Just wondering who are the wrestlers to watch? Sorry if I misspell some.
Trig Tennat 46lbs.
Kael Pappan 49lbs.
Cason Lyndsey 52lbs.
Jayden Seaboldt 55 lbs.
Dawson Zenger 55 lbs.
Hunter Schroeder 55 lbs.
Cayleb Atkins 58lbs.
Maximus Shannon 55lbs.

Who eles out there is studs?

Gaberial Parker 49lbs from Columbus
Traceton Redlon 52lbs from Columbus
Coby Burchett 49lbs from Ft Scott

Couple of Missouri Boys to Watch....

Kal Miller 49lbs (team central)
Brayden Thompson 49 lbs (Kearney)

These 2 are showing up all over! Kal placed 7th @ Omaha Nationals
Thompson has only lost 4 matches this season.

I will do whatever to get extra matches but im really only interested in having a round robin with Hartley, Schroeder, Newton, Bockover, Miller and Spexarth or Robinson or Bowen. The audience could see 3 national placers and I really think all those kids are state placers in different brackets. Im going to say it again that its not that I think the 64 lbs. are not good enough but I dont think those kids placed in nationals. When Darren Newton and I talked about having our kids wrestle against each other earlier this season it was for the kids to get better. Im pretty sure that Dylan and Jackson are shredding the 80 and over weights so this gives those 2 kids great competition and the kids at 73 and 76 havent gotten that many matches at the tournaments I have been at so that gives those kids some real quality mat time. We can either do that or we can just make it some drill time at practice together. Im down with any of that.

Better question, who will burn out first & never wrestle high school?

agreed. not pushing those little ones to hard now are we?

Good call Patrick. My fourteen year old is less than a year away from making his high school debut. He started at 6 1/2 and I have always tried to not push him too hard. There have been times that I have wanted to, but in the end, I am just glad that he still loves to wrestle and is looking forward to wrestling next year for his high school.

one of the top hs wrestlers in ks right now didn't qualify for state until 12u. i have always told my son that no one remembers who won 6u state, except for the parents of that kid. no one gets into college because they were a 6u stud. my 5 year old son wrestled 4 tournamets this year- #1- 4th out of 4, #2 3rd out of 5, #3 2nd out of 6, #4 6th out of 6. he has officially retired after each one of these tournaments and i said OK. then he comes out of retirement and wants to go to the tourneys with his buddies, i said OK. BUT every kid is different, you can't assume that parents are burning these kids out. some kids need to compete and be pushed. some kids have the desire even at 6 years old, to be the best. i have seen it first hand on two different occasions. so don't jump to too many conclusions. good luck to all who go for it, we will see you in about 10 years.

I agree with all of you. When we come home after a meet and we get beat, we talk about it nicely and then talk about what game we are going to play when we get home or what we are going to eat. I know that last one is a bad thing to say in wrestling. LOL

But what is the difference about what I asked and what is going on in the 8U section on this forum.

Steve Schroeder

0, it all seems silly to me, but it wasn't silly when my first was 8. Now that my second is 7 it does. I guess I learned a little when it comes to my kids that pushing at such an early age is really hard on my wrestlers. I backed off & try to have as much fun as we can & let the work on the mat do the talking. My 7 year old is thrilled to be included but I almost lost my older wrestler pushing so hard for wins. Wins at this age I have learned are the very least thing to worry about, learning good fundamentals and good sportsmanship are paramount. That is for my wrestlers, keep in mind the highlight of any tournamet for my 7 year old is if I buy him a whoopee cushion or not. P.S. I urge any of you talking about 6 & 8 year old studs to rent or buy the movie Reversal. An excellent movie about the pressure of kids & high school wrestling.

people see that movie in different ways. some see it as what can happen if you push too hard. some see it as what happens if you won't commit to doing things the "right way", when it comes to diet, work outs, etc. not taking sides, i'm just sayin'. again each kid is different, each and every one of us should raise our own kids accordingly.

Well put. Good luck to all.

LOL very funny, but true. My 6 yr old was happy he received the fastes pin trophy this weekend, however the very first thing he showed grandma and grandpa was his inflatable soccer ball i bought him there :),, then was like oh and i got this trophy.

When my son first started wrestling @ the age of 4, someone should of sat me down and said,"Dad, don't take it so serious, win or lose, it's about loving the sport and watching your child grow with each match, both mentally and physically. I almost burned him out by drilling every night. By the end of season last year, he was an emotional wreck. This year I told him, "You do your thing and if you need me, I'm there. Go out there and have fun." Totally different wrestler and a totally different Dad. He has more confidence than ever and I am actually very content, not to say I still don't get excited watching a heated match, but now when he walks off the mat instead of me saying, you should of this or that, I give him a pat on the head and tell him great job! This is his down year in 8 and under, and I am very impressed with his wrestling this year. He hasn't won 1st every time, but he has wrestled like a champion every match. Every parent wants their child to be a champion, to be a known name, nothing wrong with that at all, as long as it doesn't become a labor for the child instead of a sport. I hope someday my son is a state or national champion, but I want him to do it for him, not me.

