Bockman,
I posted this somewhere else but you might not have read it.

Jack Spates (Head Coach for the University of Oklahoma) would only let his two boys practice wrestling. He did not let them participate in any tournaments as he felt this would not be good for their development. Jeremy, his oldest son, tried to bribe his mother with his own money to get into a tournament. Finally Jack let them start when they were 12 (I beleive). Both went on to win many, many matches and tournaments. Jeremy was an NCAA All American. I only heard this story last summer but it made me take a much more relaxed approach to my youngest son. We, as parents, need to moderate the amount of experience (both winning and losing) so our kids have something to look forward to. We cannot let them have EVERYTHING today or there will be nothing that will drive them tomorrow.

These kids might want to go to state but it is best to dangle that out in front of them as something to stay in the sport to achieve instead of giving it to them today.

The long term goals should be the ones we, as parents, keep our kids focused on. I truly believe this.

bockman : please print out all of your post. Put them in a shoebox and open them up when your son is 10 or 12 years old.

Wrestling is a tough sport but it isn't always because a kid is not competitive like you say. There are many kids who have placed at kids state only to quit later on. I can give you a few names if you want but personal message me because I don't like saying names on a public forum. These kids quit because 1. they were tired of spending all day in a gym or 2. they were burned out by the pressure and their parents or 3. their friends are doing basketball and want to be with their friends or 4. they don't have the money, time, or family support to continue

You are so sure you are right about your son being left out but you REFUSE to listen to anyone else. That is no way to debate. You have to listen to both sides. Everyone here is trying to tell you that your son is NOT left out of wrestling. No one said he can not go to sub-districts, districts or state. He can enter and yes, he will have to go against some 8U but in some weight classes, he will be with mostly 6U kids. Show me the rule that says he can't go?

What people are trying to tell you is that maybe you need to consider whether having your son finish the season is the right thing to do. Only you can make that decision. But do listen to some of us who have been in this organization a lot longer than you. We have seen way too many kids drop out of wrestling after being pushed and pushed. We don't want to see another one.

Uhhhh point of order! Not "everyone" is trying to tell him that, just the majority that have responded to this thread. I don't care what his or any other persons reasons are for the need to inlude 6U at THE state tournament, there are plenty of people and clubs that agree that they should be there. In District 2 it was near unamimous.

I stand corrected.

Will, I didn't read your post before I posted mine. I should have just shut up. Your post says it all better than I could.

I would also like to add that Nolan Ryan said the same thing about his son and baseball.

. I don't care what his or any other persons reasons are for the need to inlude 6U at THE state tournament,


Like i said befor they are included its called 8 & under.

So you wouldn't care if your 10U had to compete in the 12U class?

?????? WHAT???????? why would they do that??? But i gess if you guys are going to start changing stuff ,you might as well put the 10s with the 12s , it makes the same amount of sence as dropping the 16s to ad 6&u when they already have a spot.

The point is that the state permits 6U to wrestle up in 8U at the Kansas Kids State Tournament. They are the ONLY kids that can move up an age group to wrestle. This is 6U's opportunity to wrestle in the present State Tournament Format.

It doesn't matter how many people want it or feel that they should be included, the present state format does NOT have room for another age group. You cannot drop 16U because this hurts the kids who didn't make varsity, didn't qualify for HS state, and they need mat time. Without HS wrestling there is no need for 6U wrestling. Even if you dropped 16U that would not make enough room because the number of fans, coaches, and wrestlers would still greatly increase over the present number. The fact remains, no matter how you feel, there are NOT enough hotel rooms to support the present format in Topeka so the tournament CANNOT grow.

Please be realistic. If there is substantial demand for 6U state to be a sanctioned event then create a plan to centralize the location and keep the 6U's by themselves. Have the tournament before the other age groups begin their qualifying series. Heck, really compromise and have it the Sunday after HS state or even before HS state. Then the 6U that are hard core can continue in 8U, open tournaments, or national events. The majority can be finished and not have the pressure of staying in until the end. They can go on to baseball, soccer, or whatever. A 6 year old should not have to chose just one sport. Shorten the season, create a tournament and then everyone can be happy.

maybe cokeley is partially right. maybe 6 and unders do need to be put on their own. these are the most special kids out of all the groups. so this is my proposal. this might even be up to ottawa to do this. I dont care who does it as long as the 6 and unders have a chance and are put with 6 and unders. lets just do our own subs and state just like everyone else does. you can name the tournament anything you want to. lets say we have a 6 and under state qualifier east and west. then have the actual state with smaller brackets the next week. I do think maybe this needs to be done sometime before the highschool state that way the season is shorter for the kids that do not want to continue and forced to wrestle against the 8 year olds. is there not a rule on how many matches a kid can wrestle in one day. i know there is in highschool. i would also maybe try this. those 6 year olds are special. lets maybe have a 2 day tournament if we stick with the 64 man brackets. lets give them what they deserve and then maybe that will entice them to keep on wrestling.

Go with it bockman sounds good to me

2007/08 Rules Modifications for Sanctioned Tournaments (references to NFSHSA rules book)


Rule 1 A club may enter as many wrestlers per age and weight class as are otherwise qualified.
THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF MATCHES PER DAY PER WRESTLER. Wrestling will not continue past 10:00 P.M. and no more than twelve hours per day.
No contestant shall wrestle in two (2) consecutive matches with less than thirty (30) minutes rest between matches, unless both of the coaches and wrestlers involved agree to waive the rest period.

Is there an echo in here? lol

thank you broadbent.

Why not have a state sanctioned novice championship that includes 6u( all 6u are novice in my book). Have it the weekend after high school state. This would include novice wrestlers of all age groups. Then the ones that want to try subs could.

why even have subs or districts for 6 and unders, there a stand alone age group anyway. Pick a day like ottawa has done and lets get it on.

why not just understand that there is not a pressing NEED for 5 & 6 yo kids to have a State Tournament. In 90 % of the cases it is a WANT on the part of parents.

At that age especially, and for a year at least when they are older if they don't start til 10 or 12 they should just be learning the basics, having fun and hopefully competing on a level playing field (novice or against other 5& 6 yo) and getting familiar with the sport and not pushed to be the champ and win all the time right away.

Not healthy for these youth and they will get a sour taste in their mouth from all the pressure on them and will more than likely burn out or not want to continue.

ENOUGH already, these are 5 & 6 year olds ...EASE UP !!