grecoref

A coach  may scratch ONE referee at either the Individual Semi-State or State Finals. That referee should not work the match as the "main" referee at the Semi-State.

At the State Finals the scratched referee should not work as the referee or the assistant referee.

A referee may also scratch a school. This is most often done if they work in that school system or if they have family attending that school system or any other reason they may feel appropriate.

Yes, if a coach scratches a referee he shold not allow that match to begin.

Johnstone had a skin condition which was probably discovered at the weigh-in. This would take Nemec out even if he was healthy because he wouldn't have had time to make weight. I am not sure about Gardner.

Taking a break once in a while at this level is not unusual. Making weight every Friday and Sunday during the season along with the level of competition is a grind.

This was a great effort by the Buckeyes. And I was joking just a little when I said we didn't need those guys. Joe McFarland and staff do a great job at "that school up north" and they are  in somewhat of a rebuilding year with the excepton of Luke, Todd and Russell.

Re:Nemec, Johnstone and Gardner...we didn't need them tonight ;D

At least I don't get on the mat and make a fool of myself.  National Champ 1986

Are the nurses at the home aware that you are using the computer so late at night ??? ???

Helen, the senile one ;D

Who is the really old and really loud lady from Bellmont? ;D

Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.

Dan Gable

If I had to wrestle Metcalf, not only would my ankle hurt, so would my neck, shoulder, knee, little toe, etc...

 

Seriously, I have a great deal of respect for Bubba. I was one of the referees on the trip when he won the 2007 Jr. World Championship in Beijing. He's a great athlete and a great kid...and he used to live in Madison, IN.

 

What was the highlight of your trip Grecoref?  That must have been a memorable experience.

Bubba winning the World Championship was certainly a highlight of the 2007 trip. The other international referees liked his attacking style. Also, anytime I hear our National Anthem in a foriegn county is thrilling...I even sing.

The 2008 Olympic Games had many highlights. Someday I may post about them

Over the past 25 years or so I have refereed all levels of competitions from the youth level to the Olympic Games. I could write an entire book on what I have seen parents do and say  at youth level events.

Kids will often take the lead from their parents. In other words, they often take the same approach or attitude towards others as their parents display. If a parent displays good sportsmanship, so will the kids. If the parents take a win at all costs approach, so will the kids.

I often hear and read on this board complaints about tournament operations, officiating, problems with oraganizations, etc... My question is how many of those people who are making the complaints are willing to be a part of the solution? And, just to take it a step further, what are you teaching your child when you make all of these complaints and you aren't willing to do anything about it?

Rick Warren talks in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, about the many times he has been with people on their deathbed and not once has anyone asked "bring me my possessions, my trophies, my medals". They want their families surrounding them. Youth wrestling should and could be a positive experience for everyone. Do you think it will really matter to you or your child 20 or 30 years from now if they won the XYZ club tournament?

Tom Clark

Although I agree with all of the others regarding the exceptional coaching skills of former Portage and current CIA man, Ed Pendoski, unlike most of the others, I can spell his name correctly:

 

[move]P-E-N-D-O-S-K-I     there's no "w"[/move]

 

Although's Ed's dedictaion to wrestling is unquestionable, his dedication to Michigan football is sorrowful 

Michigan could have used that "W" this year ;D

If I had to wrestle Metcalf, not only would my ankle hurt, so would my neck, shoulder, knee, little toe, etc...

Seriously, I have a great deal of respect for Bubba. I was one of the referees on the trip when he won the 2007 Jr. World Championship in Beijing. He's a great athlete and a great kid...and he used to live in Madison, IN.

Just won the Dave Schultz Tournment at 84 kilos!!!!!!!

A little Kinzer trivia that I really shouldn't tell on myself....

Just prior to the faceoff at the Individual State Finals his Senior year, Kinser approaches me-I was the Assistant Supervisor of Officials that year-and asks if the singlet he is wearing is legal. The singlet was circa 1970's and just a bit short in the inseam. I asked him where he came up with that thing and he told me it was the one his dad wore when he won his state title. I ask Jim Russell-the Supervisor of Officials-to take a look at it and tell him the story behind it.

We both agree the singlet is "ok".

Once in a while what is best for wrestling isn't exactly what is written in the rule book

I agree with GloryDays. If you are needed the coach will let you know.

Only team personel should be permitted on the bench or in the corner. In all my years as a referee, including all competions, the most grief I have ever been given was from parents who have no clue about wrestling...the rules...the technique...nothing about the sport at all other than little Johnny didn't win the XYZ club tournament so it must be the ref's fault.

I was also a head coach for a high school in Ohio. I didn't then, nor would I now, allow anyone other than team personal on my bench.