While I do not believe the intent of the original poster was cause such a discussion, these are great words of wisdom from those that have been there. I too am a very competitive dad and more than I would like, catch myself in pressure packed discussions with my oldest son ((8U -sad, I know); in reflection, it really does nothing but make things worse and could ultimately make him turn a cheek on a great sport.

These words are what a lot of dads need to hear, myself included.

[ While I do not believe the intent of the original poster ]

It was not my intent, but I do appreciate it. I just asked a simple question of who was good at in the 6U age group. It is always fun to watch these kids, and for us to see the wrestling moves of these kids.

We as a family are learning to take things less serious than maybe before. When I talked to Barry Davis the head wrestling coach at Wisconsin, who to this day is Iowas all time winningest wrestler with 162 collegiate wins. He asked my son if he was having fun and told me to make sure that it was fun now and there is a lot of other things to worry about. That I should focus on him having fun and having a good foundation for wrestling. I know Barry, because I was his first wrestling Athletic Trainer at the University of Wisconsin.

Wrestling has been good to me and it has been good to my family so far. I have met a lot of great parents and my son has met a lot of great friends. In fact our third child is named after a boy that wrestles here in Kansas. We told our daughter that she could come up the name if the baby was a girl and our son could name him, if it was a boy. He just thought that boy's name was COOL and thought that was the name and we agreed.

Again, I understand take it easy on them. But I was just asking who to watch and enjoy. It seems that nobody is going on the 8U topic and saying this. Or are you just afraid of what Bockman will say. LOL

Steve Schroeder

It is good to hear all you guys have to say on this topic. Sadly my oldest son was a kid who was pressured to win every time, by his Dad. If you didn't win you were a loser, which so wasn't the case. He refused to wrestle in high school. Finally in his senior year he wrestled. Like he told me it just wasn't the same. He has turned his back on the sport which makes me very sad. His little brother is now in kids and there is no pressure. I am hoping this time to keep the love of the sport going by not letting anyone put to much pressure on him. Be careful guys as much as you want to you can't relive your youth through your children. It is dangerous to them when you try to.

[quote=Bones1768 It seems that nobody is going on the 8U topic and saying this. Or are you just afraid of what Bockman will say. LOL

Steve Schroeder [/quote]

Funny you say that, the following was from bockman 2 years ago when I was arguing the importance of winning. Things change.

lol you people make me laugh. its the first year of a long long wrestling career. all i am saying as a coach and parent I personally would not focus on winning. I went through it. Yes its nice to see your kid win. Let me ask you a question. If your kid wins by falling on a kid because the other kid is week is that what you want. I didnt think so. What you want is for your kid to learn and get better. If that happens the winning will take care of itself. Winning should not be the focus for a coach or parent in a kids first year. Thats my opinion. You have yours. I just hope that your child is learning and winning with wrestling moves rather than just falling on top of another kid.
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Scott Bockover

Steve,

I sounds like you are on track and that you have some sound reasoning from Mr Davis to help you to the finish line. I have been involved in Kansas Kids wrestling as a wrestler (started at age 8 in 1973), as a volunteer coach in college for three years, and as a volunteer (dad) coach since my two oldest boys started wrestling nine years ago. Here is the my experience (reality) with my kids in the sport (one that I am head over heals passionate about).

Son number one: Started at eight, worked hard in practice and in matches, never cried when getting beat (which was a lot - won four matches in three years), but didn't have a mean bone in his body. It just wasn't his cup of tea.

Son number two: Started at 6 1/2, natural gift to be a wrestler (fairly strong, great balance, flexible, attitude, desire to win), hated to lose, and had total melt downs when he did. Had I pushed him early on I think he would have rebelled and probably quit. He has grown into a fine wrestler getting ready to enter high school next year, not the best, but pretty solid. He had to figure it out his way.

Son number three: Started at 5 (I thought he was an identical twin of son number two, just eight years apart in age). He has very good physical qualities, much like son number two, but he is a screwball with a very short attention span. When he wrestles, his body is on the mat but his head is in another zip code, possibly another state. I don't know what to do with him as my patience seems to wear with age.

Son number four: He will turn three in March. My wife tells me that he will be our next wrestler. We will see.

As for me, I'm pretty much turning into a vegetable with my mind wrapped so heavily around the sport.

40lbs Ty Leedy-Jr Comets
43lbs Kolton Misener-Parsons
67lbs Christian Engroff-Columbus
73lbs Myles Thompson-Parsons