littlepun

First of all, a hard push does not make a noise. The ref has tools to use besides putting his hands on someone. He doesn't like the kid jawing at him? Pull out the yellow card. He was quick enough to do it when the coach came out. Shouldn't he have smacked the coach as well? Only someone who is mentally weak needs to put his hands on a kid. I didn't go to a private school. I went to a pretty rough small farm town high school. I would feel right at home in Oklahoma. I played competitive sports from the time I was 6 years old. I started football in 4th grade and played high school ball for the winningest coach in state history. I wrestled from 6th grade on. I wrestled for amazing coaches. There were coaches who put athletes into the Olympics, including the winningest D1 coach of all time (who was a notorious hard ass). Was I ever grabbed forcefully? Yes. Did any of my coaches, who I knew and trusted, ever hit me with a "hard shove" like that? Oh, hell no. With exception of my college coach, if they had, my father would have been right there to come after them. Then he would have kicked my ass. Finally, this wasn't his parent, or his teacher, or his coach. This was an official he didn't know and who didn't know him. It is a completely different dynamic.

"I haven't seen it...." It really is not too hard to see it. "I'm not hearing where the ref was way out of line." Listen to me say it: The ref was WAY out of line. I really hope that you are just a fan and have nothing to do with coaching kids.

5:49 of this: https://www.flowrestling.org/events/6280615-2019-usmc-cadet-and-junior-national-championships/videos?playing=6533267&limit=60

Shoves don't make noise that can be heard on the camera mic from the center of the mat.

Are you kidding me? Did you actually watch it?

Well, in this country, that is assault.

I am 90% that this guy refs in Oregon. I am not sure of his original nationality, but he has a very thick accent.

You can't make out what he says in the audio. But, my lip reading tells me that he called him a "terrible referee." I might have called him a lot worse. Not taking anything away from Lee, but he should have only scored 4 points based on the action from the match. There were 6 points off a leg lace when the ref let Lee work for 20 seconds before he was able to lock up the lace. The takedown was with 46 seconds left in the 1st and they never got back to their feet. The first takedown in the 2nd was also not a takedown because Hepner had Lee's foot the entire time. We have lots of experience with this official. He is never very good, and is consistently verbally abusive to the wrestlers. He also bullies the younger officials into changing their calls.

After seeing a post on social media, I watched Bout #1305, Junior Freestyle 152. The Ohio kid jaws at the official at the end of the match. The official then open hand strikes the Ohio wrestler in the chest/shoulder area. The strike is not super hard, but it is hard enough to be heard on video. This is clearly completely inappropriate. I hope USA Wrestling deals with this.

Great hire, IMO. One of my wrestlers (and unofficial foster kid) wrestled for Clemsen at Oregon State. I was always impressed with the way Alex conducted himself and provided leadership for the wrestlers in his area of responsibility. He has a sharp mind, not only the sport, but the psychology of wrestlers. It was a loss to Oregon State when Clemsen moved on. I figured he would end up as a D1 head coach. Reviving a team at the bottom of the Big 10 is a tough job for your first head coaching gig, but I think Alex is up to the task.

That closely matches what I have heard, albeit 4th hand. Sounds like a rare accident, and I know that well all hope and pray the best for Rich. Donating to his recovery fund is the best way for us to show our support.

Oregon allows 2 entries per weight, and we have since at least the 1980's. Our team has had teammate state finals matches twice. Disadvantage: Like mentioned previously, rich get richer (or stay rich, in our case). We have long dynasties partially due to this. It has definitely kept our team from winning a few more team titles. But, every school has the same opportunity to field 2 competitors per weight, so I would never complain about that with a clear conscience. During the season, most of our tournaments allow 2 or more entries per weight, but we have to designate a scorer. That simple change could keep that problem to a minimum. The other version of rich get richer is that schools will get transfers even if there is a tough kid at the weight already. But, kids want to wrestle there because the team is good / coaching is good. So, I have a hard time complaining about that as well, provided all the rules are followed. Advantages: Lowers incidents of extreme weight cutting. For example, I might be a state podium guy at my weight of 170, but the number one guy in the state at 170 is my teammate. I also have tough teammates at 160 and 182. This is common, since tough kids often come in weight clusters. So, if I even want to be able to participate in the post season, I might kill myself to get to 152. I know: what about bodyfat certification? Well, the kid would just cut himself down in the off season to be able to certify down there (or cheat the certification). Less weight cutting would be the easiest sell to allow for more than one representative per team. Health and safety arguments are much easier for non-wrestling administrators to understand. Allows kids to participate who should be able to. This is not an "everyone gets a trophy" thing. This only gets your wrestler into the regional tournament. If they are the 2nd best kid in state, they deserve the chance to prove it. Keeps kids out for the sport. We have had the 3 deep problem result in kids quitting the team. It is not a common occurrence, because we are a small high school. I imagine that there are many kids who give up in states with the one representative rule. I saw it in college several times when I was competing. I was only able to compete in Pac 10s once, but I stuck around partly because I knew that being the guy at my weight was realistic (mostly, I stuck around because I love the sport).

I am a West Coaster who has been to Vegas for more tournaments than I can count. NCAAs in Vegas: For the love of everything good in this world, NO. Don't let the historical lore fool you. Vegas is not cheap. Meals are incredibly expensive, or absolutely terrible. Nightlife is even more expensive. Sure, you can get some deals on lodging at a place like Circus Circus, but the cab fare to get down to the T Mobile will negate that savings. Every time we take kids to Vegas tournaments, there is at least one kid who runs out of cash half-way through the trip because his parents would not believe me when I told them how much money they needed. I just had this conversation with a parent last weekend. The place is designed to suck money out of you, and it is designed very very well. I get the argument that it needs to be on the West Coast every once in a while, but the west coast is a big place. I cannot drive from Oregon to Las Vegas the same way someone can drive from Cleveland to St. Louis. I guess as a novelty location once in a great while it would be ok.

I heard a great summary of the breadth of the Russian doping scandal last night. The commentator put it like this: Imagine that this was the United States instead of Russia in the doping scandal. The following levels of sport and government would be involved: Individual Athlete Individual Coaches Sporting Organization (like USA Wrestling) United States Olympic Committee USADA FBI CIA Member of the President's Cabinet (and likely the President himself) This is not a small group of rogue athletes and officials.

I believe that the "prize" money can go into a trust so that a college athlete can maintain their NCAA amateur status. The endorsements are a whole other matter.