Our Intermediate Camp day was an unqualified success. Yet, almost before it was over, I was hit by one of those red-flag questions that make Middle school coaches sit up and take notice. A parent asked me what I thought about our ability to fill out a full set of weight classes next year. He felt that victory against Jefferson Middle School was almost within our grasp.
It was an earnest question asked with the best of intentions, but its entire premise (and the accompanying set of unspoken assumptions behind it) was wrong. The idea that there is a standardized set of weight classes for Middle school, that score is kept, that the goal is to scheme a victory against the other squad, and that this was the way it ought to be – just like Varsity – is not what Middle school wrestling is all about.
This parent had the best of intentions, but he was looking at the situation through Varsity eyes, not Middle school ones. The idea of age-appropriateness is often misunderstood. In the last essay I discussed what a Middle School was – how it revolved around concepts of developmentally appropriate education. That means that Middle school sports are not intended to be exact mirrors of Varsity programs.
In Varsity competition there are fifteen weight classes to determine a victory, and empty weight classes result in forfeits to the opponent. A Varsity coach will often ask a wrestler to wrestle up one or more classes to avoid such a forfeit. A 17 or 18-year old can handle this situation, but it is not appropriate to ask an 11 or 12-year old to do so. There is no “taking one for the team” in Middle school. We believe in team, and even in teaching selflessness, but there are limits to what we are willing to do. That’s why there are no weight classes in Middle School wrestling. There is no official team score kept in Middle school duals, except by consent or agreement of the two coaches, and that is a very new phenomenon. Middle School coaches are supposed to match up their kids according to age and ability level and let them wrestle and learn. Scheming to get a “W” is supposed to be deliberately subtracted from the equation.
Is this another example of soft-headed “self-esteem” education, where everyone’s a winner and no one is allowed to lose? Of course not. Commerce always plays to win, but it’s “win the right way,” not “win at any cost.” Score is kept in other youth sports and the world doesn’t come to an end. Why not in wrestling? The often puzzling unwritten traditions of Middle school wrestling all revolve around the fact that there is a part of our sport that doesn’t exist in any other: the shameful practice of weight cutting. These traditions are intended to remove the incentive to cut weight. I like to think of it as 1) no weight cutting, 2) avoid mismatches, and 3) everybody wrestles. Without weight classes, no weight need be cut. Without score, mismatches need not be sought. In the end, Middle school is supposed to be developmental. It’s not where you are, it’s how far you’ve come.
Some are about to remind me that these optimistic conditions don’t always exist in the real world. I agree, and I intend to give you my opinions and my solutions in subsequent issues. Once again, I invite your responses.
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