Kansas Wrestling
Last year we had 3,937 wrestlers sign up for subs. This year we have 3,674. That is a loss of 263 wrestlers! Heck that is the size of some novice tournaments! If your business lost 263 customers year over year or your profits declined by 7% I guarantee you that would be your highest priority. Folks, we have to start thinking outside of the box and come up with ideas that will invite MORE participation. This year we have to select the site and date for the next three state tournaments. If we are going to shorten the season, remove 16, add 6, or do anything we need to start figuring it out NOW or next year we might be looking at only 3,400 wrestlers. If your current leadership is not getting it done be it at the club, district, or state level it is time to figure out who can make a difference.
Is that information in here somewhere, or have you kept track? Is it trending down or was 2007 abnormal?

Thanks
I wonder at the club level how every one is doing...I know that the size of our club doubled in the last year and it was not only in the 6u age group. We added kids of all ages clear thru 14u. We added a Novice only practice in addition to our normal twice weekly practices.
We will have 41 kids at sub district this year and are excited to see how they place all the way thru state!
Those numbers are very interesting and more than a little puzzling. For the past several years we have been showing a slow, steady growth in our total numbers. At this point in the season we have 8092 competitor memberships compared to 7985 at this point last year. I'd like even greater growth, but for a mature program in a state with a stagnant youth population (in the past 16 years the number of youth in Kansas has only increased by a total of 5.2%) those numbers aren't too bad.

So why are the subdistrict numbers down this year? Will - can the one-year drop be attributed to a single subdistrict or age group? What has changed from last year?
I agree it seems that there are more kids through most of the year, but as many have said I think a large portion of the kids move on to another sport by mid-march. Thus they don't sign up for subs, etc. The season is too long!
really looooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggggg. for coaches, parents and the wrestlers.
The season is too long. I don't know of any other "kids" sports that run 4-5 months.
In our club we gained tons of kids but most of them were 6U. We also have had a problem with drama in our club and that makes parents not want anything to do with it. I hear this happens a lot. I try not to pay attention to it, but it is hard for first year parents and kids to deal with this. Does this happen anywhere else?
I think that not letting in kids that were left off of rosters somehow and not letting kids sign up at seeding has cut down on some of the numbers. Im not saying this should be allowed because I know that this is causing problems. however I think this could have something to do with the numbers.
What if kids season ended late January or early February? Then those young wrestlers and parents could watch, be a part of the HS league, regional, and state series. Great crowd support and the youth can watch their future HS teams and former club standouts go for gold.

This would shorten the season for kids, HS wrestlers wouldn't be involved the Kids Subs, District, State tournaments (quicker day - good for parents/families - and it becomes a tourney where the spotlight is all on the youth in 8th grade and below).

This a good/bad idea?
This is our first year wrestling,I've got to say my son loves it and is doing pretty well for a novice. With that said, had we known how long the season would be, we probably would have thought twice about it. We are now trying to balance wrestling, track and baseball! Secretly we are wishing this ends real soon so he can focus on one (or two) sports. Like I said this is our first year, but the season is much longer than we thought, if it ended even a month earlier that would probably help maintain our enthusiam.
I know in our situation....16/U...total burn out. After 42 matches in high school...my wrestler was ready for a break. He didn't know he would get it in the form of two broken ribs!!
I agree the season may be too long,but disagree that wrestling is the only sport this happens in.My sons baseball team started practicing in December, and our season wont end until late July.There are youth football teams that start practicing in April.I think we are turning kids into one dimenional atheletes by extending seasons and forcing them to choose between one sport or the other.
Mike,

I would attribute some of it to a spike in gas prices and a harsher than normal winter. I can remember a couple of the drives in late December and early January where I probalby should not have been on the roads but traveled anyway to make a weekend tourney. I have several out of state baseball tourneys to attend this summer and I am hearing talk of $4/gal gas. What is your point of pain? I can't help but think that some families found theirs this season.

