I coach Middle School and I did club for many years. I love the middle school set up but I do agree that everybody in Kansas should be on the same schedule. It is also correct that I bring in so many new kids to the sport and some of them go on to compete at the highest level in High School. Some of my wrestlers never wrestled club but go on to be State Placers at the High School level. I push for those kids to continue their seasons after ours by doing regionals and freestyle/Greco in the summer. One particular wrestler went out his seventh grade year and fell in love with it and attended two camps this summer. That is the good news for a people who love club... in our league you still get to do the Wichita Classic and Regional s and so on... However, to answer the question that was posed at the beginning of this thread... Why Middle School... in our case at Newton, because it's fun. I know that club tournaments can be fun too and I am not accusing Club wrestling of not being fun. However, these kids love being a part of our program, enjoy the coaching, enjoy the training and love the wrestling. I am sure that there are more matches and better matches in club if your willing to pay and travel but we are having some of the best and most competitive matches right in our own wrestling room every day. All I do for club kids is release them back out on the circuit in the best shape of their young lives with a few more skills and some well drilled fundamentals. Many club wrestlers have traveled through my room and I suppose you should ask them... do they regret it? Do they think it hurt them? I'll leave up to you to decide whats best for your child. Meanwhile, we'll keep having fun.