It's an age thing and not a class thing. What I like about kids federation is that kids are wrestling with other kids that are either their own age or a year older. There are several cases around the state of Kansas where 8th graders are 15 and compete against 7th and 8th graders during the junior high season. I know of at least one 15-year-old kid who went undefeated in junior high and is older than most freshman. Does he get to compete at kids state just because he is an 8th grader but my son, a freshman who will turn 14 in June, has to stay home? I could have done what some other parents do and held him back a year or two if that would make it better. Why is it so wrong for him to compete against 8th graders? This would not be a problem if he was a 7th grader who just finished his junior high season and was going to wrestle a 6th grader? (there are many schools with junior high season being run at the same time as high school).
With my son being a freshman, there still is no guarantee that he will beat all of the 8th graders. Last year, my son was an 8th grader and had to compete against the freshman. The first tournament with the freshmen, he was very surprised and suffered two hard losses. However, that just made him more determined to practice harder and to be better prepared. The next weekend, he defeated one of the kids and at districts, he defeated a varsity freshman from Clay Center. Let me tell you, that win was worth the whole season. After that, it gave him so much confidence and he knew that when he got to high school, he could compete with them.