Coach Hull

Thanks for the insight. I do understand what you are saying in that the kids on our teams are from the community and can be used to fill other teams who have forfeits.  I get it.  For example, at Perry this past weekend Indiana Pride had over 20 members wrestling for their club teams rather than us and that is both expected and ok. Fortunately we never wrestled against them but many/most of our kids wrestle for their community schools already.  Our issue however is we have a select group of kids/parents who don't want to wrestle for another team and in some cases can't because their community does not have a team.  I get the concept of sending some of those kids to other schools/teams to fill their roster, but that is not what these parents want or pay us for.  They bring them to us so their kids can get better, have access to higher quality training, and because of the coaching they receive with us. Simply put, they want them under our banner with us in their corner.  We can always stick with the individual tournaments but the dual team concept is something my parents have shown interest in, which is why I posted in the first place.
 
I am all for community schools filling their rosters and having great tournaments, but there is a small niche of kids and parents who want more/better opportunities for their athletes to advance in this sport and these academies fill that void.  When I first started IPWA it was to provide Indiana athletes of all ages another opportunity to maximize their potential and our results have been fortunate enough to speak for themselves.  RWA, Contenders, Outlawz, etc. are in the same boat.  I do not want to take up the torch of leadership for this cause because I have other responsibilities for Indiana wrestling, but I do wish these academies could compete against each other so our "other" kids can have that opportunity as well. However, if the academies were allowed to compete in a dual state tournament in a separate division and only two groups signed up, lol, then I will digress.  Again, I am just now getting involved in Indiana youth wrestling and I do not want to overstep my bounds or step on anyone's toes. I appreciate the follow-up and and of course the platform this message board provides for us to bounce ideas around and sharpen each other....all in the name of Indiana wrestling.

I happened to see that dual as well and caught myself yelling at the TV non-stop, match after match.  We forfeited 125 to Jiminez and pretty much got rolled on.  It looks like the same issue Indiana Cadets and Juniors have at the national level where we wrestle "tough" but tough doesnt cut it when everyone is tough. We have to be killers on the mat, meaning attacking, taking shots, etc.  It's pretty tough to watch really, no pun intended.  Everyone calls for Goldman's job year after year and there are plenty of theories why he still has the position.  I know Simmons addition has helped in the recruiting aspect bringing in some out of state talent and at least getting some top recruit visits, but success breeds success and IU unfortunately hasn't had too much.  And as far as talent goes, many of Indiana's best do go to IU, and have for years.  It's just that when they get there no one seems to maximize their potential.  In their defense I'm sure the coaching staff were not pleased with our performance and will look to make some adjustments.  No one likes losing...especially like that.  Best wishes to IU and our guys.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2014/December/11/Foxcatcher-gets-three-Golden-Globe-nominations
 
It can be seen in Indianapolis on January 16th at Keystone Art Cinema