Vince,
My number one problem is that there is NO CHANGE. I am not saying we should do everything that anyone advocates. The problem is NOTHING is happening. I am looking for help to overhaul the CHANGE process because it is broken. I am taking an approach that impacts all of wrestling. I am not motivated by any personal agenda. Your motive is clear. Your son is in that area of weight classes in which you feel there isn't enough opportunity. However, the demographics and distribution clearly point out that more weight classes are needed in the middle of the bell curve than out on the tails. Also supporting that is the fact that 24/7 pointed out. If you are a little guy there are very little other athletic opportunities. The weight classes as they are now are supported by data and a clear line of thought. Try to explain why a team shouldn't be allowed to travel more than 500 miles to an event? All that is supported by is those who can't figure out or don't want to figure out how to make it happen. How many times do you see 215 and 285 open? How many times do you see any weight between 130 and 171 open? That should easily put your question to rest. Your quest is with an a national organization that changed 16 rules this year! If it was feasible they would be looking at it. My enemy is a obstacle course filled with unreasonable and unrealistic challenges at the local level where my tax dollars fund the decision makers. Your post reads like you are tired of my plight to make something, anything happen. I need your support not a post that makes it appear that you think I am out of line.
Will,
First, for the record I think you know I like and respect you. I find it admirable that you are fighting so hard to make changes that you believe in. I have tried to do the same with causes I feel passionately about like the addition of more college wrestling programs and the addition of more weight classes for heavier wrestlers at the high school and college level.
However, I do feel that I or anyone else can be supportive in general with some of your changes but that they can comment when they disagree with some of your proposals, statements or methods you are employing to implement the changes. You have made some statements about this overall issue that I don't believe to be absolutely true and I think I have the right to make objection to them.
As far as my having some personal interest in my quest for more weight classes for heavier wrestlers, I have never denied that. I believe that saying that goes something like necessity is the mother of invention is true and that it can be a good thing overall not just for the person who comes up with the inventive thought. I truly believe wrestling overall would benefit if we could get greater participation from all the bigger athletes that we have playing football. There are a lot of them who do not wrestle and I think wrestling needs more of them in our sport. I believe it would help to get football coaches to encourage more of them to wrestle if we had more weight classes available for them. As far as my recommendation on this particular post for high school weight changes, they would never happen in time to benefit my son who is going to be a senior next year. Also I believe my weight changes do have more weight classes in the middle weight for what I believe is the current bell curve for high school juniors and seniors. I believe varsity weights should be structured for juniors and seniors.
