I asked myself this question while working a table today... How can a coach at mat side coach a wrestler when mom and dad are yelling and scream "half, half or some other silly thing"... directly behind them. I truly feel sorry for several of our coaches... So many of these wrestlers were focused on thier parent and not thier coach.

I agree 100% parents need to stay in the stands. Coaches can not do their job if the kids are only listening to their parents. If parents want to coach their kids buy the coaches card, and even that does not guarantee they can coach certain matches. Most clubs have coaches who are certified at bronze level and know WAY more than most (MOMS OR DADS) Let the the coaches coach and the parents be spectators. We know what we are doing!!!!!

a young wrestler has been "programmed" to hear mom and dad's voice since conception. it makes it difficult to get a word in edgewise. i have asked all the parents in our club to either sit in the stands or to only yell encouraging words. i ask them not to yell out moves, or my favorite "GET UP". i mean is that all you have to do, it's really that easy. heck why didn't i think of that. the best thing a parent can do is be there for support, let the coach handle everything else. if your kid throws a fit, cries, show poor sportsman ship, just flat gives up, doesn't listen, whatever they do, please leave it to the coaches. just like you don't bring work home (hopefully), don't bring wrestling home (at least the negatives) let the coaches handle it. it will make for a better parent/wrestler relationship.

i wish every tournament would rope off around the mats for coaches and kids warming up period. the kids never have a warmup area, at least every tournament i have been to this year. every tournament i have been to you hear the same thing. would the people at the side of the mat please take a knee. most of them are parents and some are coaches. maybe we should hold every tournament in a setting like the coliseum where only wrestlers and coaches can be on the floor and parents can sit up above and watch. love the hutch tournament for that reason. Ponca city was like that. havent been to state yet but pretty sure thats the same.

Half of Mahattan was great, Mill valley had a great idea first row wrestlers and coaches. We need to have an on deck area and make the people sit. Matt #5 and #6 would have been perfect for this but would have resulted in longer day at Mill valley. If people are not following fire code you should mark there hand first warning then eject them. The problem lies in people see coaches mattside then assume it is ok for them. Chairs in the corners would help out with this also.

Thank you for this post. I'm one of THOSE Moms who sit matside and video my son's matches. I don't stand up, I don't yell out directions, and I try to always be respectful. Please consider parents who want to record their child's match. Maybe you would consider a designated spot where parent/s could sit near the mat and be required to leave after the match is completed?

I too am a Mom that sits matside. I rarely yell- whether at the mat or in the stands- if I do, I repeat what the coach is saying as I know he hears my voice. I also am there at every practice, have my coaches card and just mailed my Bronze card test in last week. I get frustrated with those who stand in the way too. This is perhaps something that coaches can emphasize with parents at practice.

I also agree...The stands are for the spectators...I worked a table at Mac on Saturday and witnessed several undesirable situations, all involving parents---made me realize why I enjoy sitting in the stands, unless I'm taking pictures or recording....I have to say the most interesting situation I saw was a mom at matside on mat 2, her child was on bottom and she was flopping around on the mat beating it with her hands and yelling! (ie: acting like a lunatic)....how embarassing for that child/club!!!! I think more tournaments should rope off the mat area...it helps keep spectators in the stands and decreases the congestion at matside....

WELL SAID

I am one of those mom's at matside. I don't try to get to excited but occasionally, I do. I always sit down and try to stay out of the way. I feel that there should be a place for a parent to go for the short 3 minutes or less, to take pics or camcord. There are only suppose to be 2 coaches at a mat, but that is never true. Take for instance JC tourney. The corner mat was filled with coaches and table workers from the same group. There were never less than 6+ coaches at a time. They had a large majority of wrestlers on that mat. But, how many people do you need to yell at you. What's the difference? There are some groups who never leave the mats. Even when they have no wrestlers. At some tourneys its hard to see when they are grouped at a table. I love wrestling. Go with my son every tourney and most every practice. I also encourage many boys that we have grown to know and watch their matches with encouragement. So let's find a positive solution to our problems. We could bash each other day and night and not solve a thing. There should be a bond between coaches and parents and kids. I love our coach! But, if I was being loud or out of line-he would tell me to sit out! Play fair let's find a way to make these tourneys the best because it's fun and our kids luv em!

