I'd rather lose with dignity than cheat like one wrestler I know. Even though he still lost most of the time, it royally T's me off. Is there anything you can do when a wrestler continually pulls hair, pulls the headgear, grabs the singlet and bites. I say continually I mean all of last year and now this year also. When the ref's were told the boy was warned but continued to do so. It is very frustrating!!!!! If the kid doesn't stop one of these days he is going to wrestle the wrong kid and get clocked, which I do not condone either. Is there a way to file complaints against wrestlers for such conduct?

My son must have wrestled the same boy. Last year a boy did pretty much the same stuff to my son and I would get so mad. But just keep telling your son/daughter to hang in there. I would like to see referee's watch for this kind of activity a lot closer but there is so much going on and the matches move so quick that these types of things are often overlooked. The boy I am referencing even did it at state and you would think he would have gotten caught there.
Good Luck and remember that those kind of wrestlers make up only a small percentage.

I believe that if a wrestler bites his or her opponent, he or she will be disqualified from that tournament. I know that my son has come home with numerous scratches, a black eye from an opponent gauging his eyes,and other marks of competition. I have seen refs give more warnings than points, and I have seen refs look the other way. From year to year, wrestlers change techniques, learn more rules, and get better, with the help of good refs. There are great refs and so-so refs, but they are only human and do the best they can. There is nothing worse then parents feeling their children have been cheated do to an emotional grapple, that only shows the kids that justifyng a loss is ok, but really it is extremely bad sportmanship.
However I do agree with wannawrestle, I would much rather my son lose with a little pride than win as a street fighter. Battle scars for some reason are a trophy for these older kids, and to say that they won on top of the scars is even better.

so, when a child looses a match at district, but still gets to state as the 4th seed,the fit that was thrown after words was the MOST and the WORST that I have EVER seen. Not just crying, but sobbing, throwing himself on the ground, kicking, screaming hitting himself in the head...I think the picture is painted . I honestly thought the kid did not make state, but I was told that he did. I thought that the scene this boy made was so totally out of line. It disturbed the wrestlers in the next match. Like I said this fit went on and on well into the next match. Where was this kids parents? He was on a 12 year old mat in the small gym in Ottawa. Who was this and where is he from? Did anybody else see this incident and was there any circumstances, and I thought that this type of behavior did not take place at the older age divisions. Why was this kid allowed to disturb the entire arena? It happened about 11:30-12:30. Loosing with dignity includes the actions that a competitor chooses to execute after the match is over. Sure maybe a few tears but in No WAY kicking,screaming,punching the ground and his own head,slamming doors,...a 2 year old fit!!!!! Get out of the sport if you cant handle the ups and downs. Best Reguards

i think it is good to loose with dignity than to cheat. i totaly agree with you. people that cheat show they know how, but dont know how to truly wrestle. i think that you should beat this guy, then show him that you dont cheat, and still won. good luck to everyone at state this weekend

loosing and knowing that the reason you lost was because YOU did not wrestle hard enough is an acceptional attitude. I commend athletes that can do this, I have seen many this year with that great attitude, knowing they did not wrestle hard enough and able to admit that. Cheating is not right, but I do think that the officials know their jobs and can identify an unauthorized move and call it as they see it. That is agreed. But loosing and putting blame on anything other than the real problem is loosing like a bad sport. There is NO PLACE in the arena for a tantram thats lasts and lasts, taking focus from any other matches in the same arena. :rolleyes:Actually I did not know who you were, but now I know . After reading your post, I can see where your blame rests and that is too bad. It is either the coach, the other coach, the timekeeper, the other wrestler, or the official. I had overheard other parents saying that your son did qualify 4th, that was how I knew he was going to state. That is an accomplishment in its self. Be happy, wrestle the best you can and move on. Is there actually a reason to be so upset when he qualified for state?

It's amazing how much wrestling can teach our kids about life...winning, losing and learning about how to deal with both. There's always some kid that's gonna cheat you.. and not get caught. He/she will pull hair, tear off headgear, stall, bite, whatever...you name it...we've seen and experienced it all. (We even have it on video) Sadly, there are too many kids in all age groups that fall into this category. And there's always that one referee who's not going to award the points the way they should be awarded or that ref who slaps the mat with a pin when it's really not one There's always that one inexperienced time keeper who can't keep up and those last 3 seconds were the difference between winning and losing. As much as this sport is "ONE on ONE"...as much as it is designed to create a more "level playing field" with age/weight divisons... there are still so many other human factors these young wrestlers must deal with besides who is actually the better wrestler. It's not always fair. It's not always right. But then, isn't that how life really is? Learning to deal with all of that, along with winning and losing gracefully while you accept all of the other stuff and deal with the reasons you won or lost is part of what makes this such a great sport for our kids to be involved in! Life's not fair...neither is a typical day at a wrestling tournament. Learning to deal with those facts continues to be a challenge!
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO MADE IT TO STATE. Let's pray for a good FAIR day on the mats and may the BEST wrestler(s) win!