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Paoli 6-1 Runner-up Paoli 64 New Washington 12 Paoli 63 Crawford County 9 Paoli 77 Salem 0 Paoli 62 Eastern 16 Paoli 49 Christian Academy 30 Jennings County 52 Paoli 27 Paoli 62 Scottsburg 18 6-1 on season

Paoli High School is seeking an upper level math (Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus) teacher for the upcoming school year. Coaching positions available include Varsity Assistant (JV Coach) and Junior High Assistant Coach. Positions are also available in football. If interested, please contact Aaron Hannon at hannona@paoli.k12.in.us or pm on this site.

I was surprised to see Coach Maglis on this list. Any reason for the departure? I assume they have a replacement in the wings.

And I'm fairly certain that we didn't wait for our principal or coaches association to come find us and ask for change. We took it upon ourselves to create a plan and take it to them. Please save the whining and crying comments for someone trying to be petty. I'm trying to add some class to the "class debate".

I'm pretty sure that when football, a classed sport, makes a change they usually deal with a proposal that comes from a principal or other administrator and then it is put to a vote. Without getting into a poor me IHSAA doesn't care about us debate (god knows we need something else to argue about here), why don't you put together a proposal with actual substance? Instead of clubbing people over the head with statistics (remember the three kinds of lies!) why don't you sit down and draft an actual plan outlining the sectional assignments all the way up? I remember our school submitting a plan for football and this was a part of the plan. Now schools and teams have something to look at instead of just some free form idea that the imagination can distort. And Y2, before you pull the "if you think it's such a good idea, why don't you do it?" card, I am not a current supporter of the class wrestling movement. But I am going to play devil's advocate and set something up like this to see what it would look like. If you have already done this, I apologize because I have not seen an actual plan yet. Then you can send it to the actual coaches and not try to convince every Tom (heckman), Duck (n run), and Harry on this post board that you are right.

And of the single class states listed, only Indiana showed significant decrease. I don't feel that is causation. It may show correlation, but instead to me may suggest alternate issues. Maybe it is a lack of coaching in our school systems. Maybe it is a lack of organization of our off-season programming (ISWA, HYWAY, etc.) . Although in your opinion class wrestling is the end all option that will fix Indiana wrestling, it seems to me more of a have's versus have not's discussion. I don't have 2000 students to choose from for my teams. I don't have several middle school and elementary feeder programs to develop my wrestlers. Would these be causes? Is this your concern? Again I ask, what is your motivation? What goal are you trying to achieve? Is is to make our wrestlers better or to give them more recognition?

I was just thinking about Maurer. He was a good little athlete when we played them in football. What's the chances he is in the lineup next season?

I would say that a lot of them are 2 sport athletes, but those are a fall sport with wrestling. Spring sports make it difficult to participate in the offseason wrestling opportunities.

Fair enough, but as I stated, I am not talking about this particular coach. I am talking about the fact that he has the ability to make this choice. I agree with you that coaches should act ethically at all times. At all costs is no my motto when it comes to my kids in my program. I love each of my wrestlers like they were my sons and I would not allow them to do something that I know will cause damage to them. I also understand that not everyone in my profession thinks that way. Knowing that, why would I ever feel good about a program that gives them a very real opportunity to make wrong choices? You may argue that people need to be allowed to have free will, but when violations cause physical damage to a student's health, I don't think you can allow that to happen. Coaches have been proven to mess up for the perceived gain of their team or program. It happens on every level. No matter how much we try to make sure the name of coaching stays clean and respectful, there are always those who are selfish and are only here for themselves. Can't change that no matter how hard you try. I think the state is turning a blind eye to the situation because they feel like it is too much of a hassle to have to chase all that data. Then, when someone makes a big deal about it, they swoop in and act like they have it all under control. Some of the blame does lie on the individual coaches that break the rule meaningfully. I don't deny that. But until all the loose ends are tied up, I still put some blame on Bobby Cox and the IHSAA. If this is really an important set of rules, then make them effective and uniform and coaches will fall in line with them or face a clear set of consequences. Until then, I predict that every time a big name wrestler doesn't make weight, some people will be wanting to call the IHSAA for a ruling because they set a precedent whether they want to accept it or not. By the way, I appreciate the fact that you have respected my program, but I'm not sold you actually know who I am. PM me and we can talk further.

