I dont think shortening the season will keep kids interested. Lets face it wrestling is not the sport for everyone. Many 6-8 year olds try it and find out it is not their thing. There are so many options for kids these days as far as sports. At a younger age kids are just trying out many different sports to find out wich ones they enjoy the most. Lots of kids do both basketball and wrestling but when they get older they are forced to choose. When kids reach Middle School and High School the majority have narrowed down what sports they will compete in .

I disagree. I think that if the season was shorter, more kids would be willing to try the sport of wrestling in the first place and more may find that they enjoy it. As it is right now, there are many parents and kids who just don't want to commit to 5 months out of a year for a sport. Yes, I hear all of you saying "they don't have to go to all the tournaments" and "they can decide to shorten the season on their own" but you know and I know that it isn't that easy. We DO advise many of our younger kids and parents to take a weekend or two off and some do. But, there are still the practices, the team meetings, the volunteer coaches giving up their time ect. (and speaking of coaches, I think you would find more willing people to help if they didn't have to worry about the long season as well)

If the season was only from say January 1st to March, I think you would find MORE parents who would be willing to make the sacrifice to drive their kids to practices and tournaments. In addition, you would have more options on tournament choices, less weekends to schedule, and so would be able to choose one closer to home. Wrestling is also a very expensive sport by the time you figure the cost of gas and the cost of meals for a family at an all-day tournament. By shortening the season, you are also saving the family money making it more enticing as well.

I do know that there are some that choose another sport over wrestling but I am curious as to why? If they started to wrestle at the age of 6 and "loved it and can't wait to go" like all the parents talk about, why do they leave? It can't all be because they just like another sport better, that's the easy answer. The tough answer is why did they like it better?

Finally, WHY DOES KIDS WRESTLING HAVE TO BE LONGER THAN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE? Is there a valid reason it is this long? If there was, surely the colleges and high school programs would increase their schedule as well. But there is not. It is just that there were a few parents and clubs who felt they could get an edge if they started to practice earlier than another club forcing that club to do the same and vice versa until all clubs started to practice earlier and earlier. And then you have clubs who feel "we could make a lot of money on our tournament if we had it before everyone else" and started to schedule them earlier and then another club said "they made X amount of money on their tournament, let's do the same thing but make it even earlier" and vice versa. Than, before we know it, we are at the point where the season has been extended beyond what it should be. There are tournaments in November and this year, you will find clubs having "preseason" tournaments in October. Before long, you will see clubs advertising tournaments in September and clubs starting to practice in September so "they can stay competitive and go to the preseason tournaments".

So I ask you, is there really a valid reason the season is as long as it is?

Great and well thought out post Mom4!

I agree a lot of it seems about gaining a competitive edge and about clubs making money! It seems ... that is the American way!

Now, I'm off to the tourney in Ottawa where I hear they have 1,000 kids ... sounds like fun!!

It is a long season, but a fun season. Even before the Kansas season our 8u went down to OK to compete in tournys down there that start before the ones up here and we had fun. Now after folkstyle season is over he will be wrestling freestyle/greco as well as playing baseball. As for college kids there are tournys almost all year long for them in freestyle/greco and other international styles.

Yes! Because that is what the over-whelming amount of parents want. Otherwise, they would all just do the right thing by their children and not enter them in the qualifying tournaments.

You can do about any sport year round if you want,so if you dont want to, DONT!!!

I think that the novice tournaments stop a few weeks before the open ones do and if a kid is just trying wrestling out for the first time it doesn't matter their age, they are novice for the first two yrs. Trying it out, doesn't mean they have to go to subs, district or state. The novice parents have a couple of yrs of shorter seasons to see if it's for them or not.

you are right nmeditz. but just read the post with the title like by the numbers and you will see that some parents don't like to think of their wrestlers as Novice even when they are 6U.

