Sitting on a lead...

It appears to me that this is getting to be a major problem in our sport. Wrestlers are not wrestling to score the whole match! I see time and time again when a match is lost in the 3rd or OT because a wrestler was protecting his lead or wrestling not to lose. Guys, this is a disaster waiting to happen! Move your feet and attack! Get your head off of the mat and make a move to get away off bottom! Switch sides and get off the hips. Work for a fall when on top!

That is my advice to all who want to be on top of the podium this coming Saturday night! Good luck to everyone in Hays, Salina, and Wichita!

Well said Will. I am concerned with the amount wrestlers who sit on a lead instead of putting the nail in the coffin and pouring it on. Several of the Oklahoma State Duals I have been to this year have shown me it is not just a High School problem. Why would a wrestler sit on a lead and keep his opponent in the match when they could really pour it on and win convincingly? Wrestlers, Dominate your opponenent. Don't be happy with a 1 or 2 point win.

As Will said, Good luck to all wrestlers this weekend. It's easier to be lucky when you are working hard.

I agree with Will, but here is one time that being aggressive with a lead probably wasn't the best thing to do. 1987 NCAA Championship at 126 - Brad Penrith, Iowa vs. Bill Kelly, Iowa State. A rather tough weight class that year with the likes of Penrith a future World Silver medalist, Ken Chertow a future Olympian, and Kendal Cross a future Olympic Gold medalist. Ironically Cross is the one that did not place that year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QNXMoahKE

There is a difference in being overly aggressive to score and being "safe" to score.

My boy has had to learn that lesson the hard way and still struggles with it today. He has improved his approach to keep working but working highly successful and safe type moves.

Sitting on a lead is different than quit working at all and just "holding on" for the win.

Bonus points from falls and major decisions win team championships.

I haven't spent any time on the national collegiate forums for several years but the east coast fans used to refer to that type of wrestling as "Oklahoma" style. I question if the riding clock isn't somewhat to blame.
How about a scoring system that rewarded aggressive wrestling by awarding more team points for wins that are achieved further into the front side of a bracket, by major, superior, or falls? It would seem that a fall in the finals should be worth more team points than one that occurs in the first match. Not sure how complicated this would make keeping team scores.

I'm sorry if you have the chance to pin the kid or tech fall him, get it done!!! How many team titles have been lost by a 1/2 point? Wrestle to the end.

I know of at least ONE state individual title lost by not going for the fall. Perhaps we should rethink recognizing wrestlers for setting records in so many categories. For example, I HATE watching a superior wrestler ridicule his opponent merely to achieve as many takedowns as possible.

Take them down and pin them!

Push out rule like in freestyle?S talling call or 2nd injury time opponent gets to pick the position when wrestling starts again? I like both of these any other ideas?

Agree 100%, the catch and release should only be used when fishing.

Even better idea. Get rid of the records. Only thing that should matter is win/loss record. Who honestly really cares how many takedowns you get. What is it that people look at most. Your Win Loss record. All other records should go by the way side

I recall this discussion going on a few years ago on the Youth Forum. There were some (like me) that said you need to pin your opponent as soon as you have the chance. There were also others who were concerned about not having the opponent embarrassed, allowing their opponent to get more mat time, having their wrestler get more mat time (practice), etc. Is this a different discussion from the youth program to the high school program? I still stand by my thoughts on this, practice is where you get practice, meets are where you finish off your opponent as soon as you can if you have the chance.

I don't believe sitting on a lead is the same thing as pinning as soon as possible. Sitting on a lead is winning by 1 or 2 points and not continuing to score by being safe. Which will always bite you in the butt sooner or later. The best defense is always a good offense.

And every tournament is practice til state. Wrestlers in the room get used to wrestling each other. Opening up on strangers on the mat gives you the chance to hone and fine tune your skills.

This is Will's post. Sitting on a lead…Work for a fall when on top! That is the start and the finish of the post. Then his last post in the thread, "Take them down and pin them!" I just piled on with how I feel about "practicing" during a match and going for the end state when you can. I know the match he mentions in his post as well, could have been a State Championship that year if the wrestler would have finished business early on instead of "practicing".

Mr. Trowbridge, I know that you have a special wrestler on the mat and he must have accomplished everything he has by working extremely hard. I saw him wrestle a few times and he is mighty solid. I would be very proud of him too if he was my son. My son wrestled to finish a match as soon as he could, if and when he had the chance. I don't think it took anything away from how he wrestled at the end of the day. He only accomplished what he did by practicing in practice and wrestling his best when had to face an opponent that wasn't in his practice room every day.

What are your thoughts if a guy is winning by 10-14 points in a state tournament setting. Start of the 3rd period and the wrestler or the coaches put him on the bottom. Note: he has not been on the bottom all match in the first 2 periods. I have witness the wrestler leading get pinned several times. That result I blame on the coach or the wrestlers decision.

I would agree. If you already have a comfortable lead and have obviously controlled the match there is no reason to pick bottom in that situation. Lots of people choose bottom simply because that is what they always do and it seems like the right thing to do. I personally would pick top in that scenerio.

Wining is the objective of wrestling. Pinning is the goal. Pinning an opponent takes away all doubt / question who won the match. Pinning is the ultimate. Pin your opponent at the first opportunity and don't look back. Move on to your next opponent. It is more insulting to play with an opponent and easily tech fall them than to just pin them quickly. IMHO. I also agree that wrestling defensively to protect a EARLY lead usually backfires. Wrestling defensively to protect a 2-3 point LATE with 30 seconds remaining.....that is a different and possibly smart strategy.

You see sitting on the lead happening at the NCAA Division I level too. You see it at all levels of wrestling. Actually you see it in most sports where there is a risk element involved to being aggressive in scoring more. We see it in football games too. It is a strategy that probably actually works most of the times but it can backfire on the person or team in the lead as many of you have pointed out in this topic. You can probably do some rule changes that would make it more difficult in wrestling, but I do not think the strategy or practice will ever completely go away.