Year round wrestling hurting the sport?

[1prouddad]

On 2/1/2018 at 6:13 PM, TeamGarcia said:

It’s Parents that get burned out, not the kids. That’s what Parents (Adults) say to Coaches or their Kids when they had enough. Little Johnny burned out . EXCUSES ! 

Yes, kids got to have the desire to get better and willing to do a sport 24/7/365. It’s tough, injures ect. ect. ect. I look back at what I done to get my boys to where they are now. I literally spent 2 years in a building every night watching my sons practice, 2 practices, sometimes 3 practices Hours & hours of “my” time, “my” life, I pretty much lived there. Everyday the same routine, no vacations, our family vacations was Wrestling Tournaments. It didn’t stop there once or twice a month crossing the Country searching for best competition. I had a Goal, my Sons had a Goal. My Goal to give them the best environment to honne in their skill . Their Goal to train to be the best . I never told them they had to go to practice, they told me let’s go. “Routine” It’s a sacrifice that parents willing to take out of their personal lives, the kids have to want to do it . Gotta Love doing what they do. I wouldnt change what I did, I bet they wouldn’t change what they did either . 

 

 

Well said and this is memories created that last a lifetime. 

[Ian Heath]

Let the big dogs eat... you get what you work for

 

[Colts]

8 hours ago, MD92 said:

I'm not going to question anybody's parenting because you know your kids better than anybody.  I think specializing prior to middle school is not such a good thing.  Sorry to say it, TRbell, but the chances of being a state or national champion is slim regardless of whether or not you son plays football (or any other sport).  I'm not saying he's not talented enough, because I have no idea who he is, but it's just long odds for anybody.  Specializing early may or may not get a kid to that level, but good luck to your son.

I see posts on facebook from people that have young kids (1st - 2nd grade) that say how worried their kids are about their diet because they have a better chance at a lower weight.  Completely ridiculous at that age.

I was always a multiple sport athlete (lettered in 4 sports in HS) and went one season at a time.  Wrestling was winter only for me, with an occasional freestyle tournament during the spring.  Freestyle pretty much stopped in HS because that was baseball season.  I was a state place winner.  Could I have placed higher if I had specialized in 3rd or 4th grade?  Who knows?  But I sure had some good times with my baseball, football and soccer teams that I probably wouldn't trade for a couple of extra spots on the podium.

The problem I see is the parents.  Again, not pointing fingers to anybody here because I don't know any of you.  But I think parents want little Johnny to be the next Nick Lee or Brayton Lee, or Lebron or Bryce Harper and they sacrifice a lot in the hopes of essentially hitting the lottery.  Saw a post on FB the other day of a young kid (2nd grade I think) at batting practice with the caption "Putting in work because college is expensive!"

You are correct it is a long shot, but it is also a long shot to be an olympic gymnast, to be in the movies, to have a recording contract or to be President, etc.  Are we not suppose to support our kids dreams? Shouldn't we give them every opportunity to pursue that dream? Specializing in wrestling is not killing the sport, it is really a dress rehearsal for life, if you want something bad enough than go get it and don't let others tell you otherwise. If a kid is not reaching their goals because they are losing to year around wrestlers than either change your goals or get better just like life.

[TeamGarcia]

23 minutes ago, Colts said:

 Are we not suppose to support our kids dreams? Shouldn't we give them every opportunity to pursue that dream? Specializing in wrestling is not killing the sport, it is really a dress rehearsal for life, if you want something bad enough than go get it and don't let others tell you otherwise. If a kid is not reaching their goals because they are losing to year around wrestlers than either change your goals or get better just like life.

There you go ladies & gentlemen ..... Best Comment on This Topic !

[Y2CJ41]

There is no cookie-cutter answer for each kid.

As a coach and a parent I definitely agree with most who say specialization should occur closer to middle school or freshman year rather than the elementary years. I have seen many kids who were the Pee Wee world champions never wrestle in high school, probably more than those that became high school state champs. I have seen kids like Deondre Wilson pick up wrestling in high school and win two state titles also. Wrestling is a very demanding sport and keeping your kid interested and loving it is a fine line that can be crossed without knowing it until it's too late.

[Y2CJ41]

10 hours ago, MD92 said:

Saw a post on FB the other day of a young kid (2nd grade I think) at batting practice with the caption "Putting in work because college is expensive!"

Did you tell him an SAT/ACT tutor would be cheaper and probably reap greater rewards?

[Coach Hull]

No one deserves anything but you have to earn it.  Wrestling, just like with everything else, has evolved.  There are plenty examples of multi-sports athletes who do well in wrestling....but it's all relative.  Usually these are football players and heavier weights where there is less technique needed than at the lighter weights, but in measuring yourself against the top wrestlers in the country year-round training is essential.  I could delve even further into this yearly training about effectiveness versus efficiency, but that's another topic. 

