Mattyb

AGREED

This may seem dumb... but, put a decent sound system in the room and let the kids play their music during practice (no matter how bad you think it is). It’s a little thing, but I swear it will keep kids out.
 
Also... have a fellowship talk once a week. Give the kids a good story and / or share something that will inspire them. Let the kids chime in and share feelings. Knowing that others feel the same, and are going through the same things helps to grow a brotherhood. That bond keeps kids around. 
 
Anything to make kids actually enjoy being at practice.  

Duals are great and I am glad the IHSAA mandated six duals for teams. However there comes a caveat, it's GOOD duals, duals that are rivalries or meaningful go a long way to attracting casual fans. Not nearly as many people will go see Brownsburg vs. Danville or a school they will beat by 60+. The key with duals is make it special, we have said it before DJ's, make it a favorite teacher night, throw out t-shirts, etc. If it's cool to go to, more casual fans including students will show up.

@PhillyFanMD is at it again..... lol! This dude is jacking with you guys. Hes a troll fellas. Save your breath. 
And 365 training is not for most, but a rare few have to do it. I was visiting my son this weekend parents weekend. The coach gave the kids the weekend off to hang with parents. With that said... we ended up in an empty wrestling room on Saturday and Sunday for work outs. Some kids just love it. Are we sposed to tell those kids not to do what they love to do everyday? Are we sposed to say.. "sorry kiddo I think you may get burnt out. So.. we are playing Xbox today." 
I do get what your saying, most kids will choose Xbox over practice, if you give them  a choice. But... you do have the one percent that want to be great. Gotta let it happen. And.. if a kids doesn't want to put in the work, we have to tell them  "being a semi-state qualifier is a great goal.. go get it kid." Just have to set realistic goals, for the amount of work that they are willing to put in. Just my opinion. 
As a youth and middle school coach, I tell all of my parents at our annual meeting to start the year: "If your kid wants to be a State Champ, we can help him do that! If your kid just wants to get faster and stronger to be a better lineman, we can help him with that too!" Its all about setting expectations and goals. So... to answer your question, here is what to do:
Communicate with kids and parents. Come up with goals, and tell them what it takes to reach those goals. Let them know that not reaching this goals is a possibility. And..... If they feel like walking away..... sit down with them and talk honestly on why you think they should stay. The successful coaches that I have been around do this. The unsuccessful coaches set no goals, and tell kids to kick rocks when the think about quitting. 

I think that is the biggest thing affecting the middle tier guys. I can see the resource inequality to an extent. Why I think it is important to move the focus a little more on the team dual side of things. Kids want to have an opportunity in big moments and most of the middle and lower aren't going to have many on the individual side past sectional or maybe regionals. However, in team duals moving up a weight and keeping it to a decision or not getting pinned/teched can be a big thing. Why the IHSWCA is a big deal to Prairie Heights and Adams Central and etc. Yes those teams have really good kids, but being a Jet/BAGUBA there has only been 1 individual state champ before I was ever born and I've been out of school awhile now. Maybe for our multi sport athletes we push the benefits of wrestling in helping football and etc and have them focus on the workouts of wrestling without cutting weight. 

I think that you are talking about depth of talent, more or less. I think I get what your talking about. It just comes down to the softening of our society in general. Back in your day, if you committed to be a part of a team or do something... your parents made you do it, and follow through with your commitment. Also... there was a lot less for kids to do back then. It seems now we as parents (yes... myself included) are allowing kids to do what they want. Back when... football had two a days. You had no choice. You went to practice! That doesn't exist anymore.  
Seems that more and more parents are giving kids a choice on rather or not to put in the work to excel at stuff like sports. Guess what??? If you give most kids a choice on rather or not to go to a tough practice, the majority will say... “naw”. The kids that are excelling are the kids that either (A) don’t want to miss a workout to play video games... or (B) parents do not allow them to skip workouts.
With all of that said... I think that you have been referring to the gap between the haves and the have nots. Where as a typical (non year round) varsity kid is not that “tough”. It is just a sign of the times my friend. Society is changing. 
With all of that said, I don’t think that the talent level is decreasing..... yet. Youth football numbers are currently taking a plunge. Our youth numbers seem to be remaining strong. Who knows???.... wrestling may be the next football. If that does happen, that’s when we will see the decrease in talent. 

There are way more non-year rounders than there are that wrestle year round. In order for the sport to thrive those that do not wrestle year round need to be there. If not we will become like gymnastics with about 20 teams.
Today kids are almost being forced to be one sport athletes. They have to choose whether to be average at multiple sports or good at one. Guys like Mason Parris are an anomaly. Only two of our state champions this year were multi-sport kids(Keys and Fowler) this past year and by my rough calculation only four runner-ups played another sport(Fielden, Willhelm, Aiken, and Cartwright). 
Our top end talent is as good as it has ever been. Our next tier guys who are 3-5th placers are likely better than they have been in the past, however past that I think our talent levels are down in terms of quantity more than anything.

