Oh WONDERFUL POST!!!!!

It sounds like you have been around so here is a question I would like your honest opinion....do you think it is harder for a wrestler who has immediate success at the age of 6 to still like wrestling if they can not sustain that success versus a kid who gradually improves over time? I'm asking honestly because I have seen it happen in our family and want to know if others have noticed it too.

My oldest boy did not win very many matches at all when he first started. In fact, we celebrated whenever we saw his name move on the front side of the bracket. But, each year, he would win a few more and then a few more. I vividly remember him winning his first tournament title when he was 10 years old (and it was in a 4-man round robin). We were so excited and it was a HUGE deal (you know calling grandparents, uncles, cousins, ect.). Now, he is wrestling in high school and has had many 30 win seasons. With my middle son it was almost exactly the opposite. He won his very first tournament he was in by pinning every opponent. In fact, he won most of the tournaments when he was 6. So the following year, he was moved up as a B wrestler and started to wrestle against the "toughest of the tough" kids often in the same brackets as the A wrestlers. It became a battle just to see him finish the season. He could not understand why he wasn't winning his matches anymore. There was a point where I felt like I was pushing him too much just to get him to keep trying and couldn't wait until the season was over. I am happy to say that after the past two years, he has finally seemed to turn the corner and now is starting to understand. But there is another boy in the club that is kinda going through the same thing.

It kinda relates to the 6 and under crowd. You have some kids who are winning easily at this age but what happens when the time comes and it starts to get tougher? When they move out of the "novice" category? Maybe it is better for a child to see success slowly and over time than all at once.