So cool that everyone was on the same page with getting girls’ wrestling passed! Now on to the next phase...how are you going to run it? I have a couple of challenges and I’m looking for ideas and wondering how coaches are planning on doing it at their respective schools (so I can steal your ideas, of course).

Challenge #1: space

Our room is currently above capacity as is....our room holds two full mats, which can support roughly 60 kids, and we generally have around 70 come out every year. I don’t ever want to make cuts (to the boys’ or girls’ squads), so how are you all planning on implementing practices? If we are going to do this, I’m not going to half-a** it...we’ll recruit the hallways to no end. Based on expressed interest I would anticipate we will have 20-30 girls out, and I’m sure we won’t be the only school in this boat. Where the heck do we have everyone practice?

Challenge #2: coaches

Are your schools going to provide additional coaching salaries for the girls’ teams? Are your boys’ head coaches going to also coach the girls’ teams? Also, how the heck do we work out this schedule with 5 coaches, varsity and JV boys and girls teams all wrestling on the same weekend?

Challenge #3: budgets

Are your school districts going to provide a separate budget for the girls teams? For example, I know we’d have a lot more success recruiting young ladies if we could offer the two-piece instead of the singlet, but our boys have never been interested in that, so we don’t have any.

Challenge #4: my wife

She’s totally awesome and puts up with A LOT during wrestling season. I fear that if I take on running a second practice I may come home and find my stuff out on the lawn. How do I sell her on this?