Some ideas about increasing the popularity of high school wrestling:
Is there anyone out there who feels that it may be time for a realignment of weight classes? I would like to see the number of weight classes go from 14 back to 12, and here is a suggestion for new divisions: 108, 118, 126, 132, 138, 145, 155, 167, 176, 189, 215, and 285. This line-up includes weight classes from past years and present, as well as a couple that are used at the college level. I believe that these classes provide good opportunities for high school kids of all weights, and could lead to increased participation in and patronage of high school wrestling events. I have brought this up to people before and it seems that most are against it. Why?
The current alignment of weight divisions often make for a distorted sense of team strength due to the forfeit factor. A small school with a strong line-up that matches up favorably with a larger school at each weight class except those that will be forfetied due to low numbers (not just on the wrestling team but in the number of kids in the entire student body) is at a disadvantage before the first match is wrestled because of the forfeits. Therefore, the strong small school loses to the mediocre large school even though the small school may have won all of the wrestled matches. All of this because the small school does not have adequate numbers. For that matter, there are many large schools that cannot field a full team. The fact that there are 14 weight classes to fill exacerbates this problem.
I have spoken to many people who watch wrestling who become bored with forfeit after forfeit. Sure, forfeits are often a part of strategy but do we need six or eight of them? Seriously, there are many teams out there with four or five or six wrestlers. When it comes to this, the team aspect flies out the window and the kids are wrestling strictly for personal goals. There is nothing wrong with that, but if it were to become widespread, what will be the use of having teams?
Obviously, I support the recent decision to allow the small schools to have their own dual division. However, I am not sure I am in favor of separate regional and state tournaments for them. Regional and state tournaments are largely individual in nature, although team scores are kept. That stud from Podunk High School has a better chance of beating the stud from Metropolis High than his team has of beating the city team. The team scores are kept as a measure of tournament strength for the teams, as opposed to dual strength, which is a completely different animal altogether. And I feel very strongly that a decease in the number of weight classes will bring dual meet strength into sharper focus than a festival of forfeits.
I also support the movement for a double-elimination state tournament for all of the reasons stated in earlier posts. I also like the 32-man bracket that is used in Tennessee; I feel that it gives the TSSAA tournament a level of toughness that you don't find in every state. When you win the state in Tennessee, then you have really accomplished something. But I definitely do not support the recent realignment of the regions. Looking at the map on the TSSAA site, it appears to me that it is entirely possible to draw up the regions in a way to allow eight regions, so we can return to the top four in each region qualifying for the state tournament. Of course, each region would consist of 15 to 18 teams, but what's wrong with that? Region 2, under the current system, has 23 or 24 teams. And they still get to send their top four in each weight class, which to me makes the whole system seem inconsistent and illogical.
Also, I feel that many more kids would come out for wrestling if someone simply asked them. I know that many coaches are busy teaching classes and coaching other sports in the offseason, but many may find that spending time between classes in the hallways or lunch break in the cafeteria talking to kids could help their numbers. Active recruiting of the kids in your school is essential to the success of any sports team. And if you attract 20 kids and only one of them becomes a quality wrestler, well, there's one you didn't have before.
I applaud some of the earlier posts that urged coaches to use the media. Sportswriters and television reporters do not attend wrestling events on their own, they must be invited. And so many of them are so busy with basketball, most won't come anyway. This is where it is imperative for coaches to send in stories and results. I have never encountered a newspaper yet that will not print just about anything that is sent in by a coach or likewise reliable source. If you aren't a good writer, find a kid or a parent or an English teacher who is and ask them to help you. And if you have a kid on your team or know of one at a nearby school who is having an exceptional season, alert a local television station. Most are really looking for stuff to put on on Mondays and Tuesdays during the winter. And please...when the local paper sends you a questionnaire or survey or poll or whatever about the upcoming season, complete it and send it back in a timely manner. Before long, newspapers are going to stop making the effort to publicize wrestling due to a lack of interest on the part of coaches to send this kind of stuff in. And no matter how busy a coach is, he can surely take five or 10 minutes to fill out a newspaper survey.
I personally feel that the 20-date rule is great, and that teams should not be limited in the number of Saturday tournaments that they attend. Coaches can minimize the boredom of family and friends by telling the parents of an unseeded kid to come to the early rounds if they want to see him/her wrestle, and if the kid surpasses expectations, then every match is a bonus. After that, the parent can leave or stay to see other kids wrestle...at that point, the choice is theirs. Conversely, if a kid is one of the top seeds, the coach can tell the parent to show up at so-and-so time for the quarters or semis, unless they just want to be there to likely see their kid pin a first-round opponent in 30 seconds. I know it doesn't always happen that way (although it usually does) and it's hard to predict when these rounds will take place, but I can usually guess within an hour's time. At least this way, everyone doesn't have to stay from weigh-in to finals. I find that many parents gladly spend the entire day at the tournament anyway.
Keeping the sport exciting and getting the kids opportunities to test their skills against a variety of opponents, small school and large school, in state and out, should be among the chief goals of wrestling coaches. They must also do everything within their power to draw wrestlers and fans and keep wrestling in the public consciousness in order to curb the decline in interest and the apathy of the community. If a coach is in it just for the supplement, then that coach should seriously try to find another way to make that few hundred dollars and leave the wrestling program to someone who is dedicated to the sport and committed to keeping it from dying. I am also convinced that changes must be made to the current structure of the sport by the TSSAA and the NFHS in order to make it more fun and less mundane to compete and to watch. I think wrestling is among the most wonderful and beneficial offerings of our educational institutions today, and I urge those associated with it to continue to seek an increase in support.
