So my son is in his 2nd year of wrestling as a 3rd grader and I took him to his first rookie/open mat in Firestone last Sunday. My question for you veterans (I played basketball) of this sport is...

Why do they advertise it as a rookie weight class (1-2 yrs of experience) and then allow the open kids in as well in the same bracket??

My son won his first two matches and in the semi-finals (15 kid bracket) he faces a boy that has 4 years of experience and was a youth state qualifier last year. He lost 8-0 and was crushed by the loss (I know there will be many more heartbreaking losses to come). But it just seemed a bit unfair...especially since this same kid that beat him was also wrestling in the 70lb open division and ended up placing 3rd. He won my son's bracket.

Seems to me it should be choose one or the other?? No?? Rookie dad here....

And I might add...I love this wrestling stuff (even though I played bball)!!

Old Rider - Unusual to have a kid in two brackets in my opinion. Especially wrestling "down" if he has a bracket of his own. If he got 3rd in the open bracket, doesn't seem like he belonged in the rookie bracket.

Always tough for tournament directors to juggle low numbers vs. experience gaps. That doesn't seem to have been a problem in your situation.

That being said, on the open circuit, you'll be faced with having to decide between 'getting matches' and facing older/younger or bigger/smaller kids.

Doesn't sound like you were given a "choice" in this case.

Anyway, I too am a basketball convert who has become a wrestling zealot. Welcome to the fraternity! Wish you many years of cold early mornings and long afternoons in hot, stuffy gymnasiums. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Thanks Dust_E!

Yes, I put him in the rookie thinking that he was ONLY going to face kids with 1-2 yrs of experience. But I am glad he got a taste of where he needs to be to wrestle at a higher level. My son finished 4th out of 15 so I was very happy for him.

And yes...it was a cold morning, a hot gym with a poor sound system....but I love every minute of this stuff. Nothing more intense than watching your son go toe-to-toe and battle it out! Now I know why all of my buddies tried to get me to wrestle when we were growing up!!

You'll always find that one dad who tries to get his son into the "easier" brackets" per say. Or maybe he just though, "my son isn't that good for being a 4th year and should be ok to compete with the 1-2 year guys. Doubt that last scenario. Either way, things like this always happen at the youth level. I remember growing up wrestling a kid over and over again. We would have heated matchs every week for the championship or 3rd and 4th place match. Then all of the sudden he wasn't at our youth tournaments anymore. I moved up to high school and wrestled varsity as a freshman and wouldn't ya know it, I wrestled that very kid in the 2nd round at Medina. He was a Senior. Guys dad cheated and lied about his age his entire youth career. Guess that's why I beat him as a Freshman.

It's good that your boy got to see that level of competition as well. I hope the best for you and your youngin. Nothing in the world like this sport.

Thanks USMC...and for your service to this country!

Just think in a couple years you will be giving this same advice to the next guy (o: Live it, Love it, Carry it on!

to put this bluntly, forget about the wins and losses, the mat time is what helps long term. If your son continues to be upset with losses then focus on training and practices more so then competitions. The very first thing i taught my son was how to lose. Dont let it bother him or you, get back out there and do it again. Learn to lose first, then winning comes that much easier!

Been there also.
Had my son in the rookie division and he wrestled this kid with a "Palmer" singlet (definitely not a rookie) the same kid was also in the open division and won 1st in both.
Those parents are abusing the system and boosting their kids ego at the price of the novice kids.

Just wait until you go to a tournament with call in weights...

Its really not uncommon to wrestle 2 weights or even wrestle 2 divisions. MAT TIME! If we travel to an open tournament, I almost always wrestle my son(s) in their weight and up a weight, or up a division. Losses build experience and character. Win like you've been there before and take your losses respectfully. You dont have to be happy about the loss, but learn to overcome it and gain something from it!

However, a 4 year wrestler should NOT be in the "Rookie" division. Thats a dad pimping his kids trophy shelf.

Also, just because a kid has a "Palmer" singlet doesnt necessarily mean hes not a rookie. My youngest son (12) got hand me downs from big brother. LOL People get nervous when they see a "Jordan" singlet. My youngest wrestled 5-6 years wearing Jordan gear before he ever attended a camp there.

Pompero Firpo;1766592 wrote:Just wait until you go to a tournament with call in weights...

LOL these are ridiculous.

1_beast;1766606 wrote:However, a 4 year wrestler should NOT be in the "Rookie" division. Thats a dad pimping his kids trophy shelf.

For what its worth....The kid was wrestling for the "922 Wrestling Club"...I believe they are in the Dennison - Claymont - Urichsville area.

Old Rider;1766735 wrote:For what its worth....The kid was wrestling for the "922 Wrestling Club"...I believe they are in the Dennison - Claymont - Urichsville area.

LOL. Notorious. And you are correct.

FWIW myself and my oldest son both won both 7th and 8th grade titles at their Jr high tournament. My youngest will wrestle his 1st one Saturday. Hopefully he can help ease your pain by following in the path set before him. (He did win a few titles at Claymont Opens, we quit going when we got pissed about PAYING TO PARK in hillbilly-ville.)

1_beast;1766755 wrote:LOL. Notorious. And you are correct.

FWIW myself and my oldest son both won both 7th and 8th grade titles at their Jr high tournament. My youngest will wrestle his 1st one Saturday. Hopefully he can help ease your pain by following in the path set before him. (He did win a few titles at Claymont Opens, we quit going when we got pissed about PAYING TO PARK in hillbilly-ville.)

Their facebook page tells me all I need to know about how The 922 group is doing things! BTW...good luck to your son!