Will,

Explain to me the logic and fairness of college wrestling jumping from 197 to 285. Anyone I talk to outside of wrestling with an athletic background cannot believe that 88 poound difference. They think it is ridiculous as do I. I have never heard anyone explain the drop in the number of weight classes as the result of adding women's wrestling. There are not that many women's programs in high school or college. Did you mean the addition of all women's sports with Title IX that has forced all men's college sports to drop numbers?

Will, as far as my basic point goes, it is simply that I believe that there is adequate opportunity for a Kansas high school wrestler to succeed in college and possibly beyond if they will take advantage of what is there. If they will do the summer wrestling with our current freestyle and greco tournaments including Southern Plains and Fargo, I think they can develop their skills and also give themselves exposure to college coaches. If they want to go the extra mile for exposure to college coaches they can go to the Senior folkstyle tournament in Virgina and now underclassmen can compete there too. In addition they can further develop their athleticism thru extra strength, speed and endurance training in the off season. It can be done if they want to do it bad enough.

Can some of these things that you have been advocating help it further? Yes, they probably can help even more. I don't disagree with every change that you have been proposing. I also agree that it is a cumbersome and sometimes overwhelming task to initiate change. Most of the time it seems hopeless to accomplish. I just think that the opportunity is there right now for any wrestler who is willing to take advantage of it. Sure it helps to have a Kevin Klemm East Kansas club but it still can be done without one. If Johnson County is having a drop in talent over the next few years, I would attribute it more to the fact that Johnson County parents like sports of more convenience like football and basketball. A sport they can go to for a couple of hours and then go home, especially when their kids are young. Most Johnson County parents do not want to sit all day at youth wrestling tournaments so they tend to get their kids involved in other activities.