Caleb.Canter22

I really want to emphasize that my intentions are not to damage the KHSAA or try to make drastic changes. I strongly urge you to really take the time and think about the implications of the actions each and every one of you are suggesting. I think it would be a huge mistake to try to boycott or do anything else to try to hurt the KHSAA. I am really not liking the direction these conversations are going, and I hope that you all will take the time to be rational and realize that there are better ways to go about fixing this issue.

rjs4470, I agree. What Zeus is suggesting is not at all the approach that I have been suggesting. I am not suggesting that KHSAA is taking advantage of the wrestling state tournament or doing wrong intentionally, I honestly believe that they just have a misconception about how we as a community see the state tournament. Then they have acted on this misconception making changes to the format and traditions that will not benefit the sport whatsoever. I really did not want this to become an open discussion where everyone bashes the KHSAA, and talks about how awful everything was. The only reason I started this thread was to try to collect the opinions of those that do genuinely care about the sport of wrestling. Posting a response to this thread will do absolutely nothing for our cause, Instead take that time to email me a letter describing your opinions. Then once you have done that invite 3-4 others to do the same.

I haven't really considered that yet. Right now I'm simply collecting opinions so that I can present it to the people at the KHSAA. I would really like to keep it as civilized as possible, since we are kind of on the same team in that we all want wrestling to grow. I just believe that they are operating on an incorrect assumption about the wrestling community. However, if they refuse to accept an undeniable amount of evidence, we may look into it then.

Yes my original message was sent during the 113 lb match, and I received the response around the time of the 152 lb match. As far as the truth of that statement I cannot comment. I am going to take his word for it that there were at least a few people in the crowd that appreciated the changes. I have yet to find anyone that thinks this way, but I would love to hear their opinions if they are seeing these messages. Thanks for taking the time to write a letter for us, I really appreciate it!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated. I just sent the following message to the KHSAA: First of all I want to take time to thank you for reading my message, and then taking the time to explain your thoughts to me. I really do appreciate it! I now understand the thinking behind the decision you and the rest of the KHSAA made. I do appreciate that you are working to better the sport, and I agree that you have done a good job at doing so. However, I also believe that a few recent changes that have been made are not beneficial to our sport, and I think that you will find that the rest of the wrestling community agrees with me. As you may have already heard, I am working to gather the opinions of as much of the wrestling community as possible. I posted a forum on the Kentucky Wrestling website, you can find that at the following link if you have not already seen it. http://forums.kentuckywrestling.com/index.php?/topic/14293-help-me-fix-the-state-finals/ I have also started a petition, to make an easier avenue for fans and wrestlers to share their opinions. That can be found at the below link. https://www.change.org/p/kentucky-wrestling-kentucky-wrestling-state-finals?recruiter=492947154&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink I’m sure that you’re not impressed by the number of people on the petition, and you shouldn’t be because we both know that half of those people probably honestly have no opinion at all. What is worth noting is the hundreds of comments left by fans, parents, and wrestlers of all skill levels describing how disappointed they are with the direction state tournament has gone in the past few years. I strongly recommend that you go read through those. In my forum you will also see that I have asked for the wrestling community to write me their opinions in a letter to the KHSAA. I also made sure to say that I even wanted to hear if they have enjoyed the new format of things. I fully understand that it is impossible to please everyone, there will always be a handful that think the other way. What I am trying to convey to you is that right now we are catering to those handful of people and not the swarms of people on the other side of this issue. I know this is a lot to discuss over email. I have listed my phone number on my previous email if you ever want to discuss this over the phone. Once I feel that I have reached out to enough of the wrestling community, I will be in contact with you to set up an appointment so that we can meet and talk face to face. I sincerely hope that you do not find my messages to be rude or disrespectful, towards you or the KHSAA as a whole, that is not what I am trying to do. My goal is to work along side you so that we can improve the sport of wrestling in the state of Kentucky. Thanks for all you do! Caleb Canter

Hey guys I love your support and I'm excited to hear all of your opinions. However, I must say that I'm not looking to create a big long thread on this website talking about how terrible everything is. As we will just frustrate ourselves and accomplish nothing. Instead I'm asking for you to seriously and professionally write out your thoughts. That way I can take them to the KHSAA and read it with them, to hopefully show them that they are not operating inside of what the vast majority of the wrestling community wants. Thanks for the help!

Thanks to everyone that is responding to the petition! I love the comments! I really want to ask you guys to think about emailing me letters. I think that will be much more effective when presented to the KHSAA. I'm not looking for a long drawn out letter, a paragraph or two will be just fine! Caleb Canter

Awesome! Great example. Please share this post and my email with everyone, I want to carry a box full of letters for them to read!

