I need a few replies to use in my essay for school. I would appreciate if any of you would give your opinion on it.

some people take it too far. like not eating a day or two before matches.

My opinion on the weight loss is kind of like this. It allows the best kids on the team to seperate and make varsity. The other great thing about it is, it is not a rule or anything so if you want to do it, do it. If you don't want to then you don't have to.

Weight loss in wrestling is an integral part of the wrestling tradition, part of the sacrifice. But, it should be done sensibly, not by complete deprivation.

Tradition and sacrifice aside, weight cutting is not necessarily an intregal part of the sport. It actually is the most overrated part.

The three state qualifiers I had at Immaculata last year cut a NET of 3 pounds. 103-pounder Ronnie Hawthorne weighed 99 pounds all season, 145-pounder Brian Keeley cut from 148 and 160-pounder Danny Myer cut from 164.

Technique, conditioning, mental toughness, determination and strength — those are intregal parts of wrestling. You can be a great wrestler with all of those without ever cutting a pound.

I agree with the Imac coach. I think that a few pounds are enough. Cutting weight takes the enjoyment out of the sport and impacts the attitudes of all wrestlers cutting weight. It is good in the respect that if you have two good wrestlers at the same weight, one may cut or move up. I have seen some very good wrestlers suffer from burn-out mainly because extreme weight loss. Most coaches do not encourage it but some do. If done properly, (watching calories) it developes good discipline. However, most kids cut up to 10,12 even 15 pounds a week which leads to dehydration and poor nutrition. I'm in favor of mat side weigh ins with singlet and shoes on. I don't think weigh-ins the morning of competition discourages weight loss and an even playing field for the wrestlers. It would be fun to random weigh a few wrestlers at the competition and see how much they gain in a day. You would be surprised! I think you would see some kids weighing at least 10 over. Good luck with your report.

I think im going to have to take the side of those that think cutting weight is important, becuase quite frankly it is! WHen your younger and in kids wrestling and middle school wrestling its not really that important. But once you get into high school it is an absolute must. Granted there are a few exception where a wrestler will excel in any weight class he/she is in but it is not the norm. The big factor in weight loss is not individuals it is a team thing. The objective is to get the best wrestlers in the best weight classes they can be at. That is how you win team state championships. Show me one team in the state that has won state with no one in their lineup not lossing any weight, it just doesn't happen. THe IMAC coach makes some good points, yeah Technique, conditioning, mental toughness, determination and strength are big parts, but lets see a wrestler who doesn't cut any weight beat someone of equal talent who has cut a marginal amount of weight (10-15 pounds), it won't happen very often. Im definatly not in favor of mat side weigh ins with clothes on and stuff of that nature becuase that just compounds the problem. Why you may ask? Well basically then wrestlers will be wrestling totally dehydrated and possibly sick. The reason being that they want to make varsity so they will continue to cut weight. One other arguement I must bring up. How many kids do we as coaches know, now have body problems due to their weight loss during their wrestling days. I personally don't know of any including myself who cut on average 20 pounds every season. Its not like cutting 15 pounds for 3 months is going to hurt you for the rest of your life, in fact with American nutrition the way it is many high schoolers need to lose 10-15 pounds to fit into the "non-obese" category set forth by the US Drug & Food Administration.

Nigel:

If all we were talking about is a weight loss of 15 pounds over three months, that would be one thing. But we all know it is not.

What gives weight-cutting a bad name are the kids who cut 15 pounds in two weeks to start the year, make weight, then bounce up 10 pounds in two days. That wrestler has to turn around and cut that weight all over again. By the time you go through the entire season, that 15 pounds has multiplied itself over and over.

Yes, every kid can probably afford to cut a little weight, but no one should be cutting more than 10 percent of their starting weight, ever. I have yet to ever sign a waiver, and doubt that I ever will. And I don't let kids' weight yo-yo; making a weight is one thing — holding it is another.

If you can make a weight and hold it — in a healthy manner — the rest of the season, that's a good weight for you. But if you are constantly starving and dehydrating yourself for two days before a meet, then bouncing back up right after, you need to change your thinking.

My opinion ... is there is a huge difference, as others have suggested, between weight-loss and weight-cutting!

