Kentucky National Team

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'm not sure the reason for Ky not participating in FS/GR. I'll tell you this. Back in the stone age when I wretled AAU was dominant in KY. Most of the wrestlers I know hatted both FS and GR (myself included) but almost all participated because there was no other choice in the summer.

Now with USA dominating KY they offer so many folkstyle tourneys kids don't have to participate in FS or GR. I've also noticed being a NKY resident that you can hardly find any tourneys in the NKY SWOH area. In my time you could find one just about every week or at least could find one every 2-3 weeks within 30 minutes of NKY.

[kdsmith27 14]

GOO, you are correct, KY USAW does not offer these tournaments as much over the last few years due to Lack of participation. We did offer two FS/GR tournaments over this summer but the #'s were about 150 kids, and many of our state placers do not even show. Coaches need to recommend this style to there wrestlers. Most wont do it on there own. FS in my opinion is an assume style. very fast action on the mat and will make you a better Folkstyle wrestler. GR is all upper body and a must for learning throws. All you have to do is take your opponent to the side on a throw and it fits Folkstyle. I've been coaching long enough to know most of the feelings of coaches in KY, and there comfort zone. Don't get me wrong; there are coaches that teach and take their wrestlers to FS/GR tournaments. Maybe 10% in KY. We need more and we see it growing with the younger coaches coming up in the ranks. we have offered FS/GR clinics over the years to help with it's growth, We also have officials with KY USAW that are willing to give clinics. I have had national Athletes come from the olympic training center along with other KY Coaches to train our kids , but we can't help teach these styles if as a coach, we are not willing to learn new styles . I have no dog in the fight, as a former coach I did this for the kids and the good of wrestling in KY. We have a new generation of wrestlers coming up in KY and we wont need to tell them about FS/GR, because they are already doing it. KY's future is good. Just my opinion!

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'll start a new thread if anyone wants to further this discussion.

[Mpire 76]

I really hated my boys not going and besides the massive financial burden Fargo hits you with with two boys my sons did not even wrestle all year to begin with i had reservations about the NHSCA tournys but i was glad and happy they went and how well they did ,Fargo on the other hand is a different matter I always try to put myself in someones shoes and i wouldnt want to compete unless i was ready one of my sons really wanted to go badly another seemed less excited about the idea but i thought realistically I KNOW they both have the potential and can do well there if they are ready ,but they were not and neither was anyone else except maybe Kevin not blasting anyone i simply know what it takes to do well there you have to be on the money and seeing the open mats and total lack of fr and gr training in NKY theres no way i wanted my kids going unprepared ,im all for competition but when i was younger i bounced in a bar and some buffoon pulled a gun on my best friend and fellow doorman i jumpped him from behind and we beat the heck out of him then threw his butt out the back door totally wrecked when he got up he went to his car and got a baseball bat "No Lie honest to god "my friend and former Conner linebacker John Napier grabbed the gun from me pointed it at the idiot and said ..you guessed it dont bring a baseball bat to a gunfight *&%&%& &&&&$&

Well im not sending my kids to a gunfight without them packin serious heat.

I do not know enough about the people in KY or its coaches to ask or have someone step up and help the kids i could train their butts off and help them a little but i am no fr gr coach and not that much of a coach anyway i could send the strongest most well conditioned kids in the country out there though and that would get them a lot further than many would think but that leaves wrestling bottom line one of my sons has placed out there twice in fr and once in GR doubling once and has missed out the last two yrs and i want him to get one more AA before college if i can squeese it out of him for a million reasons ,and i want the other to get his AA as well i want him to double and try to win thats always the goal .,

