High school has too many weight classes
February 02, 2016

 

As someone who doesn't really have any 'kin' skin in the game anymore, I go to matches to see certain weights, and kids, some of whom I coach; if there are good matches, I generally know the kids and expect to see decent matches; I honestly don't like sitting thru the heavywt classes, since 90% of the time they are boring push-fests (and yes, I know there are good heavyweights, but you have to be pretty particular about which matches you go to in order to see them -- and most likely, they won't be wrestling anyone, and if they do, it won't be anyone who can compete with them) where a leg might be slapped, but rarely shot on; there is an incredible lack of skill and they really don't represent wrestling; they represent pushing/ If the heavyweights want me to watch, or anyone else to care about their match other than family members -- they should increase their skill level -- that's really what sports are about --not just being there and doing nothing to exemplify any possible skills; shoot a takedown! take a chance! Learn how to finish! It's really horrible honestly, to watch matches where there doesn't seem to be any wrestling skill involved -- what's the point of going to the match? I wonder sometimes if it's the same in basketball -- and I think about it like this: some of the wrestling matches (varsity, where you shouldn't expect it) are so horrible, so lacking in skill, you wonder if someone who knows nothing about the sport thinks how stupid it looks -- would you think about a low level basketball game the same way? Probably not -- and maybe who gives a crap -- but at least at the lowest level of basketball, there is some skill so that you know what the players are doing; I watch wrestling matches where I just don't know if this is true> HS -- varsity> And maybe this has something to do with the difference: when I grew up, we yard and living room wrestled -- hard, lots of the time -- my brother and I, as well as other neighborhood kids; we didn't have actual wrestling skills, but we had basic instincts, and were good athletes, who spent a lot of time trying to beat each other up in a fun way -- I'm pretty sure most of this stuff is nonexistent, as well as being against the law now -- so when I started wrestling, in 10th grade -- I adapted pretty easy, and though things were less technical back the, it was easier to ease into the game, since you had been honing your yard and living room skills for years trying to beat your older brother up, and always losing>(the living room wrestling, btw, cost us plenty in punishment when dad finally arrived home and witnessed another leg had been busted off the chair)>

So I'm like a hostage to this ridiculous way of setting up the matches, which started several years ago -- drawing the starting weight out of a hat or something equally absurd> if they land on 152, I really just want to get up and go; cruel, aren't I? --Perhaps, but I don't like going to matches to watch pushing -- it's not as if these larger guys can't learn and execute moves; I realize that shooting a bad shot means getting smothered and taken down -- really just because the shooting wrestler has no idea how to properly finish his move> it stinks frankly -- and selfishly, for me, since if I was wrestling, I would learn how to execute a takedown, rather than how to push; and why 15 matches? This is utterly ridiculous now -- if not always; how many teams have 15 wrestlers, or 13 even? Gotta give everyone a chance -- what other sport do they invent positions to give kids a 'chance'? All it does is setup a lot of forfeits, or a lot of boring push matches -- in which case forfeits are sometime I pray for/

So, for me, I often just don't go to matches, since I don't like gambling; I don't like playing the game of wondering if they are going to start the match as 120, or 145, or 160 -- when the wrestler I want to watch is that one right under 120, or 145 -- god only knows how many others out there can't stand this either, and just skip going to matches> Don't get me wrong: I don't go just to watch one wrestler -- that might just be my main focus match; watching other engaging matches, even if the skill level is low, is very worthwhile; but watching matches where there is really no wrestling talent, isn't really watching wrestling>

Once in awhile I browse thru the matches outside the area; I wrestled HS in the southern tier -- bath, Dansville, hornell area; I was looking thru some of the match scores from that area the other day and was stupefied by the amt of forfeits and lopsided matches -- 8 forfeits in one match alone, with a few quick pins, a lopsided tech, and a couple of actual matches that were more evenly contested -- wow, what has happened? 8 forfeits? What could that possibly mean? Mostly -- there aren't enuf wrestlers to even begin to fill the weight classes! -- I don't pay that much attention to how many weight classes there are in HS, so honestly I was surprised when someone who does told me there were 15 of them....15? In college, there are a very reasonable 10 -- 10! -- and they are usually full length matches, and take about an hour and a half of time to complete; for the most part, they are interesting and fun to watch, since in college they just don't put on the mat if you are heavy enuf for the weight;

When you pray for forfeits, something's wrong with the game/





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