Prant:
I am going to open this post by saying that you know me and you know I enjoy your whitty banter. I also want to add that this is not an attack on 5A or 6A wrestling, nor necessarily a ringing endorsement for 4A or 3A wrestling. I have competed in all these levels as either a wrestler or coach and have found excellent wrestling everywhere I have gone. This is simply a rebuttal to the eternal "big schools have more kids so they must be better" arguement I am so tired of hearing!
Originally posted by Prant Garker:
Yes you have a 50% chance of qualifying at a regional tournament in 6A, but how many state qualifiers/placers or qualifier-caliber wrestlers are left at home?
I would submit that as many or more state caliber wrestlers are left at home in 3A and 4A due to their larger, more difficult regionals. While there are several quality programs in 5A and 6A who no doubtedly have state caliber kids on JV, the same holds true for 4A, and a few programs in 3A as well. The sad fact of the matter is that a great deal of 5A and 6A teams have very little depth, or larger numbers on their teams than the average 3A team. In addition, the 3A and 4A teams (in some areas of the state at least) generally get the better athletes in their schools to come out for wrestling, whereas in MANY 5A and 6A schools those who have alot of athletic ability- play basketball or focus on football only, and those who wouldn't make those "higher profile" sports- wrestle.
Originally posted by Prant Garker:
Additionally, not to belittle the quality of 321a/4a wrestlers, but I am not sure if their records are not inflated. There are studs, absolutely, and many others who would make varsity at a 6a school, but how many people have better records because of opens, or because they're winning against inferior competition?
I would say the same holds true for 5A and 6A opponents. I know that when my coach and I discuss tournaments we want to get in to, we specifically look for tournaments that do not necessarily have all 5A or 6A schools, because we have seen that competition all year, and know that it can leave us wanting as well, with many teams having opens and or byes. In addition I would submit that most schools compete with a wide variety of classifications over the course of a year, so the number of wins would be very small from opens. In fact, many programs will allow their JV wrestlers to take the opens in duals (or is it duels- did we ever decide?) so they do not need to waste points for their varsity wrestlers.
How many kids from say, Belleville(nothing against The Ville, just using it as an example), would wrestle varsity at a bigger school?
Depends on which big school program you are talking about. The one with 4-5 opens, I would say there is a good shot 1/2 or better would wrestle varsity, especially if they had any kids wrestling or middle school experience!
I would agree with you when you said:
It's all relative, my friends.
