Jump to content

An Idea to Think About.


Ed Pendoski

Recommended Posts

Here's a thought that hit my brain a couple years ago and I'd like to know what other's think.

When a kid transfers school there's almost always three sides of the equation.  Parents say, "The IHSAA should let a family do what's best for the kid" and if the school a kid leaves decides to protest,  they're quick to say "that move was for an athletic transfer which is not allowed".  The school that receives the transfer says, "What am I supposed to do if a kid just showes up?"

My thought here isn't touching any of those statements.  We've all heard enough on Indianamat about this.

Here's my thought that I'd like to know what others think......

What is going to happen to wrestling in the long run as a whole if the number of state placing transfers continues?  Is wrestling going to become similar to gymnastics over time?  How are the small school/weaker programs going to keep up numbers of participants and quality of participants?  What about coaching at a smaller/weaker program?  Wouldn't it be more attractive place to coach if a potential state qualifier was in the room?  

Here is gymnastics program from last year:  http://www.ihsaa.org/portals/0/Flip Book/2017-18/gym/index.html#?page=8

If we continue on the growth in number of transfers, what happens to the smaller/weaker schools?  How long before the smaller/weaker schools start to drop the sport.  Once that starts happening, I'm concerned it will happen with other schools quickly.  Are the number of forfeits from 1a schools increasing or decreasing in the past 5 years?  What happens when a school has 5 guys on a team, and no one to coach them?  

I'm the Lorax.  I speak for the trees.

Are we ruining the future of Indiana wrestling with the amount of transfers?....but everyone needs a thneed, right?  

If my daughter has a child that want to wrestle (of course I mean 30 yrs from now, after she gets her MBA, starts her own business, and then is allowed to date for the first time), will Indiana wrestling be a sport with 40 schools and the same 4 teams compete for a title?  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can only maximize the talent to a certain degree at schools.  From a competitive aspect it's frustrating when we lose to teams because they have a couple new wild cards on their team.  Look at the top 5 every year at state...How many kids on those teams are transfers?  I don't know the number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Cosgrove said:

Could happen over time... maybe. But... wrestling as a total is growing. If the sport is growing I dont see the sport shrinking in our state.

According to the "stats" we had more wrestlers this year, however forfeits also increased. That data is very conflicting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

According to the "stats" we had more wrestlers this year, however forfeits also increased. That data is very conflicting.

Could that data mean that the larger schools had more wrestlers while the smaller schools had less?  This would allow for wrestling participants to increase while forfeits also increase...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fully understand parents believing kids will have more success at a different school. Personally, we moved three years ago and we wanted to be in a certain school district and paid a price in increased housing costs and a double mortgage to do so. This was of course when my daughter was going into kindergarten and athletics were not in the picture.

The rampant transferring over the past few years is getting to the point where we actually have a Google doc to keep up with them for rankings purposes. It doesn't seem to be much better and only getting worse.

The trend is not good for the future of the sport. It won't take much for a couple schools to drop the sport then a snowball affect will happen and instead of finding a coach schools just cancel the program. When this happens it will be quick and sudden with very little time to react. As with college programs wrestling people need to be PRO-active instead of RE-active in this.

The IHSAA's hands are tied as no matter the rule there will be people that find a way around it. In Michigan and Ohio they are starting to crack down on kids transferring, however when you do that legitimate transfers get dinged at the same time.

This is not a classed issue, but lets be real no one is transferring from a 6A school to a 2A school. The perceived or real advantages or bigger schools will always win out.

There is no easy or good solution other than encouraging parents to keep their kids at the school they started at. More than anything peer pressure will do more than any IHSAA regulation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ed Pendoski said:

Here's a thought that hit my brain a couple years ago and I'd like to know what other's think.

When a kid transfers school there's almost always three sides of the equation.  Parents say, "The IHSAA should let a family do what's best for the kid" and if the school a kid leaves decides to protest,  they're quick to say "that move was for an athletic transfer which is not allowed".  The school that receives the transfer says, "What am I supposed to do if a kid just showes up?"

My thought here isn't touching any of those statements.  We've all heard enough on Indianamat about this.

Here's my thought that I'd like to know what others think......

What is going to happen to wrestling in the long run as a whole if the number of state placing transfers continues?  Is wrestling going to become similar to gymnastics over time?  How are the small school/weaker programs going to keep up numbers of participants and quality of participants?  What about coaching at a smaller/weaker program?  Wouldn't it be more attractive place to coach if a potential state qualifier was in the room?  

