Filling WI Weight Classes: The Data

[DocWrestling]

Filling weight classes is about the 95% (made up number) that will never make it to state or will never finish top 3 in their conference.

I would bet 75% (made up number) of kids that fat test probably know that they are very unlikely to make it to state and yet many stick with the sport.

Your worried about our best wrestlers quitting other sports because they won't make it to state?

[Handles II]

Got it SP. Thanks for clarifying.

Points, remember though how the 14 weights is creating such a situation of so many forfeits that we are losing teams? I'd rather have some kids spend an extra year on JV (or even actually have to wrestle off for a position) than to lose yet another program, to lose wrestling forever from yet another community.

Going to 12 weights is similar to the weight-loss trick of using a smaller plate. While you might have the exact same amount of food, if you are using a larger plate, you see lots of "empty" and want to put more food on it. A smaller plate seems more "full" so you eat less.

From the public/admin point of view (and reality), a team with 10 varsity wrestlers and 14 weights is more empty than with 12 weights. In addition those two fewer forfeits can make them more competitive in both duals and indy tournaments. This could create situations where the entire TEAM might qualify for state, or even come close, and that's when cutting or co-oping becomes more difficult to do, who cuts a program on the rise? The team success improves, and that breeds more success.

[DocWrestling]

And again lets not forget the coaches.  If I remember correctly the coaches had overwhelming support to reduce the number of weight classes although the way it was worded some wanted to cut one weight class and others more but the vast majority wanted a cut.

[aarons23]

Filling weight classes is about the 95% (made up number) that will never make it to state or will never finish top 3 in their conference.

I would bet 75% (made up number) of kids that fat test probably know that they are very unlikely to make it to state and yet many stick with the sport.

Your worried about our best wrestlers quitting other sports because they won't make it to state?

The WIAA  does not care about what percentage of those kids make it to state....shouldnt be in the discussion.

[woody53]

Filling weight classes is about the 95% (made up number) that will never make it to state or will never finish top 3 in their conference.

I would bet 75% (made up number) of kids that fat test probably know that they are very unlikely to make it to state and yet many stick with the sport.

Your worried about our best wrestlers quitting other sports because they won't make it to state?

The WIAA  does not care about what percentage of those kids make it to state....shouldnt be in the discussion.

Stop saying the WIAA does not care.
Sit in omn anyone of our meetings.

[aarons23]

Filling weight classes is about the 95% (made up number) that will never make it to state or will never finish top 3 in their conference.

I would bet 75% (made up number) of kids that fat test probably know that they are very unlikely to make it to state and yet many stick with the sport.

Your worried about our best wrestlers quitting other sports because they won't make it to state?

The WIAA  does not care about what percentage of those kids make it to state....shouldnt be in the discussion.

Stop saying the WIAA does not care.
Sit in omn anyone of our meetings.

Stop taking things so personal.....its not their job to worry about what percentage of wrestlers dont make it to state....

[DocWrestling]

Would it be legal for a conference to decide on their own to use only 10 weight classes for duals and make up their own weight classes?  Do they have to wait for the WIAA or really the NFHS to make a change?

[Handles II]

Would it be legal for a conference to decide on their own to use only 10 weight classes for duals and make up their own weight classes?  Do they have to wait for the WIAA or really the NFHS to make a change?

What a cluster that would be. 

[Oldtimer]

I will go on record saying I'm ok with reducing 2 weight classes but not ok with touching the two lowest weights.  I don't care if they are underclassmen because that is just a size bell curve.  No matter what weight classes are eliminated someone will lose a spot and will be unhappy.

My favorite wrestling to watch is the lower weights.

[Manty77]

My son is a freshman and he is among 6 of their 106 lbers.  Sounds to me like coaches need to do a better job selling the sport and getting kids across all weight classes.  

I just did some quick research and learned that approximately 7% of boys aged 15.5 weigh 106.   Hmmm we have 14 weight classes.  That means having a weight class at 106 makes perfect mathematical sense.

And, furthermore, at 15.5 years of age only 5% of boys weigh 220 lbs or more.  If 106 lb is eliminated then by the same token, hwt should be eliminated.

