Bearhugger wrote:coach_williams wrote:Bearhugger wrote:
Coach Williams, you need to read all of the words in order to understand the message. I clearly said what two teams are going to win the titles. I hope all of the wrestlers reading are not delusional, but focused. If they are, then they will accomplish their individual goals, thus helping their team. If focused, they also know who is going to win the team titles.
I read everything quite clearly.
Calling an 11th place finish instead of a 12th place finish a "moral victory" is an undercutting of the goal of wrestling. Yes, the goal is to win first place, but the very foundation of wrestling is to strive to be better than you were before. Going from 12th to 11th is not a moral victory, it is evidence that the wrestlers and coaching staff are working together to improve their team.
It is easy to be #1 when you have the unequivocal support of the community, an administration that let's you travel thousands of miles every year, and an AD that looks the other way when you hold practice out of season or recruit from other schools. Not so much when you have a community that thinks their kids are the next Tom Brady and Michael Jordan and wrestling is too dangerous for their kids, an administration that is worried more about the bus costing $200 than anything else, and an AD that is a "football guy" so he makes you clear out the wrestling room the day after states and watches you like a hawk for you or your wrestlers to cast a shadow on the doorstep before November.
It is nice to think that the playing field is even for everyone. It is naïve to believe it. For some programs an improvement of one or two spots at states IS their victory and it is a damn good one if that is all that they can do with what they have to work with.
Having a flawed system that permits byes at the state tournament while other wrestlers sit at home destroys the work of all wrestlers, coaches, parents and even ADs. To expand further, the thought of this same system having to remain how it is for another two years is ridiculous.
No argument from me. While I have questioned some things regarding your ideas, ultimately I have agreed that giving JV wrestlers a chance to make states and using 5th placers to fill voids are both good ideas, although I think some parameters need to be laid out to make sure some coach doesn't try to manipulate the situation to his benefit. Obviously the X-factor here is the WVSSAC and their rules.
Question. You voice your opinion on here a lot. Have you voiced this to anyone at WVSSAC or to the Wrestling Committee members? I may be wrong, but I don't think anyone on this forum has any influence over what goes on.