Ky has to step up not having anyone place is not good Cooper can and should place Stephen Austin Fauz can and should place Jayce can and should place Brock as well Im betting Lampe Rearic Hiero and Killebrew and a few more could as well Ky should have at least 5 kids aa out there and the coaches and organisations in the state should step up and be more serious about it on another thread people said you dont want to be like other states then dont ,be better ,organise better offer more and do better ,give me a room any where and i will run a practice that will have kids ready i guarantee it if you run open matts a little more diciplined or had structured fr gr practices kids could get ready coaches could come and go as they please just so someone or a few someones keep it in order and from falling into dissaray ,i would love to have Cooper Hiero Faust Stephen Austin Miskell Thompson and even more kids in a room three or four times a week training and wrestling for two good hours ,i could run a practice for an hour and a half and train them in the gym for 45 minutes and i could have them all ready for Fargo in a few months ,simple drills standups shots slide bye throw byes punch threws arm drags over and over and conditioning are what wins matches.

I went to a few open matts this summer most started out strong most dwindled to nothing by the end of practice and before Fargo approached Screw that dead period two weeks off thats bull do it on your own if you have to.

It obviously takes a little more than what is being given by the kids and the coaches and fans and i know there are people out there willing to give what it takes so do it people should take notice and make a commitment no Hey we want som AAs from all around the state set up some REAL practices /open matts /for all styles I dont think its folkstyle thats hurting fr and gr i think its no style thats hurting it and by style i mean actually organised wrestling .....i see fancy moves being taught to kids who cannot do a standup or slide bye properly and i have to shake my head its pointless i know everyone means well but show a kid what he needs not what he Wants to look like a Kevin or Fahy because what made them was drilling simple stuff over and over not belly to bellys or inside trips or whatever .

i used to have my sons drill simple stuff over and over slide bye throw bye arm drag punch threw sag series arm drag series and so on and i had a coach at Moeller tell me thats all great but you cant beat a top notch kid with a throw bye i said watch and see ,i saw one of my boys beat the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation in his weight class with a throw by and one of the toughest srs in his state with the same move as a fresh that yr ,it does work if the kids work.instead of goof off , i said it all yr i saw some of the best horseplay around when they could have been getting the best work of their lifes in ,its a waste of talent and time .

[bigedcoach 27]

I agree the dead period does hurt training for Fargo but unfornuatly its a nessecary evil for other sports (especially over anixous BB coaches). I agree with Mpire, we need an ODP system like we have in soccer where intense training comes along then a serious training camp in the summer for large tourneys. I was shocked on the low turn out for the Fargo tournament.GOO, I do remember the days of AAU tournys and Old Joe Neely trying to get people to wrestle Sumbo. Freestyle was fun if you didnt stall or flopped around on the mat. When I coached at Eastern , I trained kids in freestyle and a little bit of GR because I helped kids emphasize certain movements like good hips for Folkstyle and taught takedown aggression. When spring tournaments turned to folkstyle then I had to stop.

[kdsmith27 14]

The bad part about kids not going to FARGO is, it only cost each wrestler $150. KY USAW picked up team gear, singlets, travel and Room and board. Money is not an issue with what KY USAW picks up. This includes coaching staff. No other state pays what KY does to incourage our kids to compete. This is only possible because of KY's membership. This includes many other KY wrestling teams that benefited and went to events this year. Everything recieved for membership, goes right back into the grassroots of KY wrestling.

[bigedcoach 27]

Ken, you have done a great job with KY USAW , that ball has been picked up and droppped so many times before you came along.

[kdsmith27 14]

understand, just hope we dont have to start all over again. need to continue forward!

[ThirdRound 32]

The bad part about kids not going to FARGO is, it only cost each wrestler $150. KY USAW picked up team gear, singlets, travel and Room and board. Money is not an issue with what KY USAW picks up. This includes coaching staff. No other state pays what KY does to incourage our kids to compete. This is only possible because of KY's membership. This includes many other KY wrestling teams that benefited and went to events this year. Everything recieved for membership, goes right back into the grassroots of KY wrestling.

Really ? I recieved an email regarding Team KY for my son........There was a long list of costs.....If I knew it was only going to cost $150 he would have most definitley been there....He already had the Team KY uniform and sweats......Wish I would have known !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had absolutley NO idea travel and room and board was COVERED.....Wow.....Truly bewildered here NOBODY got that message out clearly !!!!!!!!

