There is nothing for me to fight. You whine and post no facts. I posted a link to your stand up comedy routine and you call that bullying?? You claim Eric should step down because he is bias? He works for Shawnee Mission East's wrestling program and attends tournaments all over the state, sponsor's trips for kids (which btw, there wasn't a single SJA kid on the Colorado trip this year) and all of this for what?? So a punk like you can jump on here and run your mouth? Do you realize the rankings were done by coaches from within the classification, do you think they were not bias?? Give me a break. It was obviously apparent a few years back that one of the rankers was sandbagging his own wrestlers by NOT ranking them. I challenge YOU or anyone to rank and try to be as accurate as Eric. It is NOT going to happen so put a lid on it STEVE. I reviewed your posts and if there is an obvious bias here it is your dislike of the SJA program and I presume me. You can continue to make false accusations and look pitiful or you can apologize to Coach Medina and become a productive poster. This stream was about classification splitting until you made it personal. That is not going to be constructive in any way. You did not state your opinion, you made a blatantly false accusation. Maybe you should focus on your stand up routine and see if you could be funny without dropping f bombs that way Bill wouldn't have to remove the link.

Kit & Doug,

I am really uncertain why you guys think it so odd that wrestling was not split while the other sports were... I mean 321A wrestling is combined and not split like all of the other sports? I guess I wouldn't mind knowing the process that took place but at the same time I think there is an overwhelming majority that is thankful for NOT splitting and further watering down Kansas wrestling.

From my previous post....

"In smaller schools especially, all sports are in essence competing to attract the most athletic kids to be in our programs. This challenge is now even harder when most every other sport in our schools now are competing against 31 teams for their state trophies....especially our winter sports counterpart, basketball."

I think there is one question you have to answer before you can decide about the classifications and the number of state tournaments.....

What do we want to determine the most....individual state champions or team state champions?

The answer to that question will then help determine the scope, magnitude and size of the venue needed for a state tournament.

In My Opinion, if we wanted to emphasize a team state championship and we used a dual meet format to determine the champion, then it would be much for feasible to develop a fairly low cost, all class format that would culminate with the top 8 teams in the state going to wrestle in one location. Similar to how the state does soccer (yes it is still in classes but we could change that).

By the way, I personally think that is how we guarantee wrestling stays in the Olympics also.

Shawn Budke

So you are saying kids will only participate in sports they feel like they have a chance to win a championship in? Your rationale is that kids will find the path of least resistance to winning and that will motivate them to compete?

The selling points for wrestling are that YOU earn your own spot by being the BEST at your weight class. The coach doesn't handpick and it doesn't matter if you are cutting or not cutting THE WRESTLER gets to pick what weight he wants to compete in and establishes that through the wrestle off. There are no politics or booster clubs in the coach's ear whispering who should start for the betterment of the program.

Your competition, now more than ever, is the almighty DOLLAR. Kids want to work to have material things and impress their peers not through athletic prowess but by being the one most with the best or most toys. Not many want to push themselves beyond their normal limits as athletic greatness. The solution is to market and glamorize these accomplishments. A wrestling coach has to highlight ALL of the pros and he has to partner with the football coach, as we all know KSHSAA's rules have made football the king (along with TV and the attraction to violence), in order to fill a team. It is up to parents and educators to push our kids because it is a tough world out there. The only easy way is the unemployment line. Selling, marketing, motivating, and instilling strong values is the only way to go. Watering down and pussifying is sure fire formula for destroying character building and individual work ethic.

Will, you speak the truth, I am going to have you write the foreword to my new book, The Lowest Common Denominator. Unfortunately what Kit speaks of is true and yes kids do tend to follow the path of least resistance, often following the map given to them by their parents.

A "Billosophy" I often remind people of is that rivers get crooked by following the path of least resistance and the reason that the Grand Canyon is "Grand" is because that river said, "I'm going this way instead. It will take more time and be a lot of hard work, but it will be rewarding when I am done."

Maybe we have to work harder and not just open the door but grab them by the hand to pull them through it. Like most things in life you get out of it what you put into it. It seems that public school way, in Kansas, is to keep finding ways to make education and extra curricular activities EASIER because there is no way we should expect kids to learn work ethic. That might come from the administration mentality of just ask for more money and the taxes will magically go up to pay for anything we want and yes I said WANT not need. Even rivers have been controlled and maintained so it would seem there is a way to make it happen but it takes a consensus. Capitalism and good hard work to earn it just might be becoming obsolete.

Couple of points:
1) We can not pull them through the door. I have watched Will try and fight this battle for years and I see no improvement on Coaches working with kids, allowing wrestlers to participate at Tulsa or other tournaments during High School Season, classes being united, or a dual tournament. Maybe this needs to be attacked differently.

2)I am not 100% sure that it is the kids that are wanting to water down the classes. The kids are not the ones that get to vote, the coaches do. I am suggesting that, the coaches are the ones that are wanting a State Championship so bad that they are voting to water it down so they can feel accomplished. It's not a kid problem but a Administration problem. Bring home a State Championship boys.

3) You can not make kids want to TRY, to WORK HARD, or to SUCCEED. If this has not been instilled in them in a young age, only the parents can be blamed. It's not the kids fault. They are not causing the Pussification of America. They are the results of Parents who never made their kids TRY, WORK HARD, and SUCCEED.

We need to be attacking the problem. School Administrators, Parents, and High School Coaches. Not the Kids. The Kids are just a product of how Adults are acting.

Very Well said, most of the time a kids problems or shortfalls to succes are directly related to one of the 3 you mentioned.

Why do I need to be attacked "I hope you mean certain coaches and not "ALL" Coaches. And just so you know... I have never been approached by KSHSAA to vote on anything over the past 10 years of coaching.

I am not addressing "ALL" Coaches. I am addressing any coach that encourages their Athletic Directors to Vote to water down the classes even more. We will never know which coaches encouraged this ridiculous split in 4A, but these are the coaches I am speaking of. Football, Basketball, Baseball, or any other sport.

Now Coach Church I know that you and your team is willing to take on all competition so I am not speaking to you. But, any coach that is offended by my statements and feels the need to defend themselves...I'm probably speaking to them.

LOL... I know Beeson! Hence me putting a smiley face in there! All is good! I knew exactly what you meant!