JV Discussion Irony

[Bearhugger]

I view wrestling as an individual sport first with some team aspects drifting in and out. The amount of "drift" depends on where you are at. But at the end of the day, the singular wrestler gets to compete and advance based on the best of their ability and support.

I recognize that a few JV wrestlers are beating the masses throughout the state. Many conferences let their JV compete in the conference tournament. It makes the conference competition stronger, not weaker. However, when this same logic is applied to the regions, the words "entitlement" and "participation trophies" are slung around.

Here is the irony. During my brief wrestling stint, only the top THREE were taken from the state tournament. LESS chance, LESS opportunity all because of a rule change. Who knows how many years before it was the top four. Taking the top three only lasted two seasons and it has been the top four in each region for the past 32 years. Now, if I still wore a mullet, I would be advocating for the regions to only take the top three to the states ONLY because those were the conditions that I had to compete under 32 years ago. I also could support this argument with the measurable fact that some weight classes in some regions only have four wrestlers. Under these conditions, there is no competition for a trip to the state tournament. All go. All get a trophy. We went to school when it was cold and only the top three went to the state tournament. Neither happens today because the "decision makers" have deemed those conditions as not being the best practice. Times have changed.

I do NOT advocate only taking the top three from the regions. I advocate making the region an open tournament. The team scoring can easily be figured out.

PS:

Overtime was tougher back in those days too. If you went into OT and nobody pinned each other, then you signed up for three more minutes of wrestling. There wasn't any of this easy SV1 stuff where overtime could be ended within seconds by scoring a lone takedown.

I got pinned once in a double armbar while my head was figure foured. The figure four to the head is now illegal.

I once got caught in a guillotine and was getting my shoulder ripped out of socket. I was trying to get my shoulder down to get pinned and couldn't due to the angle.

There was no stopping of the match while you were on your back due to "potentially dangerous".

If you got hurt during a match, there was no calling time out. Today, this rule get abused for a water break.

If you were on your back with a bloody nose, your choice was choke out in your own blood, get pinned, fight off your back or ride out the time. The ref didn't stop it.

And..................a lot of you competed under these same conditions. Some of you never did.

So if you look at the history of wrestling, the decision makers have made things easier, not harder.

But by God, we can't give a top JV wrestler a shot at qualifying through regional competition. That would tear down the foundation of the sport.

Enjoy

[vortexfan]

I don’t understand why some say just work harder and that whoever posts about letting JVs wrestle in regionals and states must not have had to work hard, never won or never qualified. (and other negative comments)
Why not have a wrestler compete to make the sport stronger whether he is considered JV or not, if he is one of the top four talented wrestlers in a region than so be it. If he is the sixth best wrestler in the state so be it.
Why just because a kid is at a school where his competition is tough or better does he get punished or why allow a weak wrestler who has no competition get to wrestle in state or region just because that team had no one in that weight class.
Very well stated bearhugger! Anxiously awaiting last man standing post