I don't think you have to hope he does, I have a feeling you'll get what you want plus some.

One glaring exception in the 3 or 4 time State Champ getting a better scholarship than a 1 or 2 timer is Neil Erisman. Of course we all know that Neil has never won a State crown yet still was awarded a pretty good scholarship!

Another question that I think deserves some consideration is: how much does the character of a kid enter into the decision of whether to offer a scholarship or not?

It would appear that in D1 football an athletes character may not enter into the discussion but I feel that in wrestling, with only 9.9 scholarships available, it might!

My sons are both "young", their birthdays are 7-29 and 8-29. Jordan was only 5 on the day kindergarten started. While they may not be great in some peoples eyes, I feel they have performed well, even with being young. My son Jarrett, while almost always being younger than his opponents, has always faired well and I believe there are some colleges willing to look at the youngin. Both are exceptional students and they needed to get on with school, not be held back. At times, they said, "Man, what would have happened if you would have waited a year to start us in school?" Overall, though I feel as a family that we made the rights decisions for the boys at the time. Besides, Jarrett has been referred to on more than one occassion as a--"man child".

Just my two cents!
Ms. Jenni

Also, I believe one of Jarrett's life long opponents, Jesse Strawn, is also a "young senior". Now, red shirting in college, may be another story.

My son is young too Dec. 31 and to think that charc plays ito into it well it does some but as a former college athlete we all cant look at it this way their jobs put food on the table winning is a must, i understand the Erisman deal there are ALOT of kids like that and if 2 kids of equal talent come into play i dont believe GPA will ever be looked at the only time that is looked at is for admissions to see if the have been through the clearing house it will come down to on the field or mat performance, comp, size of school, extra time put into the sport not GPA im sorry i wish it was but its not, id so why do so many colleges "send" athletes to the jucos to get thier grades up

Colleges like students with high GPA's, even the college coaches because there are more scholarships available to them. If you are a dump jock, you better be VERY VERY good if you want a scholarship. Committment, dedication and hard work exist both in the practice room and in the classroom. A kid with a high GPA shows good character and values. A kid who just slides by does not.

By the way, all four of my kids are the "babies" in their class. They all have summer birthdays; 6/28, 7/20, 7/21, 6/8. My oldest son, a freshman, is actually younger than half of the 8th graders. The only time you notice is when his friends are all driving and he has to hitch a ride.

I concur with mom4. Character has got to enter into the mix. It seems that a large number of the athletes who lack that important ingredient are truly exposed in the college environment.

I don't intend to point fingers but there have been several examples, even in Kansas, where a superior wrestler, bombed out at the college level.

I know this is high school you are talking about, but I started a topic on the kids side concerning this issue, but with Junior High Kids.
My son wrestled in the Middle School National Duals in Norfolk, VA two weeks ago. Mine you, my son is a very big 8th grader, 6'2" and weighs 220. We don't come across too many kids bigger than him that is his own age. The max grade for this tourney was 8th. He was one of the smaller heavyweights there! He had one kid that was 6'4" and weighed 260! I asked what they put in the water in those North Eastern States and one of the parents commented that kid was 15. I asked how that was possible and she said he "red shirted" that year. I could not believe it! Out of 10 matches he had those 3 days, 5 of the kids were 15. I guess I am just naive to think this didn't happen that young. I know I would never let my child stay a year back in school for that reason!!

Believe me im not for this "red shirting" thing and I do believe and hope that character and GPA does play into it, but it doesnt play into it as much as people like to believe, if it did then y are there so many that dont have the GPA or have good character getting the bigger scholorship dollars also then why do college recuiters as about parents size how big their parents are what is the potential growth when actual maturation occurs we can not be that naive these are questions that are and have been asked, yes hard work is asked as well but there are alot more things being looked at. I guess im trying to say and taking some from some old college classes you have to have something on your resume that makes u stand out among all others, and when a kid is equal in every aspect the state championships and placing's win out and by giving the kid an advantage (which we all would like to do for our own kids) is all they are doing by holding them back or sending them to another state to wrestle y do they have Nike football camps and the Elite 11 football camps for HS QB's its exposure adding to that "resume" I would not hold my kids back my oldest his birthday is in the middle my youngest turns 15 tomorrow, and I agree hard work will pay off for them to go along with their GPA's and their OWN goals they have winning state is a nice goal for them but their lives wont be ruined or over if they dont. By the way my oldest is going to college to compete in athletics and his GPA did not play into it at all but size of the parents and potential did as far as the college recuitment went. For some colleges they ask is the kid willing to put in extra time well those kids that travel around the country wrestling and spend countless hrs in the room yes they did and yes it will pay off

i see that for the junior division it goes by both age and school class. and salyer, even when you're burning me you're still boring.

I kind of agree with chewbacca, that Fargo seems to carry alot of weight with colleges. It's to bad that it cost so much that not all kids can afford to go.

I sat next to a scout for a D1 school in Fargo this past summer - he claimed that on average about 1/2 of the kids that his school looked at for possible offers for wrestling scholarships were taken off the list once the school got the wrestlers transcripts.

Per this scout, if a wrestler can't make the grades as a freshman and sophomore in high school while wrestling, they certainly can't make it in college where training is tougher, classes are tougher and the wrestler is away from his parents! A wrestler who is academically ineligible is of no use to any program.

Another thought - if you are going to public school, pass without problem but your parents want to hold you back due to athletic reasons it would seem that taxpayers would have an issue paying for your child to repeat a grade! What is the cost per student right now in public school? It would seem that the parents of these athletes would need to put up that money!

Great point!

Yes, both are great points, and make a lot of sense to me...

A. If a wrestler has trouble as a HS freshman or sophomore, college will be tougher.

B. Parents that hold their athletes back should put up the money.

A. Some kids have trouble making hte adjustment from Jr High to HS so freshman, soph more grades are not as important as the grades from Jr/Sr yrs. also what was the college intrance requirments for this college u are talking about this also hold true, now look at the Div 1 players that are playing today that came form Jr Colleges alot of these kids were non predictors out of HS so that could be another reason why they were taken off the list of possible reqruits. THe HS player of the year in football has a 2.9 gpa but still scored high on the ACT so im sure there are other qb's in the country that have better gpa's but it doesnt seem to bother the schools reqruiting him

B. I think these kids that are being held back for athletic purposes are either being home schooled or attending private schools for the year they are being held back so this is no expense to the tax payers they are still getting their 4 yrs worth of "free" public eduacation

Fargo is a huge determinate for scholaships, so is the NHSCA Senior National Tournament. This meet is held just after the high school season right at the height of the recruiting season. Only seniors that have been runner-up state champions or state champions sometime in their high school career can wrestle in this tournament, with several exceptions (California, New York, New Jersey, etc.).

The college coaches know this is an excellent opportunity to meet some great high school wrestlers. Not only do most of the colleges and universities that wrestle have their head coaches there, but an opportunity to meet with those coaches is given to the wrestlers and their parents by the tournament.


Gary Ulmer

I know that NDSU was a power in DII and is the host annually for Fargo. Once they are a full fledged DI team, then expect them to gain a huge thrust in stellar recruits just from the amount of students that get to see the area for a "free" visit during the offseason.