I remember the words of an Olympic Champion, who said, "I was on the wrestling team, not the weight cutting team."

When an athlete spends too much time thinking about "making weight", then perhaps they are sacrifing another phase of their training.

Randy

Well said, Randy. I've given out a lot of team awards over the years, but never one for weight-cutting.

i think weight cutting is important most of the good wrestlers cutt 10 to 15 pounds up and down from week to week its all about how bad u want it.

Tkdwn42 you said that much better than I did and I enjoyed both Nigel and your comments. And Nigel, I would bet that if you have a good wrestler that cuts 15 pounds and a good wrestler that cuts a few pounds, and have a mat side weigh-in, the wrestler cutting a few stands a better chance. And to say there are no long term effects is inaccurate also. There have been young wrestlers who have died from dehydration, developed eating disorders and just plain quit because they were tired of it. I know alot of good young athletes who do not go out because they did not like the cutting weight part of wrestling. I have to tell 103 kid a little story about one of our wrestlers. During his freshman year he cut to 103. Several pounds. Towards regionals he was struggling big time to hold it and looked like walking death. He stood a good chance at winning it at 103 because everyone thought it was easier. He ended up moving up to 112,(against some bad advice)and I believe pinned his way through winning his first of four state championships. C-ya all in the future!

Kirk:

I'm glad you mentioned that about kids not wrestling because of weight-cutting.

In my previous position at Immaculata and now at Maur Hill, numberous kids who might have been pretty good wrestlers were scared off because other people told them they had to cut weight to wrestle. Sometimes I've been able to get those kids turned around. Sometimes not. And that is sad.

We need to be out there promoting what is great about the sport of wrestling: Technique, conditioning, mental toughness, determination and strength. Weight-cutting isn't on the list, and it never should be.

Weight cutting has always been the "black eye" of wrestling. It creates more negativity and controversy than anything else in the sport. As with any sport, I think the idea is to reduce you body fat as low as possible without compromising any muscle. (Weight control)This is to try to reach optimal performance. An exception might be for an athlete to make a spot on the team. However, most of the weight classes in high school wrestling are only 5-8 pounds apart. If you deprive your body of water or food then you are taking away the fuel your body needs to perform. Your body will be forced take the only souce it can find which is usually muscle. There is no way you can perform at an optimal level by doing this. If you lose muscle by cutting weight than you have really negated the reason for losing weight in the first place. The idea should be to become a good enough wrestler though skill and conditioning, that you can win regardless of weight class.

I think changing the weight classes and keeping some of the middle weight spread out will help reduce dangerous weight cutting practices. Even with that approach kids will still cut.
An example of a HS weight classes I would prefer to see would look something like this;
100,107,114,121,128,135,142,149,157,165,175,190,
215,hwt.

That's crazy!! That would make kids cut even more weight,kids would cut cut 7lbs. instead of 5lbs. to get down to the next spot!!!
look at some of the 103lbers. they almost kill themselves to make 103lbs. instead of 112 because of the huge gap!

I agree, BigPin!

There will be weight-cutting issues no matter what the classes are. The way to combat the problems with weight control is to quit trying to convince kids that it is a key way to be successful in the sport. Once we do that, most of the problems will go away.

In the last few years my two sons have faced the reality of weight control in high school wrestling. It is all about getting the edge on your opponent. Look at swimmers and divers they look like they cut more weight then wrestlers....and they shave their bodies to add an extra edge.
I know that if my son went into a match with someone who weighs more then there is a mental thing going on. Wrestlers are some of the most competitve people in the world an by human nature they will sacrifice plenty to win.

Big Pin, you are right, some kids will even cut more weight, some won't. No matter what the weight classes are kids will always cut. But now it's much easier for kids to go down 2or 3 weight classes then if the weights would be spread out more. For example, a kid wrestling 135 drop to 125 by dropping 10 pounds. If the weight classes were more spread out a kid may have to drop 14 or 15 pounds to go down 2 weight classes.
I also think that between 125 to 145 the weights are too close together anyways and more kids are willing to drop to the lower weight because "it's only 5 pounds".

The weight classes we have are just fine.