The numbers in my room are up from last year...but only slightly so. We have two more entrees in subs than we had last year; I hope we have a better overall result \:\)

Mark
Mark Stanley,
Check your PM's please. Thanks!
Interesting topic.

Our club has nearly tripled in size this season, but the majority are novice wrestlers who simply are not prepared for the competitive level they might meet in subs/state. Most of the HS wrestlers are beginning baseball and a large part of our newest additions were 6u. Only 1/3 of our wrestlers will be in attendance @ subs and only 1/2 of our little ones will be at 6u state.

We are a dedicated wrestling family and actually enjoy the long season as it offers a chance to see great improvements in many wrestlers. However, we have seen the effects of the long season on several great wrestlers - even earlier this evening at practice the burnout is obvious through tears.

I have heard some moans and groans from a few new parents, but there are also several kids who want to continue coming to practice even though they will not be a part of subs. It is great to see the love of the sport which is something that cannot be taught.

That being said, wrestling is a full contact sport which requires exceptional mental and physical ability - something you cannot acquire while sitting in front of a Wii. There are several other sports that you can find year-round such as cheer, baseball/fall ball, gymnastics, soccer, martial arts - it all depends on what you are looking for and how much time you are willing to invest. We are involved in several sports, none of which interfere with wrestling.

There could be several reasons for the drop in numbers, it cannot simply be attributed to the long season (increased illness, gas $, other sports/activities). The season is only as long as you want it to be and those truly committed to the great sport really tough it out. So maybe the "loooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg season" does the sport a favor by weeding out those who treat subs just like another weekend...
The main problem our club is hearing from parents is the season is too long. Many of our wrestlers are getting started in track, baseball, and soccer.
yes i hear the same thing
"The season is only as long as you want it to be and those truly committed to the great sport really tough it out."

There is a difference between loving your kid and loving the sport. It's easy to attend events because your kid is involved. What about taking your kids to high school or college matches so they can have someting to aim for. Give them a love of the sport, a history, hero's to look up to and try to emmulate. Football players want to be like Favre, Montana, and Elway. Basketball player want to play like Jordan, James, and Kidd. Who do our wrestlers want to wrestle like? Do they even know some of the top names in the sport? How many know who Cael Sanderson, Kenny Monday, or Dan Gable are? How many could point out Eric Aiken at the State Tournament? Most of us don't know wrestling, most of us know 8u 67, 10u 95, 12u 110, and so on.
Kit, if you move the kids back to the beginning of Feb or end of Jan. you are not only eliminating the high school kids, but also the middle school wrestling kids that have seasons that run until the 2nd wk of Feb.
Gymnastics season is 7 months (Nov. thru May) if you are an upper level gymnast and you make it all the way to Nationals. I say, if you think wrestling is too long, don't wrestle the whole season. Start a little later or quit earlier. You can make it as long or short as you want.
I have coached at the high school level and the kids level; I open with that statement in hopes of adding some credibility to this reply. I'd hate for all of the hard working volunteer coaches at the kids level to think that I didn't know your troubles and commitment to this sport.

I agree with Kit on this, and several other posters, that the kids season is too long for most of our wrestlers. When running the kid's club, a very well respected high school coach explained to me that it was my job to ensure all of the kids learned basic skills and enjoyed the sport. Sure, I could work on some advanced skills with the older kids, but my main purpose was to instill a love for the sport. If a wrestler learns to enjoy the hard work and commitment, then they will become a good wrestler in time. Too many times at the high school level I see good little league kids burn out before they get to me due to the long seasons, or they have learned that wrestling is just something you do because mom and dad expect it because they went to every tournament every weekend.

This post is not meant as a slight to any parent who pushes their kids to go to tournaments every weekend, but I'd like to end with one more comment from that high school coach I worked for: Kid's wrestling should be about fun, not national titles. Great athletes become great athletes because they have that intrinsic drive, the average athlete becomes great because they love their sport.
Most people will not stop wrestling until state is over. It is not as easy as start later or quit earlier. Human nature is to keep up (start early) and finish the season (quit later).
I think folkstyle season is way too long for kids and parents. Who can really afford $15 entry fee and the amount of gas it takes to travel every single weekend for 5 months. I don't know how my dad ever did it (maybe because it was cheaper back then, I don't know).

