I can only speak from my experience. All 9 middle school in KCKPS have school wrestling. I coach wrestling at Coronado Middle School. It is maybe the greatest experience to have a team full of kids who have never wrestled or seen wrestling before but know that because they go to Coronado they have a tradition of uphold and they got to wrestle.

I coach at the smallest middle school in KCK. Only 7th and 8th graders can wrestle and each grade has about 110 students total. On an average year I will get 40 kids out for wrestling and on great years 50 kids. In the past 8 year the school has a Dual record of 55-9. I actually think starting kids to wrestling around the 5th-6th grade is a great time to get them. To some degree at that point in time wrestling could be something they want to do as opposed to being forced to wrestle at age 4-5-6.

There have been years where we practiced in the cafeteria and used two full mats or more for practice. Kids especially at the middle school age naturally love to wrestle.

There are two problems with wrestling in KCK (I dont personally like to use the terms Johnson County or Wyandotte County but thats a whole other topic).

1) Not enough competent middle School coaches. Kids can always tell if u dont know what u are talkin about. they will find that one little crack in your scheme to convince them that your a wrestling genius when you really dont know how to tie your wrestling shoes.

2) Not enough Kids Club. I would be wrong but there are only 3 kids clubs that practice in KCK WYCO (N 59th Street) and Piper (N 110th Street) and Turner (S 55th Street) << Bonner Spring is also in the county on approx. 136th Street>> there 4 clubs service a population of 158,000 people.

There are 4 clubs in the county and 4 school districts.

Turner - Turner
WYCO - KCK
Piper - Piper
Bonner Springs - Bonner Spring


As much as i love coaching kids. I have been coaching at the high school level for 3 years now. Because of this it is very hard for me to do very much at all with the WYCO program (notice you dont see us at any tournaments anymore). So take us out the loop and there are no true full time clubs in KCK. So our high school wrestling programs are full of kids with no prior wreslting experience.

Look at this years Schlagle team. Can you point out the kids with kids club experience... Marcus Walker state runner-up, Freddie Drone SQ and 5A Topeka West Regional Wrestler of the year, and Elijah Ming SQ. If you look at Harmon, Turner, Piper (Derrick Weller for example), and Bonner they are all similar in the fact that they are lead by quality wrestlers with club experience and we don't have enough opportunities in KCK.


<< ADVERTISEMENT >>
If anyone want to help coach or become a head coach at the WYCO Club let me know we actually have a very good wrestling field house with a new weight room that when u walk inside you say WOW!!!
<< END OF ADVERTISEMENT >>

I had more to say but I'm tired of typing...