Champ725

Great Start for Aiden Torres of Chesterton going 10-0 in Illinois today 

Great Start for Aiden Torres of Chesterton going 10-0 in Illinois today 

Forgot about Cruz he’s toughhhhh

Yes in all years past it was at NC the day after semi state.  It was the Sunday after the sectional last year at CG.   This year, it is the Sunday after the regional at CG.   I also know that in year 2021 it will be hosted by Carmel.  

Gage Torres

The one on the calendar is a team Duals middle school state I believe. CG will be hosting the individual again this year and I have heard it will be Feb. 9th

Great question. There is no IHSWCA Middle School State on the ISWA event calendar. But I am pretty sure it was there last year..... I thought it would be at Center Grove moving forward....
 
But there is an ISWA Middle School State listed on the ISWA event schedule for 2/23/2020 at Carmel HS....  

Curious as to thoughts on this classes 6th grade group coming in as possibly one of the most decorated?   Reynolds, Dickman, Harden and Rioux need no explanations.  Landon Haines being held back as a 6th grader with Gavin Jendreas.  Include  Hawkins and Stanley to boot as 6th graders w/ Hawkins & Stanley doing big things nationally recently.  Maybe possibly one of the most nationally accomplished groups in some time?  

Even though I am on here daily I never log in  And leave remarks the last time I did  Was to tell everybody that Brayden would not be finishing his freshman year due to moving back to center Grove  And unfortunately that is why I am on here today in preparing for super 32  Brayden  Tore the ACL in his left knee And requires surgery which means this is the  Official end of his high school career Recovery time takes us into the summer There is no doubt in my mind that if all the obstacles were not thrown in his way he could have done so much more in high school His one and only full season resulted in an undefeated state champ We have spoken  To Ohio and they are still honoring his scholarship so there is no doubt that you will hear his name again in the wrestling community This is a hard pill to swallow we will lick our wounds and battle forward  And please grammar police keep your comments to yourself Preciate everybody who has supported him Look for him to take over the mac conference in the next couple years

Just want to thank all the Indiana wrestling fans that came to Carver Hawkeye Arena to cheer on Jesse(70+).  Jesse definitely had the loudest crowd besides the 2 Iowa commits.  Also thank you to the Joe, Mike, and Caleb for coming out(even got to see Caleb's sick dance moves).  This was an amazing weekend for Jesse and our family.  Jesse was really happy with the support he received from everyone and is already talking about coming back next year.  
Side note: Indiana has had 5 WNO competitors compared to Iowa's 1.  Indiana is killing it on the national scene and there is another strong group of young men in middle school that is going to keep that tradition alive.  Indiana is and will continue to be respected.

Congrats to Jesse Mendez who went out and represented the State of Indiana very well at Who’s #1. He put on two awesome matches that could have gone either way. I believe he was the youngest person there and will be back to battle again for that spot. 

Congrats to Jesse Mendez who went out and represented the State of Indiana very well at Who’s #1. He put on two awesome matches that could have gone either way. I believe he was the youngest person there and will be back to battle again for that spot. 

@PhillyFanMD is at it again..... lol! This dude is jacking with you guys. Hes a troll fellas. Save your breath. 
And 365 training is not for most, but a rare few have to do it. I was visiting my son this weekend parents weekend. The coach gave the kids the weekend off to hang with parents. With that said... we ended up in an empty wrestling room on Saturday and Sunday for work outs. Some kids just love it. Are we sposed to tell those kids not to do what they love to do everyday? Are we sposed to say.. "sorry kiddo I think you may get burnt out. So.. we are playing Xbox today." 
I do get what your saying, most kids will choose Xbox over practice, if you give them  a choice. But... you do have the one percent that want to be great. Gotta let it happen. And.. if a kids doesn't want to put in the work, we have to tell them  "being a semi-state qualifier is a great goal.. go get it kid." Just have to set realistic goals, for the amount of work that they are willing to put in. Just my opinion. 
As a youth and middle school coach, I tell all of my parents at our annual meeting to start the year: "If your kid wants to be a State Champ, we can help him do that! If your kid just wants to get faster and stronger to be a better lineman, we can help him with that too!" Its all about setting expectations and goals. So... to answer your question, here is what to do:
Communicate with kids and parents. Come up with goals, and tell them what it takes to reach those goals. Let them know that not reaching this goals is a possibility. And..... If they feel like walking away..... sit down with them and talk honestly on why you think they should stay. The successful coaches that I have been around do this. The unsuccessful coaches set no goals, and tell kids to kick rocks when the think about quitting. 