[CoachC 115]

Third Round did your son wrestle at Freestyle or Greco state tournament or any of the regional tournaments?

[ThirdRound 32]

He wrestled for Team Ky at the National Scholastic Duals in Indiana .....this year !

[kdsmith27 14]

Really ? I recieved an email regarding Team KY for my son........There was a long list of costs.....If I knew it was only going to cost $150 he would have most definitley been there....He already had the Team KY uniform and sweats......Wish I would have known !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had absolutley NO idea travel and room and board was COVERED.....Wow.....Truly bewildered here NOBODY got that message out clearly !!!!!!!!

Those were the possible cost for each wrestler to go. KY USAW tries to cover what it can.

[Mpire 76]

that is really awesome and is is true and hopefully it stays that way BUT when we moved to KY we asked about their team and was told it was almost totally covered then when it came close we were told you have to cover it on your own so we deided it may not be possible and saw no need to prepare and as i stated there is not a lot of opportunity to do so anyway in KY ,then a couple weeks before Fargo we were told most of it would be covered ,not making excuses but it was an on again off agin thing and its no ones responsibility to take care of kids but their parents but at the same time if funds are there for the kids then give them the chance hopefully we and everyone else is better informed of what is offered next yr and the kids should get out and do some fund raising ,Coach B was all for it and offered a lot of help as far as raising funds but at the time you cannott prepare for Fargo in a few weeks ,

It takes about six very very serious weeks to get ready for something like that and that may not be enough .

This site is a great tool for people wanting to know about the sport .......it should have been used to explain waaay in advance aid would be there when the time came ,not blasting anyone not starting anything all help is apreciated but at the same time you cannot say kids couuld have went Money was there when they did not know it was going to be there in time to get ready .

Im not trying to make any enemies and i want KY to have a great team and there WILL be some ky kids getting an AA out there next yr but keep everyone informed ,Had kids known WAAAY out there was going to be aid you might have had a few dozen kids going win or lose rather than a handful and going there losing this year may create some winners there in the future .

[ThirdRound 32]

Those were the possible cost for each wrestler to go. KY USAW tries to cover what it can.

OK.....Then why were we not told this ? Too late now !!!!.....Maybe you never should have mentioned the $150 cost in the earlier post.....!!!!!

Too bad for ALL the kids who may have gone knowing that !

[Mpire 76]

Obviously there is a communication breakdown or some thing ,if cash is there for big tournaments and people know it the best kids are going to go i guarantee it win or lose kids want to go ,something just doesnt seem right ,you have Folkstyle state champs from lightest to heaviest who do not know what is going on and who can and have AA and been there before not having clear info on the tourny ,third rounds kid is a beast and i have a kid who would live on a bus travelling for comp if he or we had the means to send him .

Question ....who knew, when did they know ,and who was in charge, and in charge of telling everyone you cant say funds were there training was there or annything was there after the fact or down to the wire when no one is ready .If you know you have kids who can get it done out there and want them to let them know ahead of time you are going to get them there and you want them to bust their ass and get it done and it will happen .