It'd be nice to see Kansas's folkstyle season line up better with the rest of the nation's, so people didn't have to choose whether or not to travel to nationals a week after they've gone to Topeka, miss out on various national folkstyle tournies (Brute), and miss out on great early season freestyle/greco tournies (USA Regionals).

End folkstyle right before High school qualifiers begin (before League/Regionals), have a couple week break until March, then hit freestyle and Greco or baseball when they should be starting. Instead, half of the wrestlers have to catch back up from folkstyle and the other half are totally burnt.
 Originally Posted By: MacLaughlin
The season is too long. I don't know of any other "kids" sports that run 4-5 months.


Actually most competitive leagues of most sports for kids will last as long as folkstyle wrestling season or longer. Competitive swimming for little guys is year round, baseball goes longer then 5 months if the kids are playing fall ball, kids football can go 5 months, gymnastics, volleyball, it goes on & on. One big difference with wrestling compared to baseball or football is the fact that you can take as much time off as you want, as long as it's not in March.
You make choices. When my son was younger, we quit wrestling before subs. It was just too long of a season for him at that age and that was fine with him and us! Now, he wants to finish out the season endng with state! He plays soccer next. That season has already begun but he wants to miss practices and games until state is over. These are the choices he/we make. Anyone else could do the same. Whatever is right for their kid. There are a lot of sports that are year round.
I agree gymmom. I have 4 boys-1 HS, 2 MS and 1 Elem.School. They all have made their own choices to wrestle or not wrestle. Our HS is a 2 time state qualifier in HS--but chose to sit out kids this year for a band trip he wanted to go on. One of our MS is a 2 time kids state qualifier, finished his MS season and was on the mat the next day for kids--his choice. Our other MS sat out 2 seasons before he decided he wanted to try it again. Our Elem School kid is just as competitive as our HS-so the more he wrestles the happier he is. We watch for the signs of burnout and take weekends off so we can all go watch one of the two older kids. The two youngest ones really enjoy this and I think that is what keeps the fire in them. If they told me tomorrow that they were done for the season-I would agree--and then sleep in on a Saturday!!!!!
Wrestling season is no longer than most other sport seasons...however what I see is that sub-districts, districts and state are held during Spring Break! Many families have to choose between a trip and wrestling and many just aren't willing to choose wrestling.
I agree with you Beeson. I haven't taken him to any college events yet, but we have attended some of the H.S. duals so he can see a little into the future. I love it when he tells me what moves he is seeing used on the mat and he knows the names and faces of the highschool boys. I would really enjoy taking him to some college matches soon.

My son is 12 and has been wrestling for 6 yrs. Ever since he started he has wanted to attend every tournament available, he loves the sport and has never complained about it being too long, me on the other hand is ready for it to be over by subs. I would like it to be a shorter season but dont think we should cut out the highschoolers, we have quite a few that look forward to the kids season. I think highschool kids get better compitition in kids wrestling than in H.S., you got 1A going against 4A 6A ect.ect. which only makes them better. I hope we can figure something out w/out leaving out the H.S. kids!
I disagree with the wrestling season being compared to some of the other elite sports where only a small portion of the students in Kansas participate. If I had a son who was totally committed to wrestling, I could have him wrestling year-around too. If I had a son that was totally committed to baseball, again, he could start practice in the fall, do tournaments over the winter and join his high school team in the spring and another group in the summer. So, I guess you could say that baseball and wrestling both have the same season. BUT, for the majority of kids, the season in baseball usually starts in the spring and ends in the summer. You can't compare the elite athletes or elite clubs schedule to a general club like Kids Wrestling. We can all find examples of some sports that have a longer season than wrestling. But we are not talking about those sports. What we are talking about is why kids do not finish the season as it is and/or why we see such a dramatic drop-off in the number of kids as their age progresses.
 Originally Posted By: mom4
What we are talking about is why kids do not finish the season as it is and/or why we see such a dramatic drop-off in the number of kids as their age progresses.

