I was wondering when ranking your child do you use their placing from what they do in novice or in open tournaments? Some kids are placing in the novice but if they do open they are being eliminated their first two matches. Either that or they may only have 2-3 kids in their novice bracket which automatically gives them a placing.

I believe if they are novice to rank them as novice; a D. My daughter has taken first in three novice tournaments and second in one. This weekend will be her first open tournament, and we put her in as a D. Now my son, this is his fifth year, is ranked as a C because he usually takes third or fourth in open tournaments. Two years ago, he was a B. Just use the ranking system that is already set up.

This is what I was thinking but I have some people telling me that if my kid places 1st in novice tournaments and then decides to do an open then I need to consider the novice winnings and put him in at least a B level in the open.

Is a State Qualifier an A wrestler or do you have to be a State Placer to be a A wrestler . what ever it is it needs to be tha same at all Tournaments. Manhattan

If someone was a State Qualifier but has moved up in age and is really struggling, do you have to rank them as "A" if the criteria is A=State Qualifier, or should they be ranked lower which more accurately reflects how they are wrestling right now?

AAA- National Placer
AA - State Placer
A - State Qualifier
B - Places 1st or 2nd
C - Places 3rd or 4th
D - Doesnt place/novice

Right or wrong this is the ranking system that I have seen used in many places. There has been some variations in other tournaments. I know of state placers that might of gotten some lucky breaks to get there. In each case just rate your child honestly so that they get the most out of the tournament and not just a trophy.

It all depends. I have two sons. My older boy has been to state 3 of his 4 years. He placed last year. He could easily be called a AA. Yet, this year he has yet to finish higher than 4th, each tourney having 3 to 5 state placers from last year. That would make him a C. Neither is probably accurate.

Last year my younger son placed at USJOC, won 6U at Ottawa, and was 5th at Districts wrestling up. He might be called AAA. Yet this year, in 4 tourneys, he has only placed once. That would make him a D. Neither is probably accurate.

In my view, for open kids, you try to decide if your wrestler would be in the top 8, 16, 24, 32. Apply A,B,C, and D. to each of these numbers. Regardless of the number of wrestlers in a tourney, it should work out in the end.

Novice is a little tougher. In addition to above, if you pretty well know he will go 0-2 in every open, put him in novice. Regardless of how many years he has wrestled. Don't let a kid lose every match he wrestles.

I am not sure exactly how rating works my club ranks then so I cant even tell you what my kids are ranked..I do know that my son has qualified for state both his years and my daughter also. However they have not placed they were out first two matches. My youngest is a first year and has only won one match this whole year..I asked my club what they put my kids at and here is what I found my son Deric and my daughter Leea A my son Travis D..so not sure how it works or what it all means but they seem to get good matches that are equal in skill for the most part so I think its probably pretty accurate. One question though if you have a D but they start winning 1st and 2nd most of the time do they go to a B then or finish year out at a D? and same for the A B C can they drop in ranking as year goes on?

JMO for Open:
AA-State Placer/Natl Placer
A-State Qualifier or places 1st usually
B-Usually Places
C-Places Sometimes
D-Beginner/Usually does not place

Salina's criteria on their tournament flyer is a good example of accurate rankings. This should give everyone an idea on how to rank their wrestler.

Novice wrestlers are usually rated a D at Opens. A "B" wrestler should not be wrestling novice.

Spexy is right on point. I will add that there is not a great deal of difference between an A and a B wrestler in a lot of cases. I know of quite a few B wrestlers who have not made it to State because of the tough competition they face each year at Subs and Districts. I also know of at least one wrestler that made it to State a couple of years ago without winning a match at Subs or Districts. I am sure that there have been others in this scenario because of the low number of wrestlers in certain age/weight groups throughout the four districts. The bottom line is, whatever the wrestler is rated, once the tournament begins, the cream normally rises to the top.

I believe that the coach should be the one ranking the kid not the parents...

Truly, what does it matter what you are ranked, just go out there and wrestle your butt off... Are you going to get better the more you wrestle in the c and d bracket. Or is it about placing. Its crazy when you go to a tourn and they have a-e brackets for these kids to wrestle in.

I dont think your ranking should change every year also... Just because you are at the top of your age and whipping butt you are an A then next year you are a C because its a little harder... Get over it and just wrestle the best and learn from that.

well lets see why do they have a thruogh e brackets? maybe that is because they are trying to group kids togather with the same skill level so the can get some great and much needed mat time.

but i guess i see your point lets just have one bracket, so the elite wrestlers in that bracket can go out and pin the not so good wrestlers in 10 to 20 seconds. that would be great for both wrestlers. the elite wrestler gets 20 seconds of practice and a fast pin and the not so good wrestlers is going to love getting pinned so fast they will want to wrestle for a long time to come with no mat time.

and second the parents of these kids are going to love spending money and driving to watch there kids wrestling for 40 seconds total that they will push there little ones to wrestling.

and of course kids that are c&d wrestlers are going to get better wrestling in a c&d bracket gives them more mat time. do you really think they would not get better with more mat time. from all that i have read on here and by talking to coaches they all say good coaching and alot of mat time is what makes kids better. and does it really make sense to put an a wrestler up against a d wrestler where would that benifet an a wrestler. they have a bracket for a,b,c,d its called a state bracket at a state tournament. just my thoughts on this.

JMO. I WOULD AGGREE THAT COACHES ARE THE ONES WHO NEED TO RANK THE WRESTLER.

You have to look at the big picture. I know of several times a kid who should be ranked "A" or "B" who is struggling at that ranking has dropped to a "C" and got put in with the "C" and "D" bracket. Now what is fair kicking those kids butts, and getting first, or staying where they should be and trying to get better, or figure out what they are doing wrong so that they can beat those certain kids the next time. Every week that you wrestle you get better. I also agree "D's" should not be put in with "A's". No point in it neither kid will benefit from it. Coaches and parents know how good their kids are, giving them a lesser ranking as a confidence builder, by winning a lesser bracket doesn't help their wrestling skills.