Problem with wrestling

[handsandtoes]

Fat test! I have 2 boys that are both walking around 190-200 lbs. Very well built boys and not "fat" Both of them "fat tested to 152! They would have to cut off a leg to make 160 for pete sake. There are plenty of coaches and parents that would let there kids cut that far and we all know them. Fix that problem and you make wrestling a much more appealing sport to kids and parents. Suggestion... Every kid has to get a physical every year (really should have one a year even if your not an athlete) Have a doctor fat test them. Look at them and determine how much weight they can lose. Biggest reason kids don't wrestle hands down is weight cutting.

[CoachZ]

No one has to cut weight.

[wrastle63]

Fat test! I have 2 boys that are both walking around 190-200 lbs. Very well built boys and not "fat" Both of them "fat tested to 152! They would have to cut off a leg to make 160 for pete sake. There are plenty of coaches and parents that would let there kids cut that far and we all know them. Fix that problem and you make wrestling a much more appealing sport to kids and parents. Suggestion... Every kid has to get a physical every year (really should have one a year even if your not an athlete) Have a doctor fat test them. Look at them and determine how much weight they can lose. Biggest reason kids don't wrestle hands down is weight cutting.

That would be a coach or parent issue not a wrestling issue. There is no rule that you have to wrestle at your minimum weight class. The fat test does determine how much weight they can lose. If you don't want your kid to be 152 then don't have them be 152.....not the problem of wrestling.

[aarons23]

Fat test! I have 2 boys that are both walking around 190-200 lbs. Very well built boys and not "fat" Both of them "fat tested to 152! They would have to cut off a leg to make 160 for pete sake. There are plenty of coaches and parents that would let there kids cut that far and we all know them. Fix that problem and you make wrestling a much more appealing sport to kids and parents. Suggestion... Every kid has to get a physical every year (really should have one a year even if your not an athlete) Have a doctor fat test them. Look at them and determine how much weight they can lose. Biggest reason kids don't wrestle hands down is weight cutting.

So you want everyone to have a different tester?  That would be a disaster.  In MN the testing is much different.  No hydration test but there is an actual Dr present to view each testing and sign off.  Also there is no rule on how much a kid can cut from day to day either.  There is alot less worry over weight cutting in MN....because of that IMO....there are more discussions by coaches and trainers on how to safely get to the weight.  No one is afraid to be accussed of cutting weight.  Im not saying this is perfect....but I feel being out in the open it is safer.

[littleguy301]

I agree that the pinch test is very flawed. I have seen some pretty interesting results. Tall and thin kids fat test for 2-3 weight below when you can see there is not on them to lose. Big stronge kids like is posted having to drop several weight classes where I doubt they could even get to.

with that aside, most teams need kids to come out and wrestle and basically dont have to cut weight to do so. I am sure the top tier schools have some weight cutting going on but when your a team with gold trophies in the trophy case your going to get that.

I also think this weight cutting can be a blow to many teenage egos. some strapping young lad comes in and thinks he has the best bod around and then is told he is 30 pounds over weight basically, not many take to that either.

I believe that wrestling is just plain tough. Hard workouts, proper weight management all play into not wrestling along with all the other things a teenager can be involved with. Those are one reasons or a combo of all reasons.

[MNbadger]

Your kid would not have to "cut a leg off" to make 152.  The pinch test errs to the safe side. 
Several of my wrestlers are now weighing in under the weight they were pinch tested for.  For instance, I got into it with our trainer and the doctor over several of their decisions for weight certs.  I have kids weighing say 132 daily and they were only certified for 138.  They are now screwed as they are without question too small for their certified weight, battling bigger, leaner opponents.
The kids are working hard and this time of year their metabolisms are cooking.  The doctor simply has to be a licensed physician.  They likely never wrestled, had family members that wrestled or even done any sport. 
There never was a weight cutting problem, just a solution looking for a problem.
Wrestlers want to win, coaches want to win, parents want their wrestler to win, siblings want their siblings to win.  If you cut too much or the wrong way, you don't win.  It always took care of itself.  I am old enough to have been through every possible rule system for this and we always think we have a new "fix" (never mind there never was a problem). 
Here we are having the same discussion 100 years later.
We are the most self-destructive, self-loathing sport on Earth.
We have Olympic Lifting competition in MN.  They are not making this a big deal with their weight loss.
Football has absolutely no weight control measures and their health of their participants would not stack up very well against wrestlers.

[Ivan Stankowski]

Define weight cutting? Not being able to sit on the couch and eat play video games and eat a bag of Dorito's nightly?? this is not what is killing wrestling but it is what is happening to many off the youths/ young adults that we are currently talking about.
Weigh cutting does not kill our sport, if asking a young adult to eat healthy is wrong then we have a whole different problem.

[BSwagger]

My kid took the fat test and weighed in at 199. His chart said he could go down to 160 by season end. I can't imagine him at 160 as he hasn't weight that low since 7th or 8th grade. He has actually worked pretty hard at cutting weight by eating properly and is down to 185. He is about where he will be. We have a small program so he can choose to wrestle at 182 or 195 and I would like to see him ride the line there where he can wrestle whichever weight class he chooses. I don't worry about what that chart said because my son and I and the coaches talked with each other and agreed on a goal weight for him.

I don't believe cutting weight is what is holding back wrestling in our program because our coaches don't ask the kids to cut weight, they leave it up to them. I believe our biggest challenge is getting good coaching to develop the young wrestlers as well as lack of support (promotion) in our school district. We are combined with another school and my son is the only kid in his school district in the wrestling program at the high school level. In the school's defense it's tough to promote a program where only 1 student is participating. The hurdle seems to be how do you grow interest in the sport and I don't have the answers.

