# No more school wrestling?



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

I can deal with change and even though I never would have expected to see a day when anyone would propose a soccer stadium in the Salt Lake valley, I'm cool with it. But the changing trends don't seem to favor my favorite school sport - wrestling. That bothers me.

When I wrestled back in high school, wrestling meets always packed the gymnasium. Now even district tournaments don't seem to draw much of a crowd. As a coach, I've dealt with decreases in funding but this year, I'm getting no funding at all. I don't mind getting paid $600 for the entire season. It would be nice to be appreciated, but it's about the kids. But still, kids need a med kit, drinks, scales...the basic gear. My $600 doesn't go far after taxes.

I'm not griping about money, really. Truth is, I'm having a hard time firing up enough interest to even build a program. I'm sure some of that is my own inadequacy as a PR man, but I'm seeing similar trends at other schools in my league. What I'm saying is, I don't get it. Wrestling is hands down the most intense contact sport offered in the school system, with a long and honorable history. The Olympics was originally founded on the sport. So why does it seem to be losing interest?


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

I wrestled in high school and to be honest, it was losing support then.... that was over 10 years ago... we still received funds but fan support was less than par... i remember when they made the 215 weight class, i am not even sure what changes have happened over the last 10 years... I enjoyed wrestling, it was a great workout... sad to see it lose appeal....


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## gwailow (Jan 20, 2008)

No sport builds as much character as wrestling IMO. The team relies on you but you first need to rely on yourself. Very, Very,Very sad. It seems like around the same time BYU dropped their wrestling program...things started going downhill; except in 2A and 3A of course, but that's where all the best wrestlers come from, so of course things would still be good there.


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## 2-Fer (Oct 29, 2007)

I played B-Ball in high school, but where I came from that *was* the sport although our Wrestling program drew a good crowd. I have discouraged my nephews from playing basketball in high school and have encouraged them to wrestle. I think it builds better character and if the truth be known if I could go back and do it over again I would have wrestled.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Title 9- Kids thinking they are Pro material and only doing 1 sport. transportation costs- you name it. It's all contributed to the down fall- when I wrestled in college the tournaments in the West had 20 team in them- now there isn't 20 teams- we cleaned the stadium, parked cars for football and basketball games , drove around in 67 station wagons or an old Ford van- just to make ends meet. God those were great times- great memories- great guys.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Finnegan, they're paying you $600??? Jeez, fancypants, I only got $500 to coach soccer. You're one of those high dollar coaches  .



> Title 9


+1 
That and more of the kids are soft these days. It's kind of a culture change.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

I was going to write a nice reply about how kids are soft, and society doesn't understand the "martial" sports, the individual rewards for individual effort, and all of that stuff. Then I went to work and thought about it for a while. What I came up with is that if you can't do it while texting, and with an Ipod plugging your head, and wearing girls pants, the kids just aren't interested in it. Add to it the fact that the parents don't seem to be interested in their kids, its a wonder that we have any high school activities left.


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## HOGAN (Sep 8, 2007)

Wrestling is the best sport in school. Did not draw a big crowd, or get all that much attention, but that is what I kind of liked about it. It was put up or shut up, no excuses, head to head battle, with no ties and a clear winner. No politics was the best part of it all. Politics and favorites taint school sports, wrestling is the only fail safe sport.


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

Loke said:


> I was going to write a nice reply about how kids are soft, and society doesn't understand the "martial" sports, the individual rewards for individual effort, and all of that stuff. Then I went to work and thought about it for a while. What I came up with is that if you can't do it while texting, and with an Ipod plugging your head, and wearing girls pants, the kids just aren't interested in it. Add to it the fact that the parents don't seem to be interested in their kids, its a wonder that we have any high school activities left.


+1,000,000!


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

HOGAN said:


> Wrestling is the best sport in school. Did not draw a big crowd, or get all that much attention, but that is what I kind of liked about it. It was put up or shut up, no excuses, head to head battle, with no ties and a clear winner. No politics was the best part of it all. Politics and favorites taint school sports, wrestling is the only fail safe sport.


There's politics in wrestling- not as much as other sports - but I saw it many times. Actually pulled all seniors and walked off a team in high school until it was corrected and even then got the short end of the shaft.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Wrestling requires discipline, hard work, committment, sweat, tears, physical stamina, focus, and requires listening to the coach, taking instruction, and more hard work and discipline. In an x-box world, I wonder why it is shrinking. Back in my day, the rural schools ALWAYS had far better wrestling teams than the city schools, regardless of the school size. Might just be a spin-off of what is required to do it. The farm boys always ruled the mat.


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

I remember going to state in 95 at golden spike arena... about 12 of us stayed at the super 8 motel so we would not have to drive back and forth... in between matches i remember sleeping in the stadium under some seats... trying to rest before my next match... I remember being exahusted due to 12 teenage boys in a hotel for a few days (no sleep) matches and hard hard work... these are memories i will never forget... these are memories i will pass on to my son... 


HE will NOT be wearing girl pants... :evil:


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> Wrestling requires discipline, hard work, committment, sweat, tears, physical stamina, focus, and requires listening to the coach, taking instruction, and more hard work and discipline. In an x-box world, I wonder why it is shrinking. Back in my day, the rural schools ALWAYS had far better wrestling teams than the city schools, regardless of the school size. Might just be a spin-off of what is required to do it. The farm boys always ruled the mat.


+1 Look at the programs in Iowa...


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

Did I mention I was a farm boy? 8) :mrgreen:


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## UintaMan (Sep 16, 2007)

proutdoors said:


> *Did I mention I was a farm boy?* 8) :mrgreen:


Me too Pro, farm boys just do a lot more wrastling in the hay with the girls! :wink: That's a sport to isn't it?


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## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

UintaMan said:


> proutdoors said:
> 
> 
> > *Did I mention I was a farm boy?* 8) :mrgreen:
> ...


**** straight!


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

Finnegan said:


> The Olympics was originally founded on the sport. So why does it seem to be losing interest?


Therein lies your problem...the olympics was originally founded on the sport of wrestling yet our most recent telecasts of the Olympic events were nearly void of the sport. How many wrestling matches were even telecast let alone telecast on prime time...instead we were stuck watching events like synchronized diving and trampoline.

Anyway, the problem with the recent wrestling trend is partially due to the lack of public exposure to good wrestling--and WWF and TNA wrestling surely don't help either!


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Fin what school do you coach for ? I have seen it go down sent I started wrestling and that not cool at all. are free style progam went away and that just to bad. I was hoping I could coach for a couple years. but I got only one to to two year coaching befor it went away. I hope it get big again. I miss wrestling it was fun.


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## HOGAN (Sep 8, 2007)

I think he coaches for Jefferson. Usa wrestling is still around???


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

The top wrestlers are better than they ever have been- it just that there isn't near as many any more. Look how long it's been since the U has had a team- then see ya Weber- then USU and then BYU- Support Utah Valley- they still have a team and it isn't that bad.


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