Another thing is coaching???? who is going to be coaching the kids in Fargo its not the job for any old coach you need your best and i was told a dad who i like and respect but is not a high caliber coach would be coaching out there when before i was told a very very high caliber and knowledgable coach would be coaching ,again not blasting anyone but lets be real lets have somne facts ahead of time say eight weeks or close to it at least .again i still do not know who eneded up coaching ???my boys did not go so i did not have a clue ....????If KY needs a good fr gr coach at Fargo let me know i know of some who may help i do not think it matters where they are coaches at or what they do duiring the year after the season is over ....Maybe Waylon Lowe or someone will jump in and help out .for a few weeks get a killer working with these kids a few weeks someone who will not only coach but wreak havok on the opposition by scoping them out come up with a plan have stuff organised and get the kids ready as best they can in a short time ,all or nothing ,not its this way one week and this way another,and we dont know what or who is doing what ,Its Fargo you dont wait till the end to get it together and you dont go in unprepared .Its your state team run it how you want but run it the best way and do the best for the kids you can give as many a chance as possible and help Ky earn some respect out there .I think next yr there may be the best chance Ky has ever had to have multiple kids AA 3 from CC alone should SK could have 3 WV could have some Union could have a few and Lex could have a couple and there could be a few here and there whats the problem set it up get them ready get them some good coaching have a week long fr gr state camp with some good guest coaches a few usa fr gr tournaments to prepare and go out there and kick some Butt,its not rocket science and its not that hard to do .

[CoachC 115]

That is not a quailifying tournament.

Freestyle/Greco state tournament, Central regionals or any of the regional tournaments, or FILA nationals. If you would have simply made contact you would have been given the info. My phone # and email address are listed on this very site. You can't just tell everyone it is free because in the end it may not be. If we would have had a full team than the costs would have been higher for a very large number of reasons. This was not a secret that we were keeping.

And in the case of past Fargo particapants, I made every effort to contact them at the earliest time I could have possibly done so.

[kdsmith27 14]

The $150 was the Deposit per wrestler to make sure they commit to going. It's a fact that most people do not respect anything free! The cost stays down according to the number that go. The more kids we have going, the cost may go up some but not alot. KY USAW puts asside every year a significant amount of $$ just for FARGO. This has been done for the last five years. Our State and Central Regional tournament are the qualifiers and most kids that attend are in the loop about whats up with fargo and the possible cost. We want our best to go, but not alll our best attend these events. We do contact some of the other wrestlers and offer them a place depending on their wrestling ability, but not all accept. Like any other venture, there are possible cost, thats why if we would have had 10-15 kids going, it may have been $200-$250. Thats why we do not know exactly until all kids are onboard. Also, if you are not hearing about this, talk with your coaches. I email the hell out of them. This was also sent out to every active member online that gave me a correct email address. If your not getting emails as a member, update your email account on themat.com. I have coaches that send me paperwork with their email on all of them and recieve all the correspondence. Not Good. The cost stated on the flyer was about $800 per wrestler, it's alot but still cheap for FARGO. Other states charge as much as $1500 or more. Just saying, over the last six years, we have sent more kids to Fargo than ever before. KY USAW goal is to help send as many elite wrestlers as possible to fargo and help KY gain its rightful place in the ranks of the top states. Like any sport, KY USAW can help lead the way, but it takes the state as a whole and coaches to be successfull.

[Mpire 76]

The bad part about kids not going to FARGO is, it only cost each wrestler $150. KY USAW picked up team gear, singlets, travel and Room and board. Money is not an issue with what KY USAW picks up. This includes coaching staff. No other state pays what KY does to incourage our kids to compete. This is only possible because of KY's membership. This includes many other KY wrestling teams that benefited and went to events this year. Everything recieved for membership, goes right back into the grassroots of KY wrestling.

The bad part about not going is people did not know ahead of time.As i said way before Fargo we were told it was usually largely covered then we were told none of it was then we were told a large portion would be again but it was only a short while ahead ,this came from our coaches and i believe that is what they were being told .The thing is you cant say the bad thing about kids not going is it only cost 150 because no one knew that or the majority at least and no one knows who to contact ,there were no posts on this site that i saw going into detail about the aid offered or the game plan for Fargo anywhere near the time it takes to prepare for it .Not being difficult our situation was iffy at best anyway but do not act like its kids or parents faults for not going because funds were there ,because i believe some pretty good kids would have went had they known in time and im not talking about my own .I respect everyones work and all the help but people need to have a plan or knowledge in advance and in order to have everyoen everyone should know or have the chance if its a matter of only taking so many have qualifiers or whatever or split it amongst everyone .

