Life is balance, or at least that is what an old folktale would lead us to believe. In this instance, it's spot on.
As the years have passed, I have seen kids coming through the ranks competing all year-round, while being forced to cut crazy amounts of weight in order to compete. As wrestlers we are aware that wrestling natural weight isn't always a great idea as everyone else is coming down and essentially you will be competing against guys/gals that are two or even three weight classes heavier than you. This isn't a formula for success by any means. Therefore, you cut to an acceptable weight with the intention of competing at a high level.
I have a good friend that wrestled for five years division 1 and was basically on a five-year diet. He has told me stories about four to five mile runs where he would pass a donut shop, only to walk in and take a sniff and get back to his run. Chicken and rice every meal roughly for five years! This an adult we're talking about in this scenario, and one that didn't have the consistent year-round weight cutting growing up as a lot of kids do today. He was better equipped to handle the world of division 1 college wrestling as he wasn't burnt from years and years of excessive weight cutting week in and week out growing up.
As a society we have become more and more in tune with instant gratification. Look at the world around us. Social media is a big thing in the world. We see what others are accomplishing and it makes us want to do the same or more. Being competitive is a human trait we all have to some degree, but it has to be used in a disciplined manor. Every weekend anywhere in the country within a couple of hours is a wrestling tournament. Does that mean you have to wrestle in them all? Not at all. Most of these tournaments are truly just ways to make money. Tournament directors know that there are ultra-competitive parents out there that will pay whatever to push their child to compete and be the "Best" so to speak. Which goes back to social media. Every 2-5 minutes you will see a post for a different themed tournament somewhere. I think that is great for the sport, but wrestling has a season for a reason. Can you see a high school football team playing their ten-game schedule and then playing another 30 games leading into the next season, while being mentally and physically ready for the next season? That is an impossible task.
Now, let's take a wrestler that just wrestled a high school season. He had to weigh-in 40 plus times in 3-4 months, be on a strict diet, workout constantly and even multiple times per day to keep his weight down, his friends are going to social events and things during the season the wrestler cannot. At the conclusion of the season, the wrestler should have the opportunity to get off the hamster wheel. They should train and lift of course, and if they are wrestling Freestyle and Greco over the summer, choose a handful of events and only worry about weigh-ins at that point in time.
I CAN'T ENFORCE THIS ENOUGH! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO COMPETE AT EVERY SINGLE EVENT! Yes, if you do, you will improve at a faster pace. There is absolutely no doubt about that, but what is the end goal here? Is it to win a youth state title? Is it to win a high school state title? Is it to win Tulsa or NHSCA? Is it to be the best at 14 years old? OR IS IT TO WRESTLE AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL?
I recently heard Ben Askren speak about his 8th graders at the Askren Wrestling Academy. He essentially said that if they had an 8th grade national dual, AWA would be in like 42nd place. His theory is that it's about improvement into the higher levels. Who am I or anyone to argue with a multiple time hodge winner? In a sense, I completely agree. As a wrestling parent I have been guilty of the over competing and excessive weight cutting at a young age. After my sons 11-year-old season, he wanted to quit. He wrestled nearly 170 matches from October to May. He had to make weight all the time, it became more of a job than a sport. That is what high school aged kids should do during the season and college guys should be doing year-round, not youth kids. Additionally, no high school or college kid is going to wrestle 170 matches either, so it really goes back to the consistent weight cutting being a big deterrent in the sport at young ages. Not to mention the constant stress of competition, but that is a whole other subject in itself.
I will admit there are kids out there that handle these situations better than others, and even kids that thrive on the process. Bo Bassett may be the best example of that. Up before 5am training on a daily basis. This is truly an exceptional kid but see the key word 'exceptional' right there. Bo would be considered the exception and not the rule. The majority of kids that wrestle have outside interests that should also be explored. They may want to wrestle in college one day, but will they stick with it once they get there after a decade plus of non-stop weigh-ins and competitions? The head coach of the new Pedreza Wrestling Club in Gainesville, Georgia met us at a wrestling camp a few months ago and essentially told my son that he was a multi-time state champion, but the excessive weight cutting burnt him out to the point he was completely over the sport and never saw his full college potential. When I was told this story it was a sad thought. You give your life to something only to lose it when you were about to reach the ultimate goal.
A coach I know personally in my area didn't even put his son in a room until he was 11 years old. This guy was a four-time division 1 All-American during the Brands/Gable Iowa era. The kid came in and I observed day after day. He was never really hard on him and let him start getting a taste for it. Fast forward, that same kid just placed in a tough weight at high school state and placed 3rd this past spring at high school NHSCA. It really is about what your end goals are. I can just about guarantee this kid ends up on division 1 roster and makes some noise in the coming years. He didn't grow up cutting massive amounts of weight and over competing. His longevity will be on the back end of his wrestling career. Right where you would want it.
In conclusion, I am just pointing out balancing this sport at a young age and increasing as you grow older seems to be the way that the majority of kids can sustain into the college ranks. It is a great thing to win and win often. I am not downplaying that by any means, but instead of spending two to four grand traveling to yet another "national" competition, spend a percentage of that and go to a weekend camp or clinic. Join a training center and improve technique. Don't over cut and over compete to the point that the sport isn't enjoyable. As hard as the sport of wrestling is, balance is crucial to long-term success. Look at this as a marathon, not a sprint.
In my humble opinion.