Back before weigh-in sheets and the alpha weight, the wrestler's weight was recorded in the scorebook. A new rule that particular year was the weights were to be recorded in ink.

At the coach's meeting prior to the start of the Sectional-the seeding meeting had already taken place and we are less than 30 minutes from the start of the tournament-one coach challenges another coach's scorebook because the weights were recorded in pencil.

The tournament director and I both reviewed the scorebook and it was clear that no changes had been made to the weights. We then called Blake Ress who was then in charge of wrestling for the IHSAA and he ruled to allow the team to wrestle and if any issues came up after an investigation the school would be penalized and their wrestlers would not be permitted to wrestle in the Regional.

This situation delayed the start of the Sectional about 45 minutes.

It really boiled down to the one coach did not like the other and felt a few of his kids should have been seeded higher, but the other coach voted against him every time.

An Iranian is where you shoot a double, and your head ends up on the inside after the sprawl.  As you come up from under, you bring one leg downward and the other leg you toss up and over to the side of the leg that you brought downward.  Someone else might be able to put this in words better than I did, but you get the idea.

 

Isn't this also called the Barsagar?

 

Probably.  I think that Iranian might just be the term handed down from Coach Kalver to the Bellmont and Bishop Luers programs.

we called it an iranian at laporte

Mansour Barsagar is a former World Champion and many time World and Olympic Team coach for Iran. And for what it's worth...he's a pretty good guy also.

Whew....for a minute I thought you were talking about his age!

A little bit of trivia-when Bob was coaching in Ohio, I wrestled his first state champ...he beat me in OT.

Congrats Bob!

I would recommend a book called "Wrestlers at the Trials" by James Moffit.

The book details the Olympic Trials from 1960 thru 1988 with stories from the wrestlers, coaches and even some referees who participated in those trials.

There is also an entire chapter on the Randy Lewis-LeRoy Smith protest/court case that left a black eye on the 84 trials.

Bravo!!

Ok, I have two stories...

I will omit the names to protect the guilty.

A former NCAA Champion for Iowa in the 1980's was in an Iowa City campus bar partaking in his favorite beverage other than Gatorade. As the establishment was very crowded, the line to the men's room was also very long so he decided to do "his business" in the parking lot. When he was finished he turned around to go back into the bar and was face-to-face with and Iowa City Police Officer. The Officer explained the he had violated several city codes and he was going to be placed under arrest. The wrestler asked the officer "Do you have any idea who I am" ? (Remember this was during the Gable era and Iowa was in the midst of winning 9 NCAA titles in a row). The officer replied " I have no idea who you are. Now let me see some ID".....at that exact moment the NCAA champ turned and took off on a dead sprint. He figured that if he got enough of a head start he could out run anyone because he was "Gable Trained". The officer did chase him and thankfully didn't shoot him and the NCAA champ did get away when the officer realized that he could not keep up with him.

The next story involves another former NCAA Champion who was also a very successful international wrestler. He was on a tour of Russia for a tournament and several dual meets in either 1979 or 1980. Keep in mind Russia was then the former Soviet Union and the "Cold War" was very much a reality.

Convinced that his room was somehow "bugged" with listening devices to monitor the conversations and the activities of the US wrestlers, he searched his room high and low for the "bug". He moved all the furniture to one side of the room and pulled back the area rug that was on the floor. There in the middle of the floor was a metal disk that he was sure was the "bug". After close examination he began turning the disk and when it came loose he lifted the disk to find the electronic device. Seconds later he heard a loud crash and realized that he had unscrewed the ceiling light fixture in the room below him.

In it's place the Big Ten Network has scheduled a segment of "Cooking with Clive". The show promises to offer as much, if not more, chaos and bloodshed as the dual.

AJ,

I have ALMOST as much respect for "General Bo Patton Schembechler" as I do for Coach Hayes.

littlevito,

I understand how he came up with the name. I just don't like it much

But, I do like that photo on his profile of Coach Hayes

I got mine for my ability vocally advise a hesitant referee that my son had just score two points !

TWOOOO,

I am not too keen on how you came up with your screen name HOWEVER, I did give you a wahoo for having a picture on your profile of the greatest college football coach who ever lived!

AJ,

Last year's Perry Meridian-Cathederal match had a great crowd. I am guessing about 2500 people, maybe more.

The biggest crowd I have ever seen for a competion was a tournament in Iran called the Tahkti Cup. There were about 20,000 people jammed in the aisles and the rafters. It would have caused a Fire Marshall in the United States to drop over dead. All of them undertood wrestling and all of them were great fans and very appreciative of good wrestling.