John Johnson
Member

Registered: February, 26 2006
Posts: 175
Loc: Easton I believe the issue of 6 and under wrestlers and how we treat them is very important, but I believe including them at state is not the answer. As a Saturday morning coach finding something to say to the 6 and under who just lost his 2nd straight match and is going home with his/her parents by 10:00 am, with nothing to show is tough. As such, I believe the comments from Chertow are appropriate. Getting 'all' of these kids to have fun and have success and teaching them the fundamentals is what will keep our sport full of participants. I really liked the way Paola and Park Hill kept most of the 6 and 8 u's in 4 man round robins with 4 medals. Most 5 and 6 year olds like getting a medal even if they lose all their matches. Mom and dad, who may be new to the sport, will be happier and more likely to keep their kid in the sport. I believe the answer to keeping 6 u's participating in the sport is to make it less competitive for them, not more. Have round robins for them, not 8 man brackets. I believe we should eliminate 8 and 16 man brackets for 6 u's at all but select tournaments. Yes, there are some 6 u's who can compete at a high level, and these tournaments will give them that, but the rest just need to learn. But Jeff hit on an important point, these kids are a big group and we need them. We lose way too many.