I agree that more emphasis needs to be put on duals. Duals are fan friendly and can get your student population involved. We dropped a 2-day tournament (which we loved going to) in order to pick up more duals. We will have 5 home varsity duals plus our JV WAC Dual Championships this year. We have a student section right next to the mat (which has on average 100 students in it), spotlight, music, etc. We will be bringing in our drumline this year as well. It's taken a lot of work to get it that way and we still have a lot of work to keep our fan base growing.

I grew up in Iowa and we would have 10-12 duals, not including dual tournaments. We had maybe 3 or 4 tournaments. Wrestling duals are huge there. Obviously tournaments are important for our kids in order to get prepared for the state series (We got to some pretty tough ones). However, duals are important for our sport's popularity in the schools/community and to attract parents to the sport.

There are many good points in this stream. Since I started it I hope it is ok for me to post my opinion even though no one asked me for it

1. Wrestling is for the kids. The more opportunities we create the more kids we get. I don't agree with having to create opportunities for success just to facilitate growth. Success comes from making the right choices and I think that is what we have to teach.
2. Ask EVERY high school wrestler what their goal is and I guarantee a landslide majority will have a "STATE" goal of some type (going, winning matches, placing, being a champion). NO ARGUMENT HERE.
3. State is a two day event. FACT
4. How do you prepare for State? Go to as many two day events allowed! DUALS do not get you ready for state and we don't have a dual state which is the ONLY real way to determine the best team in the state.
5. I LOVE duals and I want more. So I DO ADVOCATE a mission to get KSHSAA to add 5 points to be used ONLY for a single dual on a Mon, Tue, Wed, or Thur after school schedule. Kansas wrestlers have some of the lowest season match totals in the country. We could stand five more matches. Our kids are not wimps.
6. Our Kids State series is run past the end of the HS season. Yes, this creates conflict. Greg has his opinion and I respectfully disagree with most of it. There are 8000 kids buying cards and maybe 80 of them are wrestling outside of the state. Maybe 3000 of them are wrestling EVERY Saturday. Weekday night duals are sorely needed to pump some life into the student body and make it more parent friendly.
7. I do NOT think that the internet or access to real time information is hurting attendance. If you can attend in person you will. Those tools are for those who can't. It is expensive to drive to a tournament. Some people are physically unable to make it. Others have to work. The internet is partially responsible for the growth we have seen the last 20 years.
8. Coach apathy is a problem. Too many times I see teams leave before the finals if their team has no one in them. Too many times I hear coaches complaining about the number of hours they have to put in so they want to get done and leave. This is a problem. Fix this and the bar will be raised in KS. If you are coaching for the check then step down and lets find a passionate coach to take the helm.
9. I totally agree with publicizing and fixed scheduling. I really like it when the order of the finals is switched up to put the marquee match last. I LOVE tournament finals that are run by themselves. Last year's 5A and 6A state finals were a disgrace to KSHSAA. The finalist should not be sharing the crowd with two other placement matches.

In WI the kids tournaments are on Sunday to facilitate the attendance of HS events. Of course this creates other challenges.

I see lots of causes listed by Sport0, how about proposing some solutions...

Answer me this, Could Dan Gable go into the average high school in Kansas in win a state title in one year?

NO WAY. we need to make it more competitive so more kids will want to go out. To me it is more important for a kid to wrestle than to have ONE state tournament.

I honestly believe if every kid in the United States would wrestle it would solve a lot of this country's problems. I AM PASSOINATE ABOUT WRESTLING AND THINK EVERY KID SHOULD DO IT.

Therefore, I am all about which ever system gets more kids out.

I thought that is what I just did.

Easily!!! He is of a mentality that no longer exists in the "Average High School" or "Average Kid".

Ron Burgandy......Baker was a freaking stud, and after his finals match I gave the kid a big ol' bear hug when he came to our corner. I told him that I was proud of him. My assistant asked me why I did that, and I really didn't have a good answer. I'm sure I made something up, but the fact of the matter was that he was your first finalist, I believe, and was a really good kid. I WAS proud of him.
Heckel, by the way, is living in Australia and coaching wrestling at some MMA gym, trying to make it in the sport. I wish him the best too. Wrestlers... gotta love em

"Coaches are not promoting their programs. They are not walking the halls and pulling kids in with a motivating talk."

