I have to back up Mr. Wilcox. I happen to have a son that still has one more high school tournament to go, but up till now has had a somewhat successfull career. His high school summer wrestling can be summed up with a trip to Southern Plains camp, and 4 matches his freshman year at Smokey Valleys summer league. Fargo???? Heck, the kid has never been north of I-80.

Nick was 152 lbs as a freshman so you should know it was a battle from the start, but he had 400 plus kid matches of experience before he ever stepped foot on a high school mat. That foundation helped him survive the first couple years.

The rest of the story: Nick didn't spend all summer in a sweaty gym, but he wasn't on the couch eating donuts either. Almost every day for the last 6 years he has been cross training, doing something. Some say sucking weight in a hot gym pummeling with another kid, that doesn't want to be there either, is the only way to go. I say get out, practice some pass routes and be Russell Wilson for a day.

The other part of the equation: I look back at when Nick made his biggest gains as a wrestler. In the JH years he got exposed to people like Eric Akin. Even though it was just a few hours here and there, it made a HUUUUGE impact on his wrestling style. He was also fortunate to run across Nick Nothern his junior year. He had very few sessions with this guy but the impact....well you can judge for yourself. After Nothern I now look at film from Nick's freshman and sophmore years and can't believe how bad he used to be.

My point: No you arn't screwed if you don't go to Fargo. Get the experience early, work hard (stuff other than wrestling counts too), and don't be scared to expose yourself to smart people outside of the HS practice room.

D. Wuthnow