I too did not see it happen. But the last time I checked we were in the sport of wrestling for our KIDS, not our parents. If we don't teach our kids how to be a good sport who will. We have always taught our son to shake the hand of the other wrestler plus the ref. win or loss. If everybody did thier part we would not have this problem every year. Please don't get me wrong but some of the coaches need to learn to be a better sport too. I hope that the wrestler that was hurt is doing better. Keep your chin up. Sorry that he got hurt. And maybe we will see better sportsmanship at the rest of the Tourney.

I was at this tournament but did not see this particular match. I saw the AC heat coaches high fiving their wrestler after hagerman got hurt. We had three kids wrestling on mats 4 and 6 and the officiating was the worst I have ever seen. The young man from hard Knox that was officiating on mats 4 and 6 needs to read a rule book. We had one of our kids get punched in the eye blackening it and this ref did nothing. If we have rules to protect these kids then they need to be followed, the refs on these mats let more illegal stuff take place than what is noted here. Some of it a blind man could see. Here in district 1 this type of behavior is not tolerated, In the future maybe we will wrestle closer to home.

Here's an update from the dad/coach of the injured Derby wrestler. First of all we want to say thanks to all the awesome people from the Derby Junior Club for their thoughts, prayers, and well wishes during this terrible experience. Thanks for coming over and filling every square inch of our living room, dining room and stairway to surround our son with your well wishes, love, cards, and cookies. You lifted his spirits in a way you'll never know. It was a heartwarming moment that helped me reflect on what I love about this sport and the powerful bonds that are built. We would also like to thank the coaches and wrestlers from WWC for delivering a card and candy basket on behalf of their entire club. WWC has always been a great rival, a tough wrestling club and a true class act. I also hope that my 1st post and subsequent posts did Not and do Not reflect any ill will towards the Ark City Takedown Club. The ACTC also has a rich tradition of wrestling excellence. They have always been one of the benchmarks by which we (Derby) measure our success as a club. We love beating their wrestlers and they love beating us but the respect has always been there since we first met on the mat. There are some great folks with the ACTC that I would consider good friends and would open my home to anytime. I also know they would reciprocate. I applaud them for the changes they've made to rid themselves of the cancer that affected their club so negatively. It won't take them long to get their kids back to the top of the game. Now.....as for my son, he's recovering at home and tonight is the first night since the incident that he hasn't been in extreme pain. The surgeon informed us that the damage to his elbow was much more extensive than she initially thought. She had to make a much larger incision than she predicted and there was a large muscle mass in addition to the broken bone that had to be moved from the outer part of the elbow back to the inner part of the elbow (its pre-injury location) and then pinned to hold everything in place. The surgeon said and I quote "do you know how much force it takes to injure an elbow to that extent?" The Dr. wants the cast off in 7-10 days to start rehabilitation. She's very concerned about full range of motion and mobility if rehabilitaion doesn't start soon. That's going to be a long painful road for my son that I'm yet to figure out how to explain. Our hope is right now that there is no permanent damage. I appreciate the post that stated that these such incidents are rare in our sport. I hope you will all join me in using talk forums like these and other means to ensure that such incidents remain rare. I don't want any other wrestler or wrestler's family to go through this experience and we are doing what we can to ensure the truth is known, the tape is reviewed by the appropriate officials. Then, hopefully our referees, coaches, and wrestlers will work to ensure any injury in our sport is truly accidental and that Ultimate Fighting techniques will never be tolorated nor allowed to find a place in kids wrestling. Thanks again for all the positive posts, well wishes, and encouraging thoughts. Good luck to all this weekend whatever city you're in and mat you participate on. Compete hard, compete well, and compete fair.
Sincerely, All4thekids.

First of all a note to Wrestlingparents: You wanted to know what age and weight the injured Derby wrestler was: He wrestles in 10/under, 85 pounds.

Second: I watched the match and as a new wrestling mom, it was very disturbing to see our teammate get injured. But it was especially disturbing to see the way he was injured. I hope he recovers fully as he is a great kid.

Thanks for clearing this up for me BDISNEY!!!

I'm feel the same way Coach Morrow feels about the concern that has been given for his son! That was the greatest thing the WWC Kids and Coaches did!! Just wanted to say thanks! If you don't think there is a distinct sense of comradery between wrestling rivals, just ask the other coaches how nice it is to see each other and talk about old times when they where on the mat, not about the dirtyness and who did what to who!! The Ark City Takedown Club and High School has always been one of our biggest competitors, but off the mat it was a different story, just ask what happened to the Ark Cty wrestler back in the 1980's what happened when he was injured at the State Tournament for High School. I guarantee there wasn't any "HIGH FIVING" or "CELEBRATING" going on. Your never considered "good at the sport" unless your a "GOOD SPORT". Good luck See you all on Saturdays!!!!
Derby Coach,
Brian Wells