Either way, the top scholastic programs in the state and country wrestle year-round and on the surface academies typically help those from programs who do not have these opportunities.  There are pros and cons with almost anything we do, or not do, and it could be argued the same here.  Yes, year round training can be detrimental, but it largely depends on the training and programming they are receiving - from school or academy.  On the other hand if the programming is correct, year-round training or specialization is essential.

Men lie and women lie, but numbers don't. If you truly want to give your kid the best advantage in this sport, understand at some point they will have to specialize.  When depends on a variety of factors, but where they do means much more.  Hopefully their school has a great program but if not then there are a handful of academies around the state that can supply the demand. If you don't have an opportunity for either, your best bet is to participate at as many RTCs as possible. 

[DMelt19]

On 2/1/2018 at 3:25 PM, NarrowGate said:

My boys have played at Grand Park and I believe someone said they actually haven't made any money in three years, although I'm sure they will long term.  The cost factor is huge, especially for parents with multiple kids.

The cost of being competitive in sports is simply ridiculous in the grand scheme of things

1.  Club fees for my three boys - $300
2.  Private academy fees - $230 (this will increase if we start doing privates and camps)
3.  Weekend club tournaments - $600 (estimated and doesn't include Greco/freestyle)
4.  Hotel fees - $460 (Estimated, including trips to Indy twice, Iowa and Battle Creek)
5.  Travel Baseball cost ($750 for 10U, $1000 for 13U)
6.  Estimated Hotel for baseball ($500 and this is cheap because both my boys play at the same out of town place twice, which isn't always the case)
7.  Pop Warner - $250
8.  And I'm not even including the stupidity that I have to pay to walk into any of these sporting events to watch my own kid play in a sport I've paid for them to play in.  Nor does it include food, gas, fund raising (which I almost always just end up paying for), etc.

Grand Total :  $4090 and I'm sure I'm missing a crap ton of other expenses since these are quick rough estimates.  In fact we actually budget $400 per month for sports.  I could be driving my dream car right now after a few years!!!

 

And you're right, many parents can't afford the time commitment or the financial commitment so that drives people from the sport(s) as well.  It also creates a lack of local pride, meaning that kids travel to play in other elite clubs or baseball teams because they are more competitive or in some cases because dad can't get along with a coach.

 

 

That's the biggest problem I have with the sport specialization crowd: the cost. It's not a fair playing field. Someone who may have the talent but doesn't have the opportunities that another kid does gets left behind due to circumstances well beyond control. I think it's great that kids can play sports year-round. I think it's terrible that money has become such an important factor in it. The commercialization of youth sports is a HUGE problem. Too many people just using it to make money instead of developing/growing kids. That's one thing I like about sports in a local setting, at high school or within the same towns/communities: they're usually better at developing a person along with the athlete.

On a slight chance of topic, I think kids playing one sport year-round is probably not a good idea until high school due to the reasons others have mentioned, like burnout and the heightened potential for injuries. Once they're into high school? Have at it. But I don't think you have to play a sport year-round as a 10-year-old to be a stud in high school. Just be an athlete. 

[Trbell]

2 hours ago, DMelt19 said:

That's the biggest problem I have with the sport specialization crowd: the cost. It's not a fair playing field. Someone who may have the talent but doesn't have the opportunities that another kid does gets left behind due to circumstances well beyond control. I think it's great that kids can play sports year-round. I think it's terrible that money has become such an important factor in it. The commercialization of youth sports is a HUGE problem. Too many people just using it to make money instead of developing/growing kids. That's one thing I like about sports in a local setting, at high school or within the same towns/communities: they're usually better at developing a person along with the athlete.

On a slight chance of topic, I think kids playing one sport year-round is probably not a good idea until high school due to the reasons others have mentioned, like burnout and the heightened potential for injuries. Once they're into high school? Have at it. But I don't think you have to play a sport year-round as a 10-year-old to be a stud in high school. Just be an athlete. 

I agree the commercialization of youth sports is an issue, but disagree that it creates an unfair playing field.  Is it not true that life is unfair?  We all have different opportunities, some more than others.  Just like life, sports creates opportunities and some of us will capitalize on those moments because we have prepared for it.  Yes, it is true that all of us are faced with different challenges through out our life but saying it is unfair only gives excuses to those that do not have the work ethic to achieve greatness.  Should all college students get loans to pay of their college because it is not fair that some parents can afford to pay for college, should all kids not have a vehicle when they are able to drive because all parents cant afford a car for their child, I could go on and on with examples, but unfair playing field is not just wrestling it is LIFE!!!!