For those who missed my post on the Mill Valley tournament, my wife has the flu, so I don't have a bed to sleep in.
Anyway, I witnessed something yesterday that compelled me to write this today. Now, this is from a coaches viewpoint, so it may be one sided.
The story goes something like this. A gentleman (according to someone I spoke with later, his wife was the true instigator, but I can't say for sure because I didn't hear her), started yelling at a coach to get down in front. He was obviously distraught that his view of the mat was being blocked. The coach then took a knee but the man kept on ranting about the coach not having any consideration for others. The coach and the man in the stands then exchanged words for a good minute or two, and they weren't exactly polite words.
Here is my point of this post. All good coaches know that they need to kneel, squat, sit, or crouch when they are down by the mats so that spectators (moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandpas, grandmas, cousins, etc.) can see their wrestler on the mat. All good coaches also know that it is their responsibility to be by the side of the mat when one of their wrestlers is competing. I have been involved with coaching kid's wrestling for ten years now, and I know from experience that you have to be on the move quite a bit to ensure that your child is prepared to wrestle, is at the right mat at the right time, has a coach in his/her corner when it starts. Although I am only in my early 40's, I can tell you that kneeling, squatting, sitting (hard surface) and crouching, can take their toll after 6 or 7 hours. But, that is not the point I am trying to make. Good coaches try to be considerate of the spectators so that they can see their wrestler on the mat. Sometimes, because of the amount of time that they spend on their feet trying to make sure that your wrestler is in the right place at the right time, they forget that they are on their feet and not in the appropriate lower silhouette posture. Try to cut them a break, and realize that they are just trying to do their job.
