BadMadDad 16 Report post Posted February 20, 2012 What a great day of wrestling and the venue was an awesome choice. Great job to the region that ran the tourney. Anyone that has been around wrestling the last few years will tell you that not only has the competition level raised but we can see our sport heading in the right direction. Are the results going to be posted for both team and individual results. The only thing I was wondering about was how did two teams get left off of the brackets? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
offseason 3 Report post Posted February 20, 2012 why in the world did they do face offs in the 2nd session? they did it in the first session and it took forever. i know it brings excitement to the little ones but its not like high school where you have 14 weight classes and only 28 wrestlers to introduce. in youth youth im sure you had atleast close to 50-100 kids getting introduced. we would have got out of there alot earlier if they would have done away with the face offs. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BadMadDad 16 Report post Posted February 20, 2012 That is true. However if you were to ask my son what he remembers from his first state tourney, he would not say his gold medal. It was hearing his name getting called out in front of everyone. Yes, we have a ton of kids and most parent/coaches will not remember the names of each of the wrestlers. But the kids do remember that. For them it is a big deal. The one change to it that I would make is to do each faceoff on the mat where the kids have been all day. I think that would be a better way of doing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLee 68 Report post Posted February 20, 2012 Top 20 team scores: 1) Ryle 120 2) Conner 76 3) N Hard 59 4) Campbell 54 5) SKY 48 6) Trinity 46 7) Riv Cty 45 8) S Oldh 44 9) F Creek 42 10) Franklin 42 11) N Oldh 42 12) Wolfpack 41 13) Walton 38 14) Fairdale 28 15) LaRue 27 16) Martin 24 17) Dixie 23 18) Hayes 22 19) Wayne 21 20) Montgomery 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
offseason 3 Report post Posted February 20, 2012 very true, i would have been fine with them doing face offs on the mat that the wrestlers have been on all day. that would have made things go a lot smoother and quicker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluesdad 73 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 It was a great day of wrestling. My son really loved it. He wrestled great and brought home another state title. I thought the venue was awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLee 68 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 Not sure how doing the faceoffs at each mat would make things go faster or smoother. Either way, we're forced to stop the tournament and round up the brackets, and call each finalist. Also, we acknowledge the 3rd and 4th place finishers all together on one mat. If you continued to do that at each individual mat, that would add more time. I understand some people's frustrations about the faceoff, but they are obviously not in tune w/ the feelings of the kids. The kids love it. And as much as we (as adults) might want to leave an hour or so earlier, we need to keep in mind how exciting it is for the kids before we change it. I didn't hear too many people complaining about the faceoffs for the High School and their tournament ran later than the youth and w/ less kids. With that said, I'll propose a different idea as a possible alternative. We could have a "Team Acknowledgment" at the beginning of each session where each team is announced, w/ general info (ex. Head Coach, Team Mom, location, etc.) and ALL team participants and coaches can come to the center of the mat w/ the lights and music. This wouldn't take very long and every wrestler would be included. In addition, there wouldn't be a break in the action at the end of the semi's. Pros: all participants involved, team info announced (I'd like to know where some of the programs are from), would save a lot of time, no break in action. Cons: no individuals announced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluesdad 73 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 I wouldnt stop the face off because a few people wanted to get home a little earlier. The kids really enjoy it and is the highlight of the day for most of the kids. Keep the face off its great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tim Reynolds 7 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 #6 was the Shamrock Wrestling Club btw. I'd love to know what the total number of kids was. It seemed quite a bit larger than last year, especially with the youngest age group. It could have just been the larger venue though, which was a nice upgrade too. The face off is debatable. I think it adds a lot more time but then again the kids do love it. I saw some great wrestling and it looks to me the sport is obviously growing. 120 points for Ryle? That's 30 champs or substantially more kids since all weren't first. Congrats to all and lets keep making it bigger and better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLee 68 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 There were well over 900 kids this year. An increase of 10%+ over last year's #'s. Ryle had 69 participants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dutch 178 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 Face off's need to continue. It is a huge tournament for those kids. Not to mention how many matches most of them had to win in order to be in the face off. I think parents need to remember it is all about the kids. For the parents that can't handle the extra 30-45 I'm sorry but it's not about you. If it is a problem now may I suggest basketball because middle school tournaments are even longer. They also do face off's. I hate to be so short but it blows me away thinking about someone complaining about staying a little longer to make some kids feel special. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Duke 284 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 Face offs are great. Both my boys wanted to see their face off on video not them wrestling! The tournament looked to run smooth with the exception of all the rat tails. Guess that's what happens when you leave out 43 of the SKY kids. I think next year make the brackets bigger and with the numbers maybe even making regional's a qualifying event, with 5 pounds increases. Lets make this more rewarding for the kids that win! