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?