Will,

I think one good outcome of more middle school programs in Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley and Olathe would be that we would also eventually see stronger JV wrestling in the area. Instead of first and second year wrestlers we would be seeing more third and fourth year wrestlers wrestling JV. That would ultimately improve both JV wrestling and varsity wrestling in our area. I realize finding enough good middle school coaches would be difficult but hopefully that would develop too with time. It would be a great opportunity for a local college graduate or current college student to start giving back to the sport that they love. I would like to see Jacob do something like that a few years from now. The bottom line benefit is that more middle school wrestling programs will get more kids and parents interested and involved in wrestling, so I hope more middle schools will follow Mill Valley and DeSoto and add middle school programs.