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EMS Coach Cardwell 17 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 I agree, its time to make Regionals a qualifying event. Have actual weight classes rather than what we have. One State Champ per weight class per age group. Makes face offs move along more quickly. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raidercoach 51 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 I think the ideas of modifying the state tournament really comes down to: what do you want to accomplish with ky youth wrestling? I am in the camp that we need to continue to grow the participation as much as possible. If that is your goal then creating a qualifer would probably slow down some of the amazing growth we have seen over the past few years. Allowing every kid to be a part of the state tournament only increases the chances of those kids coming back next year. Eventually, a qualifer will be needed because the state tournament will just get too big.....but I think we are long way away from that. I would rather see us build up to a two day, 16 man or 32 man bracket before we have a qualifier. No matter what anyone tries to say, weight classes will promote weight cutting and weight cutting should be avoided at all cost in youth wrestling. I like the faceoffs for the kids, but they take way too long. I envision a "parade of champions" similar to the opening ceremonies for the olympics. All of the teams would be announced individually and get to march out of the tunnel and around the floor under the spotlight. I can really see teams having fun with this and get really creative. They could make a team flag or banner, do a team chant or whatevery they wanted for the 30 seconds or so they would get. This would allow everyone to be a part of the closing ceremony, it would certainly speed things up and would probably be more fun for the kids. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CBender 17 Report post Posted February 21, 2012 I echo raidercoach's sentiments on both weight classes and making regionals a qualifier. Particularly on the topic of making regionals a qualifier...for many of these kids State is the one big tourney that they go to during the year. We are a Central KY based club, and although my son participates in larger tourneys throughout the year in N. KY and Ohio, many of his teammates, particularly the younger ones, do not. We're not so fortunate in our wrestling location as to have large, high quality events a stone's throw over the river on a weekly basis, and it's a serious commitment for anyone in our area to get to more than a few significant tournaments during a season. For those kids, this event is what they are excited about and focused on for the entire 2nd half of the season. It's the one time that they get to experience stepping out of a cramped middle school gymnasium, and into an arena. I don't see where the participation #'s are anywhere near warranting considering turning regionals into a qualifier. Leave that to middle and high school. I'd hope to see the youth tournament add a 3rd session, build larger brackets, shorten face offs (an aforementioned "parade of champions" caught my eye), etc. before the youth structure chose to go turn regionals into a qualifier. Or maybe even find a way to start the morning sessions at the scheduled time, something no youth regional or state tourney we've attended (4 years worth) has ever pulled off. That small criticism about the chronic start time problems being said, my sincere thanks to all hosts and volunteers on conducting the smoothest youth state tournament overall that my family has ever experienced. The arena is absolutely spectacular, and the better controls & limits on floor access, fully elevated seating, and wealth of open mat space combined to create an environment that has been unequaled by prior tourneys. My son's youth eligibility is expired, but the quality of the competition and the venue made it a very memorable way to conclude this step in his wrestling journey. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pioneer_pride 1 Report post Posted February 22, 2012 In other states I've seen them do what they call a parade of champions. They just line the kids up and have them walk around the arena. It would cut down on time. For the record, I am not saying they should eliminate the face off. Running two sessions with a total of 900 kids and rolling up mats by what, 5:30 or 6? Kudos to everyone who helped put this together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skywrestlingmom 0 Report post Posted February 22, 2012 This was our first year in wrestling. My son loved having his name called for the face off. I wouldn't have changed it. We are so proud of him. If anyone has any pictures from mat 2 first session please let me know. I took some from my cell phone but they didn't turn out very well. We are looking forward to next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PinAndWin 64 Report post Posted February 23, 2012 I agree, its time to make Regionals a qualifying event. Have actual weight classes rather than what we have. One State Champ per weight class per age group. Makes face offs move along more quickly. Here we go again! DW, you just had to go there didn't ya? By the way I agree with you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bluesdad 73 Report post Posted February 23, 2012 I agree, its time to make Regionals a qualifying event. Have actual weight classes rather than what we have. One State Champ per weight class per age group. Makes face offs move along more quickly. 100% agree. Or at least have 16 man brackets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dutch 178 Report post Posted February 23, 2012 I think you leave it how it is. The idea of youth is to attract as many kids as possible to participate in wrestling. Cutting the amount of kids down at state would hurt the sport. Getting a chance for them to compete for a championship metal is huge to them at that age. I don't see kids complaining just parents. Once they move up to middle school the state tournament is an entirely different level. So all the parents that are dying to prove how good your kid is will have plenty of time in the future. Let the kids have their day in the sun. I coach middle school and I joke all the time about the difference in the parents behavior from youth to middle school. I think some parents think their kid will be the next john smith. The point is that they have plenty of time so let them be kids 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
offseason 3 Report post Posted February 24, 2012 I agree with you DW 100%! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