Hi, my name is Caleb Canter. For those of you that do not know me, I graduated from LaRue County High School in 2013. I have been a huge wrestling fan my entire life and always will be. However, as I attended the state tournament yesterday, I was extremely disappointed to find that the finals had been lumped together with the rest of the medal rounds, and the face off had been done away with entirely. This is absolutely disrespectful to the kids that worked so hard to make their way to the finals. Those kids deserve to be honored separate from all the other wrestlers in the state, as they have rightfully earned that position. As soon as I realized what the KHSAA had decided to do, I looked up the emails of the representatives (who we will not name) that made the decision, and sent an email asking for an explanation as to why it was done this way. I received a response almost immediately, and feel very inclined to share this information with the rest of the wrestling community. Shown below is the email I sent and the response I received. Please take the time to read through both emails as I would like for everyone to completely understand the situation before we take our next steps. My original email: Hi, my name is Caleb Canter. I have been involved with Kentucky wrestling since I was born in 1995. Wrestling has been a huge part of my life and I am concerned about the path the sport is taking in our state. I'm writing this email from my seat here in the Alltech Arena as I watch this lackluster "state finals." I am extremely disappointed in the format of this year's finals, and I am seeking a legitimate explanation as to why the biggest match of the season is less exciting than the finals of any given tournament throughout the season. Because I honestly can't think of a single reason why things are happening the way they are. I understand, or at least I hope, that you are not the only ones that have made the decision to format the tournament this way. However I am sure that you are able to fix the issue. If you are not convinced that this is an issue, you can ask any fan in attendance and they will tell you otherwise. I would even be willing to go as far as creating a petition to have signed for you to see just how many people are upset at the direction our state finals have gone. I'm sure when you read this you will likely write me off as a random upset 21 year old, and ignore my request for an explanation. But I urge you not to do so, because I know that I speak for the entire Kentucky wrestling community in what I am saying to you. In the future I hope that you will allow these high schoolers to earn the respect and honor that they have worked so hard for. Thank you for taking your time to hear my message. Caleb Canter If you would like to discuss the issue further I would be more than happy to do so! Feel free to give me a call The Response I Received: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. As someone who likely has been involved in this sport since before you were born, I know that change in anything dealing with this sport is seldom unanimous. As I sit here tonight we have received several extremely positive comments from coaches, parents and fans of the 3rd through 8th place wrestlers thankful for the change rewarding their son, daughter or wrestler's year long commitment even though they didn't finish in the top two. There have been some who would like to move the quarterfinal round and others would like to end earlier tonight. All of that is the function of our staff evaluating the conduct of the event going forward. The state association and its mission is to make decisions that are student friendly for the most students, not simply the elite level. If the elite level was the sole purpose, many team championships and individual events would involve only the elite or those from the urban areas where they are perceived more athletic or brackets would be seeded, etc. But that is not the purpose. It is about recognizing students across the board regardless of ability. In order to ensure continued participation in sports, such as wrestling, that struggle in many states maintaining optimal support. Since the time of your referenced year, participation in the sport has nearly doubled in terms of schools and much of that is properly attributed to changing both the culture of the sport and format of events to include more kids. And that will continue to be emphasized. So while those that want no change ever are likely disappointed with any change, others continue to welcome evolution. This association will continue to manage it events in the manner that the staff feels is the best for the continued evolution of the sports and activities and that may in fact mean even more change in the future. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. Sent from my iPhone Blame all typos on Apple auto-incorrect I do realize that both of these emails are extremely lengthy, but I ask that you at least take the time to read through the response email so that you can fully understand the decision that was made. I am thankful that the KHSAA took the time to actually read and think about my comments, but I am extremely unsatisfied with the justification for the way things were done. That is why I am going to see that it is fixed. While the KHSAA is operating in a manner that they believe is what the wrestling community desires, I am sure that they are mistaken. Therefore, we as an entire wrestling community must present our opinion to the KHSAA. The first thing I will ask of you is to sign the online petition to have the finals revamped into all that they should be. You can find this petition at the link shown below. https://www.change.org/p/kentucky-wrestling-kentucky-wrestling-state-finals?recruiter=492947154&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink Please take the time to sign as well as share the link with your friends and family that may have an opinion on the matter. Secondly and most importantly I am going to ask for you dedicated members of the wrestling community to write a short personal statement or letter to the KHSAA about why you think the finalist deserve to be honored more so than the rest of the medalist. I do understand that this is asking a lot of you, but it is my opinion that your written out thoughts are worth much more than your signature on a petition. I hope to receive letters from all possible sources, including children, wrestlers, coaches, officials, parents, and fans. Once you have written your letter to the KHSAA, please email it to me at caleb.canter@uky.edu. After I receive your notes I will print them off and personally deliver them to the KHSAA office. I also ask that you please remain respectful and professional throughout your entire statement, that way we can present our opinions to the KHSAA in a positive manner. While I do not wish to discount any one of your opinions and would love to receive letters from each and every one of you. I believe that the testimonies of wrestlers who found success at the state level but never managed to reach the finals, will be found most convincing, and I ask that you please make sure those people see this message. I also would love to hear the voice of those that support the way finals were done, and would be more than happy to include your statements when I deliver our messages to the KHSAA. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I hope that we can find a way to rise up together and see a change made, so that these kids that work so hard can enjoy the respect that they earned. Caleb Canter Feel free to email me with any questions or ideas. Caleb.canter@uky.edu