Does anyone have stats on what the drop-off rate as kids get older is in some of the other sports are? I quit basketball after 3rd grade, not because the season was long(it wasn't) not because my parents pushed me(they didn't) I quit because I wasn't good & I didn't like it! Look,kids start wrestling at an early age. Maybe, just maybe, kids are trying all kinds of different sports at these young ages to see which ones they like & maybe the kids that stop wrestling stop because they do not like to wrestle... What am I thinking? That is way too logical. They are quitting because the season is too long. Yep, that's definately it.
There are kids who quit because they don't like the sport. No one is questioning that. But maybe, just maybe you can also acknowledge that some of the kids quit because the season is too long and/or they suffer burnout.
I agree that kids burn out. I think a good percentage of those kids will burn out regardless of when they start & stop practicing each season. Wrestling is a tough, physically & emotionally draining sport. Kids have to learn to sacrifice before they probably should. Some of those scarifices are not worth the rewards for some of these kids. The kids have pressure put on them to perform. Pressure from coaches to execute moves properly, from parents for little Johnnie to be the next Dan Gable, from there peers at the tournaments. IMO, that is a lot for a kid that hasn't even reached puberty to deal with. Maybe instead of shortening the season...... here i go...putting my neck out there...... start kids in wrestling when they are a bit older.....maybe start them at 10 years old instead of 3 or 4. Imagine being 16 & never remembering life without wrestling. Imagine wrestling 10/under & it being your 7th year at a sport!! That is more extreme to me then when each season starts & stops. Shoot, if you start the kids at 10, by 12 or 13 they may be wanting to take it up a notch & wrestle year round due to maturity rather then quitting because that is all they can remember ever doing.
I think you will find in many instances it is the parents who burn out first because the season is too long.
After sitting through our sons fall baseball games this past year (first year kids pitch) I would gladly do over a season of wrestling and I'm sure our son would say the same thing! Our first year of wrestling we were practicing and doing what seemed to be a tournament every weekend. Now on our 3rd year and practicing 3xweek we ask our son what tournaments he wants to do and let him decide yes or no. I think that has helped him with not getting burned out. Last year he wanted to quit wrestling right before subs and then decided a week later he wanted to wrestle in subs and we got him back in the wrestling room and he went on to be a State Qualifier. We have not hear him once complain or want to quit early this year!
 Originally Posted By: sportsfan02
I think you will find in many instances it is the parents who burn out first because the season is too long.

My bank account is burnt! It will be glad when the season is over!
Burnt, my bank account is torched, gonna have to sleep in car at district & state lol.
Well said Beeson, My son loves to wrestle, he's already talking about freestyle and baseball, and wrestling camps. The season is only as long as you let it be, in high school I wrestled all year long, the football coaches would flip when I came to practice in full pads and sweats just to make weight that weekend, wrestling is a sport where its either all the way, or watching from the stands and that takes mat time, take a tournament off now and then, alwalys go to practice thats where you get better.

Jake Keplar
coachbill sounds like you have the money for gas to make it to both, i will have to siphon gas to make it to sub districts lol or my wife is going to have to take another job, glad she does not read these comments i make, or i would forget about the gas , the shoes would be doing alot of walking.
So, What? stop the season befor HS is over and lose 1200 14s, 15, @16s to gain 200 8s???????
nix, I might be flintstoning it the way gas prices are going. Know anybody with an electric car? lol
Ending the season earlier is a bad idea. Those high school kids give the younger wrestlers someone to look up to and an idea of their possible short-term future. It’s great when you can point out an individual state champ or a state championship team. The younger kids need role models for work ethic, effort and desire. Starting later could help but families or individual wrestlers could decide that for themselves. My sons don’t start until after the New Year and they are both very competitive.
ok so what are some ideals that a club can do to stir the intrest and get more kids to wrestle ? what do other clubs do to get kids in the room? how do we keep them ounce we get them?
we lose kids cause wrestling is not for everyone. we are a select few. anyone can play basketball but not every can wrestle. its hard. lots of kids try it but its too tough for alot of those kids. parents baby their kids way too much these days. they let them sit around play the computer and gameboys all day. then when they are 30 they are still living at home and wonder why. thats why we are losing kids. no burn out junk. maybe a few but thats not the main reason kids stop wrestling.
We can't just discount many, many legitimate issues just because some of us don't want to change anything. Here are some of the reasons that are legimate and can be addressed:

Season is too long
Tournaments take too long
Too many practices
Cost
Spring Break
Watch High School State
Watch NCAA Tournament
Compete in National events
Get started in GR and FS

We can shorten the core kids season without taking away anything from the MS and HS kids. If you don't want to quit there are many, many tournaments to go to. Right now our state tournament conflicts with USA Middle School National Duals. It almost conflicted with USA Flk Nationals. Our district kids tournament is going on the same weekend as the NCAA Finals. That means our kids wrestle longer than the college wrestlers!!! It is too easy to rationalize and not do a thing. We have to figure out how to grow our sport.
I am proud to report that my son knows several great wrestlers in the more recent history of the sport. He enjoys watching the HS and college matches and couldn't wait to get autographs from the metro classic.

Several have asked how we "got our son to love wrestling so much" and the correct response is we didn't. We are grateful that he has a true love of the sport. He realizes his own potential (something I wish every kid could do) and as much as he is supported and encouraged, he is never forced into anything.

I would ask you to reference another intersting post, "I've been thinking", which refers to related topics...
OK, then. It appears the general view is to shorten the season....let's get 'er done.
 Originally Posted By: Defref
OK, then. It appears the general view is to shorten the season....let's get 'er done.


It's already done! If the season is too long start later! No one says you have to go to tournaments in November & December, shoot you don't even have to practice (but I suggest you do). Over half our club didn't start going to tournaments until just before Salina. The other half started at the kickoff in November or Emporia at the first of December. It is up to you & your wrestler(s). I do not see how you can end the season earlier without putting the screws to the high school kids. Why start the season later? While most of us, wrestlers & parents are ready for a break by this time each year, I will venture to say that most of us, wrestlers & parents are anxious by the end of October to start it all over again, and I guarantee the kid that works out 1-3x per week in the spring & summer & goes to camp is definately ready to get to a tournament by November.
I disagree, It is not already done. The answer is not to start later. We as a state are behind, every other state in the union is done and started with freestyle. I just got a catalog in the mail for freestyle. The Cover said "Middle of the Season Sale", I assume they are talking middle of the season for everyone but Kansas.
 Originally Posted By: Beeson
We as a state are behind, every other state in the union is done and started with freestyle.


Missouri state is the same weekend as Kansas. Still researching the rest of the union.
 Originally Posted By: PatrickCavanaugh
Still researching the rest of the union.

Conneticut- 2/24, New Jersey 2/24, Iowa 2/24, Wyoming 2/29
Georgia 3/15, Illinois 3/15, Indiana 3/15, North Dakota 3/21, Wisconsin 3/21, Utah 3/22, Arizona 3,29; that's all I could find on USA website. How about Getting the month back that was stolen from local freestyle/greco this year.
I really feel that starting Kids practice after Thanksgiving even perhaps in December and only going to 1 or 2 Tourneys December, 3 tournaments in Jan and 3 in Feb and then doing Qualifiers in March will suffice for most competitors.
Taking a week or two off during the middle of the season is of benefit as well as not having to attend every single practice. I believe this to be true especially for youngsters 10 &U.
Having a season that is 4 months long with 2-3 practices a week and the grind of travel and long days each Saturday and for some also Sundays wears on them.

