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Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?
Started by gowrestle , Yesterday, 08:21 PM

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#1 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #1 gowrestle
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Posted Yesterday, 08:21 PM

The best kids now go 12 months. No doubt they have driven average wrestlers away which has led to a significant growth in forfeits. What’s interesting is that many well known high school coaches talk about the benefits of participating in multiple sports but those same coaches benefit from having the wrestling specialist on their teams. Additionally, these are the kids that are being recruited heavily.

There may be 4 or 5 college teams that draw high crowds for their meets. College wrestling is dying a slow invisible death.

The year round wrestler is like nitrogen fertilizers. Those lawns in suburban America sure look nice and green but the nitrogen finds it’s way into streams and bays and has contributed to the destruction of many fishing and shellfish industries.

I’ve been out of high school coaching for over 25 years. I had a couple of kids during my career that at that time wrestled year round and did well on the mat. But now looking at my former wrestlers, those that have had great success in their family and professional lives did 2 or 3 sports and were decent students.

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Edited by gowrestle, Yesterday, 11:09 PM.

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#2 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #2 TobusRex
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Posted Yesterday, 08:54 PM

If their talent for wrestling is high enough it probably doesn't matter that much. On a general level the year round kids will probably be sharper. But I bet they burn out quicker, too.


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#3 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #3 Eagle26
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Posted Yesterday, 10:09 PM

Sport specialization has become a problem in all sports, but more so in wrestling because there is so much technique involved that the year round wrestler really does have a huge advantage. It definitely does drive the avg kids away, but unfortunately I don't see a viable solution. With the exception of upper weights (where so many are football players tha wrestle), it takes an incredible athlete to partipate in multiple sports and compete with the year round wrestler. If you want to wrestle in college, you almost have to wrestle year round. As a high school coach, I still promote the multi sport athlete because if I didn't I would have 3 kids on the team. I believe coaches of all sports need to come together and promote this and the only exceptions should be the rare kid that can legitimately get a scholarship. In my experience, your lucky to have one kid per year in the school who this applies to. Problem is we have all these crazy parents that want to start this in youth wrestling because they all believe their kid is going to be the rare one to get a scholarship. And I just don't see a way to stop these parents because they are right in what it takes to get a scholarship... They are just wrong about their kids athletic ability and/or work ethic/determination. The tough kids benefit from this and the majority burn out. What can you do?
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#4 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #4 xander
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Posted Today, 12:06 AM

Year round wrestling killed my relationship with my son
Tony Clifton
#5 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #5 Plasmodium
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Posted Today, 12:29 AM

xander, on 21 Jan 2018 - 07:06 AM, said:

Year round wrestling killed my relationship with my son

How did it do that?


#6 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #6 AllISeeIsBronze
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Posted Today, 12:33 AM

Plasmodium, on 21 Jan 2018 - 07:29 AM, said:

How did it do that?


No disrespect intended towards Xander, but given what he said, I suspect maybe pushing his son to pursue wrestling year-round led to burnout and resentment. I've seen that a few times, including one where the kid (who beat the s*** out of me in HS) ran away from his home after qualifying for state. Whatever the case, I hope Xander's relationship with his son is on better terms.
#7 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #7 tec87
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Posted Today, 12:46 AM

Metcalf had a really good series of posts like a year or two on his Instagram I think. It was about how good it is for kids to not specialize at a young age. He posted like a pic a day for 4-5 days of him doing stuff other than wrestling like soccer, karate, baseball, etc. then talking about playing football through HS where he was like all-district in football.

Edit: here are Brent’s posts on the other sports he did.

https://www.instagra...moBnh7vw/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...bOS8B7t3/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...E_BFB7ve/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...gS5fB7gg/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...NdOGB7qo/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...0Srnh7s_/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...mLzWh7gV/?hl=en
https://www.instagra...gdJuB7ue/?hl=en
Edited by tec87, Today, 01:54 AM.

FIRE UP CHIPS!!!!
#8 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #8 xander
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Posted Today, 01:01 AM

It is definitely my fault (I take full responsibility)
Tony Clifton
#9 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #9 xander
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Posted Today, 01:03 AM

My son was football. Swimming (club and summer). Base ball. Even soccer. But at like age 11 or 12 it was only wrestling. Free. Folk. Greco
Tony Clifton
#10 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #10 xander
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Posted Today, 01:08 AM

It is difficult to pin point where it all went wrong. But one thing led to another. Started making podium at many “national” 12-14 year old age group. Made Tulsa finals as 8th grader. Then in high school “upset” many upper class man who placed previously. ..... anyway, he is a junior now. We have a VERY strained relationship. Don’t talk at all. It’s very depressing.

Again , I take full responsibility— we traveled all over the United States hitting every tournament possible.

Again. My fault. I just wish I could change things
Tony Clifton
#11 Year Round Wrestler Killing Sport?: post #11 paboom
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Posted Today, 01:33 AM

Eagle26, on 21 Jan 2018 - 05:09 AM, said:

Sport specialization has become a problem in all sports, but more so in wrestling because there is so much technique involved that the year round wrestler really does have a huge advantage. It definitely does drive the avg kids away, but unfortunately I don't see a viable solution. With the exception of upper weights (where so many are football players tha wrestle), it takes an incredible athlete to partipate in multiple sports and compete with the year round wrestler. If you want to wrestle in college, you almost have to wrestle year round. As a high school coach, I still promote the multi sport athlete because if I didn't I would have 3 kids on the team. I believe coaches of all sports need to come together and promote this and the only exceptions should be the rare kid that can legitimately get a scholarship. In my experience, your lucky to have one kid per year in the school who this applies to. Problem is we have all these crazy parents that want to start this in youth wrestling because they all believe their kid is going to be the rare one to get a scholarship. And I just don't see a way to stop these parents because they are right in what it takes to get a scholarship... They are just wrong about their kids athletic ability and/or work ethic/determination. The tough kids benefit from this and the majority burn out. What can you do?

