Practice Start Date Change

[Jimmy]

Three wrestlers died. The rules were implemented to help prevent further deaths.

[MNbadger]

You said that before.  I addressed it in my previous post.  There were also zero deaths for close to a century before those three deaths, even in the "B
bad old days".

Three wrestlers died. The rules were implemented to help prevent further deaths.

[Numbers]

Minn.badger, if I remember correctly 3 wrestlers died, and that is why that hydration and pinch test were instituted. Maybe the system is not perfect but to my knowledge the institution of a minimum weight and maximum weight loss per week have resulted in zero deaths since. Please explain to me how that is such a bad thing.

It was three college wrestlers the first month of the 1997-98 season.  I have not heard of anyone dying cutting weight the 20 years before or since.  The pinch test was already in place before 1997.  I think Wisconsin required pinching for 1991-92, not sure if that was national.  Someone can claim the hydration test may have saved a life since, but it is just a claim.

It is one thing to test what a "safe" weight class would be for a wrestler.  Doesn't the weight monitoring to the day for 3 months during the season seam a bit obsessive?  Just another reason for the non-committed wrestler to say no to wrestling.  1/2 pound per day, percent of weight per day, it is all crazy when kids weights fluctuate so much. 

Friday afternoon a high school kid is getting ready for a match at 138.  He checks his weight after school, about 135.5, 2 1/2 pounds under .  Since he is a wrestler that wants to wrestle 132 the following Friday for a big conference dual, he does not drink anything for the next three hours (remember this kid could drink three 12 ounce waters and be just fine for tonight), because those are the rules of the game   And everyone thinks this is good for wrestling?

[bkraus]

The rules outline the earliest starting date.  No where in there does it say you have to start that day.  I know, I know, no coach is going to voluntarily delay the start of his season, or at least I don't think they will.  But if you push it back two weeks and not change the backside then you will run into issues like multiple duals in one week.  Less weekends off making the first weekend of December not eligible for tourneys.  Those will have to move to somewhere.  I see all of that increasing injuries, or kids straight up not coming out.  I seem to remember when I was in HS, 88-92, that we started the first week of November.  And if my memory serves me right, we have already pushed it back 2 weeks.

[ramjet]

I am really a little concerned about cutting the fat test after all MNbadger thinks these are kids not young adult who can be taught the responsible way to loose weight. But anyhow some oversight is needed how much and how clean is another story. Athletes suffer fluid loss and weight loss all the time the key is education of the wrestler and the parent and frankly some coaches. U derstanding the subject matter is key to success.

Here is an interesting article by a MD about fluid loss and athletes.

https://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine021107.html

By the way I recommend anyone who has an nteresting in health to subscribe to his e-zine he has some interesting articles.

As far the start date goes that is up to the athletes coaches and schools. IMHO There allot of out side resources for wrestling that allow mat time and training opportunities for those who want to get better.

[meulendykej]

Before this gets too deep into a skin fold debate, I just want to say thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate some info from those on the other side of the debate. 

CoachZ, my point with our family not being around, is that we as an individual program can take into account our individual situations. We still get the full week before and the three days before Thanksgiving.  If guys are gone, they're gone and family functions would be understandable.  But if they're around for those two days they can still get learning and review time in. We still get the necessary teaching time in for those days.

Good luck this weekend!

[gablesgrip1]

IMO, let the coaches decide if they want to start early or late.  we already eliminate a tournament because of the saturday events that our athletes don't want to do anyway, we are eliminating another one next year.  The coaches don't have to do all the tournaments.  The WIAA only puts a start date or number of events a school can do.  Let the school decide what is best for their team.

[goldmedal]

 I've been coaching a long time and don't post to often but this is a subject that I think is worthy of posting. Just like any other thread there is positives and negatives to anything and everything but I firmly believe starting our season two weeks later would be a POSITIVE thing for our sport for lot of reasons, don't get me wrong I say it every day there is never enough time in practice to get in everything you would like to show and do, I get it but still believe we would be much better off as a sport when looking at all kids in our program to start later. 1. Kids need to recharge after football season and again I know not everyone plays football but my guess is majority of kids do thus kids need time off period! They get none, they go from one sport to another to another. That extra time will make them hungry and save on there bodies. Your diehards will always be your diehards and will still do things on there own or go to clubs ect or you may have some open gyms for them but then its optional for those that want to. And don't give me well you have the option to start later that won't work period for obvious reasons that have been mentioned in previous posts.2. I firmly believe our numbers would increase. Think about this if each team picked up even one more kid thats 300+ more wrestlers. Basketball was thinking about doing the same and at this point decided not to but I will bet you if we made the change they would end up doing the same. 3. I know not everybody is a deer hunter but everybody celebrates Thanksgiving which again is very important to spend time with family and friends thus to have that time off and not have to worry about cutting weight, practicing not being able to go to family gatherings out of town are all things that are important to parents and the wrestlers. 4. The old saying sometimes LESS IS MORE. Kids would be more excited with shorter season and I actually think you would have less injuries because it always seems injuries mount up at end of season because there bodies are wearing down. We have one of the better programs I believe in the state and kids that love wrestling and when I said this to our kids that the season might start two weeks later in the future they were excited about that. Not a one was like oh boy were going to lose two weeks of our season that non sense. Bottom line change needs to be made in lot of different areas and this is one that would be a POSITIVE!

[MNbadger]

Ramjet, If you have been paying attention, I have never been in favor of fat test or any of the rules for weight loss.  Wrestlers want to win, coaches want to win, parents want win.  If wrestlers cut too much or the wrong way, they lose.  A solution looking for a problem.  The proof is that we are still having the same discussion since I was child and we are even considering doing the things we got rid of ostensibly for the good of the wrestlers.

I am really a little concerned about cutting the fat test after all MNbadger thinks these are kids not young adult who can be taught the responsible way to loose weight. But anyhow some oversight is needed how much and how clean is another story. Athletes suffer fluid loss and weight loss all the time the key is education of the wrestler and the parent and frankly some coaches. U derstanding the subject matter is key to success.

Here is an interesting article by a MD about fluid loss and athletes.

https://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine021107.html

By the way I recommend anyone who has an nteresting in health to subscribe to his e-zine he has some interesting articles.

As far the start date goes that is up to the athletes coaches and schools. IMHO There allot of out side resources for wrestling that allow mat time and training opportunities for those who want to get better.

[DocWrestling]

I am not a wrestling coach so let me give the parent perspective and it is the same in all sports.  I do coach baseball and football.

Summer weight lifting is optional right!   Well most parents juggle their schedule around it because they know it is not really "optional".

Many kids are at your practices (close to and around deer hunting/Thanksgiving/Christmas) that you told them it would be OK if they missed even though they don't want to be there and mom and dad are at home pissed that their schedule was altered because of the practice.  These parents understand commitment to the team so they are there but they are not happy about it and the kids know it.

The next fall when they are deciding if they want to wrestle that parent is not going to push that wrestler to join like they might have.  One of the biggest issues is almost every kid thinks about quitting any sport at some time.  Usually the parent nudges them back.  I don't think that happens very often in wrestling because parents want their holidays back, their weekends back, they don't even understand the sport, they don't like the weight cutting, they don't want an injury/concussion, they don't want a skin infection.  The reasons/excuses go on and on that don't exist in other sports.  This is one reason we have a million youth wrestlers and a lot fewer HS wrestlers.

Coaches need to understand that kids are still there but they are not happy and nor are their parents and that is not a positive.  This is true over deer hunting, thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and just other Saturdays you chose to practice on when it was an open date.  And please get the kids out on time!