tiger19

New rule... This rule applies to the 3rd period only....The "injured" wrestler gets 30 seconds of non-penalized injury time during his first time-out. After exceeding 30 seconds, opponent gets choice. 30 seconds isn't enough time to get a real breather. It's kind of like the automatic 10 second run off in football late in the game or losing a timeout in football. The only guy that gets screwed is the kid with a real injury.

John Smith stated at a past coaches' clinic that Indiana kids get passed over in college recruiting because our state is limited to only one class. Personally, I take pride in seeing our state's products go on to compete at the next level. I think our problem is that we think that winning a state championship is the pinnacle of a career. Most state champions are setting their aspirations beyond a state championship. Take Junior Nationals, for example. It is packed with state champ after state champ. Does it mean anything that you draw a class A state champ from Iowa in round 1 and a class AAA state champ from Oklahoma in round 2? It only matters who you beat and who beats you. Another aspect to consider is that the wrestling community is in a constant battle with the rest of society to build the sport. Look what success does for a small school's support of wrestling. Wouldn't it be nice to see large crowds (like EMD) from more schools? There are often small school athletes doing well at the state level, but it only stands to reason that larger schools have more competition for varsity spots; therefore, via competition they should produce better rosters consistently over a long period of time. It's athletic Darwinism (survival of the fittest). How about transfers? If more schools could provide avenues for success, maybe we wouldn't see over zealous parents uprooting their kids to go to traditional powers. Some of the most storied wrestling communities in other states are tied to small schools. Would that have happened if there weren't greater chances for success due to competing on a level playing field? Who knows, but you could make an argument that their sustained excellence would have been harder to come by. Lastly, most of the people who are hardliners on single-class wrestling were not one of the 16 kids in their weight classes to make state when they were in high school. Maybe if there were multiple classes available, they would have advanced past sectionals and been happier with their careers. Heck, look at the "old" days. There were 4 wrestlers to make it to state each year, with no wrestle-backs. No one can argue that wrestling isn't better off now with more state placers and the chance to wrestle-back. The bottom line is that more state champions equates to more college wrestlers from the state, more interest in the sport, and higher attendance at events. What's wrong with aspiring to these goals for Indiana wrestling? P.S. Whether Indian goes to class wrestling at some point in the future is not nearly as important as restoring the team score at Individual State (without giving up Team State). The IHSAA needs to bite the bullet and pay for more medals and trophies.