I feel that SPLIT formats to perhaps shorten the day and the more relaxed and less pressured NOVICE Tourneys for beginner wrestlers on Sunday are two of the greatest things to happen for this sport.
I do wish that our Kids wrestlers had the opportunity to attend the HS STATE Tourney and that it would be mandated across the State for Kids wrestlers to take that week off so they can see their older siblings and area HS kids compete in the "Big Dance". I like that HS Freshman, Sophomore and even many Juniors (16 & Under) are able to compete in Kids State at the conclusion of the HS season which would not be the case if the season ended in Mid Feb.

I don't believe that very many of our states kids would attend the Middle School Nationals or even go to watch the NCAA Championships. Those elite kids who are capable and who can afford the travel, costs, etc. are able to attend Liberty, Tulsa, Reno, Summer Nationals etc and so forth to determine where they stand on a National level. So to that effect I don't feel that ending the season in Feb will grow our sport but that parents & coaches should gage their kids to allow for a complete week long break from wrestling (*NO* practices/Tourneys)
a couple times during the season to keep them from buring out and sustain their interest.
Nebraska State March 9th
Oklahoma State February 15-16
Texas State March 1st
Colorado State ??? Looks like 6U-14U are on Feb. 10th and Fr.-Soph. are on March 8th.

I'm not saying this is the answer, just something to think about.
Have 16U seperate after High School State. At this age the kids do not really care about the venue, just a chance to wrestle for a state title. It could be held anywhere. This makes room for 6U to be added. State gets moved to the first weekend in March. We are able to watch NCAA's, Big 5, High School State, and the little guys can go watch the Froshman and Sophmores in March if they want.
I think this is about trying to improve our retention rate. In other words, what do we do to stop kids from dropping out. I do not think adding 6U to state and moving 16U to somewhere else will do that. The main part of the question being addressed is the season too long. I have mixed opinions on this. Is it too long. If you want to compete in national tournaments they start in November and end in April (USA Nationals). Even if you end the season earlier, a lot of kids and clubs will continue to practice to compete in these tournaments. You see the posts asking about Brute practices. And, Oklahoma which is noted in other posts starts earlier than us. But, the season is long. However, my daughter played competitive soft ball and it went from January thur October. But, there were breaks. So how do we in Kansas keep our kids competitive, but solve the question at hand. Maybe we should look at separating kids differently. Should we use the same age groups as the USA Nationals tournament and then have a Kids state for the kids that would basically be 9U or maybe 7U earlier than the rest of the kids. Maybe like a novice championship held right after Salina???

I believe the junior high kids get a lot out of practicing with the high school kids. Go to one of the rooms and watch this time of year. I also believe Randy was right, alot of burn out is due to not coaching the basics/drilling. Cokeley is obviously right, something needs to be done, but I think this question requires us to think past just shortening the season.

I would like a 2 week break for HS Regionals and State. That would give the kids 2 weeks off and let them watch the high schoolers.

And, Patrick is right, why did we lose a month on the freestyle season??

I am not trying to argue with anyone, I believe we really need to so something. The more ideas we get the better.

I think that the price of fuel and the other cost of going to the meets on the weekend have cut into the number of kids that take up wrestling in kansas and other states and the money it cost to enter keeps on going up each year along with people stealing money from the kids programs and what the state body did at the state meeting this year by taking a pass away from the clubs that left early.
All the coachs the went to the state meeting paid there fuel cost out of there own funds and then they find out that they lost a floor pass on top of everything else is a hard pill to have to come back to there clubs and tell them.
I have been helping dist 1 to set up the state tournament for the last 6 or 7 years and have hauled wrestling matts to Topeka free, the gas comes out of my pocket and have done it because the kids need people like me and others to make it work and yes I will be back this year but I think its time to understand that people sometime in life have to cut things out when people steal and the price of gas goes over 3.00 dollars a gallon and people make rules up at the state meeting as they go.
Now you may not agree but think about what it cost a weekend end to wrestle and not all people make a lot of money like bankers and lawers.
This has been a long topic and I think some of the parameters have been lost/overlooked over the course of the discussion. Just for clarification, the numbers of wrestlers in Kansas has been increasing, not declining. While this growth has been relatively slow, it has been steady over the past several years. Will's concern is over why the number of entries into the subdistrict tournaments has declined this year (I don't know if this is a one-year phenomenon or not).
The season is too long. Some go from October 1 to March 31. That's 2 months longer than the HS season! Ok for some kids but not all of them.

