Now that the wrestling season is over, and I have had some time to reflect, I am convinced we need to make some changes to this great sport. Although I may not agree with every change I do applaud NCAA for their progressive rule changes each year in an attempt to make college wrestling better and more fan friendly. I believe these rule changes have had a huge positive impact on attendance.

There are 2 very easy things that could be done next year to improve High School Wrestling in this country and state and make it more exciting for fans.
1. The out of bounds rules have to be fixed. The rules as they are written and applied now favor the defensive wrestler in almost every situation. I have heard the biggest argument against using the college out of bounds rules is the mat size. This is easy to fix, if there is any part of either wrestler off the mat surface (on the floor) it is out of bounds if not then while any part of either wrestler is in bounds action continues. Please NFHS, change the out of bounds rules to the college rules!!!
2. Referees need to apply the stalling rules already in the rule book, especially in the neutral position. Rule 5-22-1 states "Each wrestler is required to make an honest attempt to stay within the 10-foot circle...This shall be demonstrated by those responsible with strict enforcement by referees" This alone would cut down on the number of restarts. Rule 5-22-3b states "It is stalling in the neutral position when a wrestler plays the edge of the mat" How many times have we seen a wrestler back to the out of bounds line then start wrestling so they can bail if they get into trouble. These rules are in place to keep the flow of a wrestling match going and to make it more exciting for the fans. We just need them enforced!!!

Agreed.

These are great points, I also think that officials need to understand that "time does not dictate the rules". If it is stalling mid way through the 1st, then it is stalling in the 3rd with 30 seconds left.

Also, Great Job to Coach Buckbee and the AC Bulldogs!

Again, quoting the rulebook. "... wrestle aggressively, regardless of position or the time or score of the match."
The Stalling rules are in place. Referees need to enforce them!!!!

Never posted before but can someone please check out this match and confirm or deny whether it was called correctly or is this exactly what we are trying to avoid seeing in high school wrestling. Never let a referee determine your match but I would just like some clarity. Thanks

http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/VideoPl...chId=5132214132

What exactly is your issue with the match? Give us a timestamp or call that you believe was incorrect. As I was watching, I don't see how you feel that the official determined the match. Points were clearly earned and given appropriately. The stalling call was warranted, as green was continually backing up/blocking and not "wrestling aggressively" as the rulebook states. I believe it was called correctly, but would like to know your specific issue with the match and the call that was incorrectly made. State your case, that we can examine it. Thanks!

Honestly I am just butt hurt about the outcome but what I want to know is in this match should there have been a stalling call at any point because that in fact may have determined the match.There was a warning given in the 2nd period. I am not arguing fact is I am biased but I would just like to know if it was good defensive wrestling or a call should have been made. Example... the last 15 seconds or so.
From an earlier post...Again, quoting the rulebook. "... wrestle aggressively, regardless of position or the time or score of the match."
The Stalling rules are in place. Referees need to enforce them!!!!

I think Stalling will forever be the bane of wrestling, as it is a judgement call and not subject to linear rules (i.e. If A does this, call Stalling). As an official, I have given warnings & points for stalling at various points of the match. These have never been without disagreement by one side or another. One will agree, but the other side will argue they are "wrestling defensively", or be quick to point out that the "bottom man is stalling" when they stop moving. These are difficult to call at times, and there will always be individual circumstances for each & every match.
What I saw in this match was that Green took the action out of bounds on many occasions, and did not try to "wrestle aggressively" to stay inbounds, or bring the action back to the middle. From my perspective, he seemed to play the edge of the mat (which is allowed) without outright fleeing the mat. However, the constant movement to the edge, coupled with the blocking, could have led the official to make the stalling call on Green, in my opinion. I hope this helps, and it did appear to be a hard fought match between 2 equal combatants. I don't think that either young man should have any regrets.

I have a fix for stalling but only on their feet. I struggle with this as an official also. Bring in an official that is upper level and have him explain stalling from the feet. Example: If you back out of the 10 ft. circle without contact it is stalling every time. Have somebody lay it out for us, then send out a video or whatever to all the coaches so that we also know. Next is call it often and our wrestling will improve and be much more fun to watch. I saw a lot of stalling on their feet at 4A state this weekend. Basically give stalling some parameters other than wrestling aggressive! We can do better as coaches and officials.

Thank you very much for helping me out with that. It was a good match from both sides and ultimately it is what it is. I just read this original post and wanted others opinions on if this was the type of stalling that needed to called in matches no matter the time left position or score of the bout. Thanks again. Joe K

Devast8r, how can you actually say "From my perspective, he seemed to play the edge of the mat (which is allowed) without outright fleeing the mat." The rules book clearly states on page 27 rule 5-24-3b "IT IS STALLING IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION WHEN A WRESTLER: PLAYS THE EDGE OF THE MAT. You don't get to just make this stuff up!