Here is gymnastics program from last year:  http://www.ihsaa.org/portals/0/Flip Book/2017-18/gym/index.html#?page=8

If we continue on the growth in number of transfers, what happens to the smaller/weaker schools?  How long before the smaller/weaker schools start to drop the sport.  Once that starts happening, I'm concerned it will happen with other schools quickly.  Are the number of forfeits from 1a schools increasing or decreasing in the past 5 years?  What happens when a school has 5 guys on a team, and no one to coach them?  

I'm the Lorax.  I speak for the trees.

Are we ruining the future of Indiana wrestling with the amount of transfers?....but everyone needs a thneed, right?  

If my daughter has a child that want to wrestle (of course I mean 30 yrs from now, after she gets her MBA, starts her own business, and then is allowed to date for the first time), will Indiana wrestling be a sport with 40 schools and the same 4 teams compete for a title?  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok,  even though I like a good class wrestling debate as much as anyone,  its way to early for that and its digressing from the topic.  Im cutting that off.

Back to the topic,   the advent of athletic transfers is nothing new in Indiana. Wrestling has seen its share over the years, and it hasn't destroyed it yet.  At least not in the manner that Ed described.  But the I think the game changer was open enrollment/ and school voucher law passed in 2013.     As  the hypothetical process described  which is the the elimination of wrestling programs, seems somewhat feasible. I would say if you look at the big picture,  you can see it in the elimination of  Indiana schools.   Look what it did to the Indianapolis school district.  When enrollment became open, the better students left the weaker schools and went to the bigger schools.  Next thing you know,  3 schools aren't cutting it any more and their doors are shut permanently.  I think this will be a continuing trend in Indiana.  And that's the way we will see the loss of more wrestling programs, due to school consolidation.

On the athletic side, the one factor not mentioned by Ed was the fact that the IHSAA is cracking down on transfers more than ever and punishing the transferees by not granting eligibility.  I think this tactic has  been somewhat successful already.   Even though these complicated transfer rules deter transfers,  the problem with them is the hypocrisy of them.   By that I mean, the State  government of Indiana encourages kids to transfer for a better arts program, a journalism program, a chess team, a robotics program, a better offering of classes or just because a school has a better academic environment.   But on the flip side,  its wrong to transfer because of wrestling, football or gymnastics.    It doesn't make sense,  because these athletics programs are just as much of the school academic environment  as the other extra curricular activities mentioned earlier.    And from a legal perspective,  lawyers love to the fight that argument because the unfairness is very to prove and they normally win.  Look at the IHSAA record on transfer lawsuits,  they normally don't win and they also cost  a lot of money in legal fees.

But looking at the current state of wrestling, we have over 300 programs which  is good.   Also, I think  the IHSAA participation data was wrong.   The forfeit numbers are real, and we're seeing less participation.  But as described earlier, a lot of these programs are not so healthy with a only a handful of kids coming out.   It has to be de-motivating for a kid and a coach to only have 4 or 5 kids participate.    Also,  lets be real, there's currently less than 10 schools that can win the state title in any  given year and those are almost always the same 10 teams.  Albeit through great home grown coaching or some kind of migration of talent through transfers, the best teams normally find a way to stay on top.

 

 So where's it going.  What's it going to be like in 30 years when Ed's grandson or grand daughter is dominating the wrestling scene.  I think well have less wrestling  programs (see school consolidation),  but we still will have well over 200 programs and those programs will be much fuller than we have now.   So here's the question: would it be better to have less programs than currently,  but say most of  these programs can actually  field full teams, instead of the current situation where half the programs in the state are riddled with forfeits?

 

Edited by Wrestling Scholar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

CoachP - Transfers won’t kill the sport, but all the media circus around contact sports and the concussion nonsense just might. There is a major correlation between football and wrestling. USA Football numbers are down nationally by hundreds of thousands in the last 5 years. Parents are just getting more butt hurt about Little Johnny’s mental health. For a sport like wrestling that pushes kids harder than any other, 100% parental buy-in (especially from the mother) is paramount to a long lasting scholastic career in wrestling. The problem doesn’t lie in transfers, it lies in the number of kids that are embracing the sport. If the number of teams and most importantly, the health of wrestling programs stays static, transfers would be significant to a program’s success or demise. 

