New member. Just joined 5 minutes ago so I can post. Long time reader.
Ref program Cuts. I am the parent of an ex HS wrestler and soccer player and still a big fan of all HS sports.
Cutting school budgets is a passionate issue---one than needs to be approached with study and calmness. I believe there are possible cuts in most of our school districts. The smaller the district the less the margin available. Academic programs should be the last cut--same for fine arts.
As for sports, talk of cutting the traditional sports, football and basketball, is pi----- in the wind. Those sports are especially important to the self esteem and image of the small schools and communities.
When I was in high school in the late 1950s, a big 2000 student school, our sports were: in the fall football and cheerleading; in the winter boys basketball, cheerleading and indoor track; in the spring baseball, track, boys golf and boys and girls tennis. Since Title IX many school sports programs have exploded: girls volleyball, girls basketball, girls softball, girls track, and girls golf; plus, several other sports have been started in lots of schools: boys and/or girls soccer, swimming, diving, gymnastics, dance, and perhaps others I can't think of.
I don't have the solution to the budget mess, but I do have a recommendation. First, I am a great believer in HS sports programs. What I do not believe in, and thus in my perspective, targets for cuts, are middle school competitive sports. Competitive school sports should start in the 9th grade. Participation in sports prior to that should be in park and rec leagues, sports clubs and teams (kids wrestling, club soccer, Little League, Ban Johnson baseball, etc.), YMCA and YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, CYO, etc. Many many such programs already exist in the local area, to include our small towns---if not, some motivated parents and athletes need to get together and start a program. Cutting all middle school sports programs will save more money than you may at first think. Its not just the coaches salaries, there are uniforms, referee costs, transportation costs, and facility construction and maintenance expenses. When my community built a new middle school 15 years ago they spent over $500,000 on the middle school football field and high tech track. If cut, middle school sports need to be cut state wide or the richer districts will keep their programs and the smaller districts will cry in their towels about the fairness. It would probably take a state law limiting state or Federal funds to support only HS sports programs.
Another item. Have read lots of comments on how to improve Kansas wrestling. I personally do not like the tournament dual format. In big tournaments, ex, the B/LW Bobat Classic, they wrestled in 2 gyms. They only had one set of bleachers in the main gym because they had 4 mats on the main gym floor. The coming and going back and forth between gyms by wrestlers and parents (climbing over each other and all other spectators) was disruptive, plus by not seeing the action in the second gym all continuity of the tournament was lost. Go back to quality tournament with not more than 12 or so teams.
The only rule changes we need to improve KS wrestling is to improve-actually implement-the current stalling rule. In Kansas the refs let the kids lay on each other for most of the match. MO refs are quicker to throw the stall call and there is lots more action. I once saw the NJ State Championships. Bottom or top, if you weren't moving in 10 or so seconds to improve your position the ref called a stall. Great wrestling and great wrestlers--probably the best I have ever seen.
Last item. Have read lots of comments on more college wrestling in Kansas. Fort Hays State is unique; it has both football and wrestling. Because of Title IX, you are not going to see wrestling added to more Kansas 4 year schools. They would have to drop an existing program to start another men's program. The one exception may be Wichita State--they do not have football. I would like to see them add D1 wrestling and men's soccer. Another possibility is our community colleges. Only 4 of our 19 CCs have wrestling (Pratt, Labette, Neosho, Colby). Why not have wrestling at Kansas City CC, Johnson County CC, Concordia CC, Highland CC, and Barton County CC--all non football CCs. An important point: there are no limitations on out of state or foreign students in the Jayhawk Conference Rules for wrestling or soccer--all other sports have limits. I recently looked at the rosters of the 4 CC wrestling teams. There was a total of 136 rostered wrestlers; 78 (59%) were out of state or foreign students. I even put this into a table below for ease of review. CC athletes do not get a lot of money (tuition and loaner books--no room and board), averages about $2,500 per year, but still a lot of money. To me the operative word in Community College is "Community". CC sports is really an opportunity for lot of student athletes in the "community" to go on to higher learning, plus participate in a sport at the college level. So, why are we spending all that tuition money for out-of-state and foreign students? To me the CCs have lost or forgotten their purpose to serve the "community". Perhaps a letter campaign to our legislators, Kansas Board of Regents, Jayhawk Commissioners, etc., to one: add wrestling to more CCs, and two: place realistic limits on the number of out-so-state/foreign athletes. OR, do we accept that our HS wrestlers and soccer players are not as good as they are in other states? CC coaches are saynig so!!
Last edited by Contrarian; 02/19/09 05:07 PM.