I think that you are talking about depth of talent, more or less. I think I get what your talking about. It just comes down to the softening of our society in general. Back in your day, if you committed to be a part of a team or do something... your parents made you do it, and follow through with your commitment. Also... there was a lot less for kids to do back then. It seems now we as parents (yes... myself included) are allowing kids to do what they want. Back when... football had two a days. You had no choice. You went to practice! That doesn't exist anymore.  
Seems that more and more parents are giving kids a choice on rather or not to put in the work to excel at stuff like sports. Guess what??? If you give most kids a choice on rather or not to go to a tough practice, the majority will say... “naw”. The kids that are excelling are the kids that either (A) don’t want to miss a workout to play video games... or (B) parents do not allow them to skip workouts.
With all of that said... I think that you have been referring to the gap between the haves and the have nots. Where as a typical (non year round) varsity kid is not that “tough”. It is just a sign of the times my friend. Society is changing. 
With all of that said, I don’t think that the talent level is decreasing..... yet. Youth football numbers are currently taking a plunge. Our youth numbers seem to be remaining strong. Who knows???.... wrestling may be the next football. If that does happen, that’s when we will see the decrease in talent. 

Donahue was held back?

Mitch Sliga IHSAA 3rd Place @ 189 lbs as a freshman in 2010

Tough kid. It’s just very hard for a freshman at an upper weight to place top 3. What is his weight? Who on these list do you have him beating?

Ours is 100 percent as tough as it ever has been, and only getting better with MCWA, Red Cobra, Outlaws, and Contenders kids feeding into some of the state’s best programs. 

Ours is 100 percent as tough as it ever has been, and only getting better with MCWA, Red Cobra, Outlaws, and Contenders kids feeding into some of the state’s best programs. 

Nope Indiana as a whole is not decreasing. 

Iowa Wesleyan is an upstart D3 program that will begin competing in 2020-21 academic school year.  Not only will they be launching the men’s wrestling program, but will be the first D3 in Iowa to offer women’s wrestling as well.  Coach Powell is actively seeking recruits and is very interested in Indiana’s deep talent pool.  Listed below is his contact information.  This is not only a great added resource/contact for the many coaches with wrestlers who fit the D3 mold......but also an excellent opportunity to continue helping grow the sport.  Feel free to contact Coach Powell with any questions, or to share the contact info of young men & women in Indiana who are deserving of his recruiting interest.
  Robert V. Watson-Powell Head Wrestling Coach  Iowa Wesleyan University  601 North Main Street Mount Pleasant, IA 52641 (o):319-385-6494 (c):440-227-6381 Twitter: @iw_wrestle Instagram: @iw_wrestle Facebook: @iwwrestle

All of these kids are great. I do know this. Been keeping my eye on our grads from last year that are going D1 (been getting updates from people in the rooms). 4 at IU and 2 at Ohio U. Proud to say they are all making it through the grind and by all accounts adjusting well. We got Littell coming to Ohio next year. I’m guessing others may end up there or at IU. Most of this years champs wrestled on teams together since early in elementary school. Looks like they are sticking together in college. Pretty cool stuff. Most of if not all of this years graduated champs are redshirting. Look for them to wrestle unattached at opens this year. They all should be at the Michigan State Open the first week of November. Mosconni and Washington should be there too. 
My point is that we have a bunch of D1 talent coming out of Indiana. Not seeing fall off. With that said.. 2016 was a REALLY tough group. Don’t know if any class would beat them. 

Congratulations! Air Force is getting a great young man.

Congrats Champ ! 

Congratulations to Alec Viduya from Roncalli for signing with Air Force. He is projected to wrestle 141.

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Preseason top 3(lets see how this shakes out)
106: Goin, Miller, Hooper
113: Cottey, Nelson, Diaz
120: Seltzer, Bettich, Freeman
126: Littell, Lowery, Roberson
132: Mendez, Rioux, Heath
138: Boarman, Bailey, Campbell
145: Viduya, Reynolds, Koontz
152: Rodgers, Coleman, Hall
160: Dickens, Noehre, Wagner
170: Walker, Calhoun, Ruhlman
182: LaPlace, Parkinson, Lone
195: Allred, Bates, Farrell
220: Irick, Erb, Webster
285: Devault, Parsons, Keys
1st) Cathedral/Mater Dei 3)Crown Point/Brownsburg 5)Roncali/Warren Central

Good job at IHPO kid. Let’s see your post tourney thoughts? Give us an updated list kiddo. 

106- 1. Sam Goin 2. Logan Miller 3. O’campo/ Hooper
113- KT, Cottey, Diaz
120- zeke, bettich, DP3
126- Littell, Lowery, Montgomery 
132- Rioux, Boarman, Lowery
138- Mendez, Bailey, Campbell 
145- Viduya, Reynolds, douglass 
152- Rodgers, Coleman, bryer 
160-Noehre, Dickens, Deters
170- Calhoun, Walker, Fielden 
182- Laplace, Winner, Parkinson 
195- Silas, bates, JD Farrell
220- Irick, Webster, Cale gray/ erb 
285- Gentry, Keys, Devault 
My picks🤷🏽‍♂️
 

@riley bettich is having some issues getting around these days...but on a better note I have a new Jeep!

Not sure if that was a defensive pin. They were in a scramble, Bailey caught him on his back during the scramble, and continued to drive into him to he got the fall. 
Give it up... it was legit. 

The kid was flat two or three times. Just watch the moms sitting against the wall. They were calling for the pin!!! Not sure who they are (😜🤥) but they are watching from the other side and clearly saw the pin.