Youth Wrestling Tournaments- How to improve!

[wrastle63]

I'm gonna play the devils advocate here.
1) Don't agree. The reason you run a tournament is for a fundraiser.  So you need to take at least 1 break and get people to the concessions because that's how you make your money.
2) We tried that and the problem you run into is once kids (or should I say parents) see they have a tough match you get "no shows" And believe it or not kids (or parents) will lie about there weight. We even did a check scale and now you have kids weighing 10 more pounds then they signed up as. Now you have a mess trying to change brackets.
3) Goes hand and hand with #2
4) agree
5) agree

LOL

[ChargerDad]

Flo is just as good as Track when it comes to bracketing.

Might be just as good at creating the brackets, but when it comes to viewing them, it's awful, especially from a cell phone.   I hate swiping back and forth just to see the entire bracket.  Track's bracket may be "simple", but it's easy to view the entire bracket on the screen at once.

[DocWrestling]

The age group vs. grade issue could so easily be solved if USA wrestling or the WWF went to using September 1st at the cutoff date rather than January 1st.  Hockey is going through the same thing with using January 1st and splitting up kids in same grade and is considering a change.   Little League Baseball has already made that change.

[ramjet]

Youth wrestling is saturated with individual tournaments.

I would like to see more attempts at team duals for youth under controlled settings.
Coaches coaching
Coaches working together for good match ups.
Parents assuming the spectator role so they can enjoy the experience.
Team atmosphere controlled by matchups based on age ability and discussion.  (Without sandbagging)

[wrastle63]

Youth wrestling is saturated with individual tournaments.

I would like to see more attempts at team duals for youth under controlled settings.
Coaches coaching
Coaches working together for good match ups.
Parents assuming the spectator role so they can enjoy the experience.
Team atmosphere controlled by matchups based on age ability and discussion.  (Without sandbagging)

That is the key we need to do what is best for the kids. Winning is a fraction of the big picture especially at the youth level. Youth tournaments are one of the worst possible places you can take your kid. We are one of our own worst enemies when it comes to retention, keeping kids out, and enjoying the sport.

[DocWrestling]

I have been having some discussions with others mainly about middle school wrestling but pertains to youth wrestling.  Too much focus on the individual aspect and to much focus on number of matches.

Many teams bring 20+ kids to a youth tournament.  Coaches, parents, and wrestlers running around in controlled chaos.  What if 2-3 of those teams decided to meet in a gym and wrestle a dual?  Parents in the stands, coaches coaching, teammates in chairs matside cheering on their teammates.  Oh the horror if they only got one match or maybe 2 on a Saturday.  Families in and out in 2-3 hours all in a controlled environment.  Come up with some fun games, throw some Dominos pizza in their mouths at the end and all would have a ton of fun and develop friendships.  Some kids just want to be part of a team.

[Lunatic Fringe]

After reading all of the opinions on how to run youth tournaments.

Lets list some of the best run youth tournaments in the state and maybe a fact or two on why they were run so well.

[FortWrestling]

Fort Atkinson has historically run a pretty quick tournament with lots of kids, usually done around noon.  Part of that is having experienced people running trackwrestling and handling logistics but the other part of that is having enough mats on the floor to accomodate a large number of kids.

The thing that's been mentioned regarding basing brackets off of skill level is always tricky because it relies on parents/coaches using common language and understanding regarding skill level.  I think we've done a pretty good job defining those skill levels and have had positive feedback with our bracketing.

[madeyson]

West De Pere - great tournament
Run it in two sessions - in and out within 3 1/2 hours - 5 man brackets so you get a lot of wrestling

Appleton North
Mostly full mats (little guys get 1/2 mats I believe), 8 man brackets so kids get used to that format for regionals - well run, roped off mats to controls parents on the side of the mats

[phennimorefenom]

Keep parents in the stands and let the coaches coach. Make corners like HS tournaments and 2 people in the corner.

+1

[babywhales]

I have been having some discussions with others mainly about middle school wrestling but pertains to youth wrestling.  Too much focus on the individual aspect and to much focus on number of matches.

Many teams bring 20+ kids to a youth tournament.  Coaches, parents, and wrestlers running around in controlled chaos.  What if 2-3 of those teams decided to meet in a gym and wrestle a dual?  Parents in the stands, coaches coaching, teammates in chairs matside cheering on their teammates.  Oh the horror if they only got one match or maybe 2 on a Saturday.  Families in and out in 2-3 hours all in a controlled environment.  Come up with some fun games, throw some Dominos pizza in their mouths at the end and all would have a ton of fun and develop friendships.  Some kids just want to be part of a team.

Up until 3 years ago in Portage we used to run a 5 Man birth year bracket tournament with roughly 400 kids.  Used criteria State Placer, State Qualifier, Usually takes 1st/2nd, Usually takes 2nd/3rd, Usually takes 3rd/4th and First Year wrestler, we checked most kids and got the brackets full of comparable talent.  Wrestling started at 8:30 and was done and cleaned up at home by 2.  No break. 

For the last 3 years we have an 8 team Club Dual. $300 bring your whole club. We pair teams up like a middle school dual, no fixed weights. We run 4 mats and with matches on 1/2 and whole mats, running matches non stop for 70 minutes.  We also run an exhibition mat as well fro coaches to set up matches at their discretion. 

4 Rounds, each team gets one bye(sell concessions). Each dual is 70 minutes.

Using same separation criteria as listed above we provide a blue print of match ups with mat size and the coaches can change anyway they see fit.  We also provide each roster with name, age, separation criteria, grade, birth year and weight 2-3 days in advance so coaches can find matches for their wrestlers in advance and show up prepared.

Parents stay in stands, kids and coaches matside only.     Kids get anywhere from 3-10 matches on the day and wrestlers were out of the gym by 12:30.

We were cleaned up and home by 1:30-2 pm.

So far our feedback from coaches has been excellent.  From a Board perspective, all monies are paid by the club months in advance, the bye allows for concession sales, no medals, no data entry for track, the format can be run with 1/2 the volunteers, and 1/2 the upfront monetary investment.  Wrestlers on site wrestling for 4 hours getting tons of matches.  We have found it is the best way to run a youth tournament for clubs with beginners and intermediate wrestlers.

[DocWrestling]

babywhales,

That is outstanding other than the bye.  LOL!  I can assure you from running tournaments without breaks that concessions do not take a hit.  Add another mat so you can bring in another team and no byes for teams.  Wrestlers and parents will always have time to eat.

Can you please  share when your "tournament" is?  Any openings?

[GradeTough]

Duals are a big plus. Kids like the team concept and I'd seen that it helps removes a lot of the stress that comes along with competing when compared to individuals tournaments. Plus the added value of only two representatives in a wrestlers corner at a time.

Kids help support each other, so losses aren't as devastating and wins feel huge. Overall a pretty positive experience and you are guaranteed a number of matches.

[padre]

The age group vs. grade issue could so easily be solved if USA wrestling or the WWF went to using September 1st at the cutoff date rather than January 1st.  Hockey is going through the same thing with using January 1st and splitting up kids in same grade and is considering a change.   Little League Baseball has already made that change.

Agree!!!

[padre]

Some excellent youth tournaments and clubs that get it..

Shawano- 9:15 start and run with no breaks.

Appleton West- great brackets and efficient

Oconto Falls- run very efficient