i don't have a problem with parents being at matside, just remember your roll, parent. video tape all of it take pictures, video is probably one of the best ways to learm, and photos last a life time, and will always spark wonderful memories. BUT if you come down to the mat and are screaming and yelling and stressing your young wrestler out, all that hard work is going down the tubes. i am not, and don't feel any coach on here is trying to bash anyone. i am not saying anything on here that i haven't said face to face, one on one to parents. i am friends with most every parent in our club, and consider their points of view, all i ask is that they consider mine, for their childs sake. its all for the kids, no matter what happens at a tournamet, each kid has to be able to take home something positive. always moving forward. that's is what makes this sport so great, everyone trying to improve it in someway, no matter how big or small. thanks.

The National Federation (NFHS) Rules of Wrestling is the official guide ... Only two (2) coaches per school will be allowed at mat side for coaching purposes

I am pretty sure it is a rule see above or below. From a coaching stand point it does make it difficult to get from mat to mat. 2 extra sets of parents trying to get to and from each mat. At least 2 if not 4 extra sets of kids waiting for a match, bout sheet runners have problems also. All and all most gyms for kids tournaments do not have enough seating to begin with to accommodate wrestlers, coaches and parents. The bigger the gym the better for these events.

PDF] Interscholastic Rules & Regulations 2008 – 2009File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
The National Federation (NFHS) Rules of Wrestling is the official guide ... Only two (2) coaches per school will be allowed at mat side for coaching purposes. ...... or a movement from Images, Estampes, or the Children's Corner Suite ...
www.gisa-schools.org/activity_info/cat0/2008_09_Rules.pdf - Similar pages

Michigan Youth Wrestling Association

• All wrestlers, coaches, and fans are required to stay in the stands unless competing or warming up.
• Two coaches are allowed per wrestler. Any person operating video equipment will be considered one coach. Coaching from the corner is permitted.

Works for me!

I wouldn't mind being next to the mat to video tape my children wrestling, but I am not allowed to do it because of the RULES set forth by our governing body. I do not complain about this because I would not want my child or the child that my child is wrestling against to come off the mat towards me and catch me off guard and cause an injury to either wrestler because I had a VIDEO CAMERA at matside. This rule is in place to protect our children, so all of the moms that go matside to video, please remember the rest of us abiding by the rules and staying in the stands to video, no matter whether we can see or not. I am not allowed to go matside in High School for my wrestlers there either, and will not break the rules to do so. It is a bad example to set for our kids, breaking rules have consequences and they need to know that.

Bump

Too many people around the mat is distracting to the ones wrestling. Does not matter if you are repeating what the coaches are yelling by the time you repeat it they are on to another move. We coaches are there for the kids, just the same as all of you parents. Yell and scream all you want, it's a sporting event, but DO IT FROM THE STANDS....My wife also videos our sons matches, I'm sure all of your cameras have ZOOM If you can't see get higher in the stands. Not only is a distraction someone is going to get hurt by falling on someone or someones camera, if they are headed out of bounds. Just be respectful and everyone will get along fine.

It's hard to get officials to officiate kids meets because of the mat-side conditions.

Officials have it at their discretion to control the mat. I was personally impressed this weekend with Shane Koranda, at his ability to control a match, including controlling his mat of spectators. Some assume the issue of video doesn’t occur in HS matches, wrong, it does, but the officials do a much better job of controlling the situation. I think part of that isn’t that the officials at kids events don’t try to do this, but at a HS event, it is understood that when an official ejects someone from a tournament, it is the officials decision. Tournament directors have to support the application of all rules in an event, including the officials’ decision to eject someone if they are unwilling to follow the rules. One of the things that impressed me about Shane this week was his ability to do this in a respectful way that got the results he wanted, while at the same time, getting his point across.

There doesn’t seem to be so much of an issue of video or not, but of keeping the two coaches in a corner, and everyone else not only off the mat, but away from the mat. The safety of the wrestlers, is a part of the officials responsibility, this includes controlling the number of people on or around the mat.

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