All Army Rangers are is Marine Riflemen with jump wings. Their is nothing "elite" about that. That being said Yeah I am always extremely proud of the wrestlers who finish the year and even more proud of those seniors that stick it out for four years. The thing that I am sure that everyone is getting to is that it sucks when all these kids quit because of whatever reason. Mainly because they have learned that quitting is alright. There has been way to many kids with an enormous amount of talent quit because it was tough or that they didnt think they could hack it.

I've heard the excuse Salyer is my dad and he embarrasses me at tournaments and duals excuse used before.

Seems to be too much time and energy spent on those that made other choices rather than supporting those that stick it out. A wall of shame is shameful. Judge lest ye be judged. Some kids DO have to quit to help support the family financially. Let's put that kids name on a t-shirt or wall of shame because he is helping to support a single mom or dad raising a family in today's world of expenses. Doesn't make it right that he or she has to help out, just makes it a fact that some kids DO have to. Life after sports CAN begin in college when you've wrestled for 10 years and mom or dad have worked their tails off to make it to every meet and NOW they say enough is enough and time for a child to accept responsibility for some of their own expenses and GET A JOB! What about those parents who work so much so a kid CAN wrestle or do any other sport that they can't attend any of it because financially it takes all they have to make sure the child has what they need? No more bashing on parents who don't support..yes, there are some who don't. NO more bashing on kids who quit..who is to say anyone knows the REAL reason why? And to Alex...your grades come first and so does your scholarship. Sometimes there isn't enough hours in the day to get everything done. So a choice has to be made. I hope you make the right one for YOU.

My grandpa used to say "coach um up". Don't let um quit. I know that it is easier said than done.

No one would have any resentment for a kid that had to work because of a change of curcumstance in his life. 99% of the kids that quit do not have a legitimate reason that can not be worked around by a coach. They find excuses. No one here, other than possibly gutwrench, has said that grades should come secondary to athletics. What I am beginning to find frustrating is that quitting is becoming so socially acceptable. We live in a society that honestly does not respect hard work, and demands instant satisfaction and gratification. Hey, I know that I am old school. But I remember very vividly my parents demanding that I finish what I start. That began with T-ball, and still carries me to this day. What bothers US is that WE depend on others for OUR success. It's not okay to quit, in anything. We have a 50% failure rate in marriages because people QUIT! We have more bankruptcies than ever before because people QUIT! We have entire populations of people dependant upon the government for support because they QUIT! Are some of them victims of circumstance? Probably. But could they get off of their ever growing butts and find a job, and quit living off of our tax dollars? Probably. To rationalize quitting as acceptable is a politically correct form of weakness, and to accept it as the status quo will not solve the problems that society as a whole is facing. Do we use positive reinforcement? Absolutely. Kids have changed, and successful coaches have to change as well. I think that this is a great thread, and an important one. Will we use a "hall of shame" next year to go with our Hall of Fame? Probably not. But, I still like the idea. No one has ever accused me of being politically correct. Some kids do have a pathetic work ethic. We all have stories of kids from terrible situations that have done very, very well with absolutely no suport from home. We have all "loaned" kids money to eat, or for a team t-shirt at the beginning of the season . If we get repaid that's great, but most don't expect to. We're not in it for the money, but to make a difference in the life of a kid. We do that every day. We lose some that need us. I guess that's the frustration.

What about those kids who are always injured? They might as well quite they drive the whole team nuts. They aren't really injured during the day just during practice.

Got this one off of themat.com, couldn't resist posting it because it is one of the top 10.
Add: I want to spend more time with my girlfriend.

To which my reply has been every state or national champ I've coached had a good looking girlfriend, if you keep working hard to be successful as a wrestler you'll keep her, if you spend less time practicing wrestling you won't win as many matches, and she'll dump you because you are no longer a star.
Big Apple

And I think a wall of shame is not a good idea. I personally believe that postiive reinforcement and congratulating those that did finish the season in good standing might be the better way to go.

I think a very powerful tool would be to take this list of excuses, provide it to the wrestlers at the beginning of the season, and inform them that there are a million reasons and excuses to not do something worthwhile. That excuses are like you know what, everyone has one, they stink, and reality is they have a fear of failure and faith in their abilities, coaches, teammates, or parents that make them want to choose the path of least resistence. Clearing the air ahead of time might keep the kid out that thinks its too tough, or wonders why wrestling is so much tougher than football or anything else they do. Kids will find a way for the coaches to teach them character. Come excuses or highwater.

We had a kid who quit because he didn't want to re-break his wrist that he had broken the year before. But he played all football season and never hurt it. And a week or so after he quit wrestling he decided to go out for basketball . Now he is on JV basketball when he could be our varsity 160.

Shelstin, THAT is the definitive post on this subject!!!

Just re-reading this thread makes me want to again thank those of our grandfathers and great grandfathers (who are still with us) for the example that too many people these days don't follow.

Today, faaaaaar too much is made of being th-ensitive. We've seen some of it in this very thread. Sad really. But, the upside is that those who can, do, those who can't or whine, quit or go home while the hyper-th-ensitive types whine. Shut up or put on a dress and skip off somewhere over the rainbow.

btw, just wanted to clarify, my first line in the above post was referring to Shelstin's last post. Very good!