But, winning programs/great academic institutions will always attract parents searching for the best for their kid. Further, kids expelled for grades or conduct also predicate moves. So, transfers will always happen whether it is good for the kid or not. 

Be careful to not assume all transfers happen with wrestlers chasing bigtime programs. More times than not, the transfer is leaving a good program due to grades, conduct, or, in some cases, tuition. ;)

 

Edited by IndianaWrestlingGuy1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is how I see it.... I would say 90 percent of the high profile transfers are from families that wrestle year round. They spend money on training, travel, gear, camps, etc.... most of these families had no clue that they would become “wrestling” families when they first got married, and moved into the town that they grew up in or that was near their place of employment. With this said, as these kids are getting to high school age (or begin high school) parents are seeing that their wrestler may have an opportunity to get better training, better exposure, better partners, better coaches (that get paid more!), and for the most part a better education at other schools. Not to mention they are moving to communities where their friends, that they have been traveling the nation with for years, reside. These people are trying to that which is best for the family as a whole. 

The other 10 percent seem to be job transfers or just kids that got in trouble. 

No way you can knock anyone for trying to do what’s best for their kids. 

As far as small schools doing away with wrestling... if by losing 1 or 2 wrestlers the schools program folds, it most likely would have folded anyway. And... do we expect our top wrestlers to be satisfied with any program on the verge of being dissolved (just because they started life there). 

It is what it is.... I see no issues with what is happening. And yes.... we have lost great talent too (at Avon). We lost two time Florida state champ Trey Lane,  Zionsville studs (the williamsons), and others. Just families doing what they thought was best for their kids. No hard feelings and we just moved on. Families doing what they think is right or best for their kids is just a part of life and sports. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

I fully understand parents believing kids will have more success at a different school. Personally, we moved three years ago and we wanted to be in a certain school district and paid a price in increased housing costs and a double mortgage to do so. This was of course when my daughter was going into kindergarten and athletics were not in the picture.

The rampant transferring over the past few years is getting to the point where we actually have a Google doc to keep up with them for rankings purposes. It doesn't seem to be much better and only getting worse.

The trend is not good for the future of the sport. It won't take much for a couple schools to drop the sport then a snowball affect will happen and instead of finding a coach schools just cancel the program. When this happens it will be quick and sudden with very little time to react. As with college programs wrestling people need to be PRO-active instead of RE-active in this.

The IHSAA's hands are tied as no matter the rule there will be people that find a way around it. In Michigan and Ohio they are starting to crack down on kids transferring, however when you do that legitimate transfers get dinged at the same time.

This is not a classed issue, but lets be real no one is transferring from a 6A school to a 2A school. The perceived or real advantages or bigger schools will always win out.

There is no easy or good solution other than encouraging parents to keep their kids at the school they started at. More than anything peer pressure will do more than any IHSAA regulation.

Could see guys transferring to Yorktown......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy said:

 Parents are just getting more butt hurt about Little Johnny’s mental health. 

- I really hope you are not a parent, surely you can't be.  Actually, hopefully not a coach either.

 

Edited by Y2CJ41
correction, fixed formatting
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The participation numbers are pretty accurate in that they are taken directly from the amount of kids that certify during the season. Obviously we have kids quit and such, but those are good hard numbers that are as truthful as you can get in terms of participation. Doing a participation survey at the end of the season is hard and probably not the best way to get accurate counts.

The past year's data of an increase in participation by 1000 kids, but also an increase in forfeits does intrigue me. 

The school consolidation and open enrollment is very real. Schools are chasing that money that comes from the state and aren't shy about promoting their recent grades on a study some random company performed. Also don't think for a second that athletic success isn't a big thing for schools to promote. Athletic success gets constant almost weekly promotion for each of the schools that are doing well.

 

9 minutes ago, Cosgrove said:

Could see guys transferring to Yorktown......

The kids that went to Yorktown were from smaller communities and not from bigger schools.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a Small School with a 7 year old program - We are planning for 8 years down the road - and one thing constantly comes up is will the kids stay here or go to another school (bigger). As a parent we moved to Wheeler between my sons 8th & 9th grade year - I can say he probably would not have been a varsity wrestler at Valpo his freshmen year and his growth by wrestling against varsity competition tremendously helped him.

