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What is "BIble Day"?

Could coaches have certified some of their wrestlers at an out-of-state tournament to keep their intentions a secret?

I spoke with some coaches last night and realized that the current seeding system is what I was suggesting in my earlier posts. My bad...I should have done more research before inserting my foot!

Ranger123...thankfully you have some gracious and accommodating coaches with whom you are able to work. Sadly, it is not always that way.

A true "Random Draw" for the State Tournament series would be a HUGE mistake.

Maybe I should rephrase. I suppose, by way of Regional results, there is actually some type of seeding taking place...thus, my rephrasing. I certainly have no problem with what is currently taking place...I have no dog in this fight and even if I did, I have no leadership in the organization. I just noticed some intensity on the thread. I get that we want the best matches for the final, but as we grow that seeding process will become increasingly more difficult. (Which I am certain you know.) And growth is good! And I know that having the best matches in the finals right now is a good way to grow the sport. But we will ultimately get to the place where it may not be possible due to the sheer number of wrestlers and their diverse schedules. Again, i think it is fine for now...just thinking forward with no criticism of current procedures. A number of years ago, I remember being told of the numbers one and two ranked wrestlers having to wrestle one another in the Indiana semi-state to qualify for State. One had to go home when he lost. Not the most peasant of situations, but something we may see as our sport grows!

Could you imagine the outrage? There are so many variables when seeding a state tournament. (Many tournaments actually...) Head to Head, Common Opponent, ultimately, due to regular season scheduling, some of it may come down to opinion. Separating athletes based on their performance at the Regional level rewards their efforts in the State Tournament Series. Separating athletes on that basis allows for a bit more black and white when setting up the brackets...as a result, we do not run into as much confusion and disagreement. It will never be completely resolved as placing athletes based on their Regional finishes may pit the perceived top two wrestlers in the state in an early round, but it takes the opinion out of the issue. Certainly not full-proof, but more concrete and everyone knows what they are getting in the process.

Forget the seeding. Separate the champs, runners-up, thirds, etc. and let the cream rise to the top.

Are there any places, near Louisville, for some Elementary wrestling on a Friday or Saturday? I know about the North Oldham Tournament. Sundays don't work for us. Thanks.

Is there anything else scheduled in the state that weekend? I planned on bringing my Bantam son...

How young do you admit?

I noticed a number of "congratulations" posts about the St. Xavier championship, but felt it necessary to include the accomplishments of Coach Jim Kraeszig as his involvement in the sport of wrestling may be unknown to some of our younger posters. Coach Kraeszig was an assistant in the early 1990s when St. X scored -1 team points in the state championships...he has since coached the Tigers to three state titles. From 1997-2001, his teams, as either the head coach or an assistant, placed either first or second. Three of those teams are listed on the top fifteen highest point totals for a sixteen man state championship bracket. After his 2001 championship and Coach of the Year award, he chose to resign to spend more time with his young boys. At that time, the program changed directions as a new coach took over and began implementing his own style and techniques. (Which every coach is entitled to do...) St. Xavier dropped to a consistent top 20 team, but never enjoyed the success of the last few years of Coach Kraeszig's run. About seven years ago (maybe more, maybe less), Coach Kraeszig, once again, chose to get back involved as the head coach at St. Xavier. After increasing student interest in wrestling and bolstering parent support, he has once again coached his team to a championship. His success at the varsity level has also helped contribute to growth in the River City Wrestling Club. (Which he started around 1995.) Rebuilding a program can be difficult, but Coach Kraeszig has proven that he knows what it takes to get the job done. I am not meaning to put a man on a pedastal, but Coach Kraeszig has been a proven success as a coach and I would not be surprised to see Saint Xavier begin a new season to competing for state championships. Congratulations once again.

I think grappler-of-old is onto something with his last post. If we have to keep a 32 man bracket (which I would prefer we not), go back to the three weekend state tournament series. District, Region, State. The one thing I would like us not to do in his system, however, is seed the State Tournament. You seed the District, draw in the placers for the Regional based on their performance the weekend before at the District, and then draw in the wrestlers for State based on their performance at the Regional level. The state tournament series should be based on performance, not seeding, and the system offered by grappler-of-old offers a more refined system than we currently have. Will it keep all the top notch wrestlers from wrestling before the finals? No. But it will allow a system by which they are more spread out. One of the things about our 32 man bracket is that the best are almost guaranteed to be at State...and place. When you research the states around us with larger wrestling populations; Indiana, Illinois, etc. They often have high level kids that never make it to State. We are concerned about some of our best kids wrestling in the Semis or Quarters when they have #1 and #2 ranked kids wreslting for the chance to qualify for State. No, we are not those states, but we can learn something from them. I once heard a coach say that it is better to be lucky than good...sometimes the draw is just that.

I couldn't agree more. I do not want anyone to take my listing of the accomplishments of Coach K as a slight toward the contributions made by Coach Knable or Coach Q. Coach K would probably be the first to note that the championships are the result of the hard work put in by the kids, parents, coaches and alumni. It is just exciting to see a coach help build a program to prominence and then help rebuild it over a decade later.

I absolutely agree Ranger...a head coach is going to have difficulty without a quality staff around him. I would propose that surrounding yourself with a quality staff is actually one of the best moves a quality Head Coach can make.

I would imagine that having Knable as a coach is a great help. But do not forget that Coach Kraeszig was his Head Wrestling Coach from 1999-2001...for three of his state titles. Somebody has to coach Knable to those titles.