Human Nature is to always say things were harder yrs ago and not just in wrestling but all aspects of life.....the truth is the kids nowadays wrestle a lot more across the country in bigger tournaments and Duals from a very young age. So IMO I think the sport of wrestling with talent coming out of Indiana will be just fine 

I think that you are talking about depth of talent, more or less. I think I get what your talking about. It just comes down to the softening of our society in general. Back in your day, if you committed to be a part of a team or do something... your parents made you do it, and follow through with your commitment. Also... there was a lot less for kids to do back then. It seems now we as parents (yes... myself included) are allowing kids to do what they want. Back when... football had two a days. You had no choice. You went to practice! That doesn't exist anymore.  
Seems that more and more parents are giving kids a choice on rather or not to put in the work to excel at stuff like sports. Guess what??? If you give most kids a choice on rather or not to go to a tough practice, the majority will say... “naw”. The kids that are excelling are the kids that either (A) don’t want to miss a workout to play video games... or (B) parents do not allow them to skip workouts.
With all of that said... I think that you have been referring to the gap between the haves and the have nots. Where as a typical (non year round) varsity kid is not that “tough”. It is just a sign of the times my friend. Society is changing. 
With all of that said, I don’t think that the talent level is decreasing..... yet. Youth football numbers are currently taking a plunge. Our youth numbers seem to be remaining strong. Who knows???.... wrestling may be the next football. If that does happen, that’s when we will see the decrease in talent. 

Human Nature is to always say things were harder yrs ago and not just in wrestling but all aspects of life.....the truth is the kids nowadays wrestle a lot more across the country in bigger tournaments and Duals from a very young age. So IMO I think the sport of wrestling with talent coming out of Indiana will be just fine 

This topic is about Indiana state. Cole will definitely be in finals at IHPO this weekend. 

Repeat champ in Illinois. 

I believe this years incoming class of 6th graders will be full of some top level talent including kids who have been wrestling for years in big tournaments. You have kids like Kyle Harden, Parker Reynolds, Revin Dickman, Evan Stanley, Nate Rioux, Landon Hawkins, Griffin Van Tichelt, Clinton Shepard, Jeffrey Huyvaert, Asher Ratliffe, Miguel Rojas, Jett Goldsberry, and  Brant Beck. I’m sure I’m leaving some others out. 

