What are the pros and cons for going independent vs wrestling with a club. Any words of wisdom from both sides?

practice partners and variety can never be replaced. Normally a club gives you that option.

I thought that if you were an independent wrestler you could not wrestle subs, dist. or state unless you joined a club.

What about the 1 on 1 attention that you lose in large clubs? And can't you sanction an independent club prior to the season start or qualifiers?

... then they become a club! Granted it may be a very small and exclusive club. But perhaps that is the real question?

perhaps that is the question. What does it take to do so, and what are the downfalls?

This may be a bit off the subject, but our club has the policy that if you want to attend a tournament that the club does not "sponsor" then you must get permission from the Head Coach to attend under the club's name and if you get this permission you must wear the team uniform and act accordingly to the clubs rules and guidelines. If you do not get the permission to represent the club or if you do not ask for permission from the head coach then you must enter the event as an Independent. This issue has come up a few times but normally everyone follows the policy and normally the club will go to more than one event if there is enough interest in more than one event happening at the same time. For instance, The club took several wrestlers to Central/Burden tournament at the same time several others wanted to go to Liberty Nationals so the club sent two teams with full coaching support for both teams.

http://www.usawks.com/instructions.htm

Everything you need to know. But im curious like Randy, why would you want to?

I have coached our club for many years. My oldest son will be starting school wrestling next season. As the head coach I am having trouble neglecting the kids in the club to support my child. I want them to stay involved in Kids Club but scheduling will definately be a problem. I am trying to explore our options as a family so I may make an educated decision on how to advance them without hindering my child or our club. I don't feel comfortable being a part time head coach. I also have a younger child that will be in kids club for years to come. He also wants to support his older brother without having to sacrifice his own season. I have tried to look over various options, none of them seem to be 100% feasible for both sides. My club is very supportive, but We are not big enough to handle the loss of a coach, nor can my children adhere to our practice schedule and the middle school schedule at the same time. To my best assessment so far, I would be best to sanction myself and my boys. Then I could help them progress and help the club as much as possible. By no means is this a win/win, but so far it seems to be the best option. Thank You for all of the input thus far, it has been helpful. Anything further would be greatly appreciated.

I am always curious to understand the appeal of wrestling middle school as opposed to kids club. The reason I say this is because of the mat time involved. Middle school is limited in the total number of matches the kids get in the season with about 16-17 total matches over the season. In club, you could have 17 matches in the first 3 weeks of the season. Maybe different districts play a role in the ability to find quality competition and geographic/financial limitations may also play a role in this decision, but i know that most of the kids in middle school wrestling around here don't get the quality nor the quantity of mat time during their middle school season. Lets take an example to illustrate:

Wrestler A starts with middle school wrestling at the beginning of the season: He goes 13-4 overall in Middle School and comes back to club wrestling 2 weeks before Sub-Districts

Wrestler B starts with kids club and compiles a record of 38-10 with 2 weeks before Sub-Districts.

Note: Wrestler B was able to go to USJOC, Tulsa Nationals, and Liberty Nationals. Wrestler A bound to the KSHSAA rules was unable to attend these national tournaments.

Each kid has a 79% winning perentage: Each kid has been practicing the same amount of time. Which kid do you think has the advantage?

No answear needed. Ark City will not allow middle school students to wrestle for the club while the middle school season is going on. We want them to support their school, in turn the school supports the takedown club. Hopefully KSHSAA will someday realize how they are hurting our student/athletes of all sports and get rid of this rule, or at least ammend it to allow some outside competion.

well i think as a middle school coach that all kids should support there school as a child you can go before and after school season in usa wrestling. i know you will get more matches in usa but come on you need to support your school (I THINK)i have 2 in middle school and thats what they do!

I agree that the middle school programs need to be supported, but i also think that those in charge need to ammend the rule to allow outside competition while in scholastic athletics. I have thought that this was an unfair rule since I was in school. and I believe that if we want our athletes in the state of Kansas to be able to compete at the national level something needs to change. Oklahoma currently allows their student-athletes to compete in kids clubs as well as their scholastic athletics. I won't go into detail because this subject can be debated till everyone is blue in the face and still we will have to deal with the rules as they are. Also, this subject has been extensively debated on another discussion topic which can be found here:

http://www.usawks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003857#000000

Each kid has a 79% winning perentage: Each kid has been practicing the same amount of time. Which kid do you think has the advantage? [/QB][/QUOTE]

I'm not sure about other kids' clubs, but our kid's club definately doesn't get the quality, intensity, and amount of time of practice that our Jr. High wrestling program gets. Sure, the Jr. High may not wrestle as many matches, but their practice time is much more intense and more advanced than the kids wrestling practices. There was so much more improvement in my son's wrestling going from kid's to Jr. High, and I am not bagging our kid's club, it's just that sometimes there are so many kids at so many different levels that they don't get the attention they get in Jr. High. At times, there was more competition at the Jr. High level than the kid's club level. Our 12 & under as 7th graders are able to wrestle 8th graders that would be 14 & under. You need to support the Jr. High programs, and maybe they would get more kids out and be more competitive.

No matter what, you have to support your school. Every kid growing up wants to wrestle for their middle school and their high school. I wish rules were changed, but we got to go with what we got.

Our middle school wrestling season is over before Christmas break. Our kids get plenty of USA tournaments in before qualifying tournament time.

Beeson, that policy has a few holes in it. I coach both middle school and club track, and I for one would never take away an opportunity for a young person to participate in what they want, based on the fact that they choose not to participate with their middle school program. What about transfer kids that have to sit out 18 weeks? What about kids that struggle in the class room, and don't stay elgible? What about parent work schedules or other family matters that don't conform to MS practices or meets? I think if your club has a rule that prevents kids from participating in a sport that does so much good for them, then you should find a less short sighted club.

Just so I understand, are you saying a kid who is academically ineligible should be allowed to wrestle with the local club?

1) Thank you sportsfan02, I won't need to explain that one.
2) The Takedown Club and Middle School practice at the same time, so if you can't make one practice you can't make the other. The Middle School will bus you to and from meets, and If mom and dad can't be there to pick you up when you get back, one of your teammates can get you home.
3) The sport does alot of good for kids in Middle School and in the Takedown Club. We are not keeping a kid from participating in a sport. They can join the Middle School team, support their school, and then finish up with the Takedown Club.

I'm just curious how many agree with Beeson and how many agree with Itrain. This has been Ark City's policy since the club was founded, and I think it has worked rather well for us. Although being short sighted it's hard for me to tell.