I don't think it is necessary to worry about when the season ends (although I do think the folks that would like to compete at the national level or in freestyle have a point about making it one week shorter). It is the START time of the season that worries me. That is what is making the season longer and longer. If EVERY club started practice and tournaments in January and then had subdistrict-district and state in March, the season would be just right.

As it is right now, the clubs can decide on their own when they want to start. And like I said in my post above, the vicious cycle of "starting earlier to be more competitive" is stretching out the season making it longer and longer year by year. I propose a rule that states when a club can start practices, just like in junior high, high school and colleges already have. That will help insure that the season doesn't continue to get so stretched out that most people don't even want to bother with joining or trying the sport of wrestling.

So what your sayin is you dont want to start so early so no one els should either?? do other sports have this rule also??Or are you scared you will lose the edege by starting later??
Still i dont see the problem ,if you dont want to go so long, DONT!

Yes, other sports at the junior high and high school level have this rule too. They do it to prevent over-aggressive coaches from scheduling earlier and earlier and to help keep things fair between the schools. I don't have the information about other clubs but I do know that in Salvation Army football, they have a start date for practices that has to be abided.

Look, I am just saying that if we leave it like it is, there will always be some club or some tournament that wants to schedule earlier and earlier forcing others to do the same to stay competitive. Yes, a club can start later but then they get the pressure from their parents wondering why they didn't start earlier like other clubs. And then those kids start competing in tournaments where other wrestlers have already gone to a few and so yes, they will have a slight advantage.

The point is, I personally feel that the long season is one of the reason's we lose some of the wrestlers and their families. Yes, they can quit early but many do not. This is what can lead to burnout. Again, is there really a VALID reason the season has to be as long as it is? If there is, please share it with me.

You have some that think the other way to,the season is over so now freestyle then greco.they wrestle year round Just becaus some think its to long dont mean it is for everyone. Heck i think basketball is stupid, but i dont care if they play it 24/7/365. Its up to mom ,dad & the kid.

We were at the kick off in November & a buddy of mine asked a coach from Team Gomes out of Illinois " When does your season start?" The coach replied "what do you mean? We practice 3x per week." It's hard to gain on your opponents skill level when you are working out equally, you gain on them when you are wrestling & he is playing baseball. Not for everyone, but shouldn't be restricted for those that want to wrestle longer.

I know that if we want to gain on the kids that are the top dogs in our bracket, we will have to summer wrestle/practice. There are a few of us that will be going to nationals in April and freestyle during baseball season (but not as a whole club). If my son says hes tired of wrestling, we will take a break. We only made it through two freestyle prac.'s last year and he was done.

just so all you people that keep saying if you start younger you will burn out in wrestling. maybe and maybe not. you take every sport out there and they dwindle at the highschool level. the reason is because they know that if they arent going to play then they do not even go out. most of the ones that make it in highschool level are the good ones. the not so good ones find something they are good at and do it. if your a fish on the wrestling mat do you really think your going to go out in highschool. thats right no way. if you stink it up on the basketball court are you going to go out in highschool. no. thats why some go play chess, manage some of those teams, or get a job. stop crying about the darn burn out. yes it happens but thats not the majority. Heck one of my best friends in highschool could have played college football but he had to get a job. it wasnt because of burn out. factor all those things in and thats why at the highschool level you numbers drop. do you have to be a genuis to figure that out.

This may be a bit simple minded, but I tend to think if a kid is raised a certain way they don't know any different. I don't care what sport my kids choose, they know that just like school they don't have an option, they will be involved in sports. I am a firm believer that kids sports build better kids both physically and mentally. They are more confident, more apt to be leaders and if they know it or not it builds better work ethics and decision making. I happen to love wrestling and think that it teaches the best life lessons of any sport going.
Burning out your kid can come from many factors, type of kid you have, type of parent you are, type of coach you get, but with the world today being so competitive in everything from sports, the workplace to reality t.v. if you truly want to give your kid the best shot, start them as early as feels right for you and yours.