Post by rulesguy on Jan 19, 2017 15:33:14 GMT -5
A lot was made on the rankings thread about should it be OK for wrestlers to sit out the majority of the season and still compete at the state tournament. Here are my thoughts:
Before beginning, I want to make clear that this post will not consider situations of injury but simply the choice to sit out of RIIL competition. Injuries are a large part of any sport. I believe that we can all agree (as I saw from most peoples comments on the rankings thread), that no one should risk future health or success at the expense of a current injury just to "earn Power Points". So again, my opinion that follows is only in regards to wrestlers who make a healthy and conscience choice to sit out of RIIL events while intending to compete in the State tournament.
The RIIL wrestling state tournament is somewhat unique. It does not require anyone to "qualify" for entry into it. It is open to a representative in every weight class from every school including schools that do not compete in the RIIL (Independents). How well someone does during the regular season has no bearing on whether or not someone will become a State Champion. What someone places at the North Kingstown, Westerly, Smithfield, or "insert random name here" tournament has no impact on who the place finishers will be on the last weekend in February. Which wrestler wins in the 145 lbs. math during the Cranston West vs. Pilgrim makes little difference on the competitors of the finals of 145 lbs. at the PCTA. All that matters in terms of determining a RIIL state champion is who shows up and has the best two days on that second to last week of the high school season. If you win 4 straight matches, you are the state champion.
With all of that being said, what does it matter if someone wrestles RIIL dual meet competition (which can be good if your team has the right schedule or a waste of someone's time if they have the wrong one) or if the travel every weekend to get tougher competition, work hard day in and day out in their practice room, and are on weight the day of the tournament. Either way, they still had to work, they still had to prepare, they still had to improve, and they still have to compete come crunch time. The argument that they get to "rest" is ridiculous. I would feel confident saying that 99% of the State Champions in RI over the past 10-15 years, didn't get out of the 1st period in 90% of their dual meets no matter which division they were in. They didn't have to "work" any harder or "risk" anymore. And if anyone who "put work" in all year showed up to the states and got whooped by someone who "took it easy" for 3 months, then you weren't good enough to begin with. They should be gassed after 30 seconds if they really took it that easy. If they still found a way to beat you, time to start looking in the mirror.
The real wrinkle with wrestlers not competing during the season is the seeding for the tournament. When should two specific wrestlers meet up? Quarters, semis, finals? Without a frame of reference, where should wrestlers who didn't have as many RIIL matches get placed in the bracket so that deserving talent are separated with equal chances at placing. The answer is not that faulty Power Point system the RIIL Coaches currently use. The system is so easily manipulated for the advantage of those who are in the know. It encourages coaches to duck competition and ignore league match standings in favor of slotting someone into that perfect position in the bracket. The RIIL coaches say its the only fair way to do it because the wrestlers don't see enough of each other. "How can we seed the D1's with the D2's if they don't wrestle?" They say its the best system they have ever had because there is not more arguing at the seeding meeting. I say that's a cop out. The NCAA Championships (D1, D2, and D3) all get seeded with wrestlers from across the country. Some wrestlers who don't travel within 1,000 miles of each other all year and somehow they seed those tournaments. I'm sure there are debates and arguments, but they work. Those tournaments have some amazing wrestling and very few people freaking out over who got seeded where. The problem with the PowerPoint system is there is no discussion. Its too formulaic. Its easily manipulated and it does not work to encourage competition. It only works to find wrestler the best possible match ups in which to get the best seed.
In my opinion, a committee needs to be formed to seed the RIIL tournament. Coaches can put forward any wrestler with a 67% win percentage and a tournament place finish for seeding. Wrestlers with injury can be put forward for seeding if they placed in the state the year prior. A minimum of 6 wrestlers in each weight class with expansion to as many from the pool that the committee sees fit (it wont be more than 10 or so wrestlers) are seeded and the remaining wrestlers are drawn in. This would assure that the best wrestlers are kept separate till the later rounds and will stop people from seeking forfeits and easy matches rather than running from competition. It also encourages teams to seek out bigger and more prestigious events to attend. Placing 4th at the Lowell Holiday's will look better on a consideration sheet than placing 2nd at the North Kingstown Tournament.
I'll finish off by getting back on topic and talking about the wrestlers who are skipping RIIL competition in favor of weekend events elsewhere. As far as what is fair for competition I see no problem with it. Work hard for 3 months and get ready for 1 tournament. Do so however you see fit. I do think though it may hurt those who chose to do so in the long run. By avoiding weigh ins they lose the practice and discipline it takes to accomplish that task. I have seen a lot of local NCAA wrestlers that fizzled out in college because they weren't ready for the grind. I have seen RIIL high school students who played the game all season long only to miss weight at the one tournament it mattered in. While I myself would not encourage any wrestler to work their season in this manner (I would prefer a wrestler compete with his team and put his or herself through the same rigors his peers are going through), I also do not condemn it. For those of you that think its "not fair" or "bush league", you really only have one option. Come the end of February you need to suck it up, grow a set, and go out there and kick their ass. Until then, let it go and be happy with your 4th place medal.
