Husker Vince,
Maybe, maybe not. The MS wrestling in our area of the state, for the most part is basically novice level. Their is no standard for the season, not many weekend tournaments, and no team score was kept when schools dualed. The coaching, for the most part, is not very good and the wrestling I witnessed was what you would expect from 6U at a USA weekend event. If the goal of the program is to give an opportunity to those who otherwise would not try it, great. I think we should do anything we can to stimulate more interest. The problem is that these programs think that those who have been wrestling since they were six should also partake. These wrestlers do not fit in. No one gains when the match is 15-0 or a first period fall. These same experienced wrestlers are not allowed to compete on weekends, during the school's designated season, in USA or other non-school sponsored wrestling events. An experienced wrestler, such as your son was, might get four or five competitive matches in a two month season. If he was not in the program he could get twenty to thirty competitive matches. I subscribe to the wrestling the best makes you better philosophy and MS is about as far from that as you can get. The kids that need the program then harass the experienced wrestlers as do some of the coaches to participate. I believe the MS programs would be stronger and improve greatly if the experienced kids wrestled but not by wrestling inexperienced kids at the events. The practice rooms could use the experienced kids as could the coaches who haven't been exposed to some of the higher levels of wrestling that these experienced kids have been involved in. However, should these kids give up their opportunity to get better? I don't believe so. Again, another example of KSHSAA oppression