Coach Gibson, I have found your two comments very interesting. I agree that a good athlete can pick up about any sport and become successful at it. But would they ultimately have been better if they had picked it up earlier? Are you saying that a young wrestler would be better off to wait to start in high school? I was getting that idea after reading your last comment. A second question I would have is: Do you think that a national quality wrestler like the wrestlers mentioned Bunch, Bork, Dyer, etc. would be better potential wrestlers if they had not started at a young age? Did starting early make them better or worse?
Personally, I do not care if my son goes on to wrestle in high school. He is in the sixth grade now and this will be his sixth year of wrestling. He has enjoyed it and has experienced some success with it. But I still approach it like I did the first day I took him to practice in the first grade. If he likes it and wants to continue, he can. If he wants to stop it is his decision to do so. I just want him to be physically active and not spending all of his free time in front of some electronic device. If he decides to stop at any time now, I will still feel real good about the positive things he has experienced from his participation so far.
I didn't start organized football untill 7th grade, but we played constantly (football, basketball, baseball and even backyard wrestling) when I was a kid. Today I don't think that we have the same kind of physical play activity going on with kids unless it is in an organized sport. I know there is a danger of burnout but there might be a bigger danger of no physical activity and exercise if they do not participate in organizied sports at a young age today.