Coach Buck, did you happen to watch this match? If so what I want to know is should there have been 1 or more stalling calls called in this match? Is this a prime example of what needs to be corrected?

The seeding of brackets is clearly the biggest biased thing in the sport. A 1 seed wrestles a 4 seed? If they are that good put all 16 in a hat and put them on bracket as they are pulled. All the 1 seeds should be at the same disadvantage to go against another 1 seed and hit backside. Are they that good or were they pushed thru every bracket all year?

Joe K, yes I watched the match. I might be a bit biased as well. I spent a week with Malachi traveling to Utah, coaching him, and then traveling back to Kansas. What a great young man. The 1st period and a half is exactly what I am talking about. You have someone on here that calls himself a ref that said green was playing the edge (which is stalling according to the rules book). But I will say that once the ref finally called him for stalling I saw a change in the way green wrestled. He made a better attempt to stay in the center and changed levels several times. Congratulations to Javier Contreras on his State Championship!

I agree with you. I think stalling when called often and early and consistently throughout the full match ......improves wrestling.

On bottom. A wrestler must try to get up. The top wrestler puts pressure on the bottom wrestler trying to set up a counter .... the stalling bottom man does not present the opportunity to the top man to counter. Its not called enough.

After going out of bounds a wrestler who delays a return to the center is also stalling. when directed by the referee to take bottom or get into position on top and does not but delays .... that is stalling.

Call stalling often and early!

Coach Buck, you are correct. I am in error. I did not have the rulebook open at the time of my posting. I am an official, and I made a mistake. Not the 1st or last time this will happen, as we are all human. There is no need for the "calls himself a ref" comment. Once again, from my perspective watching the video & in my opinion, the officials on the mat called it correctly. It was not a simple case of backing straight out of bounds; the action flowed to the edge, by both wrestlers. Should there have been more action on the edge to stay inbounds? Certainly. Once the Warning was issued, the action did pick up. Maybe what we need to do is eliminate the warning altogether and go straight to penalty points? I have seen quite a few teams that have seemingly been coached to "play the edge", so maybe going straight to penalty will discourage that practice.
Thank you for pointing out my error; I will learn and get better. That is all any of us can do that love this sport.

Devast8r - 1st of all, if you are an official, you do not have the luxury of claiming ignorance. It is your job to know the rules and apply them correctly. Secondly, how does anyone on here know if you are an official or not. Unfortunately, it is very easy to claim anything you want, especially if you do not use your real name. Thirdly, In your 1st post you claim that the green wrestler was clearly playing the edge, now you claim the action flowed to the edge by both wrestlers. Which is it?
Coach Buckbee

Coach Buckbee - What more do you want me to say? I admitted I was in error. I admitted I was human and make mistakes. Does it really matter if I put my name on the forum, so that you can further badger me, affecting my livelihood in a sport that has given me much? Name 1 PERFECT OFFICIAL who gets it right, everytime! I used a poor choice of words, stating what I saw (my opinion), and you throw the rulebook at me, claiming my ignorance. Do you have the rulebook so thoroughly memorized that you knew Rule 5-24-3a&b by heart? Did your Eidetic memory also remember 5-24-3d, which occurs at the 3:03-3:20 mark? Or at 6:41-6:52? What about 5-24-4c at the :51-1:06 mark? It is easy to make calls when you have the luxury of watching video after the event. Will it change the outcome? I was offering my perspective, after watching the match on video, and going off of my 1st reaction, which I put into words (and was subsequently attacked for it). I admitted my mistake, have re-watched the video, and I will learn from it. I hope this discourse makes me a better official in the future, and does not scare others away from officiating for the actions contained here. The lead official in this match has 27 years experience, which is far more than I have. He is also human and makes mistakes. He has been around longer, and called what he saw, in his judgement, in the heat of the moment, on a grand stage and I believe it was the right call. He saw things differently than the rest of us, who are watching a video after-the-fact and thoroughly dissecting it for all of the "could've beens & should've beens".

Vandeventer - I agree totally! Rules meetings and Area meetings should have video clips to watch and cover these situations. Maybe meet at a local high school's practice room and go over it with veteran officials. We can ALL do a better job of wrestling, coaching, officiating and spectating if we are willing to LEARN for our mistakes, move forward and do our best the next time out!

Maybe KSHSAA officials do this already, I am not sure, but NCAA officials have weekly conference calls and post vids with interpretations and clarifications on the Arbiter throughout the season. Those are very helpful in keeping things as uniform as possible across the country.

Maybe NWOA or a KWOA delegate could do this, if they don't already.

And involve coaches in these videos, etc. So they can see/learn what officials are being told to do, etc.