tspray1 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Class wrestling needs to be adressed. Not sure about all areas of the state but around the Pioneer (Royal Center) area numbers are down at all the schools. lets discuss the reasons for and the reasons against class wrestling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Haha, thanks for christening the forum, its official now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tspray1 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Haha:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 It's not just small schools that are losing numbers. The following article is from the Bloomington Herald Times: Is wrestling an endangered sport? This is a question area coaches are asking as they see fewer and fewer kids come out. Gone are the days when a coach can take his pick from a squad of 40. Today he is lucky to have 20. Tomorrow is looking even dimmer. Only four freshmen came out for wrestling at South and Owen Valley this year. Edgewood coach Andy Bengtson counted five freshmen. North coach Perry Summitt counted six. Had not eight freshmen come out at Brown County, the Eagles would have been hard pressed to field a team. Is it just a just a temporary lapse, or is it a trend? It might just be a local phenomenon. The National Federation of High School Associations noted an increase of 1.1 percent in wrestling participation nationally n 2007-08. The total number of wrestlers was 265,215, making it the sixth highest participation sport. But that is of little consolation to area coaches, who only know the numbers right in front of them. Said South coach Royce Deckard, ?When I wrestled in the 1960s, we had so many kids that you could wrestle four years and not make the varsity.? Searching for answers Ask any one of these coaches and they have a theory as to why the numbers are declining. A lot of theories pertain to the social climate and the sport itself. Let?s face it, what sport demands more discipline and more self-sacrifice than wrestling? What sport has so little payback in terms of glory for all the work that goes into it? What sport has more risk of personal humiliation? ?You practice in a room that is 88 degrees, get beat to a pulp and then have to keep your weight down,? Bengston said. It is even more daunting out there in a real match, Bengtson said. ?You take a young man in the prime of life, wearing next to nothing, and put him in front of hundreds of fans ? with no teammates around him. And it?s either you or me. To lose is humiliating. It?s a huge blow to your pride and you are half naked. You are so exposed.? ?Some kids can?t deal with public defeat,? Deckard said. ?It?s different than team sports. In team sports there is somebody else to help you share it.? For the love of the sport What sort of satisfaction does a wrestler get in return? Wrestling can?t compete with boys? basketball for fan appeal or space on the sports pages. A good crowd in wrestling would be 500. So the risk/reward factor is not at all even. North assistant Lee Miracle talked about that aspect of it. ?There are no millions to be made in wrestling,? he said. ?There is no Hollywood to it. In this generation of immediate gratification, it is not celebrated like the other sports. We keep getting pushed to the back gym.? You can?t blame this generation for looking at less demanding extracurricular options. In addition to other winter sports, basketball and swimming, there are alternatives such as swing choir, theater, student government or maybe even the debate team. ?Some kids would rather be second string on the football team than go out for wrestling,? Deckard said. Some kids may elect to take a break between fall and spring sports. Some may opt for a part-time job. Some may be content to stay home and play video games. ?Nothing against technology, but we are in the age of computers and video games,? Bengtson said. ?Kids can stay home and play on the computer. They aren?t used to the activity that wrestling requires.? A 24-7 sport From the time a kid reports to camp, it is all wrestling all the time. Forget about hamburgers, pizza and milk shakes. A good meal for a wrestler is a salad and some broiled fish. The holidays offer no relief. In fact, they are downright torturous. ?We have a meet right after Thanksgiving and another right after Christmas, so we have to train right on through,? Bengtson pointed out. ?Some kids go out and find that the sport is way harder than they ever imagined,? Owen Valley coach David Stewart said. ?Not every kid is meant to be a wrestler. The ones who stay are the ones who really love it.? ?I don?t know if it is society or what,? Deckard said. ?I don?t know if the kids want to put in the hard work any more.? No pain, no gain And then there is also the increased risk of injury. As contact sports go, wrestling is basically hand-to-hand combat. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrestling is the fourth highest participation sport at the middle school level and the second highest in number of injuries. No wonder the ranks are thinning at the high school level. And as Bengtson noted, you have to always have your ?A? game in wrestling. ?In the traditional sports like football, basketball and swimming, if you are injured you can still perform,? he said. ?But in wrestling, if you are not in your best shape, you can?t perform. The kids know that and so are unwilling to prepare themselves.? ?It?s a testament to our times,? North?s Summitt said. ?Wrestling is the toughest sport bar none. A lot of kids don?t want any part of it.? Winning them back Summitt and Miracle are planning some things at North this year to make their meets more fun and lively. Each match will be staged under a spotlight. Each wrestler will be introduced with his own