After reading the posts made on this subject, there is alot of feeling put into this subject. Also many good ideas, but I think people are looking to blame and not to fix. Title IX is not the culprit for colleges cutting programs, or for high schools cutting programs. Many young women would not have had the opprotunities that they have without it. Also living in Western Kansas many of these smaller community kids could not or would not experience athletics w/o middle school/junior high sports. My nephew is a great example of this, he didn't wrestle until 7th grade. Today, as a senior, he is in the 4A regional finals in Ulysses. Without MS/JH athletics this would not be the case.
We, as not only a wrestling community, but as a whole community need to encourage our school administrators and govt. officials to properly investigate all of the possibilities before just cutting an athletic or cultural arts programs. Things like combining programs with other schools in the area, finding alternative sources of income for those programs, "trimming the administrative fat" so to speak, meaning finding more efficient ways to run the school, etc. These type of ideas can save both the programs on the chopping block, and quite possibility the entire school. There are several good ideas on this post, however we are not the people that need to here this. We need to let our community leader, school administrators, and the general public know what is going on and how to fix the problems. Remember in many towns the school is the heart, w/o it those towns may not survive!!!
Also, we need to encourage well rounded youth, achedemically, athleticly, and also artistically. We need to encourage our youth to be positive roll models, to be responsible young adults, and to know right from wrong. Without extra-curricular activities, all of them, this cannot and will not happen
Thanks for reading, Jared
