2 year Missions

[tommygun 52]

How can it be a disadvantage? You basically get three redshirt years, allowing you to compete from age 21-24 against kids 2-3 years younger than you. It's a bit silly

 

 

Yeah, because Dake and Sanderson as freshmen struggled against those older guys.

 

 

How about this? Redshirt, Olympic Redshirt, 2 year mission, 2 years varsity, Olympic RS again, 3rd year varsity, Med RS, 4th year varsity? Is that possible?

 

As unlikely as that is, it is possible.

 

That person would be called Doctor Wrestler!

[Aztec 20]

I was an LDS missionary once upon a time. I'd say a 2 year mission hurts far more than it helps in terms of wrestling for several reasons. The most significant is lost time on the mat. There is no place to wrestle while on a mission. The only time I was able to wrestle anyone was with another missionary who was a wrestler and we happened to have a trampoline to wrestle on at someones house.

 

Even if a missionary was motivated to find a place to wrestle in the tiny bit of free time he had, it would be incredibly difficult because they are getting transferred every few months, they have a companion who may not give a crap about wrestling and will want to do something else in his tiny bit of free time (companionships have to stay together at all times, no one could say "I'm gonna go wrestle for a bit, see you in a few hours.")

 

Apart from not being able to train wrestling, I think missions can make it hard to mentally stay in the wrestling mindset. When missionaries come home, they often return with the mindset that the most important thing they can do is prepare to marry and raise a Mormon family. This typically involves continuing education, but wrestling can fall by the wayside if a guy, after two years on a mission, reprioritizes his life and wrestling is no longer as close to the top as it once was.

 

uvuwrestling did a good job outlining the schedule missionaries are supposed to adhere to. It looks demanding, and it is, but I'll just say that missionaries are still late-teenage, early 20's guys and not all stick as close to the schedule as others.

 

And as gibbons mentioned, the age was recently changed to 18 years old instead of 19. This could have a significant impact on Mormon wrestlers. Instead of having a year to be a part of a program and then leaving for 2 years, they won't have any time at all if they leave on a mission right after high school. This will make it harder for guys to build ties with a program if they leave on a mission right after high school. Even though a guy could choose to wait until 19 to leave, culturally there will be intense pressure to leave at 18.

[tommygun 52]

I don't know the exact way to make this statement but I will try:

 

The same type of person that makes a 2 year mission out to be an advantage for an athlete when they become successful is the same type of guy that thought Robles was cheating or had an advantage by only having one leg. When a competitor with out of the ordinary circumstances becomes successful (like Robles or Matt Brown), others like to find reasons why they are better than their competition. Maybe they just worked harder and are better, plain and simple.

 

I know that statement is not the best "verbiage" but hopefully you get what I mean.

[wrestlpsu 6]

fudge tunnel.....

you described ALL RELIGIONS

none are more made-up and ridiculous than any other

:lol:

[fudge_tunnel 107]

fudge tunnel.....

you described ALL RELIGIONS

none are more made-up and ridiculous than any other

:lol:

 

Well.....ya, they're all made-up. And all ridiculous. Just some seem more "head-scratchingly" silly than others

[gibbons 0]

You do rethink your life and for some guys they really can lose their edge. It is a great experience, but I doubt it really helps any kids excel in college sports. I think the change to 18 years old could help though, they guys will have five straight years post mission. Physically you might mature some in two years but you can't work out more than doing a lot of walking or bike riding. I do agree with the comment about more injuries in the year you come back. It is great to see the PSU kid doing so well post mission, but I think he is more the exception than the rule. A mission is very hard, but it is worth it. You are not required to serve a mission but it is highly encouraged for young men.

[Wire 23]

You do rethink your life and for some guys they really can lose their edge. It is a great experience, but I doubt it really helps any kids excel in college sports. I think the change to 18 years old could help though, they guys will have five straight years post mission. Physically you might mature some in two years but you can't work out more than doing a lot of walking or bike riding. I do agree with the comment about more injuries in the year you come back. It is great to see the PSU kid doing so well post mission, but I think he is more the exception than the rule. A mission is very hard, but it is worth it. You are not required to serve a mission but it is highly encouraged for young men.

 

Having watched the guys at BSU, and how things unfold, I would think they would do this:

 

1. Get recruited etc .. and enroll.

2. Immediately go on the Mission.

3. Return to the team and Immediately RS. ( to get back into the Wrestling mindset, get back into shape, regain flexibility etc ..) Chriswell, Hawk and others seem to get hurt after the missions. I would think after 2 years off, if a guy took it easy, slow and careful, they could regain both the Physical and Mental conditioning needed to really start wrestling D1 level.

4. At this point wrestle for the 4 remaining years.

[Flying-Tiger 615]

Here is a quote from an article (linked below) where Matt Browns goes into detail about his mission experience.

 

"without a workout facility anywhere in sight, Brown had to resort to the basics. The only exercises he could do were the simple ones — lots of push-ups and sit-ups"

 

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/20 ... Brown.aspx