In defense of the ranking officials and the entire system, there have not been tournaments (prior to the past few weeks) where anyone could come close to a 10 minute (or longer) coaches argument at a seeding meeting for where these kids should be lined up. Most of it would have been based on last year (most of which athletes are not the same weight-class), freestyle/Greco accomplishments, reputation, and popularity prior to the Bobcat Classic, Derby, Norton, Blue Valley North West, and some other recent tough events. Just now are we able to come close to have a basis for such a subjective ranking system. One which can barely provide commen opponents let alone head to head matches. We still have a lot of season left.
I think everyone needs to understand there is a HUGE difference between the ranking "hype" and what the actual amount of preperation these athletes are putting into becomming a quality wrestler and solid human beings. Rankings are nothing more than subjective premature recognition. They are pointless to anyone in the wrestling community beyond creating "hype". As I have always believed and expressed to every wrestler I have ever been involved with, "Hype wont win you matches".
And just because there is this "hype" it doesn't mean anything beyond words when you stand across the mat with someone your same age, same weight, and who has put in the same amount of time to become a champion just like you. That is when you get a dogfight. But it is always a match that decides it; one winner, one loser. That is what makes wrestling real, intense, and amazing. The engagement between two prepared and superb athletes is what should be the main attraction to the sport, and what draws the true fan. And those fans, as I see in stands long after their sons are graduated, love the sport for what it did for their children or for themselves. Not because of the name of some kid they see on a ranking list who wins matches over on the other side of the state.
It is very difficult to monitor and assess that kind of action by any of the 32 6A and 5A coaches, and it is even more difficult for the 64 4A and large amount of 3,2,1A coaches to select the BEST in their division. The final ranking, or the one that counts, will be decided when they get there in late February. Even though everyone does their best to predict the future it is still futile. All that it really does is create an immature rivalry which is unhealthy for the USAW-Kansas community. A community which needs to actually promote statebased goals and move away from traditional territoral rivalries. Rivalries should be formed on quality of programs more so than geographic location. We need to accomplish what is best for our state wrestlers like more college programs to keep our outstanding wrestlers in-state and more advanced in-state camps to get more athletic kids excited before they get to high school.
The "hype" is for those who pound their chests at other peoples accomplishments and promote territorial claims, while at the same time they are putting a target on a young man or woman striving to be the best student-athlete and person he/she can be at 18 years old or younger. Thats tough to handle as a kid, even for the best.
Ask yourself, "Is all this really that important?" You already know each average-to-great wrestlers names because you see their names on the forum constantly or see that they have a high seed in a "big" tournament. If you didn't worry about the name-game, you wouldn't be reading this thread. You've created the "hype" already. Why complain about this sport lacking something like an official ranking when you could embrace what the sport already offers and promote what it is currently accomplishing to your local news affiliate?
In stead of saying, "Wow that kid is ranked #2 and the other is ranked #5", how about saying, "These two kids are awesome, this should be a great match". And if you don't know either wrestler coming into the match, you might find out about someone whom is much better than you had ever given them credit for because some ranking system left them out. It just seems like a silly thing to complain about rankings being the cause of wrestling being a "second rate sports" when the answer to the real problem lay in oeach of our own hands (yet very few push the issue to the sources who provide the public information).
