Interesting topic. There are a lot of good points made from both sides. However, I would offer a perspective that is often overlooked on this forum, that of the average wrestle. It seems to me that most of the discussions on here are dominated by the extremist, (�...Little Johny has won 3 State title in a row, should he travel to Russia for a summer camp to ensure he will get a D1 scholarship?...�). And for good reason, those that are the most passionate about the sport will be the ones that take the time to post.

However, I have what I consider an average wrestler (maybe a little above average). He has qualified for State several time, even placed once. He has wrestled since he was 9 and likes wrestling, but doesn�t love it. He plays other sports such as baseball and football so he has never wrestled outside the timeframe of Thanksgiving to Easter. Therefore, he typically loses to the �year-round� guys that do Purler, Freestyle/Greco and the summer camps... as he should since he hasn�t put in the work.

My son is now 14 and a Freshman in HS. He was out with an injury until early January and wrestled JV for the remainder of the season. He did ok, winning more than he lost, but far from dominant. I don�t know how most HS JV programs are run, but I would consider ours more of an afterthought vs a �professional� organization as some have described it. The club he has been a member of the last several years is much more rigorous.

So my point is... of course he is wrestling 14U. I don�t think he would have even considered doing Kids if he had to wrestle the HS division. And yes, the reason he is wrestling 14U is because he thinks he has a chance. A chance to make it through subs, a chance to place at Districts. For him neither of these are a lock. He doesn�t look at wrestling an 8th graders as some easy way out. He has lost to several... Sammy being one of them. BTW, many of the kids in his sub bracket are also 9th graders.

For my son wrestling 14U is the best option for him. No, not so he can win a State championship, rather so he can develop an get some mat time. 3-4 matches at subs and 3-4 matches at districts vs 1-2 in HS division is a no-brainer.

Just my 2-cents


ps - I won't use my name here, but feel free to PM me if you would like to know