I'd like to see us hold kid's state in early to mid-Feb. . . ending just before HS Regionals and state.

Then in early March hold a USAWKS sanctioned HS Grand State championships. Then move on to freestyle if you need/want more and represent Kansas nationwide.

Then we could go watch our Kansas Native college wrestlers at conference championships and NCAA championships as well, instead of going to Subs, Dist's, and kid state all of March.
 Originally Posted By: John Johnson
I would like a 2 week break for HS Regionals and State. That would give the kids 2 weeks off and let them watch the high schoolers.


Our club does not put a tournament on the schedule for the weekend of high school state. A few will find a tournament to go to on their own and then of course Liberty Nationals is that weekend but for the most part it is a break. In our weekly e-mails to the club I try to give people an update on the high school team and encourage parents to come out and bring their kids to watch.
What about allowing Middle school and High School wrestlers to join local clubs, participate in clinics and tournaments other than school events?
As a state, we are always right at the top in memberships with California and Illinois. Kansas is recognized as one the top USAW states in both memberships and how it functions as a community.

The enrollment numbers at sub-districts will naturally vary year to year, up or down several percentages. It may not be something to be really worried about, but an earlier State tournament would be nice to see and possibly keep more kids involved for the entire season.
If you schedule an earlier State tournament date, you are going to lose some of your 14 and unders and all of your 16 and unders for high school. Then you will see a big decrease in numbers.
if my wife is willing, i will have some more offspring to get the numbers up, anything to do my part to help the sport.
I also agree the season is too long but I think there are two other factors that may be playing a part in why the numbers for sub-district are down. 1. the recession and 2. the early Easter

At no time in our lives has gas prices been as high as they are right now. Factor in the rising cost of food, heating bills, ect. and a lot of people are saying "we need to cut back on something." Wrestling and other activities are expensive...especially if you have more than one son/daughter currently in the program. Prices for tournament entries have gone up every year. I remember when an expensive tournament fee was 10.00 back in 1998. And that was when filling up a car only cost around 20.00!

And to add to the recession....the Easter holiday is very early this year. In fact, it is the earliest it will ever be in our entire lives (unless someone out there lives to be over 120 years old).
I would just say my son did not start this years season unitl January. The season is only as long as you let it be. I would say he started then and won Sub District last weeked. You as parents control this also the kid he has been burned out so we went hunting during hunting season instead of wrestling practice. He is now peaking at the right time instead of being burned out he is 12 and under so he has some years under his belt. But I think the responsiblitiy should fall on the coach we tell our parents after 11/2 months of practice and 5 weeks of tournaments wether their kid should go on or stop what makes our decesion the kid. Does he like it is he having fun is he mature enough. But I will say to answer the question this will be tough to fix the numbers way to many things going on for kids. Baseball,football,video games and want to.
after this season i feel like i am 120 years old and this is my first season coaching since i was in college. really enjoyed it and learned alot of things. still have some things to work on. would like to thank all the coaches and parents on the advice all season. would like to thank cokeley for the talks, coach ed for the class and advice, beeson for his advice, nix for his humor. missed some others but see ya all next year.
What are you saying?...I have class!!! Don't I? \:\)
yes bockman it has been nick talking to you and reading your post's as well, i am going to have to take a break from this site. but i live in a town where the nearest walmart is 32 miles away.

kids get home from school they do there thing, my wife does her's and when i am not cow tippin, or hunting or slappin the kids around i am on here, so i need a break look forward to meeting you one day.

oh the hunting was for peta, and slappin the kids around was for the srs. man i do not know where i come up with this stuff.
yes u do beeson won't say what chris said about you today. lol it was all good.
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