Oldzebra

I posted on another thread about the IHSAA and the new bill that would abolish the IHSAA and put interscholastic athletics in the hands of the DOE. Once again, two words,,,,BAD IDEA. I have 34 years of experience in coaching wrestling, officiating wrestling, coaching football, AND dealing with the IHSAA on a number of items. I don't always agree with them and I have had some spirited "debates". However, they are one of the most well respected and well run state athletic organizations in our nation. And to say that the commissioner has no oversight is simply not correct. The IHSAA Board of Directors has 15 members that are elected by the principals in the state of Indiana. These members are selected (and elected) just like our legislators. They solicity opinions from principals and athletic directors in their geographic districts. The commissioner does not make rulings without the support of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. If a ruling is made by the commissioner and supported by the Board of Directors, the DOE has the ability to review the decision and overturn it when appropriate. Our state politicians have much more important items to tackle. They should keep their noses out of interscholastic athletics. If we think that the IHSAA does not care about wrestling and does not do what is best for the sport, I guarantee you that the DOE will not make the moves that we want for the sport of wrestling. I stated earlier that the DOE and many of our politicians (who are mostly concerned about basketball) don't know the difference between a "wrestleback" and a "spladle"! The IHSAA is not perfect, but I promise you that a nine member panel appointed by the DOE, will not be close; and if you think that there will be no politics in the appointments of those nine members, you are kidding yourself. Just think about the state tourney this past weekend -- the parade of champions, the outstanding competition, the introductions, the excitement, and even the celebrations -- the IHSAA hired a phenomenal tournament director in Dave Fleming and they put on a great show for our sport.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This would be a very bad idea. The IHSAA is not a perfect organization and one could argue that they do not understand the sport of wrestling and the significance of what wrestlebacks mean during the state tournament. However, the IHSAA Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners do have a board of directors that provide oversight. This group of men and women are all principals or athletic directors and they do understand and care about interscholastic athletics. The Indiana Football Coaches Association has an excellent working relationship with the IHSAA. For the most part, when we make a proposal, it passes because we have very nearly 100% of our head football coaches belong to our organization. The IHSWCA needs to do a better job in getting ALL head coaches involved.

Taking a look at this list and who seems to be "out of place"? The Delphi Oracles will be taking 5 individuals to Conseco this weekend. For a public school with less than 600 students, this is a great accomplishment. Coach Atwood, his staff, and his wrestlers should be commended (and don't forget Mrs. Atwood)! I hope that the administration at Delphi recognizes this outstanding accomplishment. CONGRATS AND GOOD LUCK AT CONSECO!

The guys and ladies from Evansville did a great job at Roberts on Saturday. The decision to keep three mats on the floor for the Semi-finals was a wise one. I don't think that anyone realized how much longer the first round would take...but basically, it is like the first round of the state finals and that comes very close to taking four hours to wrestle. It is two full dual meets with a lot of great competition and very few falls. Was a little disappointed with the fan turnout (mainly for the final round) and knowing how romantic most wrestlers and fans are, one would think that Valentines Day would be a great night out for the wives and girlfriends!! I am sure that all of the semi-states and their tourney directors (as well as the IHSAA) were taking notes and will make some adjustments for the tourneys in the future.

Coach Goebel at MD is still coaching. I am sure that he was spotted at the Evansville Semi-State...in the corner and still coaching the Wildcats....and the officials from time to time!

Everyone knows that it takes a lot of organization, a lot of volunteers, some folks with a wrestling background, and an administration that WANTS to host and cares about doing a good job. If you have all of those things at your school and your tourney host does not, you need to apply to the IHSAA to host. Rochester High School got the Regional tourney this year because no one else in our regional area wanted to host and the former host lost their Athletic Director, who had done a great job for a number of years. Some people enjoy hosting tourneys for the IHSAA -- but believe me when I say that it is a lot of work and you make little or NO money when you host an event for the state. As far as the current tournament, it is not perfect but it is much better than any system that we have had in the past in Indiana. You are always going to have examples of a wrestler that was in a tough weight class in his sectional or regional or that got a bad draw at the semi-state. We could be swimmers where only the Sectional Champ in a 15 team sectional goes onto the State Meet --- no second or third chances to have a bad day/bad match. Or you could be in the football Sectional with FW Luers and Jimtown - no second chances there either.

Chad, In the 171 bracket, you have Sands from Hanover Central listed in two spots.

I was reading the article about Coach Dan Callahan and Trine University wrestling. It might be noted that Dan was an excellent high school coach and he ran a very good program at Fremont High School. He is a graduate of Rochester High School and is a former Zebra football player and wrestler. However, he has never coached at Rochester as the article stated. The wrestling coach, during the period you were referring to, was Dale Hummel (Damon's father) and Dan was doing his thing at Fremont as a wrestling and football coach. Hope that Dan continues to have great success at Trine as they fill a gap for many talented Indiana wrestlers to continue competing at the next level. Special thanks to IndianaMat.com for all of your hard work in promoting the great sport of high school wrestling. Signed, An Old Zebra