I'm not defending or condemning Coach Joll. My comments are directed at those who feel this "program" is beneficial to all involved and working. Coaches need to operate their programs ethically, but why is this situation in the hands of the coach? Using your steroid analogy, do you really think Tony LaRussa should have to bench McGwire halfway through the 70 home-run season because he knew he was taking steroids? Why put them in a situation where they may be tempted? My issue is the implementation. I have seen other states plans and programs. Is there not a system that we can use to support the program itself? Is there not a database where this information can be compiled and recorded? Why does it have to be present at the sectional meeting? Shouldn't there be concern for it long before then? They (IHSAA) have a tendency to be reactive instead of proactive. If they want to avoid criticism and fairness questions, they should take care of the problem ahead of time. There is no reason why a wrestler who weighed in overweight should be allowed to wrestle. Period. That is one of the biggest rules in our sport. But apparently there is enough gray area to allow that. No respect for that. I don't expect any school board to take this up as reason for dismissal of a coach. If it is blatant, that is one thing. But as I discussed before, the language of the plan gives a creative person the leeway to bend and stretch the rule to serve their purpose. It would be dangerous to take action against someone with this sort of rule set in place because you could find yourself on the wrong end of legal action with virtually any interpretation of the rules left to a jury of our peers with little wrestling knowledge or background. How about fixing the problem and not allowing coaches to make poor choices for themselves and their teams? Let's seek to educate and support rather than punish. Then those that break the rules have no complaints or reasons to be upset with anyone. That's my beef. Again, I may be off base, but I'm tired of a constantly fluid discipline system where there's no consistency from those who are supposedly acting to encourage fairness in sports.

I'll speak on it if for no other reason that I really could care less what the state thinks of my opinion anyway. They've proven time after time that one coach's opinion won't change anything. This is my frustration with our weight program. As a new coach coming in a few years ago, I was greeted with all of this information and no one true concrete resource to go to for guidance in making sure my program is in compliance. I obviously read everything that was included from the state and even talk to one of the rules interpreters for his view of the program. I looked through the NWCA information that was included in their portion of the program. I asked other coaches. At no time did I get a consistent answer. This inconsistency is what is killing the situation. Coaches are being asked to follow a set of rules that honestly seem to change at the will of the assistant commissioner. The rule on the recording sheet reads as follows: As per Rule 1-3-2 of the NFHS Wrestling Rule Book, state associations that have hydration and body-fat testing along with a program to monitor an average weight loss of 1 ? % a week, with descent, may use the minimum weight determined by the body-fat testing as the lowest weight a wrestler may wrestle during the state series instead of at least ? of their weigh-ins during the seasonas stated in Rule 1-3-2 b. This phrase opens up all sorts of interpretations, even if our assistant commissioner fails to acknowledge that fact. I personally read that at the time to mean that as long as my wrestler averages no more than 1.5% weight lost per week, that we are in compliance. I could have a kid cut 5 pounds between weigh-ins as long as at the end of the season, he only lost an average of 1.5% per week. Then I see that is is to be no more than 1.5% per week, regardless of the season total loss. It is recalculated each week by the weight loss program. Then I see that it is recalulated after each weigh-in. That would make sense I guess, but then you would have to calculate a daily weight loss average, not a weekly number. It would be funny if I hadn't seen that three coaches I asked each ran their paperwork a different way, one each for the above described ways. I am not looking to get anyone in trouble by Bobby Cox, but if there is enough of a confusion for me, then I can bet that there is another coach in the state with the same questions. Now, I understand that at least on some level, we as coaches like that gray area so that we have room to protect our wrestlers from missing matches or the state tournament. But I think at some point we need someone in leadership (IHSAA or IHSWCA I don't honestly care who) to figure out the exact way to run this program. We can do it effectively if there is communication from the top and things are clearly defined. I don't like coaches having to keep all these records any more than the next guy, but if it's what I have to do to enter my kids into the state tournament, then it will be done. This seems like a shell of a weight program. We as a state say we are doing all these things to look like we're protecting these young people from dangerous weight loss, but we all know on some level that that statement isn't worth the paper it it printed on. There is no accountability except for other coaches. Sometimes other coaches sit on information just to pull it out at a seeding meeting and get their way. To me, who are you hurting? We are in this for the kids (I would hope) so let's make sure we don't screw someone else's kid for personal gain. But the opportunity still exists because we don't have anyone watching to make sure. I have a real problem with penalties being handed out with this much gray area involved. A coach is suspended. Fair enough, but will it stop it from happening again on his team? Would it have been addressed if the wrestler in question was a freshman with a 6-20 record? What is the IHSAA doing to monitor the situation? People call it a slap on the wrist because the kid still gets to compete, but they need to look at the fact that the other members of that team didn't have their head coach present for them to compete in the state tournament either. That to me is the greater punishment. I don't support blatant cheating. Not a big fan of it. So those blatant situations deserve punishment. But until we get a system where someone besides the head coaches are in charge of monitoring the situation, it's going to happen every day. I may be totally off-base, but I'm tired of the mixed signals from the state offices.

