PatParham

The easiest solution is to set up the brackets so no unseeded wrestlers have to wrestle the top seeds first round. This has been done at Sectionals before. Up to 10 teams and nobody has to wrestle a seeded wrestler at all. 11 or 12 teams would only have to face the 6th and 5th seeds, which really sorts out those last seeded spots.
Convince all the head coaches in your sectional that it is the fairest for the wrestlers. Should be easy since it’s very logical. If IHSAA complains, just apologize. (Asking permission from Faulkins before is a roll of the dice for what his answer will be that day)
The only complaint I’ve ever heard is about team score bonus points that first round. Sectional team titles mean a lot less now than they used to with team state. The years when the first round wasn’t scored, my sectional got permission to set up our brackets this way. I’m disappointed it didn’t become a statewide rule. 

Exactly how this data is collected over time is essential to its interpretation.  Even still it will likely be multi-factorial in casues.
 

I'd love more details on this, 1000 new wrestlers.
Are they from big, small, medium schools?
Are they freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors?
Are they new to the sport or coming back out after sabatical?
Etc....
1000 new wrestlers is a lot and good as long as it's across the board.

This fight was nothing short of inspirational... Elkins has the heart of a champion.

None of this is new this year.  USAW has required a background check for a Coaches Membership Card for several years.  And the ISWA has required the Coaches Card along with at least copper certification for many years to get the wristband at state.

Wild Eggs is Awesome....suggestion to try Mr. Potato Head Casserole

The 1st set of NWCA Rankings were released with Wabash coming in at #4 in the nation!
 
Four individuals ranked: Broukal, Bova, Brummett & Lefever
 
Check them out: http://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/d3/Team
 
Also if you want our 2016-17 Poster mailed to you send me a message with your address!
 
Coach Irwin
 

Why reserve a gym? Just do it in the practice room then you don't need to move mats. 

Kudos to those who are thinking outside the box!

Just a reminder to anyone who wants to not get anymore work done today. The duals are streaming for free on trackwrestling. Enjoy the nice weather

I wouldn't say that I have scientific articles.  I have read many articles about youth sports that talk about this notion that we have to compete more than we train. Couple things kind of got me on to this idea about 10 years ago.  Jim Humphrey was doing an RTC at Peru and as the kids were wrestling live, he and I got on the subject and really opened my eyes.  The main thing I remember is him saying that we wrestle too much and don't practice enough.  We don't drill enough and work on the basics enough.  He said kids should not be competing every weekend and they should limit the number of national tourneys.  So, one thing I've tried to do when I go to camps or clinics is pick the brain of the clinician on this subject.  I have spoken to Valentin Kahlika (hopefully I spelled it correctly)...he is Aaron Pico's coach and he was adamant that we have our system backward in the U.S.  Jake Herbert came and did a 2 day clinic at Rochester and we talked a lot about their BASE system and it is very similar to what Valentin said.  The Soviets do it completely opposite of what we do.  When their kids start out, they spend 2-3 years doing tumbling and basic drills.  No competition and very little "live" wrestling.  The next 2-3 years, they continue with this path, adding more technique and "live".  They really start working on sparring and play wrestling at this point.  Kids might attend 2-3 tournaments in their region.  Once they are teenagers, is when they really start competing.  But here is the kicker...they still only compete about 5-7 times per year.  Jake and Valentin both said we put too much emphasis on competition and weight cutting.  I've talked to Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Cael Sanderson, John Smith, Bruce Baumgartner, Brandon Slay, and basically any other coach that has come to Wabash College's camp.  While they all have a little different spin on it, they all agree that we compete too much.  One of the things Valentin and Herbert both said is that sparring or play wrestling is vital to development.
 
There are some good articles out there on Russian Wrestling, specifically one region in Russia that has developed like 90% of all their Gold Medalists in freestyle wrestling.  My numbers might be off but it is a crazy stat.  Andy Hrovat went and trained there for 6 months and that is where he developed his ideas for the BASE system.  He kept a blog and talked a lot about how they do things.  It was very interesting.
 
Hope this helps!
 
Clint

Very, very true.  No one can deny the fact that he's made big leaps forward his last 3 or 4 big tournaments.  His last 8 matches, he's 7-1 with wins over Cuba's top guy, the U.S.'s previous top guy, and 3 over the guys everyone hoped to coronate as the U.S.'s next top guy (Stieber and Pico).  And he hit big-time, must-have moves in at least 4 of those wins.  That said, guys that are successful domestically but that struggle to score much tend to have a lower ceiling in terms of international performance.  Here's hoping his offense continues to develop and he proves idiots like me wrong.

