My son as a 7th grader couldn't wait to be on his MS team as a 7th grader, to be with his friends who wrestled club as well as to be able to represent his school and get some dual action. He had a blast and going into club season, our MS ends in Dec, he was strong right off the bat. In retrospect, he didn't get a lot of time off though, because by the 1st of April, he had 70 plus matches. At state I could tell he was tired but MS duals ended up firing him up again, and he ended up practicing through the summer for the 1st time.

In his 8th grade year, we, or probably more me, struggled with if he was going to wrestle MS or club, mainly because of the competition. He decided to wrestle MS again. This year he was a little disappointed because he didn't have lots of kids to workout with, but I saw a huge improvement in his leadership skills. He was voted a team captain and ended up learning new skills that will carry him a long way. He had to help his teammates to become better wrestlers, and not just on the mat. At our MS banquet just last night, he stepped up to do a motivational reading in front of everyone and didn't blink an eye. Same kid who when he was 6 ran off the stage at a musical. .

Your kid loses valuable wrestling time by skipping club, but there are so many more pluses by allowing your kid to be involved with something bigger then just their individual success on the mat. Plus, I got to turn my boy over to his coach, while I sat in the stands and got to be just Dad. Something I knew I'd have to learn before HS, and was harder for me then him.

Just a day he before his reading, to quote his MS coach,"he hit a couple walls in Tulsa," but during the reading he jumped over another and I just felt in the end, it was all worth it.

He's still got plenty of kids folkstyle left, freestyle and greco, if he wants, and 4 years of HS. If he missed some mat time with good wrestlers, he'll make up for it.