[madeyson]

Ivan - I do think we have an issue where eating healthy is being viewed as cutting weight. My son tells me what some of the kids eat for their lunch - and ho ho's and Doritos are not healthy choices. I have heard comments like "you have to let your kid be a kid" - I am here to tell you letting your child eat junk food for meals and you justify it by saying the are just being kids....is a huge problem in this country. Donuts and bagels for breakfast every morning is NOT a healthy choice. Success in this sport is largely due to discipline - saying no to the Oreo's and yes to some almonds is a discipline choice that we need to be teaching our kids is a good choice...not something they should be looked down on for making.

[bigG]

Losing weight is losing empty calories to lose weight. Cutting weight is denial of water and most/all calories, for a time, to make weight, only to go back to the usual calories, gain it back, cut it off for the next weigh in. Just my take.

[wrastle63]

My kid took the fat test and weighed in at 199. His chart said he could go down to 160 by season end. I can't imagine him at 160 as he hasn't weight that low since 7th or 8th grade. He has actually worked pretty hard at cutting weight by eating properly and is down to 185. He is about where he will be. We have a small program so he can choose to wrestle at 182 or 195 and I would like to see him ride the line there where he can wrestle whichever weight class he chooses. I don't worry about what that chart said because my son and I and the coaches talked with each other and agreed on a goal weight for him.

I don't believe cutting weight is what is holding back wrestling in our program because our coaches don't ask the kids to cut weight, they leave it up to them. I believe our biggest challenge is getting good coaching to develop the young wrestlers as well as lack of support (promotion) in our school district. We are combined with another school and my son is the only kid in his school district in the wrestling program at the high school level. In the school's defense it's tough to promote a program where only 1 student is participating. The hurdle seems to be how do you grow interest in the sport and I don't have the answers.

Nailed it! Great post!

[Ivan Stankowski]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Ruc1dMsm0&feature=share

Watch this it is spot on

[handsandtoes]

Pretty much what i'm saying. That's the problem with wrestling. People never see a problem in this sport. I will try to say it again. My boys are not eating bags of junk food everyday. And in no way shape or form will they ever be "cutting" that much weight! Our policy is whatever you can work off by eating right and exercise is how much you can lose. No dehydrating, no starving, no running in the showers, etc. Now Now before all you jump on me and say that doesn't happen I say come on now. It still happens everyday. Not everyone but it still happens. And all you wrestling junkies know it happens I don't care what you say. One post said "a doctor has to sign off" that's exactly what I'm saying should have to happen. And to another poster yes they would literally have to "cut off a leg" to lose another 30 plus pounds. And finally you are all correct when you say they don't have to cut any weight. I never said they had to (and they don't). What I said was with a fat test like that there are (not all but plenty) of coaches and/or parents that will let there kids cut that much weight and again we all know that is the truth. So now have that kid with his cheekbones sticking out that is as white as a ghost walk the hallways and see how many kids say "man I wanna be just like him." Healthy is awesome, hard work is awesome, being aloud to cut to much weight is hurting the sport. 

[wrastle63]

Pretty much what i'm saying. That's the problem with wrestling. People never see a problem in this sport. I will try to say it again. My boys are not eating bags of junk food everyday. And in no way shape or form will they ever be "cutting" that much weight! Our policy is whatever you can work off by eating right and exercise is how much you can lose. No dehydrating, no starving, no running in the showers, etc. Now Now before all you jump on me and say that doesn't happen I say come on now. It still happens everyday. Not everyone but it still happens. And all you wrestling junkies know it happens I don't care what you say. One post said "a doctor has to sign off" that's exactly what I'm saying should have to happen. And to another poster yes they would literally have to "cut off a leg" to lose another 30 plus pounds. And finally you are all correct when you say they don't have to cut any weight. I never said they had to (and they don't). What I said was with a fat test like that there are (not all but plenty) of coaches and/or parents that will let there kids cut that much weight and again we all know that is the truth. So now have that kid with his cheekbones sticking out that is as white as a ghost walk the hallways and see how many kids say "man I wanna be just like him." Healthy is awesome, hard work is awesome, being aloud to cut to much weight is hurting the sport. 

So because there are some kids that do it we have an entire sport problem?

Cut too much weight according to who? You? There is a reason their is a limit to how much each wrestler can lose. It is for safety reasons obviously.

As posted before cutting weight and losing weight are two different things. There are many kids that could lose 20lbs and still be healthy.

[panther93]

I really don't see the body fat testing as a problem.  Having done this for 20 years, I have seen body fat percentages all over the place even when they seem fit.  I usually have cross country runners test much lower than football players.  The athletes themselves usually laugh about it.  I had our "STUD" running back test at 19% this year, he is built, looks in shape, and strong as on ox, but yes, he has body fat.  Meanwhile, I had two others who were at 8.5 and 8.9, both were stranded out muscular.  They were not "cutting weight" it was their normal running weight.  

We need to remember there is a huge difference in body fat % when we look at "BULK."  If a kid is bulky, they will almost always have a higher % of body fat.  

I have a bigger issue with the amount of paperwork and the constant focus on weight.  I can honestly say that in the last five years I've had 2 kids get consent to go to their lowest weight and most of my wrestlers walk around at about 10-15%.  The focus of my team is "where do you feel the strongest."  For some that is at 8%, while others is at 15%, or a HWT at 30%.