A thread on the High School forum inadvertantly turned toward an old discussion on this forum. Yes, I posted my thoughts on the subject and remember posting my position on this forum a few years back. I don't see as many spirited discussions on this forum as I did a few years back so maybe this will rekindle the fire a little bit.

What is your postion on this topic? If a wrestler can finish off their opponent by fall when the opportunity presents itself, should they? Or, should they work on their moves and give their opponent more mat time as well? I am curious what the forum members think today. It doesn't matter what your position on this topic is, what matters is what you believe and why. I know what my position has been and it has not wavered. Fire away!

Great topic. My coach when I was a HS wrestler would limit me to about 3-4 takedowns if I was the superior wrestler in matches. He would then give me a signal to finish the match and put the other guy away. Problem is I would get only about 1-1:30 minutes of mat time. The problem for myself was by the time I was a junior and senior most of my matches were this even out of state tourneys so it was difficult to find the right amount of mat time for larger tournaments at the end of the year and in the spring. Looking back now almost 20 years I agree with what my coach asked me to do and I always respected his wishes as I would not want to bring discredit among myself, team, community, or him killing me afterwards. But once a wrestler is at an high/elite level it is really tough to balance between the need for quality mat time and knowing when it is time to put a kid away if you have the ability to do so.

Any time you are on the mat in competition you should try and get off the mat ASAP is what my coach told me. You always risk getting injured while practicing or in competition no need to practice while in competition and risk it. Got in trouble for doing it had to run extra after practice but I was always in trouble and running after practice anyway

Lets say I am glade my son was taken down and let up many many times over. It taught him how to cope with the stress of having no control. It also taught him how to keep his composer in stressful times and push though it.With out having some boys do this to him he would never be to the level he is today.
As for him taking people down and letting them go. Lets say he has to be real mad or working on some thing.He will now some times to work a set up.

Charles Bradford

I used to encourage my son to do this for the same reasons MRGRAPPLER noted. It's seemed like a waste of time to go to a tournament and mow through everyone quickly. That said; I don't let my son do it anymore. There isn't any quality mat time by taking a kid down and letting him up 6 times before you finish him. In the end it humiliates the opponent, pisses off the refs and just isn't a good look. I think there is more dignity in finishing off a lesser opponent quickly than making him look bad in front of his family and friends. I'm not going to judge anyone for doing it but I can't, in good conscience, justify this practice for more mat time. Spend more time at practice if you want mat time or go to tougher tournaments.

Nathan, I agree with you, always have and always will. Who cares how much time you spend on the mat in a tournament? Your job is to try to win, compete the best you can, wrestle as hard as you can, and when the opportunity presents itself, pin your opponent. Practice is for practice, tournaments are for doing the best you can and if that means pinning your opponent in the first period, that is what you should do.

I think if you have enough skill to manhandle an opponent, go for it. Also, I know from experience some kids do it not because they want to humiliate their opponent or make themselves look good, just to try and break school takedown records or something like that.