Before beginning, I want to make clear that this post will not consider situations of injury but simply the choice to sit out of RIIL competition. Injuries are a large part of any sport. I believe that we can all agree (as I saw from most peoples comments on the rankings thread), that no one should risk future health or success at the expense of a current injury just to "earn Power Points". So again, my opinion that follows is only in regards to wrestlers who make a healthy and conscience choice to sit out of RIIL events while intending to compete in the State tournament.
The RIIL wrestling state tournament is somewhat unique. It does not require anyone to "qualify" for entry into it. It is open to a representative in every weight class from every school including schools that do not compete in the RIIL (Independents). How well someone does during the regular season has no bearing on whether or not someone will become a State Champion. What someone places at the North Kingstown, Westerly, Smithfield, or "insert random name here" tournament has no impact on who the place finishers will be on the last weekend in February. Which wrestler wins in the 145 lbs. math during the Cranston West vs. Pilgrim makes little difference on the competitors of the finals of 145 lbs. at the PCTA. All that matters in terms of determining a RIIL state champion is who shows up and has the best two days on that second to last week of the high school season. If you win 4 straight matches, you are the state champion.
With all of that being said, what does it matter if someone wrestles RIIL dual meet competition (which can be good if your team has the right schedule or a waste of someone's time if they have the wrong one) or if the travel every weekend to get tougher competition, work hard day in and day out in their practice room, and are on weight the day of the tournament. Either way, they still had to work, they still had to prepare, they still had to improve, and they still have to compete come crunch time. The argument that they get to "rest" is ridiculous. I would feel confident saying that 99% of the State Champions in RI over the past 10-15 years, didn't get out of the 1st period in 90% of their dual meets no matter which division they were in. They didn't have to "work" any harder or "risk" anymore. And if anyone who "put work" in all year showed up to the states and got whooped by someone who "took it easy" for 3 months, then you weren't good enough to begin with. They should be gassed after 30 seconds if they really took it that easy. If they still found a way to beat you, time to start looking in the mirror.
The real wrinkle with wrestlers not competing during the season is the seeding for the tournament. When should two specific wrestlers meet up? Quarters, semis, finals? Without a frame of reference, where should wrestlers who didn't have as many RIIL matches get placed in the bracket so that deserving talent are separated with equal chances at placing. The answer is not that faulty Power Point system the RIIL Coaches currently use. The system is so easily manipulated for the advantage of those who are in the know. It encourages coaches to duck competition and ignore league match standings in favor of slotting someone into that perfect position in the bracket. The RIIL coaches say its the only fair way to do it because the wrestlers don't see enough of each other. "How can we seed the D1's with the D2's if they don't wrestle?" They say its the best system they have ever had because there is not more arguing at the seeding meeting. I say that's a cop out. The NCAA Championships (D1, D2, and D3) all get seeded with wrestlers from across the country. Some wrestlers who don't travel within 1,000 miles of each other all year and somehow they seed those tournaments. I'm sure there are debates and arguments, but they work. Those tournaments have some amazing wrestling and very few people freaking out over who got seeded where. The problem with the PowerPoint system is there is no discussion. Its too formulaic. Its easily manipulated and it does not work to encourage competition. It only works to find wrestler the best possible match ups in which to get the best seed.
In my opinion, a committee needs to be formed to seed the RIIL tournament. Coaches can put forward any wrestler with a 67% win percentage and a tournament place finish for seeding. Wrestlers with injury can be put forward for seeding if they placed in the state the year prior. A minimum of 6 wrestlers in each weight class with expansion to as many from the pool that the committee sees fit (it wont be more than 10 or so wrestlers) are seeded and the remaining wrestlers are drawn in. This would assure that the best wrestlers are kept separate till the later rounds and will stop people from seeking forfeits and easy matches rather than running from competition. It also encourages teams to seek out bigger and more prestigious events to attend. Placing 4th at the Lowell Holiday's will look better on a consideration sheet than placing 2nd at the North Kingstown Tournament.
I'll finish off by getting back on topic and talking about the wrestlers who are skipping RIIL competition in favor of weekend events elsewhere. As far as what is fair for competition I see no problem with it. Work hard for 3 months and get ready for 1 tournament. Do so however you see fit. I do think though it may hurt those who chose to do so in the long run. By avoiding weigh ins they lose the practice and discipline it takes to accomplish that task. I have seen a lot of local NCAA wrestlers that fizzled out in college because they weren't ready for the grind. I have seen RIIL high school students who played the game all season long only to miss weight at the one tournament it mattered in. While I myself would not encourage any wrestler to work their season in this manner (I would prefer a wrestler compete with his team and put his or herself through the same rigors his peers are going through), I also do not condemn it. For those of you that think its "not fair" or "bush league", you really only have one option. Come the end of February you need to suck it up, grow a set, and go out there and kick their ass. Until then, let it go and be happy with your 4th place medal.