Everyone keeps saying the heat, but you are singling out one family in the AC Heat. AC Heat is more than just the "Dicksons". Everyone in the heat is learning from the same coach and that coach is not the Dicksons. So why is there only a problem with the Dicksons? Everyone knows that wrestling is a very physical sport and there is always a chance that someone will get hurt. It happens all the time. I feel for the kid from Derby and his family. It is a very unfortunate accident. Everyone is acting like this is the first time that anyone has broken anything in wrestling. I was at the tournament and saw the match, and I didn't see any celebration of another kid getting injured. What I did see is the celebration of a victory just like every other club in the gym. It was not just the Dicksons celebrating either, it was the whole AC Heat organization. I havnt seen not one comment about the kid at the same tournament on mat 5 who bit another kid, nor anything about the kid that kicked his opponent in the head, or all the clubs who cheer for any kid that wrestles against the Dickson boys(since we are supposed to be talking about sportsmanship). Then to come here and read all the talk about unsportsmanship and illegal moves is ludacris. If you think that these kids are taught to come out and intentionally harm another kid, then you people are just as ignorant as your comments. Especially when none of you even know the Dicksons or have even held a conversation with them. These kids want to win just like every other kid that steps on the mat. The only difference is when they lose you don't their parents crying and making up excuses in a chat forum. And whomever came up with the Dicksons got kicked out of the Ark City Takedown is ignorant too, because they didn't. I have nothing against the Takedown club, but why stay with a team that doesnt support you and your kids, especially when you give that team all your blood and support. I dont blame them I would have left too. Everyone is loosing focus that it is about the kids. I have yet to hear any kid say anything bad about the Dickson kids. Its always the parents that have the problem, and they aren't even the ones wrestling. These boys will go to college with or without wrestling because they are exceptional in the classroom as well as on the mat or the field or in any sport they choose to compete in. I've seen these kids working out all summer not because they have to, but because they want to be the best at whatever they do, while they rest of you have your kids playing playstation and eating snacks all day. So, dont hate their parents for wanting the same things for their kids that you want for yours. Just stop looking for excuses and look in the mirror, because thats where it all starts. The only ones complaining is a bunch of "pecks" that can't stand to see these kids win all the time
especially with all the support that they get. And yes, contrary to what most of you think they do have a lot of support.

Thank you Rallo_93!! You are right the Heat and the Dickson's have many supporters. And thank you for correcting my comment about the Dickson Boys going to college. I know they will.

The point I was trying to make is that they are more likely to get a scholarship for athletics than any other reason. NOT because they're not intellegent young men. (Anyone who knows the Dickson kids know they are very smart.) More because there is more money out there for sports scholarships than for academic. My proof is that I know a young lady who is a senior this year and she scored a 28 on her SAT's. She has not been offered ONE single full-ride scholarship. My best friends son graduated with a 4.0 GPA and a 27 on the SATs...didn't get a full ride offer. My daughter has a cumulative High School GPA of 3.8 and 24 on SAT had to join the Marines to get any guarantee of College money. But look at Winfield's Quarterback. He scored an 8 on his SAT's (for real) and was on National TV annoucing his commentment to KSU!!! Obviously these people have young children and are still under the illusion that Scholarships and grants go to kids that are only smart.

By the way Farvac... most of the people who posted didn't use there names.. Including YOU!

And I can't believe ANYONE condemning someone in the educational field.

Lisa

Congratulations to the Dickson boy for his victories, and for his efforts to become a champion wrestler. It's the EFFORT that builds champions. Sometimes bad things happen to good people as in the case of the injury to the Derby wrestler. I'm sure the Dickson boy had never previously broken an opponents bone, and he probably has never experienced a broken bone himself. They are quite painful, and they do require rehabilitation and removal from sports for a certain length of time. There can be psycological problems to overcome as well. I know this because it happened to my son during a football game. He had ill feelings toward those involved and wanted to "get them back". As parents, we don't want to see that happen to our children, (our job is to protect them). We don't want our kids to hurt someone, and we don't want someone looking to hurt them. So we invented rules to prevent/reduce injuries, and we abide by unwritten moral rules (be genuinely concerned in the event someone does get hurt). My post is to remind everyone that when our kids face each other on the field of play, they do so without hate. Without regard to race or team membership . But as special people. Members of an elite group of athletes. And we should treat each other accordingly-with great respect and admiration, regardless of skill or win/loss record.

I think it is about time all Coaches makes sure kids are taught how to wrestle doing the moves correctly and appropriately. There is enough Coaches and technology these days to let you know how to teach kids moves the correct way. I don't blame any kid that does a move incorrectly, but the coach should feel like it might as well of been something that he/she did themselves! Kids wrestling has changed a lot in the past 20 years, to include a novice program, helping keep kids interested in the sport. They can't stay interested in the sport when they get on the mat with no experience, to compete with a kid that has been wrestling for a couple years, and the kid throws them all over the mat and pin's them in 30 sec. That really teaches both kids a whole lot! When a kid crosses the line to be an advanced wrestler they need to be moved into that program and leave the novice kids alone! If they need more "mat time", then that is what practice is for, not going to Novice Tournaments to get "mat time" and bring home more "MEDALS". Let's see if we can build the sport back up and teach kids the correct ways to do the moves. If a kid gets hurt the opposing coach, kids, and fans should be more worried about that kid that got hurt, and what was done, than getting their hand raised and high fives from people when they come off the mat! "SPORTSMANSHIP" I appreciate everyone that has shown concern for our wrestler and that we can get this straightened out before this type of behavior goes on!

Derby Junior Wrestling Coach
Brian Wells