Well I've noticed something kind of disturbing over the past several weeks. In a match that's close a kid gets in and is close to scoring and either goes out of bounds or does not finish a move in time and comes up yelling and screaming at the ref for points. Yes a time or two the points probably should of been awarded, BUT in EVERY match there were multiple times when that child did not finish a takedown or break away for an escape and THAT IS WHERE THE DIFFERENCE IN POINTS CAME FROM. NOT THE REF IN THE LAST SECONDS. Yes it is heartbreaking to lose a close match. But 99% of the time a close match is close because a child did not suck it up and simply finish the move. I think this hit me close this weekend at the Classic. I had a kid in a match who was tied up 2 - 2 with 30 seconds to go in the third. He's on bottom works to face, BUT doesn't break away. Instead he fights to the legs and doesn't get the take down, or does he get the escape. When the match is over and he comes up thinking he's won and then realizes he never scored he threw a little bit of a fit at myself and the ref. I quickly ended the fit and promptly told him to suck it up and finish the match. Shortly after he lost in double OT. Same thing happened in the 12U 105lb match I believe. As coaches and parents we need to take some of the pressure off of the referee's and start making our kids/wrestlers take some responsibility in simply not getting the job done. Out of 10 close matches I coached before noon yesterday 6 went to OT, 2 went to Double OT, and 2 were settled by 1 point. There were so many great matches at the classic it was unreal and I hate to see such great future wrestlers tarnish their image, in a moment of adrenaline at the end of a match.

"Excuses are the nails that built the house of failure" - one of my favorite quotes!

"If you blame others for your failures, do you give them credit for your achievements?"-That comes from my 13 year old daughter.