The time Coaches have spent with him at Wheeler because we had 9 kids , 13 kids and 18 kids the last 3 years has been unbelievable.  That small school environment made him so much better in my opinion as he wasn’t just a number. I think for some kids , like my son who was new to wrestling and played 3 sports, the small school benefits them tremendously.  Too many parents think going to the bigger school will develop their kid into a hammer. Sometimes they develop into the nail - 

I can see where this scenario of kids leaving could really hurt a program like ours. Fortunately for us we have dedicated coaches - 

I understand why kids stay and I understand why kids leave - I prefer they stay and grow , but I have a 6th grader still so I’m just thinking about training partners for him in 3 years.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, doctorWrestling said:

- I really hope you are not a parent, surely you can't be.  Actually, hopefully not a coach either.

I’m both, Doc. Card carrying member of the resistence to the media for years. Been coaching grade school football for years (3rd and up). Been coaching K-8 wrestling for years. Never had a concussed participant. Bunch of garbage being propogated and advertised. At least in grade school and middle school. 

Edited by Y2CJ41
Fixed quote
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What really got me thinking about the numbers situation was the shortage of refs and what the NWCA is talking about when they promote the sport.  

We are about 15 years away from the worst of what title IX proportionality rule did to college wrestling.  The fact that we're 15 years away means that we have the smallest pool of college wrestlers that would be added to the pool of refs (and coaches).

Looking at the numbers of small schools and then add the number of small school 'potential state qualifier' kid that transfers to a big successful school.  Made me wonder....in a shrinking number of potential coaches.  Is it going to affect the ability to get a good coach at a small/weaker school.  Same thing for getting the athlete to come to the wrestling room.

A great example would be Sliga's workout partner at Fishers HS.  If Sliga left Fishers, there's a much lesser chance of Seth Riley being on the wrestling team in HS.  Let alone qualifying for the state tourney as a senior.

If every time Sheridan HS had a wrestler that had potential, and he transfered to Carmel...eventually Sheridan is going to stop having a wrestling team if they can't get kids out or get a coach to coach them.  One schools start dropping wrestling, there will be many more to follow, in my opinion.

Hence the gymnsatics analogy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Mattyb said:

This is how I see it.... I would say 90 percent of the high profile transfers are from families that wrestle year round. They spend money on training, travel, gear, camps, etc.... most of these families had no clue that they would become “wrestling” families when they first got married, and moved into the town that they grew up in or that was near their place of employment. With this said, as these kids are getting to high school age (or begin high school) parents are seeing that their wrestler may have an opportunity to get better training, better exposure, better partners, better coaches (that get paid more!), and for the most part a better education at other schools. Not to mention they are moving to communities where their friends, that they have been traveling the nation with for years, reside. These people are trying to that which is best for the family as a whole. 

This is exactly the hypothetical situation I'm talking about.  "I'm doing what's best for my kid".  

But is it going to end high school wrestling as we know it because we are going to become a club when the numbers are so low?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to stray too far off the topic far, but gymnastics is only sorta a good comparison.  In many area’s the demise of gymnastics was due to girls transferring schools or only clustering in certain hotbed locations.  A large part of it was due to elite level girls just not coming out for their HS programs.  Those were getting training at their academy and higher level competition at their multistate meets, so didn’t want to sacrifice some of that development by taking a few months “off” for HS level stuff.  For many HS gymnastics coaches their biggest issue is trying to convince a few of girls it would be fun to represent the school.  Only a handful of teams in the state can consistently get a few of those girls out and they often are one which are connected to a high level academy with their coaching staff at the HS too.   So gymnastics has a similarity in terms of the talent leaving for a better location.   But unlike wrestling much of their talent was just leaving HS competition causing teams to collapse, rather than girls transferring to the already elite HS programs.  I’m sure at this point some do transfer but a lot of that at this point maybe be due to the sheer lack of teams available.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Ed Pendoski said:

This is exactly the hypothetical situation I'm talking about.  "I'm doing what's best for my kid".  

But is it going to end high school wrestling as we know it because we are going to become a club when the numbers are so low?

So what would you suggest these people do? 

I was at a meet last year. The school has had multiple state champs in the past. They now have a new staff. Multiple parents from that school told me about how their kids were not getting what they need to get to the next level (these kids have the ability to wrestle in college). So... I spent extra time just watching to see what the fuss was all about. I watched as the kids corner each other many times that day. One of their state quailifier level kids got a good match against another good kid. 5 seconds into the match the head coach starts to yell “throw him in a headlock”!!!! True story!! 

