I apologize if I sounded a little defensive after our last match. I was that way because my wrestler was approached by the opposing coach I mentioned earlier just fifteen minutes prior to your comments. I did not know for sure who it was that had ambushed him so when I heard your comments my frustration was somewhat peaked. This was the first time that this particular wrestler has been targeted. Although I have been witness to others having this problem. I feel that if the tournaments do not want second year wrestlers at these meets then the standards should change. If that were to happen, I think that overall wrestler skill development would suffer. The novice circuit should be utilized as a spring board into successful wrestling in the open tournaments. It seems that some liken it to walking the gang plank. No bounce at all … just a hard drop.

I do stand by my earlier statement. This particular wrestler belongs in the "novice" class. On that particular Sunday he was 3-0, but he did have two challenging matches where a lot was learned. I do wish this particular tournament would have been arranged in a round robin format. I think the double “elimination” format is often more discouraging to kids beginning in this sport than going up against a second year wrestler.

We have and plan to continue to mix in some open tournament wresting for him.
Your son is a very fine wrestler. I will defend his right to continue perfecting his skills on the novice circuit next year. I am not medal hunting with my wrestlers. At the end of the day, our club focus' more of our energy on what our kids have done right or what they can work to develop further than carving notches in our belt. Tell your son to keep his head up and I am sure he will get more that his share of victories this year!

Mark