Has anyone else encountered parents that are poor sports? I've recently witnessed this firsthand. Why is it when your child is fortunate enough to win a match against their son, those parents decline to make eye contact or even acknowledge you? Before the matches, there is alot of smalltalk. I'm not talking about a random encounter, this has happened with kids we've wrestled against for 3 years now. Lets face it, when you wrestle in a particular area, you see the same people each and every weekend.

Anyone else encountered this? Am I being overly sensitive? Have we forgotten that this is a KIDS sport?

The wrestling community is a family, not just the parents and their kids that wrestle, but the coaches, the referees, the volunteers and the spectators that come out to watch our kids wrestle. Sure there will be some people that rub you a little wrong at times. If you stick around wrestling long enough, you will find out that there are a lot of great people involved in this sport. I have come to enjoy the interaction that I have with these people as much as I enjoy watching my sons wrestle.

I'm sure everyone of us have encountered it at some point in time. I would suggest you let it go. No matter how much we say it's about the kids some people will never understand what that truely means.
Many years ago I had to tell my best friend that his boys were not meant to wrestle. I didn't arrive at that idea based on their performance on the mat but rather dad's fits after losses. I believe wrestling IS for every kid. On the other hand, wrestling is NOT for every parent or coach!

Many years ago I had to tell my best friend that his boys were not meant to wrestle. I didn't arrive at that idea based on their performance on the mat but rather dad's fits after losses. I believe wrestling IS for every kid. On the other hand, wrestling is NOT for every parent or coach! [/quote]

that is very unfortunate, please tell me you didn't punish the kids for their father's actions!

yeah, don't spend too much time worrying about it. sometimes directly after the match isn't the time to talk to a wrestler either. if nothing else it sounds to me like you got yourself a good old fashioned rivalry. i love those.

Taking into consideration that rivalry has fueled my wrestler for years and rivals of yesterday have become some of our best friends! I mean that literaly. One of my sons biggest rivals for a couple of years, Jonny acually spent like 3 days of christmas vacation in topeka with him and his family. And those Friendships forged in fire will be the ones that will last throughout thier lives. A mutual respect for each other is found and bond that will never break. And that goes for parents to Another Family of our closet friends I met when my son ALEGEDLY poked thier son in the eyes during a match ALEGEDLY! Afterwords I was nose to nose with an upset mother. Don't let it both you what so ever.

Alegedly thats funny! My kid always spins in circles holding his hand over his eye as he runs out of bounds crying. Its a move he has learned in his many hours of traninig. If he didnt get poked in the eye he has a very bright future in acting!!

Just an well thought stalling plan! Burning the clock

We could do it over but i dont want to spend the money for a pair of goggles for just one match.

I have seen both sides of bad/great sportsmanship. My son has wrestled a couple of the same kids for 5 years. One of them is on his facebook and they talk regularly. They scrap on saturday and leave it on the mat. My favorite picture of this year is of my son and another rival of his standing with their arms around eachothers shoulders, both bleeding and smiling after a tough match with eachother. It doesn't get any better than that. The good far out weighs the bad.

i always think it's best when a rivalry can't be settled by the kids, that the parents have a tag team match. use it as a fundraiser, bring in a special guest referee, have the kids coach each corner. i do like the whole "we're friends now" approach, keep your friends close and your enemies, i mean, rivals closer.

As long as the special guest referee knows C.P.R and has a crash cart available, there are three 15 second periods, and they relax the rules about having beer on school property, then I am all for lacing them up and proving just how rediculous parents can be.

we can do all that in my back yard, the beer rules there are much more relaxed than at school. we also have boxing gloves for when someone just can't "let it go". it was great on the 4th of july when my 2 UNINVITED neighbors showed up and wanted to fight. i brought out the gloves and said that i would ref, 5 3min rounds, they both decided to go back home.

I will be there enter me in the 50&under 210 bracket. C is my seperation critera.

50 and under goes straight to 275.

GLOVES come on we only need the gloves for the first 30 sec. Any thing after that the Oxygen mask will pad the punches. And keep us alive, well SOME WHAT?

we only have two classes big beer gut and super big beer gut. it's no fun to fight them guys with flat bellys, they are too hard to catch.

I, for one, am glad to have the camaraderie that we experience in wrestling. It was good to see Lee back at 'ringside' after a year of putting it all on the line in the service of our country. It wasn't so good to see him back in the opposite corner, as his influence probably played at least a minor role in his boy givin' lessons to mine on the mat this past weekend. Nevertheless, it didn't stop me from congratulating him and pointing out the progress I have seen from these two kids as we watch them grow with the sport.

Thankyou Jon. It means alot to hear that. Same goes for me. Jon is a great kid, and your not so bad either. lol

The sentiments....wow guys! lol

This sport is so unique on lifelong friendships that it cannot compare to any other sport. We have a 22 yo who wrestled through college and now a 9 yo. The friendships that even my 22 yo is making with some of you (calling you out CBR) is incredible. It is a big family the Wrestling family that is pretty tight and yet loosely loving and forgiving for the most part. These days should be treasures as part of your family time on Saturdays and increasingly on Sunday's....the rivalry will move a little when in HS as we split into different "divisions" 321A; 4A; etc. Take a picture of your young wrestlers now --- they're so fun to look back upon in 10 and 15 years of those spontaneous moments when you caught them just hanging together.

And definitely remember those kids that were the "easiest to beat" can sometimes turn into the toughest to beat in HS.

Just my .50 cents.