personal theme music. Local radio personality Sheila Stephen will serve as announcer. ?We are pulling out all the stops to make wrestling exciting again,? Miracle said. Another strategy is to beef up the feeder systems. ?We started our AAU and freestyle programs six years ago,? Bengtson said. ?We still haven?t totally reaped those benefits, but as they come around our numbers should start to improve.? ?We give them all kinds of opportunities in the summer,? Brown County?s Bruner said. ?We have clubs set up, give them every opportunity to make themselves good wrestlers. The opportunities are there.? The coaches want athletes to understand the man upsides that wrestling offers. ?With wrestling, if you dedicate yourself and discipline yourself like the good ones do, you are going to succeed at something later in life,? Deckard said. ?If all kids could only experience the thrill of achievement that comes with wrestling,? said Bengtson, who excelled at wrestling and football in high school and college. ?When you win, the rush you receive from succeeding in the sport is second to none,? he said. ?I?ve had the benefit of both football and wrestling. Wrestling has such of sense of accomplishment. It is just you, your opponent and the mat. It teaches so many life lessons ? discipline and mental toughness and hard work ? things that will help you later on.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I was hoping we could get through at least 24 hours of a new board without the thread of class wrestling coming into play! This board has now beein soiled! :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlHungus Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I have a feeling this is going to be one of our first hot topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Good article that points to why wrestling isn't for everyone. The thing is, if a school of 500 kids can get 30 out, why can't a school of 1000 have the same number if not double? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tspray1 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Good post triple B, I get that feeling alot around the Logansport area as well. We started with about 24 and are down to 18 in my 9 years this is my third lowest total. i tmakes it hard to fill out a complete team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I have a feeling this is going to be one of our first hot topics. Not if it gets deleted! (just kidding) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlHungus Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Sounds like someone maybe getting drunk with power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 It was a joke!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlHungus Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I know...I know. I just hate smiley's to let you know I was joking too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coolhandluke Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 if we pu classes in state wouldnt be as difficult as it is 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 For the record: I am in favor of a classed Team Tournament. I am opposed to a classed Individual Tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coolhandluke Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 sounds great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Since I started posting on the Class Wrestling thread I have been getting boo's! Where are my anti-class bretheren?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest coolhandluke Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 wait 7 more posts from me and ull get a wahoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 There must be a lot of class wrestling supporters here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 haha Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Sorry AJ, I don't enough post yet to give you props, soon enough I will I don't think this discussion will be as fun or decorated as ones in the past. Mainly because the one's posting are the pioneers of the class threads. We've all said our peace with each other. Heck Y2 and I are about as far as you can get on the class poll, but I consider Y2 to be friend and we talk all the time about other things. I've even gotten the last two Y2 trained shirts!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tspray1 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Pioneers of the class wrestling thread? Or maybe the website will be thriving once more ppl come to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Ever hear the saying, keep your friends close and enemies closer! The moderators will not delete or taint posts that are just opinions on issues such as this that we don't agree with. Of the moderators, though I think more are for single class wrestling... but of course the people with the most power are the Admins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Yeah, once more people join the conversation, it will get lively. Y2 will get the chance to drop his Ohio champions pictures, somebody will say Mater Dei recruits, newer teams will get thrown into the recruiting cycle like CP and Mish. There will be new blood with old retoric on both sides of the aisle. Just saying for now it's all of us, the usual suspects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tskin Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I am waiting for all the cool graphs and breakdowns for Y2. TripleB still got my button on my suit coat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TripleB Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 We need the The Wise Owl, The Ancient Elder........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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