412 wins 2 losses.  Alex and Jason Tsirtsis that is ridiculous. 8 state titles

Agreed!  Bryan Bailey has done more in providing opportunities for kid in Indiana than any other person I know in my short span as a wrestling parent.  
Here is a list of Duals that my son has cut his teeth on over the last 5-6 years with opportunities from Coach Bryan Bailey:
1. West Penn Duals (PA) - 2st weekend of Nov
2. Turkey Burp Dual (PA) - 3rd weekend of Nov
3. Outlaw Duals (IN) - 1st weekend of Dec
4. Christmas Duals (Sparty) (MI) 2/3 weekend of Dec
5. Defense Soap Duals (OH) 3rd weekend of Dec
6. Dixie National Duals (GA) 3rd weekend in Dec
7. NUWAY National Duals (KY) 1st weekend in Jan
8. Walton-Verona Bearcat Brawl (KY) 2nd weekend in Jan
9. Wadsworth Duals (OH) 3rd weekend in Jan
10. West Virginia Duals (WV) 4rth weeken in Jan
11. Lee Paulmalak Duals (IA) 1st weekend in April
12. AAU National Elem Duals (TN) 2nd Weekend in April
13. Viper Pit (OH) 2/3rd weekend in April
14. NHSCAs Virginia Beach Duals (VA) 3rd weekend in May
15. Olivet Duals (MI) Sometime in June
16. Grand River Rumble (MI) 2nd weekend in July
This is only 16 opportunities.....I'm sure if I were to ask, Bailey could provide 16 more.  Opportunities like these are how to IMPROVE. 
Brian has told me since we met that he wants to get Indiana BETTER on the MAT!  I can definitely say that he is providing opportunities for Indiana kids to get BETTER on the MAT with Dual Opportunities, Practices, and Camps (Latora Leg Camp).  
*Keep your eyes on this NASTY Disney Dual Team that will be competing in Orlando mid June. 
#Indiana
Kenny Harden
 
 

Indiana Smackdown is taking 3 teams to Grand River Rumble in Lansing, MI on July 12-14.
We have an great gear package from KC Battlegear and our teams always have a great time! 
Our gear has a matrix theme with 1's and 0's if you zoom in close on the picture.
Please contact if interested: 812-525-7304
Weights Needed:
9U
43, 56, 60, 92, HWT
12U
54, 58, 78, 86, 140
15U
75, 80, 85, 95, 100, 140, 150, 170

IMO.... any USAW or UWW sanctioned event should count as a qualifier. I think the rule was put into place to ensure our wrestlers were training and actually learning freestyle. Hats off to the kids that went other national regional events and to any UWW events. It would be a shame if any of these kids were left out of state. For being short on qualifiers. 

Lemley pinned both Goin and Frazier at  Chesterton’s freestyle duals this past weekend. Lemley is a hammer! 

Well in order to compete at a National level ISWA/Indiana has to make changes...more than a few.
Year after year you have kids like Goin, Purdy, Cruz, Goodwin, Jones, Schoeff, Rioux, Harden, Gilbert, Carrol. Steenbeke...I can go on for days!!
These are the top tier kids in the state & country (I know I missed quite a few), they’ll wrestle on the Scorpions, Buxton, Minion, Team USA, Texas Dynamite etc
Here’s the thing Indiana can be a top 5 team at these National Duals year after year if they would take the top kids from each weight class and compete. 
All the while keeping in mind that this isn’t all about money and $250 team fees, with 4 holes in the lineup that are sure to be Pink bracket bound.
Understand it’s about wrestling and growing our sport, NOT money!!
There should be a 4 Regionals for MS State and it should be seeded correctly, there should be a qualifier for ISWA State (used to be top 4 on a weekend tournament),  the whole 2 weekend tournaments to be qualified for Freestyle state is fine, BUT what about the young men who go on International trips, UWW events, FloNats, all these should count towards the “2” tournaments for Freestyle State.
I understand that ISWA/Indiana is not receiving the big $35 entry fee, but I also understand that if these young men/women go to the above events that they will see the top competition in the country & see where the bar is at.
The end result is a better, well rounded wrestler that can compete at a National level plain and simple.
Take Fargo for instance, $995 for both styles??? Is that what is best for Indiana???
By the time parents pay the “fees” and then fly out to ND, food, hotel, loss of a weeks pay...this is a $3-4K week of wrestling.
Organize, Inform, go to the best Duals in the country, compete, see where the bar is at...repeat!!
At the end of the day it is about putting together the best team possible, & turning out quality Nationally ranked wrestlers that represent the state of Indiana, NOT MONEY!
Someone needs to grab a hold of the giant pool of talent in this state and put together a Gold bracket National team that can compete, and forget about dollar signs!!! JMO