There have been many posts lately about Freshman in 14 and under, districts with too many teams, and 6 and unders not being able to compete at state, lack of practice time, lack of practice partners, inferior coaching etc. all being obstacles in some kids being able to qualify for and/or place at state.
To me, this is what makes state so special, and gives state qualifying wrestlers prestige. There is nothing watered down about the state tournament. 1A through 6A competing for a very limited number of spots. It's hard to qualify for state, period. As it should be.
When my son first started wrestling, it wasn't to place at state. It was to enjoy wrestling, learn to wrestle to the best of his ability, spend time with freinds and to learn the lessons that we all know wrestling teaches kids. These are the reasons kids should wrestle and these remain available to all of the kids who wrestle. They are promised nothing else. When we first got involved we didn't even know there was a state tournament.
Some kids have tremendous natural ability which allows them to compete at a high enough level to qualify for state. These are, in my opinion, rare and increasingly rare as the kids get older. Most of your state qualifiers work very hard. Harder than most of us realize. They work at practice, they work at home, many attend multiple camps in the summer. They have earned the right to compete with the best in the state.
I have watched my own son develop from not getting out of subs early in his career to becoming a state placer. He works harder at it than I ever worked at anything as a kid. I have never been prouder at any time in my life than when they turned off the lights and hit the Rocky music to introduce the medal round kids. Not just because he was about to be a state placer, but because I know what he did to earn it.
I know that other kids work very hard every year also, and may never even qualify. Possibly due to the reasons cited in other posts and mentioned above. That's okay. Remember why we do this in the first place. The improvement, the sportsmanship, the fun and the lessons are available from novice tournaments clear through districts. And who knows, your kid may work through all of their obstacles and finally make it. I hope so.
