Sorry it took so long to respond. I haven't looked at the site for a few days.

First off, no I'm not saying that the gifted athlete would be better off if he waited till later in life. What I am saying is that the earlier they start does not mean that they will be better off as high school wrestlers.

There are variables that go beyond just the date a wrestler begins. One is coaching. I mean no disrespect to other coaches, but the athletes mentioned by Somers have spent quality time around a staff that is regarded as one of the best in the state, even the nation. So one could say that the benefits from them outweigh the benefits from other staffs. Two, practice partners. The practice partner has much to do with the benefit of a wrestler. So just because a kid has been wrestling for a while with a horrible partner does not make him a fantastic wrestler. Third, competition. What kinds of competitions and what kinds of competitors are they facing? Bunch, Dyer, and Bork went to major competitions across the nation and competed against top notch athletes.

These are just the topical variables. Tie in maturation rates of each athlete and athletic ability and desire, the combinations are overwhelming. A simple start when they walk ideology makes no sense and doesn't take into consideration the amount of thought that needs to be placed into making someone a champion. And even that is contingent on the reality of could the athlete or does the athlete have that drive and desire to be great.

Most people start their kids in wrestling to get them an outlet to let off some energy or to expose them to a sport that allows them to compete against people their own size.

Two, and finally, am I insinuating that a wrestler is actually worse off if they start earlier or later? No. But I have seen and have had athletes that have not progressed and have become comfortable with the same techniques or bad habits they developed as a child. As those athletes have had some success with them, the become complacent and actually resistent to change. This is a battle college coaches have had to deal and that's the point I was trying to make. There are many techniques that are vital wrestling, but there are also techniques wresters develop that are nothing more than bad habits. This unwillingnes to change from their style they developed at 6 or 7 years of age kills them at 16 or 17.

Somers, I was not trying to belittle you, but trying to illustrate a point that there is way too much that goes into a top performing athlete than years experience. There is no perfect plan that involves years of experience. It's what the experience entails as well as the athleticism and desire of the athlete. That make him a champion. That's the point I was trying to derive at. Sorry for any confusion

coach gibson