Middle School Wrestling, like any other middle school program, is a means to get individuals involved in the sport that otherwise might not be. It also allows for the athletes to bond and create a "Team" relationship that possibly has never been available. For coaches, it allows them to build relationships with their up coming athletes since the majority of MS coaches are also HS coaches. If the elite or more talented athletes choose to not participate in MS in order to continue to develop competitively I don't blame them. The current MS season is not for them. But what they will lack is the above mentioned. As a MS and HS coach I have found that sometimes those that are more talented, or at least think they are, that do not do MS wreslting come into the HS room and tend to have problems with team rules and authority. I like having all levels in the room for teaching purposes, but it does create issues when your highly talented kids are trying to be matched up for competitions. I think that if more programs were longer and possibly developed some novice competitions along with experienced then more kids might benefit from the MS experience.