While this may be true with some parents, here in PA it is becoming a norm and a reality if your son ever wants to get to the state tournament in any age level with scholarships way on the mental backburner. I see a lot if kids choosing specialization because of this and not the parents. There are kids who are ultra competitive.

All of it could be solved by eliminating all state and national tournaments aged 10 and under.

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I think every situation is different just like people. I was a multi sport kid, but trained year round for baseball. It was the sport I loved the most. My parents were not pushing anything sports wise, but supported what I was interested in. I think kids should be exposed to everything sports has to offer while they are growing up and parents need to regularly tell them they love them no matter how they perform. Wins and losses matter, but they are not the ultimate goal. Your kids will tell you where their desire lies if you keep an open line of communication with them and always try to be their biggest fan no matter what the outcome is. You are your kids biggest support system.
Is year around wrestling killing our sport?
This comes with a yes and no answer in my opinion. There were some replies in the earlier post about parents thinking that Johnny or Jane are going to be superstar athletes at a early age. Wow, have I seen this a thousand times in my young life.
I will talk about the club level because that is where I see it go all wrong a lot of times. Johnny is nine years old and likes to be a kid, but also enjoys wrestling and being with his buddies. Parents support Johnny wanting to wrestle and the dad wrestled in junior high and high school. They do a few tournaments the first year and Johnny has some success and gets some medals and trophies. The parent suddenly decide he is going to be the next JB. Suddenly the parents are the coach, trainer, agent, and manager. They are constantly engaged on Johnny and what he needs to be doing. They forgot to be the parent and ask Johnny what he wants to do. Sports are an extra for young kids, they do them to have fun and be with their friends. They learn many life skills and create bonds that last a lifetime. Let your kid be a kid and tell them you love them no matter what.
At some point your kid may decide he or she wants to specialize in a sport, if that is their choice you should support it. This usually happens around high school and maybe junior high. I don't feel it is a bad thing if this is what the child has picked to do. Everyone has their favorite drink, food, and activity. I enjoyed all my junior high and high school sports and the different feelings i got from each sport, but I spent my free time training for baseball. Everyone is different.
I think parents and some clubs are hurting the sport more than anything. I don't feel that 5-12 year olds should be doing 20-30 tournaments a year. I feel it is to much and yes the national tournaments for preteens doesn't make much sense to me. I didn't take my son to a nation tournament till his freshman year, those big, noisy, scary tournaments put a lot of pressure on a kid.
Maybe a point system needs to be put in place to help keep kids from burning out to early and keep the playing field a little more level?
This is the oldest and greatest sport in the world and we are all responsible for it's well being. The kids are it's future and we need parents and coaches to take care of how the sport is introduced and run.
Kids want to have fun, don't make it a job for them.
Just my two cents.


Jason L. Radke
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Very good points Jason!

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Jason a lot of good points here. Here is my opinion on a this...and like you said, every situation is different and every kids has a different recipe for success. I am not against sport specific athletes, no am i against the multi sport argument...it is dependent on the kid and what their vision is. As far as the burnout goes...I fully believe that burn out is caused by a lack/loss of vision/purpose...not from too much work or time spent in the sport. This is where parents and coaches both have to do better. Often times it becomes the parents vision, not the athletes. One of the most important jobs for a parent and a coach is to make sure the child has a vision, is goal oriented, and knows that the work they put in...is for the goal they set. This should be a daily routine/practice for all ages. Setting these habits early will help their athlete tremendously once they are adults in the work force. I think it is safe to say we adults sometimes get burnt out of our jobs. It isnt because we are putting in to many hours, it is because we forget why we are putting the hours in...same with athletics. (my opinion)

I do believe that athletes need to take a short break throughout the year. And by break I mean break. A total escape from the mat. Not go in and roll around and work technique. I mean taking a month out of the year to disengage with the sport. Lets looks at an extreme example: During war...when we send troops home for R&R...we don't fly them half way home...and continue to do half way training exercises with them. We send them home to be totally away from the battle and to reset their minds. When we take an R&R from wrestling. We should take a total break from the mat. Still exercise and weight lift at this time to stay healthy, but be away from the sport.

As far as big tournaments for youth kids. Two sides here. If at a tournament with "the lights" it is the coaches and parents job to back it down and relieve the pressure. These opportunities for a kids are fantastic. It establishes a relationship with the environment and can make the pressure easier to deal with once they get older...but only if they have been taught to back it down...but generally I see the opposite at these tournaments. Parents and coaches usually go extra crazy at these tournaments because they are playing into their own vision for their kids/athlete. BACK IT DOWN.

All in all...We need to do a better job with sports psychology and help our athletes set goals and have a purpose for their training. Take breaks when needed...(The military model was obviously over the top but I hope you get my point) ...and to back it down and have some fun.


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I totally agree with you. I have seen parents and coaches push the kid on their path , without asking the child if this is what they want to do. The coaches and parents are the difference maker in the possibility of the child loving or hating the sport.

Yes, breaks/vacations are very important for your body, mind, and soul. Plus, kids need to be kids!

I agree with you on the big tournaments also. I just feel like a lot of them are pushed and made a bigger deal than they really are. I know there are different ages and levels that kids are at that make them ready or not ready for the bright lights of 1500 kids on the floor and full stands. I hope that parents and coaches are thinking about that before putting a kid in that situation. Yes, the parents and coaches need to back down and prepare the child for all things. Communication, kids will let you know when they are ready!


Jason L. Radke

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