We are supposed to be doing this?? Seems like a lot of work!

Does Dan Gable have the coaching ability to do this? ABSOLUTELY. A better question is would the parents let him be a coach that he needs to be. It appears to me that many kids never reach their full potential, because they may have been yelled at or told they need to work harder by their coach, and then the parents are at the school or school board complaining that the coach yelled at my son/daughter. I know this is not the case at every school and with every wrestler, but it does seem to be happening more often, as parents want their kids to be successful, but not have to put in the work to do so.

Just my opinion for what it is worth.

I think the above opinion is spot on these days. I do not know if my coaches or my coaching style can even work these days...success is wanted, the hard work and discipline to do it..well...not so much

The pussification of America...just what the Liberals want! Public education's philosophy, in general, a giant push for mediocrity.

Two Great Posts here. We have had good coaches fired here in Ark City for being too hard on the kids. Everybody wants to be good but few want to put in the time, effort, or discipline. Too many parents call the school to complain about working too hard or pushing the kids too much and then wonder why they do not get the results that they want, or used to get when parents let the coaches, coach.

I remember watching kids get jerked around by their facemasks in football. I remember getting only one water break a practice. I remember being pushed in the wrestling room to the point of tears. Coaches are not allowed to build character anymore. The kids are allowed to quit.

Pussification of America is running rampant, and it is the fault of THE PARENTS.

This is not just a Public Education's problem. I see it everywhere, private schools included. Even your beloved St. James.

What you hypocrites call Pussification of America is total CRAP. You talk about things as though every program is the same. You don't get it. I don't even want to hear it if you're from a private school. Private schools have a huge advantage over public. But we're not talking about kids that move to Manhattan because of the great wrestling program. We are talking about kids who are receiving something for going to a private school. They get "scholarships" to go a private school. Boosters have been known to provide jobs for their parents (only if they switch). Some even go so far to pay for an apartment so a kid can move from one side of the state to the other.

What ever happened to a level playing field?! I guess you guys support using steroids and false birth certificates too. Any thing to win, right? Save all this crap you've been spewing out your mouth for someone Who might actually buy your BS.

I am not even sure what the heck you are talking about? Did you start drinking at lunch today?

Dammit. Twice today I have agreed with Cokeley...I'm starting to wonder if I started drinking at Lunch today.

Pretty sure close to every single thread this guy posts on he finds a way making it to a "private schools are cheaters" topic. Time for a new hobby.

How did this turn into "Rich kid, poor kid"? Doesn't matter where or how you grew up. Kids who want to succeed will and always have. Now if we are going off kids who want to wrestle as Freshman, (Who have never done it before) then yes, they aren't going to do well against wrestlers who have been doing for years. No matter school size, public, or private.
Example; I went to a 4A School in the late 80s early 90s. Never wrestled before my sophomore year. Got my ass kicked first year but came back for more. 2nd year drew the likes of E.K. Franks and Johnny McCreary, still got killed but stuck with it. Was I a state champion NO, but I grew to love the sport an am still coaching today. FYI I was the poor kid. But wouldn't change a single thing.

My post was not pointing fingers at private or public schools in general, or even only wrestling in general. Parents are crying to the school boards, or to the school administration too often. It happens in many sports.

Again this is just my opinion.

Lance Geyer

I think only Steve Moser has decided that it was time to make unsubstantiated, unfounded, grossly inaccurate, untrue, ludicrous, ridiculous, asinine statements. If Tim Moeder were still reading this he might seek Mr. Moser out. I know that Steve likes to be on the stage as he is a stand up comic wannabe. Since he likes being in the spotlight I will invite him to St. James so he can talk to all of the parents and find out just HOW STUPID his comments are. Then we will put him on a stage in an Octagon for a fundraiser. He can do his stand up routine in fighter shorts then he and I can go at it UFC style for three rounds. I think we could make some good money for a fighting comic show. Any thoughts on how much we should sell tickets for? Anyone else want a shot at Steve?