Trbell

No problem, no harm done. I understood your point but really responded for the desperate housewife crew. Good luck this season and God Bless.

Are you still looking for a 145, or need a back up? I assume with that ,any teams you get at least five matches correct?

Exactly, we should all want our kids to do better than us, to have a better life. What I am talking about is parents pushing their own dreams on their kids because they did not accomplish their own goals for one excuse or another, but that is another topic and not the purpose of this thread. Sorry, if I got off topic. Good luck this season.

As stated above 2) parents living through their children and pushing them because they did not have the work ethic to accomplish their goals and (Fail) short for excuse or another. Failure is the excuse of the individual that lacks work ethic.

Just seen your statement about HH program is a dying program, and your condescending statement about NC1A podium and now rumors of my house being destroyed. You must have a empty unfulfilled life if you are so worried about my well being. Thank you for you words of encouragement. Or maybe you are glad to see Devon gone so Southridge will not have to deal with him for the next 4 years. Either way I understand hatred and jealousy they come in many forms. Do not understand parents these days who are unable to be happy for other kids when they are having success. Over my many years of coaching I have notice two things: 1) those who are unable to be happy for others do not have the work ethic or are not willing to make the sacrifice to accomplish their goal so they must try and bring others down to justify their lack of work ethic. 2) parents living through their children and pushing them because they did not have the work ethic to accomplish goals and fail short for one excuse or another. I do not need to defend my years at HH to an outsider it has already been defended. Wrestling is a sport that brings out the best in human nature and we are suppose to support one another while we mold the character of our youth in order to be productive fathers, husbands, wives and hopefully become productive citizens of our comminitites. I guess you don't understand the bond and true warrior spirit an athlete and coach share while beating the hell out of each other on a daily basis for the same common goal, or understand the emotion that is put into the kids and struggle with my decision to resign but than again you seem to be educated on the inner workings of the program so I may be the one that is off base. If that is the case can I use you in the future to educate me on my inexperience of coaching wrestling, maybe my 26 years in the sport I haven't learned nothing. You could be my adviser, look forward to your guidance and leadership, lord knows I need help with leadership after 26 years in the Marine Corps. HH is a program that was making noise and the senior class this year was my first freshman class that will put at least 4 in semi state not counting the underclassman, Beau Heeke, Sam Scott, and Phoenix Rodgers. Coach Zollman is ready to lead the Patriots and will do a fine job. God Bless my friend.

You are correct, evacuated back to Indiana to ensure we did not miss any training.

Wow, a Divorce!!! What are we a bunch of desperate housewives? You are incorrect our home would be completely demolished before a divorce would happen. If my wife can put up with 26 years in the Marine Corps she can handle about anything. We did evacuate back to Indiana to ensure we could still get some training in. Now is not the time of the year to miss a week or two of training. Thank you for your concern and well wishes to my marriage, no harm done. All is good, had some small damage, was able to get some training in but still out of school. Although the wife and I did spend 24/7 together for 10 straight days and I think she still is planning on staying married, lol. God bless you all and God Bless Indiana Wrestling. Coaching now in NC, but will always love Indiana Wrestling.

Thank you Sir for your prayers.... All your prayers are needed. We are home and have small damage but overall ok.

Yes I have resigned as HH Head Coach, made the decision based on what I thought was best for my family.

Devon Bell is out for Middle School State, has had the flu and strep throat for almost two weeks, probably was coming down with it while competing at the Tulsa Nationals. Starting back training today but playing it safe so he will be a no go for this weekend. Projected at 132 is off, would of been 140. Good luck to all the wrestlers this coming weekend.

I agree the commercialization of youth sports is an issue, but disagree that it creates an unfair playing field. Is it not true that life is unfair? We all have different opportunities, some more than others. Just like life, sports creates opportunities and some of us will capitalize on those moments because we have prepared for it. Yes, it is true that all of us are faced with different challenges through out our life but saying it is unfair only gives excuses to those that do not have the work ethic to achieve greatness. Should all college students get loans to pay of their college because it is not fair that some parents can afford to pay for college, should all kids not have a vehicle when they are able to drive because all parents cant afford a car for their child, I could go on and on with examples, but unfair playing field is not just wrestling it is LIFE!!!!

To add to my post you cannot force a kid to be a full time wrestler or to specialize and any sport they will just rebel. Being a full time wrestler is physically and mentally demanding and only the truly dedicated athlete will do what it takes to have chance to become a state or national champ. There is no blue print that will ensure that an athlete will reach their goals if there was we would all follow it. I have no opinion on specializing because each athlete is different any many ways. As for my son his goals are straight forward and it has nothing to do with any sport outside of wrestling. On my high school team I have full time wrestlers and wrestlers who play multiple sports, it is simple we discuss their goals and I give them the information and guidance to make their own decision. I have a baseball player who wrestles, his goal is to pitch in college but he wrestles because he loves competition and to keep him busy during the winter, he is even my captain. I have football players that love wrestling but football is their main sport. We should not be labeling or being closed minded, because today the athlete has many opportunities that were not available when I was young, it is ultimately up to the athlete and if they are allowed to make their own decisions it will be a more enjoyable process for all involved.

I totally agree with about 90% of what you said. We all know that we all can't be national champs, but I do think there are kids at a young age that are driven more than other kids and those are the kids that become state and national champs. If a kid falls short of his goals in this great sport I guarantee he has learned intangible skills that will make him successful in life. Work ethic, taking ownership in your success and failures, leadership are all skills learned through the process of chasing a dream. I too have seen 1st and 2nd graders cutting weight and this is another reason why kids quite, not the specialization but the parents living their dreams through the child. I do not allow cutting more than three pounds. Two weeks ago for Tulsa my son cut 3.3 pounds over 3 days and that is only the second time he has cut in over 9 years of wrestling, even my high school team is not allowed to cut more than 5. On the other side of the coin I know kids who cut a lot of weight and do it safely with no issues, I just choose for my son to lift and eat into his weight class.

I totally agree it is a personal choice that the wrestler needs to make. Once that choice has been made the parent has to be all in. Four years ago when my boy was a 4th grader we were driving back from Brute nationals, he finished 4th. He woke up and the first thing he said "dad, I cant play football and be a national champ" What do you say to a 4th grader when his goal is to be a state and national champ? We had a long conversation about goal setting and what he is really passionate about, at that point he made the choice to be a full time wrestler. I do hate it that this is our society, but we have to face reality specializing in a sport is here to stay. I felt I had to be honest with my son and I told him its not that he could not be a state or national champ if he played football but his chances would be slim. Once he committed we both were all in and like previous post I have traveled the nation and my boy and I have spent time together that I will cherish forever.

Those who ask to rotate Sectionals and Regionals I highly disagree with. Rotating a wrestling sectional or regional is not the same as rotating a basketball game that last two hours and your done. In order to host a wrestling tourney as we all know takes a large number of volunteers that know what they are doing. Castle for example has a support system in place that allows for a smooth running tourney, like a well oiled machine. The facilities permits the fans to catch all the action no matter where they are seated. After all we are trying to make the sport more appealing, sitting in a crowded gym for 8 to 10 hours is not inviting. From a fan perspective, Castel is able to accommodate seating with viewing of all mats and excellent concessions. From a coaches perspective they run a smooth tourney for athletes and coaches on time with great hospitality room. No I am not a Castle supporter just a coach who thinks this move did not help our sport move in a positive direction like we all hope.