I have seen kids win state tournaments and be turned down to go to fr gr nationals because of rules or things they knew nothing about then see their states teams kids beaten badly only to have kids who were turned down because of things they did not know about beat national champs whom they would have faced had they been on the team .

I think had someone posted a thread on this site telling everyone we are going to do this and want everyone of our best going it would have been a little different you probably still would not have had a massive team but you probably double the kids going.

[kdsmith27 14]

Sorry, i guess not all links are read on this site:

KY can't have a team if you don't have a Coach. If coach Carr had not stepped up to the challenge, we would not have had one.

[ThirdRound 32]

Seriously guys......WHY DID WE NOT KNOW COSTS WOULD BE $150..........You took a HANDFUL of kids and made NO attempt to let anyone know of the cost.....Just keeps making me angrier and angrier.....What kid wouldn't want the chance to go to Fargo !!!!!! I felt I let my son down because the COST was going to be too much for our family.......So much for communication and an attempt to better our state's chances to be competitive with the rest of the country........Sad....Just very sad !!!!!!

[Mpire 76]

I was told coach Ervin was going to coach and he iand coach Carr would be fine and actually what i was hoping for "great guys "but later I was told it was someone else who doesn't even coach still a great guy but it's Fargo you send your best ,

As for the thread it is vague tells the cost but nothing else no mention of what is covered

And it is a USA tournament but most people look on the main wrestling thread for info .

Seriously it's all good but you can't blame kida for not going by saying it was only 150 bucks when only certain people knew and then after saying why did t very one know come back and say well if everyone would have known and more would have went the.price would have been more

Do you want more kids to go or not .. You kind of contradict yourself regardless of price let EVERYONE know let whoever want to or earns a spot get their shot and the same opportunities.

Glad all the kids who went got taken well care of by ky USA wrestling that's awesome and congrats to them and their coaches . Hopefully it gets even better next yr

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'm glad that those who can go do go. I know $800-$1500 a kid is a lot of money for many (myself included) That would require cancelling a family vacation for one of your kids to go to Fargo.

I know many people are hurting for $$ these days. I would agree with the rest. KY/USA has done a lot for KY in the last few years, but I read every one of those e-mails and thought it was going to cost about $1,000 to go.

Maybe next year is the time for a real run. It seems that there are many people interested in going next year. The planning can start now. Decide how to raise more money, get information out. Yeah maybe it will be disappointing again with little turn out, but you never know. Don't just look at the High school kids look at the younger kids. Get them interested then you will have them going for several years.

[Mpire 76]

Great post grappler only cadet and jr go to Fargo I'm not sure if ky has a schoolboy team but it would be nice to have a camp before Fargo and let the younger kids come as well learn with and from the older ones .

[kdsmith27 14]

With all said, It's a learning experience for all of us. I'm glad we had this conversation. Maybe more people will post a response next year when we ask for help. Every coach with or without a USAW coaches card knows how to contact me and i'm always willing to share all info that I recieve or know. The blame falls with me. I was asking for coaches in April/May because we lost our director from last year. We had a month to put this trip together, and the coach did a great job. Also, I have never blamed the kids for this. Communication is the problem. I didn't post on here to argue, I'm just saying that alot of boys missed an opportunity and need to take our State and Central Regional tournament more seriously. They are both FS/GR tournaments. You can't go to FARGO just knowing Folkstyle. Two and out is not fun for anybody.

[kdsmith27 14]

Seriously guys......WHY DID WE NOT KNOW COSTS WOULD BE $150..........You took a HANDFUL of kids and made NO attempt to let anyone know of the cost.....Just keeps making me angrier and angrier.....What kid wouldn't want the chance to go to Fargo !!!!!! I felt I let my son down because the COST was going to be too much for our family.......So much for communication and an attempt to better our state's chances to be competitive with the rest of the country........Sad....Just very sad !!!!!!

Communication is a two way street. If you don't ask, how will you know? I am always available to answer questions.