Reference to Hofmann's "Future of Wrestling"

You may already know my feelings on this issue.

From that post (http://morriscountyvarsity.blogspot.com/2007/01/some-night-time-thoughts.html)

Things I think about:

Why did the NJSIAA shorten the Wrestling season? Was it to insure that the states are held in Atlantic City? Was it running later into Spring Sports? Football goes almost 2 practice weeks into winter sports. By the time those player report, it’s already scrimmage time. I just do not get some things.

Joe Hofmann at the Daily Record has looked deep into this issue, and since Joe is a well-respected expert in the Wrestling World, you should definitely take a read: Joe's Article

You will see how a handful of coaches feel about the new rules and issues among the wrestling community. You will read about the dissatisfaction amongst coaches. I do not know if anyone can blame the convention center for hosting the A-10 tournament above high school wrestling. In the eyes of the convention center, the A-10 hoops tournament will probably bring in more money, national TV coverage and provides a few more days of usage. Why does the state use a state facility? I was not there when the NJSIAA decided, but I am sure that it was the most convent deal, probably the best deal for the NJSIAA financially and the convention has been good to H.S. wrestling, so they may have been due first offer. Do I condone it? Do I think that it is the best venue? Tough to say.

I am going to tell you that I agree with Dover Coach Sean Bullock. Start the season a week earlier. If you start Ice Hockey and Swimming early because it betters usage of needed facilities, then it is obvious that you want to add a week at the start to the wrestling schedule that was lost due to the state tournament change. Why not? The maximum wrestler match count has been increased, so now you have more matches in one less week. See the snowball effect? You now force coaches to hold Quads. You all know how I feel about quads. They maybe fine once during the season, near the end, but every weekend? How many fans are you drawing at 10 a.m. on a Saturday? Who are we making the sport better for? The kids? Now that the Thanksgiving Day game is a memory, it may be a good idea. Oh, consider that many south jersey schools use still have Turkey-day games, this may not be as easy as you think.

I also agree with coach Lodato of Par Hills. I do think a coach could have said it any better. The idea gets wrestling on the right path, but kids do not want to hear it. Its difficult enough for a kid to take on the diet and work out plan, but then to add limitations to the regime may deter more kids. Wrestling seems to have declined in numbers the past few years, and the goal should be to promote wrestling. I know that coaches want an even, safe and fair playing field when it comes to weight management and this is the best we have. I actually like the plan. It will get better as the years progress, but I can tell that I have seen a far less nose bleeds than the past. The Wrestlers do not look as pale and sickly as they have in the past. So maybe we should look at this as aid to promote wrestling. You can present the case that a healthy weight loss plan is in place, by law, and can be viewed as a positive. It’s true that you have a “one size fits all” plan in effect, but it should continue to improve and once in place, maybe very beneficial.

As for cutting down weight? Tough, tough dilemma. Is it fair to schools that have 40-60 kids in their program to cut down to 11 or 12 classes? Or is it logical to expect a school of 450 kids (male and female) to supply a 14-person team? Even worse, do want to punish a small school that that can field 14 classes? Do you want to punish town programs that work so hard to build programs only to limit the number of wrestlers? Or is it time … has society changed so much that a sacrifices one has to make to wrestle successfully made the rules obsolete?

Do you meet in the middle? I wonder who remembers the 98 or 101 weight classes? No one misses them do they? Why not start at 105? Believe it or not, if weight 1000 high school freshman (males) I bet that you’ll see many of those athletic males weighing in at 103-107, more so than 98-102. Is 105 and 112 too little of a jump?

Morris County Youth wrestling is thriving and more popular than ever. Look at the Tri-county league and the North Jersey Wrestling League! http://tcywl.net/ & http://www.cardillo.ws/njywl/2006/ There is a middle school tournament next week with 14 schools attending. It’s not the rules handed down by the NJSIAA that damage to numbers, although they may not help. Somehow we need to keep the numbers from these youth programs. Believe me. I can understand a 15 kid that would rather show up the day after Thanksgiving and start running at basketball practice instead of watching weight to assure that he can be at his prime weight at the Hydration test. This is not an easy task that we face. But wrestling is a different animal. But how many other sports can offer you one on one competition, under a spot light in a packed house, so packed that the ref and the wrestlers cannot even hear the horn!? The pride and responsibility you bear when you step on the mat, representing your team is unmeasured in any other sport.