Our school and team is small. We put 7 kids on the mat for varsity meets this year. One of our kids is very good, made it to semi state this year as a freshman. He attends a club / academy in the off season and that is where he's gotten most of his training in the last few years.
Although we are a small team, I don't think we would be in favor of a class system. However, our big problem is finding quality practice partners for this kid or other kids that may be on a higher ability level. It's frustrating seeing a kid not progress at the rate of similar talent because there is nobody in the mat room to partner with or push them. Pairing kids up with different abilities and 40 lb weight differences just to get a practice in is not ideal, safe, or fun for kids. I guess it will always be a disadvantage for small teams in this regard.
I know it would open a huge can of worms but I wish the IHSAA would consider some type of waiver for athletes on teams with limited rosters to continue a limited (1-2 times a week) amount of club practices during HS season for dedicated athletes that are highly committed but limited due to small school, small team syndrome. Something, anything, to be able to have a quality partner or in some cases, just simply having a partner at all to help keep the growth of the athlete moving in a positive direction.