I can tell you that I would love to host Semi-state in Paoli. We do have a bigger gym than most schools. But that's exactly what is is - a gym. There is no way in the world we can accomodate anything close to that size. Our facilities can't support what fans would attend. I don't like the drive either - 2 hours sucks no matter where you are headed (my sectional was a 10 minute drive at the most). Nice thought though.

Since you have a pretty good feel for things Y2, what direction do you think they will go? Option B looks like the most beneficial to my program for the next two years, but I don't know what the general consensus is. Will there definitely be a change at all?

My info on Jeffersonville says weigh-in is at 10:00 and wrestling starts at 11.

Any news if Southridge will be joining the delays?

Thanks! Our sectional voted and we decided you are a good man for putting all these together. Better yet, our tournament director actually allowed the vote to stand!

Anyone know if Coach Struck or his tournament director has sent any brackets in?

We had a coach a couple of years ago show up late to the meeting. When he did get there, the pace slowed considerably. After every other weight class, he would ask to go back 2 or 3 weight classes because he forgot about something that was important and may have changed the order. (I don't recall that it ever did!) After about three times, the tournament director would end each class like an auctioneer. Going once, going twice, sold! I've heard a few gems about a seeding meeting for Evansville Memorial's tournament, but I wasn't there, so I'll rely on someone else for that.

I'll throw out another situation that creates an issue with this rule. At tournaments, scales come from different schools and although they have all been certified as a true measure of weight, sometimes there is a fluctuation. I have seen differences this year of as much as .4 of a pound for sure. (Don't get me started on the feedsack scales!) Suppose my athlete is .1 over his minimum weight for the week. In this situation he could get to a school and step on any certain scale and be .5 over minimum or even worse, .3 UNDER minimum. How can we penalize some athletes and coaches when we allow this room for error? I understand completely the difference between this happening intentionally and accidentally. There are too many variables and too many interpretations in these rulings for coaches to get a uniform answer and testing system. This puts all of the emphasis on the coaches (deserved) and leaves the IHSAA enough leeway to liberally apply this rule without actual set limits. I understand Bobby Cox feels this is clear, but when the coaches that are under the threat of penalty aren't exactly sure, that is a problem that he needs to address.

Paoli 40 Crawford County 14 Forest Park 40 Paoli 30 Forest Park 42 Mitchell 39 Mitchell 45 Paoli 40

I know they have been sent to the involved officials, but when is that publicly announced or posted? Just curious.

Is this tournament this weekend? If so, are there any brackets floating around that could be posted?

Madison 52 Paoli 16 Nice Job Cubs.

Who is a contender at 160? Hall from Charlestown? O'Connell from New Albany?

My question though is this. What is your goal that class wrestling will help you develop? You provide arguments that at face value present a fairly solid basis for your feeling that we need class wrestling in Indiana. I am not in agreement, but that is not why I ask the question. I guess I wonder what the motivation is. Several have said (and I would say unfairly) that you support this so you and your program can achieve more accolades/championships/awards. I want to know what your goal is that class wrestling will address. My goal year in and year out is to promote this sport in my local community in the offseason and work with the elementary, junior high, and high school wrestlers to improve their skills and have success in their events. By adding class wrestling, I'm not sure how that helps me. Sure, my athletes will have a better statistical probability of winning a state championship as individuals and teams. But in our 9th year as a program, I also have to worry about things like numbers, funding, facilities, offseason opportunities, and adding quality coaches. If you can tell me how class wrestling helps that, you may convert me. I envision our school being in the bottom 1/3 of enrollment wrestling against 7 schools in our sectional. Of the teams that would be involved, I counted around 15 that would possibly be placed in the same sectional as my school. This year we will fill 10 weight classes. We fill more than 7 of those teams. One of those teams, Evansville Mater Dei, may have a full lineup this year. : I see this as a pretty watered down sectional with at least 2 or 3 classes of kids that will make weight and qualify for regional. Not really wild about that either.