I just read in the Miami County Republic that the Paola Middle School wrestling season has come to a close. The article says that they started their season in October and finished before the Thanksgiving break. This is great for them! They (the wrestlers) can compete for the full kids wrestling season. We (wrestlers in the Wichita area) don’t have that luxery. Our season hasn’t even started. Worse yet, the first match isn’t until January 16!! This along with the long junior high season ending in the first week of March means that you miss out on ALL the kids wrestling season except for subs, district and state. Does the rest of Kansas have this same problem? Can’t anything be done to start and end the junior high season sooner? How about starting the season a week after football is over?

Our season started a week or two after football and will end before Christmas break in southeast ks.

Talk to your middle school AD and ask if it would be possible to change to a "4 sport" season. I believe that is what Miami County schools are using. If your AD is not responsive, get more parents involved in a letter writing campaign. Until your administrators know there is a desire to change it will be the same.

In the Wichita metropolitan area the Middle / Junior High Schools already use the four (4) sport season. The issue is the scheduling of wrestling as the third season sport and basketball as the second season sport.

The Wichita Public Schools are still in the dark ages and do not offer any middle school wrestling.

sportsfan02 is correct about contacting your schools principal and athletic director regarding changes to the scheduling.

With the consolidation of the Ark Valley and Chisholm Trail Leagues, this issue may be more easily addressed as the administration of the previous middle school leagues (Pioneer and Walnut Valley) address scheduling issues to more closely align with the new high school league realignment.

I cannot speak for any of the other leagues but the Pioneer doesn't use a true form of the "4 sport" season. Thus the two winter seasons overlap by a week or two. In a true version of the "4 sport" season there is no overlap. We have been working for years to get the Pioneer League to change and are getting closer. As Mr. Salyer said, the merger of the AV and CTL will allow for many changes in the near future of those districts middle school leagues. So, it is important for all of us to make our desires for change known.
In the iterim, as has been noted before in other threads, some middle schools/coaches allow those students participating in kids wrestling to not report for middle school practice till after Tulsa Nationals each year. This allows them to attend most of the national tournaments and not miss any of the middle school season. Following the middle school season they can return to kids competition right in time for sub-districts.
Always try to include your high school coach in any attempts to implement change in the middle school. They can be a big help!

Yes, in Southeast Kansas middle school wrestling
is just about over. We have one last tournament at Chanute on November 29th.

I am another parent that wishes the Pioneer League would get its act together. It is ridiculous that basketball has been going for several weeks, and wrestling doesn't even start until Christmas. It is also completely unfair that kids who work out and start the season with the wrestling team can then be knocked out by a kid coming in weeks late from the basketball team.
Danny, when will the change from Pioneer League to AV-CTL happen at the middle schools? The Pioneer League is getting completely unbalanced, just like HS was, with districts like Maize and Goddard having a huge advantage in sports like football over the smaller districts.

my junior high wrestling coach also coaches high school football and high school wrestling and it would be great if we could start earlier but he can't do 2 practices at once and West Elk isn't a very big school so we don't even have a wrestling room we wrestle in teh cafateria we don't start junior high wrestling until march because of high school state so we can just about finish a kids wrestling season before junior high starts

Mike Flood do you know Jake Hayden from independence??? if you do how old is he ????