Common Questions & Misconceptions Parents Have About Wrestling

• Coach Geisz

  Coaches,
  I'm compiling a list of the top common questions and misconceptions parents have about wrestling. This idea came about after a parent of a young man I was recruiting told me she didn't want her son to get lice or skin infections. She believed that these were very common among wrestlers, but after getting a chance to speak with her I was able to quell her fears. This particular young man turned out to be a pretty solid high school wrestler. Mother never would have let him wrestle if she didn't get the correct information about the misconceptions she had about the sport. Let me know what your top three (or more) would be. I will be producing a video for my channel soon.
  
  Coach G.
• cruiser_96

  

  Great post!!! I hope parents get involved with this. I'll point my parents in this direction.
  
  (Sometimes reading it from someone else is what makes it click.)
• Bitterrunner-up

  Wait a minute, how do you get a parent that is concerned with skin infections to let her son wrestle? You can't say he won't get them. You can't say that you can keep him from getting them. All you can say is you take every precuasion you can and that he is still likely to get something. What did you say to her?
  
  The "negative" aspects of the sport like excessive weight loss, skin infections, no vacations over winter break, long weekend tournaments, little fan and school appreciation, the brutal natuture of participation and few post high school opportunities are real. That's not to say that the good doesn't far outweigh the bad and that you take lessons away from the sport that will last you a lifetime. But it's clearly not for everyone...or even most people.
• hizzmuther

  I could tell her that my son has had them all -- even the bad ones. But they were treated quickly and easily and left no permanent damage. No big deal. Worth the risk. Gross yes, but not particularly dangerous.
  
  I have been trying all day to remember what my misconceptions were. I can remember telling him that if he ever tried to cut weight I was making him quit immediately (Bahahahaha! that didn't really work out for me). I would like to say he learned to do it safely and painlessly, but that would not really be true (or even close to true). I think I had no misconceptions because I had no conceptions -- I knew nothing about wrestling (except maybe about cutting weight). Nothing that I know now would have changed our decision about wrestling -- although after the first year, it was not "our" decision.
  
  The good that he has learned from wrestling does far outweigh the bad. Even the weight cutting has taught him many valuable things about himself. I agree with everything you've said Bitter, except about the few post high school opportunities. No, it is not a professional sport, however, there are many opportunities for kids to wrestle in college. I am a fan of the JuCo system for kids with grade, performance, or money issues. Although there are no JuCo programs in Ohio, they are plentiful in Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, New York (although these are real SUNY colleges and do not have the tuition break of most of the others) and even CA or OR if you really want to get away from home. You can go to a junior college -- most are small community colleges although there are some big ones around Chicago) and wrestle. Fully funded programs offer 16 scholarships (tuition, books, etc, but not room and board). There are also many D2 and D3 programs in Ohio which was really evident at EMU this weekend with Notre Dame, Ashland, Lake Erie, Mount St. Joes, Tiffin and Findlay all there and also wrestlers from Ohio State and Cleveland State and I'm sure I might be missing another Ohio School or two on this list and there are other Ohio programs who were not at EMU this weekend. It was amazing how many old friends are wrestling in college and not all of them were top tier wrestlers in high school, but they love the sport.
• hang_loose

  hizzmother, Tell Andrew nice job this past week!
• said_aouita

  

  Skin infections should be the least of moms worries. It's all of the various joint, muscle and ligament damage which ends up effecting wrestlers permanently.
  
  
  Theirs no former competitive wrestler in these forums which don't have some sort of owies on rainy days...
  
  
• said_aouita

  

  Skin infections should be the least of moms worries. It's all of the various joint, muscle and ligament damage which ends up effecting wrestlers permanently.
  
  
  Theirs no former competitive wrestlers in these forums which don't have some sort of owies on rainy days...
  
  
• Coach Geisz

  Bitter, that is the key! Talking with the parent to make sure they get accurate information. In this case the parent honestly believed that if her son wrestled he would get lice and a skin infection. She thought that all wrestlers had this and they just dealt with it. I just explained to her that in my 19 years of coaching wrestling I never had a wrestler with lice (knock on wood). As for skin infections I told her they have been rare but do happen. I also explained to her that our team takes every step possible to prevent skin infections. I also mentioned that officials perform skin evaluations before each wrestling meet to help prevent the spread of infections. Just talking with the parent provided accurate information and understanding. A lot of people who don't know wrestling just assume it's a "dirty" sport when in actuality it's probably more sanitary than others. For instance, I have had more serious skin infections on my football team over the last 8 seasons than I had in wrestling.
• HorseShoe289

  

  Misconception #1: Wrestling is a dirty sport. I'm in agreement with others here regarding skin disease. Be as proactive as possible. Take all the precautions. Be in clear and frequent communication with your family doctor so that, if/when a skin disease shows up, it gets diagnosed, secluded from others, and treated as quickly as possible. And, of course, shower bi-daily and always wear clean gear. That's what I emphasize to parents: wrestlers are the CLEANEST athletes I know, because they have to be so proactive about avoiding skin disease.
  Misconception #2: You have to cut weight. Here's what I say to athletes (and their parents): "You have a perfect weight class. It is one lighter than your walk around weight. Probably in the range of 3-7 pounds lighter. It is one where you have to be disciplined with your diet and one that probably requires you to do some extra cardio training on your own. It is NOT one that requires you to starve yourself. It is the one where you are at your best when you step on the mat. Peek energy level. Peek speed. Peek flexibility and endurance. There is a weight that is too low for you, where you have to work too hard to get there, eat too little, and do too much extra cardio to get there; thus you are fatigued and lethargic when you wrestle. There is also one that is too high; there you don't learn the discipline of good nutrition, you don't have to get in the extra cardio (that keeps you lean, quick, and prevents injury)." I preach: find the perfect weight.
  Misconception #3: Wrestling is not a team sport. This couldn't be further from the truth. Selfish wrestlers not only kill the team, they never maximize their potential. You need a team to be your best. You need practice partners and teammates you can count on...who can push you. If not, you'll never be as good as you could be...and you'll certainly not experience the joy that comes with helping someone else become as good as he can be. That being said, I tell parents we will always do things where the team is the priority, not the individual.