thoughts?

[halfhalfhalf 121]

http://khsaa.org/110316-wrestling-will-experiment-with-new-rule/

[coachteater 70]

KHSAA finally makes a move to help our sport. Wish it could have went through earlier to help get stuff together for this year, but still happy. I think it's a great move and we will be a front runner in the change that imo will eventually be national.

[Raiders Wrestling 62]

It says board shorts I guess that's fighter shorts or compression

 

[Isaac Knable 36]

I think it will be good. Anything to draw more kids to wrestling or help grow our sport is good. 

[NatureBoy 117]

Good I guess but I have seen to many get away with wearing long sleeve compression shirts /pants obviously to make it harder for their opponents to get a good grip .Might make it cooler for some youth kids who will fantasize they are in ufc but more than likely like the kids who show up every year thinking it's wwe only to fade off t will not matter to most ..

[tja 150]

Wow KHSAA steps up did bot see this coming 

[thebarbarian 0]

Well let us know if any teams are ready to go!  We have the shorter version for competition or normal length.  Also various fabrics for comfort at a great price.  www.barbarianapparel.com or barbarianapparel@gmail.com

[bulldog-leader 56]

Great to see KHSAA changing with the times and keeping wrestling in their sights for once.  

However:   This will take a while for many teams to catch up.  I'm not sure about most other teams but we are lucky IF we get new uniforms every 4 years.   

[coachteater 70]

9 minutes ago, bulldog-leader said:

Great to see KHSAA changing with the times and keeping wrestling in their sights for once.  

However:   This will take a while for many teams to catch up.  I'm not sure about most other teams but we are lucky IF we get new uniforms every 4 years.   

The way I'm approaching it is this. We have singlets and you can wear them. If you wish to wear the other, we will have an option that we have designed, but the wrestler will be responsible for the cost. I don't care if all wear singlets, all wear shirt/shorts, or mixed. 

[halfhalfhalf 121]

1 hour ago, coachteater said:

The way I'm approaching it is this. We have singlets and you can wear them. If you wish to wear the other, we will have an option that we have designed, but the wrestler will be responsible for the cost. I don't care if all wear singlets, all wear shirt/shorts, or mixed. 

Same approach were taking. 

[Raiders Wrestling 62]

Had not thought of the at their cost great Ideal I was just going to wait and get new next season might be a different thought there thanks.

[NatureBoy 117]

Wow !! Didn't take long for the capitalists to move in .

 

[NatureBoy 117]

Saw youth wrestlers for years show up in fancy gear trying to get that edge now it will be the same with this gear lol wear a single color singlet when you walk out and win a High School state title so that the little poor kid with the big heart has someone to look up to .

Jmo the gear is cool for warm up stuff in duals and things but the cheaper the better for kids theses days 

[Zeus 117]

As a sport that struggles with participation, removing one of the major excuses I hear, at least at the high school level, is a step in the right direction, especially since it won't have any effect on results.

[rjs4470 103]

This move certainly won't hurt, but I don't think it's the silver bullet that changes everything, especially at the high school level.  Especially if we are going to make the kids pay for the alternate uniform, as some have mentioned.  Then instead of using the singlet as an excuse, the extra fee becomes the excuse.  I just don't see how that would have the affect we desire.  Here's how I think the conversation goes----  

Coach--"Hey, we'd love to have you on the wrestling team"

Kid on the fence--"Coach, I kinda think wrestling would be cool, but I'm not so sure about the singlet"

Coach--"No problem, you ever watch MMA?  You can wear a pair of fight shorts and a compression shirt"

Kid on the Fence--"Really?"

Coach--"Yep.  All you have to do is pay the $75 (or whatever it is) to cover the cost.  You could still wear a singlet for free"

Kid on the Fence--"Oh, I have to pay extra for that?  Well, let me think about it"

I don't think many kids on the fence are going to go for paying extra to play a sport they're aren't so sure about playing whether the uniform is cool or not.

