WingMan Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Just curious if anyone has compared GPA with our state's great wrestlers. How important is it that some of Indiana's best wrestlers are poor students or good students (if at all, and how can they be classified)? No student names here (good or bad). Bottom line, are academic wrestlers better than those who are barely slippling by? Isn't wrestling a physics sport (not to be confused with Phys. Ed)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maligned Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Don't get me wrong; if there's a closely contested 10-9 match in the 3rd period, I'd rather be coaching a smart kid than a dumb kid. However, I think success on the mat and GPA have very little connection. I was a first team academic all state selection and won my fair share of matches--but I also got beat by some guys that I think had trouble tying their own shoes. Athletic ability, work ethic, and coaching have made champions out of many bad students...even at the college level. Plus, I think mat savvy can exist in a kid that isn't necessarily book smart. That sixth sense for knowing the clock, the score, and your mat position are not found only in kids with high SAT scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammer Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Don't get me wrong; if there's a closely contested 10-9 match in the 3rd period, I'd rather be coaching a smart kid than a dumb kid. However, I think success on the mat and GPA have very little connection. I was a first team academic all state selection and won my fair share of matches--but I also got beat by some guys that I think had trouble tying their own shoes. Athletic ability, work ethic, and coaching have made champions out of many bad students...even at the college level. Plus, I think mat savvy can exist in a kid that isn't necessarily book smart. That sixth sense for knowing the clock, the score, and your mat position are not found only in kids with high SAT scores. I would agree with a lot of this. The one thing that I would like to point out is that GPA and how smart someone is don't necessarily go hand in hand. Grades are often more about the effort that you put in towards them, than they are about intelligence. I've seen straight A students that ended up scoring 1500+ on the SAT that were never able to develop the mat savvy to be a great wrestler. And the athletic ability and work ethic were there. But these kids would over-think what they were doing on a wrestling mat. I've also coached C students that were state caliber wrestlers. I do think that it's important to be of average intelligence, at a minimum, to be very successful in this sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtv2112 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I think you have to be smart enough to understand that hard work increases your chances for success. You also have to be smart enough to allow yourself to be coached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grenadier2012 Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I think you have to be smart enough to understand that hard work increases your chances for success. You also have to be smart enough to allow yourself to be coached. Well said. Is the question being asked out of curiosity to when they read off the GPA of the wrestlers in the state finals? I know, for the most part, that they are usually pretty high. If so, I would think it could be attributed to the confidence they attain from getting to the level they are at, which could possibly carry over to the class room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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