One thing that I noticed about the Kansas Youth Wrestling System is the lack of a true "rec wrestling system". I know that we have novice tournaments but that still requires some type of commitment from the parents. Weigh-ins the day before, a USA card, etc. I know some other states still have tournaments where you don't need a card, you weigh in that morning, and they put you in a group of 4 and you wrestle. These kids would go to practices usually put on by the high school and often the high school kids would coach the kids at the practices. They might wrestle for 6-8 weeks or whatever. The club kids were the kids that were committed and all in. Without the rec system there are a lot of kids that don't try wrestling or at least stop going after 6U or 8U. If a kid is on the mat learning, even if not at an intense level since they are a youngster, they still could be pretty tough in high school. They have a understanding of their hips, basic fundamentals, etc. It seems like we are a very top heavy state with a lack of depth. I am sure there are many factors to this but my theory is that the absence of a rec system could be one of those main factors.