Poor Sportsmanship in Duals

[Half Nelson]

I have seen very few poor sportsmanship behaviors in Wrestling. One happened last year when a blond headed young man body slammed at an angle onto the back a wrestler that then was out for PT and has not wrestled again.

As as friend that is 55 years old that lives in San Diego [looks like a Navy Seal] said " there is no high school sport that should support anything that could permantly injure these teens b/c the goal is to enjoy sports and stay in shape the rest of your life".

Let's face it most of these guys are not going to the Olympics!

Sat. at the Duals in Clarksville ----I saw Nick Moore of McCallie in the most blatant excuse for poor sportsmanship push Chris Lomas out of the ring. The Ref. only gave him a tech. I would have kicked him out of the tournament! He was followed by 2 other McCallie young men that were 'definitely not gentlemen' using equally poor sportsmanship behavior , just not as blatant.

This is what makes Wrestling look bad and the coaches are the leadership. Leadership comes from the top! And, the Referees have the obligation to nip this stuff in the bud and help these young men learn how to behave on a mat.!!!!!!

[best_of_the_west]

It happens all the time. It usually has nothing to do with poor sportsmanship.

[CoachDelgado]

Don't let intensity get confused with unsportsmanlike behavior.

[PikminGod]

yes, usually a push like that is rage/intensity/frustration

[TDArtist]

It doesn't matter what you call it. Any act that is not respectful of your fellow opponents, coaches, and fans is unsportsmanlike conduct. It reflects poorly on your program.

[walkenvol]

For those of you who didn't see it, you make the call. From my recollection, the ref was restarting the wrestlers in the center of the mat with Lomas in the bottom position. Moore selected the optional start with the intent to release Lomas and go takedowns. Most coaches instruct their wrestlers to push the bottom man away when conceding the escape to create some space so that the bottom man cannot turn into the top man and grab his legs. On the whistle Lomas attempted an explosive stand up, Moore was pushing him away at the same time. Lomas stumbled several steps going out of bounds in the process.

 

I could understand Half's point if Moore had followed Lomas to the edge of the mat and then shoved him sending him out onto the wood floor, but that's not my recollection (my appologies if you have reviewed the tape and found otherwise). In my 34 years of wrestling I've never seen a release penalized before. I have seen this same exact thing happen at the state duals 2 years ago in the finals between Manley and Manson with no call made by the official.

[pantheon]

For those of you who didn't see it, you make the call. From my recollection, the ref was restarting the wrestlers in the center of the mat with Lomas in the bottom position. Moore selected the optional start with the intent to release Lomas and go takedowns. Most coaches instruct their wrestlers to push the bottom man away when conceding the escape to create some space so that the bottom man cannot turn into the top man and grab his legs. On the whistle Lomas attempted an explosive stand up, Moore was pushing him away at the same time. Lomas stumbled several steps going out of bounds in the process.

 

I could understand Half's point if Moore had followed Lomas to the edge of the mat and then shoved him sending him out onto the wood floor, but that's not my recollection (my appologies if you have reviewed the tape and found otherwise). In my 34 years of wrestling I've never seen a release penalized before. I have seen this same exact thing happen at the state duals 2 years ago in the finals between Manley and Manson with no call made by the official.

walkenvol is correct. The push occurred from the optional start position. That coupled with Lomas' start led to his "exit" from the "ring." Actually, the ref made a bad call. It was no where near unsportsmanship, looked bad but there was not an intent to harm Lomas. If you've been a wrestler, this is a non-issue.

[gofish]

Pushing an opponent from the optional position is good hard-nose wrestling. It does a couple of things: 1) creates space, 2) makes the bottom wrestler uncomfortable and thus easier to score on 3) asserts dominace.

 

Anyone who thinks otherwise has not wrestled much. Watch a college match sometime or a Brands highlight tape.

[SilentJohn]

I wasn't there but I would have to agree context is the key.

 

If you push a guy who is on his way to an escape, it's just a good idea. But at the SD tournament I witnessed a very prominent wrestler deliberately shove his opponent about 2-3 seconds after the whistle. This was out of bounds near the scorers table. You guys who were there know how close the tables were to the mats, he could have injured the kid.

 

I had never seen this kid wreslte but had heard his name for years. Afer watching that little display when I see his name on a bracket I dont think "good wrestler", think "thug."

Edited February 10, 2004 by SilentJohn

[CoachBray]

excellent response, gofish!

[best_of_the_west]

No question about it, pushing a kid from option is not only legal, it's expected. Borneman does it all the time. It's a part of the sport. You have to do it, just in case the bottom man tries to grab a leg. I know that anyone who coaches or wrestles will agree, but I'm just backing up the previous opinions. Besides, you are not required to respect your oponent in wrestling (although it's probably a good idea).