[MNbadger]

This thread comes up all the time.  The last time I posted the CDC numbers for boy's weights.  Someone can search for this and the data shows strongly that we should have fewer upper weights and not cut the lower weights.

[Ghetto]

Question: What would be a fair ballpark weight to drop down from to make 106?

110? 111?

I know its situational, as some kids are ripped at 111 while others can drop, but...

[ganderson]

Season is too long
Don't want to spend every Saturday in a gym

Those were the two most common reasons kids gave me for not wrestling and not even giving it a try.  Wrestling purists call them excuses.  I heard it enough to get me thinking maybe they were telling me the truth.  My own personal feeling is the vast majority of kids are not ready to be wrestling competitively in k-2 grade.  Sat by a Dad at my son's first tournament ever and he went down to the mat 3 different times before the tournament started because his 10 year old son was not exhibiting the Dan Gable like focus that he should be.  Enough of that and I can see why kids do not stick it out.  Also, lets not pretend that I was just sitting by one special cause. We've all seen that type of behavior multiple times at these tournaments.  It is ridiculous. This is happening with a lot of sports and not just wrestling.  I don't have the stats, but on another thread someone was talking about all the big time sports(Football, basketball, etc) participation going down.  Wonder what the common denominator is?  Watch Friday Night Tykes once.  What a pathetic display of teaching our kids what is important in life.  Besides 50-60 matches a year since kindergarten I can see why many, not all, are just done when high school rolls around.

[DocWrestling]

I have asked numerous kids why they quit after at least competing one year in high school.   The #1 reason is the schedule.

Wrestling 6 days a week with giving up their entire Saturdays with long days and waking up at 6am on Saturdays makes it a long season.

How can we fix?   
1) Reduce the number of matches- put in a match limit
2) Maybe we reduce the number of Saturday tournaments teams can attend and we increase the number of duals they can have.  This might promote Friday night tourneys or a schedule that is more like basketball with two duals a week but weekend off.
3) Changing tournament formats so that kids are not sitting around forever not wrestling if they do not have success.  Scrambles do this some but maybe tournaments have a gold and silver division that matches kids together.  This gets rid of the time we waste by having top ranked kids wrestle kids with 5-20 records.  Fewer rounds and shorter tournaments with wrestlers getting more quality matches.  We don't need those first round matches with all the mismatches.  Imagine if all big tournaments had a gold and silver division.  Top seeds in one bracket and bottom seeds in other bracket.  Need to shorten the Saturdays.
4) Stop dragging out the WIAA series by taking up three Saturdays.  Get rid of regionals and you have two options for sectionals... a) have super sectional with some matches on Friday night, or b) only have wrestlers with winning records qualify for WIAA series.  We are wasting everyone's time with some of these matches with kids that are never going to make it to state and it also gives all wrestlers a goal to try and qualify for sectionals by having .500 record or better.
5) The diehards will still want the big tournaments and that is great.  This is where we can grow the two "open" tournaments that are allowed and wrestlers can wrestle unattached.  Or we allow any wrestler to wrestle in any two "extra" tournaments they want as unattached if accepted by the tourney director.  Not all are going to do this.

Just ideas.  Just giving the kids their weekends off will help retain so many more wrestlers.

[Preparewrestlingcoach]

Question: What would be a fair ballpark weight to drop down from to make 106?

110? 111?

I know its situational, as some kids are ripped at 111 while others can drop, but...

Depends on the situation...if a kids natural weight is 110 or 111 they would typically be able to get down with parental. Typically speaking for kids who are put together well 1-3 pounds without parental 3-6 pounds with until 145 then things change with kids body masses. Of course the unfortunate thing with the skinfold is that those dates are given to athletes so an athlete is able to drop from as high as say 119 or 120 to 106 and then drink the needed water to pass the hydration...

Due to this factor, I for one would love to see the WIAA go to a schoolwide skinfold for all athletes participating in ANY Sport and make the testing day in the Fall and completely random. Of course the hydration part would be tough as some student-athletes are not naturally hydrated enough to pass the hydration test. Personally, I realize that cutting weight is part of our sport, but if it were to be further limited by doing something like this it would potentially boost wrestler morale as well as make more kids willing to give wrestling a shot.