A kid won't compete at the high school level if they quit the sport at an early age. If a 2nd year wrestler can't win they need to get better? No kidding. Does that mean that they need to jump in with the sharks when they are still wrestling like a minnow (sorry, but the fish thing came up earlier so I just went with it)? I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, but it seems to me that novice is for kids that aren't ready to compete at the open level, and haven't shown that they are very competitive at the novice level no matter how many years they have wrestled. Eventually, they will either make it to the majors or they will call it good and move on to something else.

in order to have state mandated "novice" wrestlers, each and every tournament would have to post the restults. someone would have to be assigned to monitor those results, and someone else would need to be in charge of communicating which wrestlers qualify as novice, and so on.

seriously i agree with sportsfan again, no one will ever completely agree here, and certainly too much involved in putting the state in charge. COACHES STEP IN, if the kid isn't novice, TELL THE PARENTS. if the kid needs to be pushed TELL THE PARENTS. if the kid needs some confidence TELL THE PARENTS. COMMUNICATE, GET INVOLVED WITH SIGN UPS, DO NOT ALLOW TROPHY HUNTING, PROTECT YOUR CLUBS REPUTATION, NOT THE CHILDS PSYCHE.

there is no such thing as a novice little league baseball league. you wouldn't dream of keeping your kid in pre-school for a couple of years, just because school it tough. if they are having trouble in math, you sit down and work at it, same thing with reading (well if you are not you should), there is no excuse for not working at wrestling.

encourage your kids to do their exercises at HOME- push ups, sit ups, shoot walks, penetration steps, stand ups, sit outs, etc. the benefits will be tremendous.

Well you are correct, last year we went to state! So we havent wrestled any novice tournaments except for Tulsa National novice tournament! Wrestling just came to him naturally!

You hit the nail right on the head HEADSUP ! Just wish people would take it into thier clubs to figure the "NOVICE" thing out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i really hate to extend this any more, but i have to get something off my chest.

i will start by stating my stance on novice so you know how i feel then i will give and example as to why i feel the way i do.

**6u- are 95% novice- most are just figuring out how to use their bodies- we don't need a 6u novice division.
**8u- novice is ok here to get some mat time, but don't get comfortable, challenge these kids to simply hustle and be aggressive, and to master 1 or 2 moves from each position- 8u matches are won mainly on athletic ability and aggression
**10u novice is better here for confidence than anything- let's them know that they are not alone- there are still many wrestlers who have not matured or learned enough to capture open medals, but it's ok keep trying NO ONE REMEMBERS WHO THE 2X 10U CHAMPS WERE- many have 6 more years before their bodies mature, IT WILL COME.
**12u do not baby the 12u age- be very careful not to give them a false sense of security- things only get tougher for a teenager, teach them to see their weeknesses for what they are, and challenge them to improve.
**14u novice is the worst thing to do to a wrestler-if they just started, they need to know that there is a big gap to fill, and the only way to close the gap is to work hard and push themselves, losing is not the end of the world. coming out at 14 isn't the end of the world- high school and college coaches like these kids because they don't have many bad habits that so many develop at a young age.

SORRY TO GO ON SO LONG- HERE'S MY FINAL POINTS
i saw a 14u "novice" wrestler hit a leg cradle this weekend. it's not as difficult to hit as you might think, BUT there is no reason for a wrestler to learn such a move/ let alone use it while they are still wrestling "NOVICE".

do away with 6u and 14u as a state, the last 2 novice tourneys i went to had between 400 and 600 wrestlers. seriously, we are PROTECTING these kids too much!!!