[NatureBoy 117]

That's exactly what I was thinking .The answer to an excuse becomes an excuse ,I have seen youth kids walk out and wrestle in shirts often in tournaments for whatever reason ,I think the shorts and shirt thing is more of a way  to get those already involved hyped than to help draw in those not interested lets be honest if a kid wants to wrestle he will if he doesn't its because hes either hyped on another sport or because its simply a very demanding hard on the ego sport the only answers are getting good propaganda campaigns going for the sport and making It affordable and very available .either way the more options the better so its still a good thing wrestlers love their collection of gear and many enjoy trading so it will add more selections im sure go to a big tournament and you always see hordes of kids trading stuff in the halls its neat for them but usually for kids who can afford it or who have been around and have the gear to trade.

 

[Zeus 117]

On Sunday, November 06, 2016 at 8:52 AM, rjs4470 said:

This move certainly won't hurt, but I don't think it's the silver bullet that changes everything, especially at the high school level.  Especially if we are going to make the kids pay for the alternate uniform, as some have mentioned.  Then instead of using the singlet as an excuse, the extra fee becomes the excuse.  I just don't see how that would have the affect we desire.  Here's how I think the conversation goes----  

Coach--"Hey, we'd love to have you on the wrestling team"

Kid on the fence--"Coach, I kinda think wrestling would be cool, but I'm not so sure about the singlet"

Coach--"No problem, you ever watch MMA?  You can wear a pair of fight shorts and a compression shirt"

Kid on the Fence--"Really?"

Coach--"Yep.  All you have to do is pay the $75 (or whatever it is) to cover the cost.  You could still wear a singlet for free"

Kid on the Fence--"Oh, I have to pay extra for that?  Well, let me think about it"

I don't think many kids on the fence are going to go for paying extra to play a sport they're aren't so sure about playing whether the uniform is cool or not.

The answer is to provide the new uniforms for free like they do with singlets.  Many programs won't be able to afford to buy new uniforms for a few years but the KHSAA should allow maybe five years for programs to purchase them.  In the meantime both uniforms should be acceptable.

[grappler-of-old 44]

I don't care how we get more kids out for wresting. 

I also don't care exactly how dedicated those kids are to the sport.  Every sport needs both those kids that are extremely dedicated and those that are there for other reasons and are not as dedicated.  Ask yourself how many kids are on the football or basketball team that are just there to be part of the team and to be part of something?  How many kids are on these teams because they need another outlet, but are not going to give 100 percent?

Without those kids we don't have the numbers to keep the sport going.  This is a step forward, its not the silver bullet but it is a start. 

[Washedupwrestler 8]

Now all we have to do is tell them no running and plenty of games during practice. Thatll keep kids from quitting also and then they can tell everyone how fun it is. 

Theres always gonna be the people that say they wont do it because of a singlet but even if they had this uniform, which now they have to pay for, their going to see how intense practices are and then stray away. 

Youve gotta find a way to connect with the kids and show them that yes, it does take alot of hard work and determination, but they can also have fun with a portion of their practices. 

I just think having one or the other will make some kids feel inadequate becuase they might not be able to afford the cool mma uniform which instantly becomes a negative effect on the wrestler.

[bestmistake33 28]

I look at this in 3 different categories:

• Does this impact safety of the wrestlers?
• Is this mandatory and forcing change (aka more money to be spent)?
• Does this open a door for more participation?

After doing a mental checklist - what the heck took so long?!?

Do I think that kids will always find excuses to not participate - absolutely.  Do I think that phasing this in and giving this a try is a good idea - ABSOLUTELY.

This isnt set in stone people.  This is a trial and we as a state should feel honored that we are the guinea pigs for it!  Heck, we might try it for a year and figure out that its a bad idea, but at least we tried.  KENTUCKY of all states was willing to buck the trend and try something that could possibly positively change the sport.

I applaud the KHSAA for taking a step up and offering to be a test state.

Good luck to all with the trial!

[Raiders Wrestling 62]

I'm with grappler-of-old just give me kids but I don't think at my school it will help maybe one or two a year truth wrestling is just a lot of dedication and work and a lot of todays kids just don't want to work that hard. But I am here for the ones that do.