First off this isn't a complaint, if parents/coaches want to bracket dodge have at it. To me it just shows the lack of confidence in your wrestler and weakness.

But the question is:

In districts in the near future this will come up if people continue to watch TW closely at other districts. There will be a match that both wrestlers will want to injury default to get on the side of the bracket they want to at state.

I know that sounds out there but it will be an issue at one point. Until the state match ups are drawn, hidden, random whatever this will be a trend in the future.

I like to look up the kids and profiles as much as anyone, but to use that information in this way seems wrong to me.

So again the question is "How will it be handled when both competitors want to injury default a match in the district finals?"

It would not bother me to see it go to random draw district matchups, but all I can say is this: Pulling crap like that will come back and bite you. If you aren't willing to wrestle the best, you'll never be the best. The best thing would be to seed them, but you know what kind of hornet's nest that would stir up trying to seed them.........Everyone wants to see the 2 best kids in the finals. Someone smarter than me will have to figure out how......

I like the random draw with the information to be released after districts myself.

What if District 1 and 2 randomly draw each other in the first round a few years in a row? The default is so CS that I cannot imagine anyone admitting they did it. "We know we can't beat Joey so we are going to default the finals to give us a better shot at making the finals." The dad or coach who says that should be caned!

Luck if the draw I guess, but put a limit on 2 yrs in a row if drawn that way.

I would be in favor that a random alignment for X many years that makes no sense and can't be predicted.

I heard more at district of fellow coaches/dads saying how it would be better to finish here or here because of Johny is going to win that side and we can advance a round past him.

I called them crazy and told them to man up.

I have been doing this kids game since we didn't even know who was registered, won placed or anything at any tournaments. I guess it is the old school in me of wrestle who they put in front of you no matter what.

I know even in those days there was matches thrown to avoid someone tough, with TW it is just that much easier.

I would love to see a random draw every year. If you get the bad luck draw every year, make your own luck and just and wrestle.

This is another reason I do not like entries being released before subdistricts. It ALLOWS kids to move away from kids that they don't want to wrestle. I love it when a kid moves to get away from a kid, and that kid they are trying to avoid also moves, along with 3 other tough kids, and that "running" kid doesn't make it out of subdistricts..........

I am in agreement with no disclosing entries as long as the Club Directors will take the time to validate their entries so we don't have some kids getting left out. Releasing the informatation allows the parents to verify that their wrestlers are in the correct age and weight group and that they have been entered. Every year, in the past, we have a wrestler or a few who get lost in the shuffle.

I think that is easily solved. Email them to at least 2 people from each club, and if they don't respond, we take it as an OK!

We don't have to email it. Each club has a signon and password that limits them to only their entries. They can print it out and hand it to every parent or give out the information to every parent. I just hate it when a kid gets inadvertently left off and we don't find out until after the seeding meeting is over.

Your kid wrestle all season, and then you looked at the entries and were surprised to see someone? Entries released or not my wrestler had pretty good idea who could be in his bracket at state. But with upsets and bad days you never no who is going to come out on top.

I have to Admit I've have acually heard about people doing this and though I would never allow it. i don't know that i would enjoy seeing any kid get a dose of crushed goals. If my son Acually came out and said "i don't want to wrestle Billy Joe I going to 75lbs" The next thing he would see is him name on a 75lb bracket! now all through the state qualifing tounaments I Did tell him You better wrestle you butt off cause if you lose districts and end up on the other side in the quaters wrestling kids you don't want to wrestle til the finals if you can help it. But staying on the front side is always the plan.

random draw is a great idea.

Random draws are fine with me. I would also consider eliminating wrestlers being able to change weights from what they are entered at from the beginning. It should be the clubs' responsibility to get them entered correctly to start with (I think the entries are far enough out that you could send them a list to have corrected if needed before the week of Subs). If the argument against this is Jimmy just had a big growth spurt, that is unfortunate. We see enough kids cutting down 6-10 pounds before they even start their high school careers. Enter them at the weight they say they want to wrestle, let the clubs validate what they entered them at, and then hold them to it.

Our team had a perfect example of this "moral dilemma!" We were faced with knowing that if we won Districts (Which we did) we would be wrestling against the other great wrestler in our bracket.

Turns out the top side of this bracket was not very tough at all. Both Semifinalists we respectively pinned by the bottom side in the finals and the consolation finals. The two best kids wrestled in the semifinals.

We were aware of the situation we were in ahead of time and chose to face the fire head on. I believe its bad karma to dodge people for a better place in the bracket. No we didn't win, but we are proud we did it the right way. We taught our kid a valuable life lesson. Never run, dance, or fake your way around competition. If we had "defaulted" or "threw" a match to arrange a final it would be the worst precedent to set for our team and Kansas Wrestling as a whole.

Stay true to the spirit of competition coaches and parents!!!!

Great post, and you and your wrestler chose the right path.

Great topic Tracy! Random draws each year sounds like a great idea!! This has happened to us the last couple years.

No system is going to be perfect. However, I don't think a random draw is the best course of action for the state meet. In the bracket my son was in, there were 8 really good wretlers. If you had a random draw, you could end up with all 8 good wretlers on one side of the bracket. If you want to see what can happen where there is no seeding and things are a random draw, check out some of the brackets from Brute last year.

I didn't realize until my son was almost finished wrestling that had he lost his first match he wouldn't have been faced with the prospect of wrestling (possibly)3 '09 state champions before even making it to a position to place. When he didn't make it into the finals I told him he had some serious decisions to make before the next season.
I would hate to think that throwing a match to wrestle up the "easy" side of the backside would even be a consideration. His Dad summed it up pretty well. He said.... You have the desire to win. You just need to have a greater desire not to lose. Wrestle harder, wrestle smarter, face the competition head on, hold your head up and walk off of the mat knowing that you did the best that you possibly could.
See you all next season... I'll let you know how that random draw thing goes at Brute!