My son went out for wrestling a few years ago. As a freshman, he was battling with a senior for a starting spot. While going 50%, my son’s head got slammed into the mat and he had memory problems for over a month. After taking almost 2 years off, he talked us into wrestling again. He’s starting at 170 but walks around at 167. He’s practicing and there’s no one else at his weight. The coach (who wrestled and graduated from Penn) has him going live with guys weighing between 225 and 290. My son is pissed that I called out his coach about it. Am I wrong? The coach knows he’s had concussion problems in the past but could be the dumbest Ivy League grad I’ve ever met. I called the coach out a few hours ago. Please let me know if I’m overreacting. Thanks a lot.
Little advice/help from the board(Sorry for the long post)
- Thread starter MTD
- Start date
Normally I’d not tell a parent what to do, but since you asked… You can’t wrestle trying to not get another concussion. Either let him wrestle and accept whatever might happen, or don’t let him wrestle. It seems your trying to do both and that’s not realistic.
Not until football and cross country seasons end. Maybe I’m overreacting but it just seems like such a huge weight difference. It’s like asking a starting wide receiver go live with your starting left tackle.
Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. (Actual words censored, but take the first letters, and you’ll get the point)
In all seriousness, you need to speak to that coach, and ask if he can find a wrestler closer to his weight (or lower) for him to wrestle. If he can’t, you need to put your foot down.
I wrestled late 80s. We drilled with teammates quite a bit lighter and heavier than ourselves but when we went live usually no more than a 2 weight class difference. We had plenty of kids in the room though.
I can see why your son is pissed, these are his classmates.....been down the same road. The questions abound......why are these big kids not playing football? Are they so focused on wrestling they wrestle year round ( your son might be really outclassed as well as outsized?) Are these big guys so unathletic the football team doesn't want them....if so, it does almost nothing for your son to drill with them, imho. Is there a club nearby where he could get different looks with different kids?
Find out what your son wants to do, then do it. Good luck.
Find out what your son wants to do, then do it. Good luck.
I appreciate your replies and I really don’t have a problem with him wrestling kids heavier than him but there has to be some kind of limit. At some practices, he wrestles with kids from near his weight from Embry Riddle who join in. He holds his own against them even though they’re 4 or 5 years older. There may be times that he cannot go live due to who is at practice?Thanks again for replying.
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I am on board with this response. It is one thing to get in shape and wrestle moves and position, but to really go with much heavier bodies is taking a real health risk. Long term health is the most important thing. I wrestled about 10 years, had a few light concussions. 70 now and in good shape.
On the other hand I get why your son would be pissed off.
Hard to give advice without knowing all the players personally other than love your son and let him know you are with him on his interest in wrestling and you are also want him to be healthy and happy for the rest of his life. Talk to him about weight differences. Good luck on this.
I don’t envy your position. Good luck to you and your son. I hope he can have a fun and healthy season.
When I wrestled 167 at PSU my best work out partners were HWT Steve Sefter and HWT grad assistant coach John Sefter. I got better going against the big guys.
I don't doubt for a second that it could help you become better. Still feel there's an increased injury risk depending on what level he is at as a wrestler and those big guys he is going live with. Guess the two will need to sit and talk, determine risk vs reward per se and go from there.
I think you need to trust the coach. He has a better insight on each kids abilities and how they match up with each other. I would expect him to not put your kid in situations that he didn’t think he could handle. If you don’t trust the coach than you need to find a different situation for your son. If you do trust him than let him do his job
DO you know/trust the coach? Is he a real wrestling coach or just someone hired to fill the job? I have seen many HS coaches in many sports hired to just fill the job, just so the team had a coach. If you have a real coach with a track record, I'd worry less. If you have a cowboy (sorry @CowboyUp61 ) or someone who is just there for the job, then I'd be concerned.
Is your son getting rag-dolled? The coach may be showing the heavys some action with quicker guys. The post regarding the coach is spot on. Your son probably has the best "feel" for his safety. Good luck.
Is there a nearby club with wrestlers in his weight range?
If the other guys can join the team later, then your son could too once the roster fills out.
If the other guys can join the team later, then your son could too once the roster fills out.
The 2-weight-class limit for going live is a good limit in my limited experience. I hurt my ankle wrestling a guy of equal skill three weight classes up. There was nothing unusual with the wrestling action, but the force was just on another level.
A relatively inexperienced wrestler that age might not be good at judging risk.
Lots of things to unravel here.