Freestyle is dying in Indiana. I don't have the answer but each year tends to get worse w numbers. When my oldest (whose now in college) was wrestling freestyle at the fair grounds, that was a huge tournament. In fact, it was THE tournament to be at. I was just looking at some of his brackets that had 55-65 kids in it. The local tournaments would have 10-15 kids in every bracket, for the most part. Crazy bad how things have changed.

I don't think those picks are too radical, either. Very seldom do all the chalk favorites win at each and every weight, and there are circumstances that make each pick possible. This event is so fascinating because there are so many great wrestlers, each with his or her own style and matchup preferences. I would bet the farm that there will be more than one "surprising" winner next weekend

Evan ellis gets the 5th seed.
 
That's the last Indiana kid pre-seeded.

It's been said a couple of times already I think but if Freestyle is something the ISWA wants to get back to in Indiana, then the focus and push will need to change.  I think Freestyle is great.  Loved it back in the late 80's and early 90's...it helped develop me at a very fast rate.  But back then, that's all there was.  Part of the problem is they started changing the rules and just made it really stupid IMO.  I think it is back to being what it once was, but all the rule changes turned a lot of people off to it.
 
Having said that...here is my 2 cents to pushing Freestyle again:
 
1.  Folkstyle Season for PeeWee-Schoolboy's will be November and December.  Tournaments can start the beginning of November and end just before Christmas Break.  We don't need to have a state tournament...we have too many "state" and "national' tournaments.  Just wrestle.  If you want to have a state tournament, then make the local tournaments a qualifier for the final one in December.
 
2.  January to IHSAA State Finals- Training for freestyle/Greco technique and rules interpretation.  Train your officials and pairings people.  No tourneys.  It's a proven fact that our kids wrestle too much and don't practice enough.  Ask any other country in the world and they will tell you we do the exact opposite of what they do.  We do not get the results other countries do...hmmm.
 
3.  February - March: Freestyle/Greco tournaments only.  
 
4.  April - Freestyle and Greco State
 
5.  Late April - ??: Training and more training for those kids that make the Fargo teams or any other types of teams.
 
I'm still thinking through some things but those are some rough toughts.  I'm telling you right now, kids will train freestyle if they want to get better.  Those that don't, will see a noticeable difference in their HS seasons and they will get on board.  If they don't, they will get passed by.  
 
Thoughts??

I was an ISWA board member for 12 years. No decision is made lightly. Lots of thought, discussion, and debate goes into everything they do. For your specific circumstances, it might not make sense. For the good of the future of the state, it does. If I was still on the board, I would have voted for this. I hope the ISWA doesn't repeat what they did last year and give last second waivers. Two years in a row will completely ruin their reputation for a long time. They should stand by the decision they made that is best for the whole state in the long run, not just what is good for your wrestler now.
 
Again, all these tournaments you're referring to are folkstyle, not freestyle. Practicing freestyle and competing in freestyle are very different training and preparation for the bigger tournaments. The point is to get more and better competition at the local tournaments to help everyone improve. It's not a change that is going to happen overnight. It's going to take a couple of years to get local tournaments back to the way they were 10+ years ago. I remember easily getting 6-8 matches every Saturday at the local events. We can get back to that, but not with your mindset that your kid is too good for that. When I coached Sliga, he had to attend local tournaments to qualify for state. That's the way it was so he did it. He didn't ask for an exemption because he was on travel teams and won national championships. He simply found a way to meet the requirements as they were set.

Depending on if this is strictly high school or if it goes further into college I would say Riley Lefever of Carroll. He lost once senior year in the state finals, but has since moved on to win 2 DIII titles at Wabash

The Tow Yard Brewery just across the parking lot from Arby's has good burgers......and beer

McGill v Cosgrove final match...  was different type of anticipation because they wrestled so many times that year but the last matchup was highly anticipated...

Best value = Yats on Mass Ave
Best tenderloin sandwich = Slippery Noodle Inn

First, I would like to wish all wrestlers competing in the high school state finals this weekend good luck.
 
I will be including our flyer that has info about our high school groups and elementary/middle school groups. The high school groups will start back up on Sunday, March 6. The flyer will include times, fees, and other information. Please email Coach Eppert if you would like to train with us, so you can be added to our list.
 
If you have any questions please email or call me.
 
http://ciawrestling.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CIA-Flyer-2016.pdf
 
 

Can we go back and see what the presentations were for wrestle backs in the years past to see if we can add to them or improve on them? Not assuming they were bad just wanting to see them.

Inside scoop from a very reliable source is that him and Owen Doster will be roommates at Wabash College.  Killing the myth that wrestlers are not smart, both going PRE-MED..
GO LITTLE GIANTS!!!

I would like to echo the praise for the finals introductions.  I think dressing our sport up like that can only help it grow.