One of the best kids from this team has left the school. The school that he left for is rated much higher academically also. 

Again... with alll of this said... are you to suggest that the parents just stick with the course that they were on???? I say no way!!! No way this family sacrifices opportunity for their child to get better coaching, partners, and education just because some other people think that a handful of kids moving is going to “kill” high school wrestling. 

I also spoke with the dad of a state champ today. His son moved schools right before high school. He is of the opinion that the state championship may not have happened and his colleges offers may not have been there, if they stayed put. Can we blame this family for “killing” high school wrestling???

I really don’t think that these kids moving to get what they need will kill high school wrestling.

I typically don’t post an opinion on a topic like this without posting a suggestion to help (try not to complain without helping). With that said, we have a great coaches accociation within our state. The resources that our high school coaches have are abundant. With this said, if a coach or coaches have an issue with kids leaving certain failing programs, then they need to OFFER THEM HELP. I really think that coaches helping coaches could have a much larger impact on our sport then a kid or two leaving a handful of programs for greener pastures. 

Btw... just heard that Center Grove signed two great coaches. Saw a couple for sale signs in wrestling famliys yards today!!! I kid I kid! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, MattM said:

Not to stray too far off the topic far, but gymnastics is only sorta a good comparison.  In many area’s the demise of gymnastics was due to girls transferring schools or only clustering in certain hotbed locations.  A large part of it was due to elite level girls just not coming out for their HS programs.  Those were getting training at their academy and higher level competition at their multistate meets, so didn’t want to sacrifice some of that development by taking a few months “off” for HS level stuff.  For many HS gymnastics coaches their biggest issue is trying to convince a few of girls it would be fun to represent the school.  Only a handful of teams in the state can consistently get a few of those girls out and they often are one which are connected to a high level academy with their coaching staff at the HS too.   So gymnastics has a similarity in terms of the talent leaving for a better location.   But unlike wrestling much of their talent was just leaving HS competition causing teams to collapse, rather than girls transferring to the already elite HS programs.  I’m sure at this point some do transfer but a lot of that at this point maybe be due to the sheer lack of teams available.  

Can you not foresee a scenario where this very situation plays out in wrestling? Didnt it sort of already occur with a recent IU transfer in? You contradict yourself by saying that gymnasts left for a better location then in next sentence saying their talent was just leaving HS competition. Would there not be a point in time where "elite parents" tied to these elite academies decide they don't want LittleJimmy wasting potential injury/concussions ( sorry INWrestlingGuy but I think they do occur) on tomato can high school competition and just go to the Super 32, Fargos of the circuit? I can. Also you mention that the gymnasts clustered in hotbed locations....isn't that why we're having this topic? 

Not trying to pick on you. Just trying to say that the exact scenario you see in gymnastics could very well play out in wrestling for the exact same reasons. 

Great topic..great discussion. More of this please.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Mattyb said:

 

I also spoke with the dad of a state champ today. His son moved schools right before high school. He is of the opinion that the state championship may not have happened and his colleges offers may not have been there, if they stayed put. Can we blame this family for “killing” high school wrestling???I

A lot of thoughts on this topic...

1) If the middle school "state champ" got so good and won state while at one school, why would he need to transfer schools to win state? They have proved they could do it at that school.

2) "coaches that get paid more" does not make them a better coach. 

3) I can't imagine how hard it is for athletic directors to find good coaches. And then for those coaches to find good assistants, and a junior high coach, and youth coaches. I feel pretty blessed to have a great coaching staff. But small towns have enough time finding one guy that can do it. The sport, to do it right, is year round. I read an article a few years ago about how most coaches were either divorced or their kids were grown up, because it takes so much time away from their family. Tough balance. I am finding out with a 3 and a 1 year old...

4) As a coach, you better not put all your eggs in one basket. At Edgewood, we have always stressed the team aspect. That's why I fell in love with this sport. I want to run somebody you don't want to mess with out at each weight class. But it's hard for schools on the rise (or small schools) to have depth. 1 lost athlete can mean a lot. Over the past few years, I have lost a kid to Missouri (he took 5th there), a state qualifier to a rival school, and a regional champ dropped out of school. It's important for a coach to stress more than one athlete's importance.