First, the concussion background is always a concern. That said, most of the concussions I've seen in wrestling, either as a wrestler or a ref, are pretty random things. It's impossible to predict when a wrestler will suffer a concussion, and as such, there really isn't much you can do in advance to protect a wrestler. Having had a prior concussion does put your son at an increased risk of another concussion. But if he's not experienced one for two years (I'm inferring that; not sure if it's correct), then it's likely that his vulnerability isn't much greater than someone that hasn't had a concussion.
In terms of wrestling up, there is no hard and fast rule. There's a lot of value for lower weights to wrestle up in practice, as they have to be crisper with their execution to get a TD. On the flip side, there is value for the higher weights to wrestle down, as they usually (not always) have to deal with a wrestler that has more speed than they are used to, which helps them with their footwork, keeping good positioning, and their defense.
167 wrestling against a 225 -- that's not too bad, provided that the 225 is careful with your son's back, and will stop immediately if your son taps. 167 wrestling against a 290 -- you have legitimate reasons to be upset. Just be careful about how you raise the issue with the coach. A polite, relaxed conversation may accomplish more, and also won't embarrass your son.
Embry-Riddle is, if I recall correctly, in Florida, so I'm guessing you're in Florida. If that's the case, then the first day of practice that is permitted by the FHSAA is Nov. 8. As such, I'm guessing that this is offseason practicing, that is supposed to be more informal than normal practices.
The upper weights traditionally have problems with numbers when football is still taking place. It happens in PA as well.
Have a polite conversation with the coach, express your concerns, and see if you can come to an understanding/agreement as to the upper limit, in terms of weight, that your son will wrestle in offseason practices.
First, the concussion background is always a concern. That said, most of the concussions I've seen in wrestling, either as a wrestler or a ref, are pretty random things. It's impossible to predict when a wrestler will suffer a concussion, and as such, there really isn't much you can do in advance to protect a wrestler. Having had a prior concussion does put your son at an increased risk of another concussion. But if he's not experienced one for two years (I'm inferring that; not sure if it's correct), then it's likely that his vulnerability isn't much greater than someone that hasn't had a concussion.
In terms of wrestling up, there is no hard and fast rule. There's a lot of value for lower weights to wrestle up in practice, as they have to be crisper with their execution to get a TD. On the flip side, there is value for the higher weights to wrestle down, as they usually (not always) have to deal with a wrestler that has more speed than they are used to, which helps them with their footwork, keeping good positioning, and their defense.
167 wrestling against a 225 -- that's not too bad, provided that the 225 is careful with your son's back, and will stop immediately if your son taps. 167 wrestling against a 290 -- you have legitimate reasons to be upset. Just be careful about how you raise the issue with the coach. A polite, relaxed conversation may accomplish more, and also won't embarrass your son.
Embry-Riddle is, if I recall correctly, in Florida, so I'm guessing you're in Florida. If that's the case, then the first day of practice that is permitted by the FHSAA is Nov. 8. As such, I'm guessing that this is offseason practicing, that is supposed to be more informal than normal practices.
The upper weights traditionally have problems with numbers when football is still taking place. It happens in PA as well.
Have a polite conversation with the coach, express your concerns, and see if you can come to an understanding/agreement as to the upper limit, in terms of weight, that your son will wrestle in offseason practices.
Ive coached wrestling for a lot of years. I'll say there is advantages for wrestling weight spreads for both wrestlers and this time of year is tough until the football kids come back. As a coach you have to know your kids. Some kids if trained properly over the years can be 285 and safely roll with a 126 and think nothing of it. Some others only know how to wrestle with their weight and leverage and I'd never think of pairing them up with a light guy. I would say rather than calling the coach out, have a conversation with him. Better yet. have your son have a conversation with him.
My son is 6ft 165lbs as a 7th grader, he's been rolling with HS kids for a while. His main training partner is a Jr that walks around at 180. They train together because they challenge each others weaknesses. One is quick, the other is strong. One is good on his feet the other is a hammer on top. Coaches generally (not always) have reasons, open dialog goes a long way. Being a wrestling parent sucks, almost as bad as coaching your own kids.
My son is 6ft 165lbs as a 7th grader, he's been rolling with HS kids for a while. His main training partner is a Jr that walks around at 180. They train together because they challenge each others weaknesses. One is quick, the other is strong. One is good on his feet the other is a hammer on top. Coaches generally (not always) have reasons, open dialog goes a long way. Being a wrestling parent sucks, almost as bad as coaching your own kids.
The Embry-Riddle that sponsors wrestling is in Prescott, Arizona. There is an Embry-Riddle in Florida (Daytona Beach, to be exact), but they do not sponsor wrestling.
The Pirate is a constant source of interesting facts. Much appreciated, SHP.
