OK, someone had to do it, so I will be the smarta$$.....
We need a born on January 1, 2010, 46 lb clas, and a born on January 2, 2010, 46 lb weight class, etc. etc......
No matter what that date is, someone is going to be the young guy wrestling the older guys.....
When they get to HS they wrestle kids 3-4 years older than them. So wrestling kids 1.5-2 years older than them isn't going to kill them. To the contrary, I believe kids learn the most when they are wrestling the young side of their age division. But just because my kid has an august birthday (he doesn't, just hypothetically speaking here) doesn't mean that he is wrestling kids that all have Sept 1 birthdays.......
My son's birthday is "better" (by your way of thinking) in KS than it is at Liberty Nationals, Iowa FOlkstyle nationals, or any of the freestyle events, which use birth year as the date that determines your age group. A kid born on Dec 31, 2010 is disadvantaged in FS GR, by your way of thinking, and a kid born on Jan 1, 2011 has an advantage.
So move that date to whatever you want, and someone is going to be on the short end. But what about kids that are a year younger, but are mentally more mature, than the older kids? What do we do with them? Just keep the kids out until they hit high school, when most kids get mentally, and physically, more mature and the playing field is leveled.......And what might be even more important is to not let your kid hear you talk about it. If you tell a kid he is at a disadvantage, he will believe that, and use it as an excuse. Don't let your kids believe they are victims, make them believe that wrestling older kids is an opportunity to get better.... Remember, it is about life lessons, not wrestling. Employers want results, not excuses......
I believe there are tourneys around the Midwest that use 7u, 9u, 11u, etc. for age groups, if you want to try to keep your kid wrestling kids his age. Cotton Bowl is one of them if I remember correctly, Another in Nebraska I think...
Brute Nationals actually used to have a tourney for EVERY GRADE LEVEL. I took my older son to it a couple of years, and it was extremely watered down competition. The first year of that tourney, I remember people getting on the forum congratulating kids for being All-Americans (top 8) after not winning a match in a 6 man bracket. They spent 3 nights there because you weighed in on Thursday, some grades wrestled Friday, different grades wrestled Saturday, then they brought everyone back on Sunday for the finals.
I'm not saying that kids don't need to see some success, but the "everyone is a winner" mentality needs to be tempered.
SOrry for the rant.....
Last edited by doug747; 01/10/18 03:38 PM.