Originally posted by gutwrench1:
Yes, Alex that is bad if you love what you're doing on the wrestling team. What seems like a lot of money to you now won't in 10 or 20 years. I don't know how you put a monetary value on what you get in return for doing what you love. Taking money to give up what you love is bad.
Alex, I'm not judging you, because college wrestling is a full time venture. However, I agree with Gutwrench about the money issue. It seems huge now, but there are ways to do both. It takes more sacrifice, but it's possible. It drives me crazy when kids quit because they feel the need to buy new rims or stereos. You never get the opportunities that high school sports provide once you are out, but you'll always chase the mighty dollar.
Another thing I can't stand is when parents say they're making their kids quit because of grades. I flat out ask the parent if they are going to make sure the kid will hustle home and study from 3-5:30 every day. If not, wrestling isn't hurting them. More and more, I see parents almost wishing their kids would quit so they don't have to drive them to events or take up their time for their kids sake.
The only excuse I don't question is when kids quit saying "it is too hard." They're honest, and I'm not making it easier. I give them until team pictures to figure out if wrestling is for them. They know if they quit after pictures, they'd better not have team t-shirts on or say they wrestle. They also go on the AWOL section of our ranking board.
