This thread is meant for everyone that has, had or will have a middle school wrestler especially if you live in District 2 or 3 and participate in the Pioneer League. Over the years there has been several threads on why/why not wrestle for the middle school and while there are good points on both sides, one of the concerns locally is the timing of the season. Currently our middle school season in District 2&3 runs from Jan 6th to approx March 3 and is consider the late season. Unfortunately this occurs during the meat of the youth season creating for some, reason enough not to join their middle school programs. I think it is safe to say we would all like our kids to be the best they can be while giving them the opportunity to explore new challenges. It is my belief that should the Pioneer League adopt the “early season” (Oct-the 1st of Dec) like many other areas across the state the following advantages could be achieved.
Stronger middle school teams – In terms of participation and quality of matches
Better relationships between the club and middle school program
Provide an opportunity for the kids to also participate in Basketball at the middle school
Allow wrestlers to participate in the club during the critical part of the season
It truly is a win/win/win situation for the kids, school & club! The purpose of this thread is to ask for your feedback, whether you are in District 2&3 or not, and ask you to consider sending an email to your Middle School AD voicing your thoughts/desire on changing the wrestling season. I have attached the contact information below to make it easy for you or you can also find this information at
www.pioneerleague.org on the right side under directory. I will be sending an introductory email to each of the ADs advising them that this post and survey are out here for them to review and hopefully we can start a productive dialogue. It is my understanding that it is the ADs (21 of them) that make the decision on this and they could present this at the upcoming March Kansas Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (KIAAA) meeting in Wichita. Just because it has been this way doesn’t make it the best option and together maybe we can make it better. Thanks for your help and feedback! Please see poll at the bottom!
Any questions I can be reached at 316-734-8088 or jsmith462@cox.net
Derby
AD - Russell Baldwin
rbaldwin@usd260.com
Coach - Joaquin Zapata
Goddard
AD - Sean Hollas
shollas@goddardusd.com
Coach - Pat Easum
Haysville West
AD - Jeromy Swearingen
jswearingen@usd261.com
Coach - Dave Hull
Hutchinson
AD - Kevin Armstrong
armstrongk@usd308.com
Coach - Myron Ellegood
Valley Center
Vic Noordhoek
vic.noordhoek@usd262.net
Corey Jones
Maize
AD - Chad Cramer
ccramer@usd266.com
Coach - Jesse Harris
Maize South
AD - Jim Foltz
jdfoltz@usd266.com
Derek Schoenthaler
Newton
AD - Don Cameron
dcameron@newton.k12.ks.us
Coach - John Werner
Andover
AD - Brent Jones
jonesb@usd385.org
Coach - Kyle Oyler
Andover Central
AD - Jennifer Meitler
meitlerj@usd385.org
Caoch - Derek Tuttle
Eisenhower
AD - Greg Clamons
gclamons@goddardusd.com
Coach - Brian Means
Haysville
AD - Clint Shipley
cshipley@usd261.com
Coach - Jesse Shetler
Prairie Hills
AD - Todd Fredrickson
todd.fredrickson@buhlerschools.org
Coach - Scott Clark
Arkansas City
AD - Cathy Vaughn
cathy.vaughn@usd470.com
Coach - Brian Reid
Augusta
AD - Doug Law
dlaw@usd402.com
Coach - Tom Zerr
Circle
AD - Gregg Walls
gwalls@usd375.org
Coach - Mike Longshaw
El Dorado
AD - Mr. Brad Hoy
bhoy@usd263.com
Mr. Dustin Rhodes
Rose Hill
AD - Brant Miller
bmiller@usd394.com
Coach - Martin Wilkes
Wellington
AD - Mr. Brian Aufdengarten
baufdengarten@usd353.com
Coach - Grant Smith
Winfield
AD - Randy Fox
randyfo@usd465.com
Coach - Kevin Hottinger
