Why not wear fight shorts and shirt in high school wrestling?

[bigG]

Why is it that basketball and baseball were able to evolve their uniforms from the 70's and 80's, but not wrestling?  Its ridiculous that we have a sport where the uniform is turning kids away.  I'm 100% for fight shorts and shirts.  I also agree that MMA is good for wrestling.

I think singlets have evolved; but I sure wouldn't mind a change away from singlets. Still if you look at what people were wearing in the 70s and 80s they have changed. Still, young men don't like others to know what religion they are per their sports wear.

[DocWrestling]

Fight shorts are too baggy.  They get in the way of several wrestling moves.  If you want to go to more typical "gym shorts" fine but they should be much closer fitting than the MMA type shorts.
I used to think MMA helped us but I have changed my opinion.  Mothers don't want their sons fighting, period.  I think it does more harm than good.

This can't be true or no coach would allow there wrestlers to wear shorts at practice.  Are you saying coaches don't care if theirestlers ever learn these so called moves?  Same as the injury excuse?

If shorts and shirts were bad for wrestling no coach would allow it in the practice room and yet you will se guys going all out live + drilling wearing sweat pants, sweat shirts, etc.

Instead of making excuses I prefer you call out all these supposed bad coaches for stunting their wrestlers development by limiting their moves through use of shorts and T-shirts.  Certainly you must not allow them in your practice room.

[DocWrestling]

New uniforms or options are needed.

I wrestled for 14 years and each year I got older the singlet made me more self conscious from the waste down and was the first think anything mentioned or poked fun of if they were not a wrestler.  Wrestlers are ridiculed by their peers.  All wrestlers must be conscious of how they look in a singlet because you will never see a middle schooler or older just walking around at a tournament with just their singlet on.  They quickly put on shorts and most pull down the straps.  Many put shirts on because they are also self-conscious about their upper body.  
Why is that?  Why does no wrestler just stand there and talk to you off the mat in their singlet?

Wrestling coaches need to listen to the kids that wrestle as well as those are not wrestling and a simple solution can improve the sport.

Kudos to Kaukauna as they are the only middle school program I know of right now that are wearing the board shorts/two-piece uniform.  I think wearing a shirt could also help with promotion as wrestlers could wear the top to school much like football players wear their jerseys.

[HMsDad]

New uniforms or options are needed.

I wrestled for 14 years and each year I got older the singlet made me more self conscious from the waste down and was the first think anything mentioned or poked fun of if they were not a wrestler.  Wrestlers are ridiculed by their peers.  All wrestlers must be conscious of how they look in a singlet because you will never see a middle schooler or older just walking around at a tournament with just their singlet on.  They quickly put on shorts and most pull down the straps.  Many put shirts on because they are also self-conscious about their upper body. 
Why is that?  Why does no wrestler just stand there and talk to you off the mat in their singlet?

Wrestling coaches need to listen to the kids that wrestle as well as those are not wrestling and a simple solution can improve the sport.

Exactly right on the self consciousness of kids. Even when we have youth registration kids would rather go home with their singlet and try it on than do it there.

Kudos to Kaukauna as they are the only middle school program I know of right now that are wearing the board shorts/two-piece uniform.  I think wearing a shirt could also help with promotion as wrestlers could wear the top to school much like football players wear their jerseys.

[DocWrestling]

Have kids changed?  Has society changed?  Yep

Kids were self conscious in the 80's and now you have kids that don't even shower or change in front of each other. 

Was there anything wrong with the short basketball shorts.  Not really but kids wanted something a little different and the uniforms have evolved.  No try and tell a high school kid to go back and wear the short shorts.  They will balk in 2 seconds so why no change in wrestling

Let wrestling change.  I can't predict if or how much of a positive impact it will have on the sport of wrestling but I do know that it will have no negative impact so why not.

[bigoil]

Wow, did Mark Hall dominate #1 Valencia or what.

He seemed to be annoyed not being #1, he proved it!

[MNbadger]

I tell the wrestlers what size shorts and shirt they wear in practice.  My last five years coaching our high school most of the kids wore the Cliff Keen lycra shorts anyway.  I also would not let them wear shirts too large as I got tired of getting my hands caught up in their shirt while attempting arm bars and half nelsons.

[ramjet]

I have one question;

Do folks that are advocating that this change will in fact make difference in kid to stay out for wrestling if the singlet is just an excuse anyways?

(I have no issue but if the uniform standard has guidelines and rules as to not effect the movement or calls and if it does the changes have to be made before the match)

[HMsDad]

I think it makes a difference. When we have our youth registration there are quite a few kids who want to take their singlet home to try on or just refuse to take one at all because they are embarrassed of how it looks.

The question I get a lot from kids and parents is "They are not required to wear this are they?"

[TeamJ]

Actually Michael Jordan was the original long shorts pioneer to basketball.  He did it because he wanted to wear his North Carolina shorts under his Bulls uniform.  He wore them long and look where it went and how quickly.

Point is--Kids and coaches seeing the "superstar" wrestlers wearing board shorts (ie-what Flowrestling is doing now) will bring about this change more then anything.  Also great to see schools picking them up.  Sure some kids/schools will stick to the standards (see John Stockton in basketball), but change is coming...and it can be good.  It already has changed--My kid wears UnderArmour and board shorts to practice..I wore cotton sweats and sweatshirts.

[Handles II]

Because college and olympic sprinters, jumpers, and often throwers wear singlets, track and field is running out of participants? Nope.
Kids don't wrestle because they are afraid of it's difficulty.

[HMsDad]

Because college and olympic sprinters, jumpers, and often throwers wear singlets, track and field is running out of participants? Nope.
Kids don't wrestle because they are afraid of it's difficulty.

Some truth to that. As a person who has been on our youth board and tried to recruit kids for middle school I get a lot of reasons. The middle school is a lot of "I'm not wearing that"

[DocWrestling]

Because college and olympic sprinters, jumpers, and often throwers wear singlets, track and field is running out of participants? Nope.
Kids don't wrestle because they are afraid of it's difficulty.

I agree it is at times an excuse but what a great idea to take away that excuse.

Or how about all the kids that are wrestling and not afraid of the difficulty but are still self conscious about how they look in a singlet or are tired of the snide comments they get from classmates for wearing a "leotard".  Pretty sure high school track teams are not wearing singlets.  I wonder why?

Even if it is not about the kids, it is about the parents and their choices.  Many are self conscious over there own kids.

How about promotion of the sport, how many pictures in media have you seen that have been unflattering or have poor picture angles of a wrestlers groin?

We can take all that away without losing anything.

[DocWrestling]

I think with a uniform change we would get a lot more guys in the wrestling room and more support from HS football coaches and athletes.  Whether they stick it out, I have no idea.

[MNbadger]

From the Guillotine a bit ago:

"The shorts and shirts look good but singlets are more practical for wrestling. Despite what they may say, I don't think there are many kids that don't wrestle just because of the uniform. It's easier to say and sound less like a chump saying "I'm not wearing a singlet" than "I'm not interested in the grueling work, disciplined lifestyle, no teammates to mask my failures and relatively little fanfare/mainstream recognition and glory that comes with wrestling"
Wrestling isn't fun and most in this country don't care about it. A switch from a singlet won't change that."