only as long as you want it to be and those truly committed to the great sport really tough it out."

There is a difference between loving your kid and loving the sport. It's easy to attend events because your kid is involved. What about taking your kids to high school or college matches so they can have someting to aim for. Give them a love of the sport, a history, hero's to look up to and try to emmulate. Football players want to be like Favre, Montana, and Elway. Basketball player want to play like Jordan, James, and Kidd. Who do our wrestlers want to wrestle like? Do they even know some of the top names in the sport? How many know who Cael Sanderson, Kenny Monday, or Dan Gable are? How many could point out Eric Aiken at the State Tournament? Most of us don't know wrestling, most of us know 8u 67, 10u 95, 12u 110, and so on.

Kit, if you move the kids back to the beginning of Feb or end of Jan. you are not only eliminating the high school kids, but also the middle school wrestling kids that have seasons that run until the 2nd wk of Feb.