#1. A number times this year at Novice tourneys I have questioned the call made. Keep in mind, most officials do a great job. After I question a call, the statements I have heard are: "It doesn't matter, it is only Novice", "This isn't the Olympics". These are the same officials that count back points from their feet. Guys it is ok to be wrong. I have been wrong in a match and acknowledged the official after thinking it through. Keep an open mind and learn from your mistakes. On this matter, all I ask is please TRY. Give the kids same effort they are giving. Your acts can change a kids career.

#2. Stalling- more in regards to Open Tourneys. Stalling is rarely called. If someone is consistantly backing up and never attempting a shot, stalling should be called. I am used to a in your face type of wrestling and we teach it to our kids. Our kids are always shooting, but get penalized for it. I have seen it in other teams matches as well. Wrestling should be taught with constant movement with attacking. Officiating should help promote more action, not support blocking.

Have to add in here since I have seen these calls not being made several times in Novice tourneys and sometimes in Open tourneys as well.

Illegal holds: I counted 5 times in different matches where an illegal full nelson was put on a kid (if only for a brief moment in some and longer in others) This hold is not only illegal but is also dangerous and should be made taboo to even come close to making the hold in kids tournaments. A couple of weekends ago at the Valley Center novice is where I am talking about and I not only saw the illegal holds but also other coaches saw the holds as well, One instance where I was coaching a novice wrestler and the Opposing coach was yelling at the ref as well because his own wrestler had my wrestler in a full nelson for over 3 seconds. The ref argued that it was NOT a full nelson. Maybe more education on the young refs that help officiate in Novice tourneys is needed.

Unless Valley Center did something different this year their novice tournament officials are usually the high school wrestlers and are not certified.

If I remember right sportsfan, its true that Valley Center does use high schoolers to officiate.

I'm having a hard time beleiving that a high school wrestler from V.C. doesn't know what a full nelson is. There are some very quality wreslters at V.C. and quality meens knowing the rules. Its hard to be a good wreslter and not know what the rules are BUT I have seen a few jr. league coach's who sure didn't know what a full nelson is and i'm not trying to belittle anyone but if your seeing full nelson's over and over and haven't brought this to the attention of the head ref then there lyes the problem.

Yes I agree that the refs at the VC novice were high school wrestlers and they SHOULD know what a full nelson is, however, that is not always the case. I am just saying that when a move is deemed hazardous that it should be made taboo in kids wrestling. And when it comes to the "rules" the head ref cannot make a change in a match because of the "judgement" of the official on the mat. In other words, the Head ref did not see it so it is left up as a judgement callon the part of the mat official.

Decided to jump into the fire a little this morning. I agree that stalling, fleeing the mat, and a number of other things can and should be called more often. Another thing is to officiate to prevent these types of calls. I try to remind the wrestler to, “keep it in the center”, “circle in,” and remind them “you both have to work,” “work to pin,” or “work to escape.” I remind the kids a time or two, and that is it. I consider that preventative officiating, and if a wrestler abides they usually work. It helps on the out of bounds and restarts. With open kids an official has to call the calls. I know from experience that on a national level those calls get called a lot more and will affect a kids effectiveness on that level.

I believe that while the call is the call, you have to be little more lenient in novice.
I have had coaches get upset when I dinged a wrestler for continuing to back up in a novice division, but at the end of the year, these are things the wrestler should know. I am a little reserved to give a point in a novice division, but will and have. I actually gave one at Derby for fleeing the mat; in this situation, the wrestler drove his opponent off the mat. I explained the call to the coach when he asked, thinking that I had called an escape, and he replied, “oh, that is fine, make him wrestle.”

One of the things I would encourage coaches to do, not so much coaches who have been around the sport but parents who are learning the sport, is to learn the rules. I’m not saying that to be critical, but from experience. I know the need to be around the sport, be involved and realizing that it takes time to learn the rules, especially on issues like those mentioned on this thread. It is important to remind the wrestlers that once they have received a warning, then they have to pick it up. This weekend, I gave a wrestler on bottom in a tie situation a warning for stalling. That boy, a novice by the way, picked it up and didn’t stop. He kept on until he got the reversal with about 10 seconds to go in the match. At that point, the warning reaffirmed to the boy that he was better off wrestling than he was laying there not doing anything.

Regarding the full nelson and checking with the head ref I only meant you might want to let him know your seeing this but its not being called so that he might teach a young ref. Not to reverse a call at all thats not what i meant. Its for the safety of the kids.

I am so tired of "preventive officiating" the only thing it is preventing is making a call. When any official addresses one and only one wrestler as in "you have to work on bottom" this is nothing more than coaching. Any time an individual wrestler is addressed it should be accompanied with a warning. I can understand urging the novice but in an open tournament it's just taking the easy way out. Next stalling is a judgement call is correct but when a wrestler has to be spoken to this means the official realizes there is a problem and is using his "judgement" in the wrong way

Joe Dirt would absolutley hate a college ref if he is tired of preventive officiating. Good ref's will absolutley push a match and if telling a wrestler to work is coaching whats that say for coaching skills.

i've got a book by one of the top paid ncaa refs that addresses this issue maybe you should read it sometime.

in freestyle there are certain terms or phrases that can be used. "Open, present, zone" but other than that i've never heard of the term in folkstyle. if it is in the rule book i'd like to see that one. next, if you have a wrestler that's working his tail off and the official tells the other wrestler 4 or 5 times that he has to work wouldn't you be a little irritated. if we would teach our kids the style of constant action, well wouldn't that just be better than the official opening himself up to arguements or controversy?

I listened to a lecture by Dr. Pat McCormick ( scheduler for NCAA officials, and also a top NCAA official himself ) this past fall during the KWOA clinic. He made mention a few times about how officials should not "coach" specific participants during a match. He also said that it is important for officials to address both wrestlers with comments made. I younger kids matches at the kids level. In will certainly tell one wrestler or the other to improve their position.

By the time I get to the 12 year olds and older I don't use such comments unless im addressing both men. The only reason I do this with some of the younger kids is because they may not realize that they are in a stalling situation (usually because some of their coaches are screaming "cover the hips", and they never try to run a pinning move ). There are times to address wrestlers and there are times not to.

Officials should call the match according to the rule book. I have NEVER read where they are supposed to "encourage by rule". Hey if they aren't wrestling, call stalling!!

It only confuses wrestlers when officials start "encouraging" or "coaching."

Mike Streit
Sabetha

Okay, let me ask this? I was at Derby and I thought that if a kid got taken down and put on his back, he would have the chance to fight off of it.I'm not saying straight on his back. I know it's 2 seconds and it's a pin. I stood and looked at two matches where the kids went to roll thru and the ref.. called him pinned. Both coaches told the ref.. that the pin was called fast. His reply was that if both shoulder blades hit the mat at the same time it was a pin.I disagree with that. My boy has been wrestling for five years and I've been around kids wrestling for about twenty years, and I have never seen a ref.. call it like that. I'm just wondering what you all think??

I think if a kid is on his back and gets pinned that is on him. Litterally the rule is two seconds. Usually what you see is a kid who trys to roll out after they have already been pinned for two seconds, and then it looks like they were trying to fight.

Best thing is to stay off of your back and avoid the situation all together.