The socalled wall of shame should actually show the names of the parents who don't support their kids and then move on to list alumni and their peers such as teachers, jr. league coaches,etc that never show up to support theese quitters you speak of. Its probably pretty hard to stay focused with just a handfull of fans in the stands. Its a very sad day when you have to shame a kid for quitting. I like the wall of shame idea for parents,alumni,teachers,or just anyone who should be out supporting a kid or a team in general!!!

Has there been anybody using the excuse I'm D1 football material this year?

I'd just like to know who gets to decide what is a good "excuse" and what is not. I like the idea of giving out a "list" of excuses used, at the beginning of the season, without giving out the names of the kids who used them. No doubt quitting has become too acceptable. And just because a parent is not in the stands does not mean they aren't supportive. It isn't that cut and dried. Who wants anyone on their team with doubts about what they are doing and whether or not they want to be there? If a kids' heart is not in it..let them go. I see many kids who are pressured into sports because parents want them there. The kids' self-esteem goes in the toilet because they aren't cut out for whatever sport but by-golly the parents think they are teaching their kid self-discipline and it will be good for the kid to be in a sport. Some kids quit..some parents aren't supportive. Excuses come and go. What about a list of WHY a kid chooses sports on a t-shirt..something POSITIVE instead of focusing on the negative. An "I choose to participate in sports because....." it helps teach me time-management. It helps build my self-esteem. Give them reasons to choose sports instead of multiple excuses not to.

I would say a good excuse is that they had to help their family out, which has happenend. The kid came back the following year and did quite well. A bad excuse is not wanting to waste their senior year, which translates into going to parties and getting bombed every weekend. I just dont understand how something you put so much blood, sweat, and tears into how you could just walk away because of feeling the need to party. My biggest beef is the upper classmen who quit. Although I do not condone the freshman who come out and give it a try just to quit, I can understand some what. But the fact that you go through all the trials and tribulations, using hard earned money on camps, clinics, and summer wrestling just to quit is terrible. I graduated high school some ten years ago and went to a lot of parties but not during wrestling season. I can say that I did not waste my senior year

Wall of Shame.... against it. If you want to demoralize a student, do it on the mat.
Wall of Fame..incourage it .. I know a BB player cut and is now wrestling.. doing fine. Wall of fame should include most improved, novices, transfers etc.
Excessive Quitting.. look at Coach, school, fans. Is coach concerned about current year winning alone, or building a program? If there is no community support, guarantee not in Program mode.
Burned out.. don't buy it. Main reason kids get burned out is, they are finding something more "fun". Some kids excell in kids sports programs, but hit high school and no longer the best... unfurtatenly has been encouraged and drooled on for being the best for the last ten years (parents/coaches set kids up for failure)
Scholarship.. your talking college.. this is high school...as others say... kids for most part do not study from 3:30 to 5:00.
Family support... don't approve... a parent should find a way to support the family. A child should not have to suffer for a parent's irresponsibility or bad decisions.
Get more kids out... I think this is a serious social problem. Football, basketball, and track programs are hurting just as bad. Years ago an athlete was someone who pariticapated in all sports. Today, we are too focust on one sport, and one winner.

I've talked to hundreds of people who have graduated from high school over the years and not one of them...not a single one, has ever said to me "I'm glad I quit". Doesn't matter what the reason was at the time or what sport it was: wrestling, football, track, whatever. No one ever says " I'm glad I didn't go out, Quitting that sport was the best thing I ever did". No matter how painful things are at the time it never matches the pain or longevity of regret.

I'm glad I quit tennis my senior year. I can still beat Prant, though.

Well said Shelsin.

I had a kid quit a few years ago and the parents went so far as to submit an article in the paper blaming me for their son quitting the team. What they left our of their article was the fact that I had talked him out of quitting two other times or the fact that I spent countless extra time after practice working with the kid on his skills, but in the end it was my fault they let him quit. In retrospect I guess I didn't cuddle him and powder his little bottom to their satisfaction. What was really sad was that the kid started developing a habit for quitting.

I wonder what the ratio of kids quitting today would be if they had the same coaches that we did years ago? Coach Blosser was a heck of a lot tougher on us than I am on my kids, but the difference is we appreciated it. And, I know for a fact I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for him being as tough as he was on me. People can post all the garbage they want on here about broken homes, etc., but all of that is just an excuse. I’ve experienced some of that and if you can’t learn to overcome adversities you have a very little chance at being successful in this world.

Bill Gates' 11 Rules of Life “The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. “

How can anyone make lame excuses when they look at people like Earl Jones or Kyle Maynard? Let the excuse makers argue against those two examples.

I think a lot of times some of the guys that get the best offers for football actually wrestle during wrestling season. The reason for me believing this is since high school and college seasons run at the same time, it's difficult for a college coach to come see a game live for the real feel of the competition. A video doesn't always give the whole story as many times just "highlight packages" are strung together.

If a DI or other college football coach sees these guys movement on the mats (or even on the court in the case of basketball), they get a feel of their strength and speed in person. Why do you think some NFL coaches take a gamble on inviting "athletes" that have no college football experience to try out for their team? Steven Neal ring a bell?