gman,

I like your idea. We actually did that for the Manhattan freestyle/greco tournament. I know our club hosted a remote weigh in site and so did a couple of others. From our perspective it worked very well. I think that idea would be a great compromise and solve a lot of the questions people have about teams conducting weigh ins for their own kids.

PS- Nice picture with the name. Are you a Marine?

Shawn Budke

Shawn,
I think its a good compromise that can work, if the tournament directors get behind it. With two coaches on hand, I would hope everything would be on the up and up. I think matside weigh-ins are a concept that needs to be explored, but would like to see more discussion on the concept and how it would work. And yes, 12 years in the Corps. Semper Fi! Gunner/KCWC

Any ideas to make wrestling more affordable and accessible are worthy of exploration. Our leaders have to embrace concepts that will lead to growth. Ideas for weeknight dual leagues, weeknight mini tournaments, etc. have been floating arround. These non traditional approaches will attract parents who do not wish to give up their entire weekend to wrestling. We need more kids involved and we need to keep them involved so we don't have 5A schools with incomplete lineups. The sport has to be approached with a higher level of business acumen to insure that it is sustained. There has been a dramatic reduction in the number of college programs and the only way to stop this is to grow it at the youth level and have these parents and wrestlers influence the future.

GMAN, when we used to wrestle in Texas, they did that very thing. The different clubs in the Panhandle could weigh-in at home/regional site and fax results to tournament site. (However, they had a central director/official, who oversaw the tournaments, or was person that they all took direction from.)This weigh-in was for the same pre-set time, at all sites. They then sent names/weights to tournament site for bracketing. Also, keeping in mind, they only have 1 tournament/weekend, on each end of state, which simplfies where everyone is going.

Will, Couldn't agree more. For the sport of wrestling to increase in numbers, we need to explore all possibilities. How many non wrestling parents encourage their kids to another sport after a year of novice, going to all day tournaments, ect. I know Gonz Medina/Blue Chip has been advocating for a couple of years for some sort of novice league with a sort of belt (I.e. Karate) system that promotes technique development, hopefully kids get a taste of wrestling and want to come back. The season would be 8 weeks and could include informal regional tournaments perhaps held on Friday evenings. How many parents steer clear of wrestling due their perceptions of kids have to cut weight? Concepts like matside weigh ins or at least multiple weigh ins for tournaments lasting two plus days are a step in the right direction. Shorter folkstyle seasons should lead to an increase in numbers for freestyle/greco. A proactive state like Kansas could set the example for USA wrestling and be a model for all states.
Bach, I think it a great concept and I think it will work, if the tourney directors get behind it. If a few of the early tournaments do it, I think others will follow, particularly if the parents get on the forum and let everyone know they like it. Hope all is well in Kansas!

I also agree changes need to be made. I like the idea of technique belts, a novice league. The novice league especially, too many kids do not start wrestling until later, 10 or so. By then they run in to kids that have 5 or 6 years of wrestling. Even very good athletes can get discouraged. The idea of duels vs tournaments is also excellent. It would allow families who do not want to spend a full day at a tournament to participate. Maybe couple it with the novice league. But,I think one of the main reasons wrestling is in decline (other than x-boxes and playstations) is junior high wrestling. Gunner, I do disagree on the 8 week season. We have that now in junior high, and it is a failure. I know this is somewhat off topic, but junior high (jh)wrestling need to be improved. Think about it, a lot of families, due to gas prices and just not being able to get their kids to evening practices, do not have their kids participate in sports until junior high. In jh their coaches protect these kids and normally do not let them wrestle the kids with a lot of experience. These kids have a good experience, then they hit USA wrestling or High School and run in to ex-USA wrestlers and wam, its no longer fun. And, remember, jh wrestling is an 8 week season, during Thanksgiving week (for most of the state), which takes a week away. The coaches do not have time to teach much.

My point is, jh wrestling needs to be a full season, not the half season it is now. All most 30 years ago I graduate from ACCHS and was an average (being nice) wrestler. I was shocked to see what has happened to wrestling since then. We had a full A and B team. All the schools in the Big 7 had teams - full teams. Today kids qualify for state in some classes without winning a match. Getting back to topic, whether it changing weigh in, or what ever, wrestling needs help. It is a tough sport. It always will be. As such, the 'powers that be' need to find a way to make it work.

John,
I must admit I am not that familiar with Jr High/Middle School wrestling. My son just finished 6th grade here in MD and there do not seem to be any programs here. When we were in Olathe, I don't know how many programs were in that area either. If memory serves, Lawrence had a strong program, and if run properly I think it can be a benefit for the kids. As for the Novice 8 week concept, it's an idea. I think that the current Novice system needs updated. With an update, I would hope we could increase attendance and more importantly, increase retention. If we can do this, we increase our open folkstyle numbers, and freestyle/greco as well.

Gunner, I think we need JR High wrestling, but it needs to be longer than 6 to 8 weeks. At Pleasant Ridge JR wrestling starts when football in over in Late Oct and ended before the first Saturday in December. For kids new to wrestling it is not nearly enough time to teach anything. We need to have a full season. As I said earlier, I know this is off topic, but as the only threat with posts on this part of the forum, why not. We need discussion on JR wrestling and then some changes. Will mainly talks about HS wrestling and the changes needed there. He is right, but I think the problems start in Junior High. This is the first place many kids are first introduced to the sport. When I was at the School Boys Duals, I heard other parents talk about one kid being a Junior High Wrestling State Champion. Boy, are we behind other states. And, I do not think there is much Junior High wrestling in most Olathe schools. Another problem. But, you are right, a novice league for the kids who first wrestled in JR High just might keep them. And, tell Conner Hi.

How can a poster with no name or home have a club affiliation?

Come on sportsfan02 let us know who you are. You seem to be a person with so much knowledge, you are a wealth of information. You should be proud of who you are. Hiding behind your name of sportsfan02 is almost like not claiming a ugly girl as your sister.

Ronnie Delton Johnson
(620)786-9203
rjohnson@johnmorrell.com

No name hiding here.