So, I think what honestly hurts the sport (and all youth sports in general), is the year round aspect. We are producing the best wrestlers ever, but I think losing a lot of the "casual" wrestlers, which gives us much more depth in the sport of wrestling. "Hey wanna come try wrestling for the first time and get your face kicked in by this guy who has trained everyday for 5 years? Does that sound fun?" 

Parents deserve to do what is best for their child. Transfers are just part of the reason wrestling has issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, ehscoach said:

A lot of thoughts on this topic...

1) If the middle school "state champ" got so good and won state while at one school, why would he need to transfer schools to win state? They have proved they could do it at that school.

2) "coaches that get paid more" does not make them a better coach. 

3) I can't imagine how hard it is for athletic directors to find good coaches. And then for those coaches to find good assistants, and a junior high coach, and youth coaches. I feel pretty blessed to have a great coaching staff. But small towns have enough time finding one guy that can do it. The sport, to do it right, is year round. I read an article a few years ago about how most coaches were either divorced or their kids were grown up, because it takes so much time away from their family. Tough balance. I am finding out with a 3 and a 1 year old...

4) As a coach, you better not put all your eggs in one basket. At Edgewood, we have always stressed the team aspect. That's why I fell in love with this sport. I want to run somebody you don't want to mess with out at each weight class. But it's hard for schools on the rise (or small schools) to have depth. 1 lost athlete can mean a lot. Over the past few years, I have lost a kid to Missouri (he took 5th there), a state qualifier to a rival school, and a regional champ dropped out of school. It's important for a coach to stress more than one athlete's importance.

So, I think what honestly hurts the sport (and all youth sports in general), is the year round aspect. We are producing the best wrestlers ever, but I think losing a lot of the "casual" wrestlers, which gives us much more depth in the sport of wrestling. "Hey wanna come try wrestling for the first time and get your face kicked in by this guy who has trained everyday for 5 years? Does that sound fun?" 

Parents deserve to do what is best for their child. Transfers are just part of the reason wrestling has issues.

Great points coach. I would like to add the fact that I have much respect for you all you do. I appreciate all you coaches. I am just sharing why I think that it is what it is. As to your points....

1) The state champ that I am talking about did not win middle school state. With that said... I coached a lot of kids that won middle school state in club (we had 4 in 2015 alone). But honestly club had much less to do with those championships then the academies and summer travel teams that they were on. I am a big boy and can admit that the additional training is the biggest difference (not community club or middle school workouts). Very few middle school state champs practice at school clubs only. To say that middle school wrestling alone is producing middle school state champs is not a valid argument. And who is anybody to say that what he believes is wrong. Its just his educated opinion.

2) Additional funding does not mean a coach is better. But.... having a large war chest does give elite programs more coaches and resources. Look at the Center Grove hires. That's just life... typically more money equals more resources. It is what it is.

3) God bless all of our coaches. It is such a thankless job. Please know that most of us parents and fans appreciate you all more than you will ever know. Please don't take a family moving on as disrespect. I just don't think that people moving to attempt to put anyone in their family in a better position to reach goals or succeed in life can be looked bad upon. Just like any relationship in life.. sometimes things just aren't the right fit for both parties.

4) Totally agree with this!!! I am a fan of Edgewood wrestling. This brings me to my point about coaches helping coaches. I think that if coaches see other nearby programs struggling, then they should reach out to help. My point was that coaches helping other coaches to keep programs afloat will have a bigger impact on keeping these programs alive, then worrying about a few kids leaving. Just trying to suggest something that we can actually do. We have little or no control over the exits. May as well try to help these programs the best that we can.

Not one coach wants a kid to leave the program. It even stings more when you have invested a ton of time in that kid. With this said, it happens at big schools too. Families move for many reasons. Kids go to private schools for a perceived or actual better education. Its not going to stop. Me personally have chose to stay in the same community since my senior started in kindergarten. It was just the choice I made. I just don't see it is up to me or anyone to suggest that another family is to stay put here or anywhere else.

Not sure how many wrestlers are in Indiana. The list on the other thread (of studs that have moved) is at 10 (at most). Pretty sure that this is a very low percentage of kids that transferred opposed to those who have stayed put. Could we be overreacting on this whole transfer thing??? Maybe or maybe not??? I really don't know.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How often did transfers happen in the 70's 80's 90's? Not very often...Now ask yourself the question why didn't it happen often? Do you think it is because kids were built different? Coaches weren't recruiting? Kids believed they could win where they were at? Why is it happening so much now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.