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Post by colanowski on Dec 18, 2023 9:22:04 GMT -5
HOLA Wrestling Compadres! I hope everyone had a fun filled weekend of your favorite winter activity - RASSLIN!!! I'm in the works of big things to promote VA wrestling in the best way I feel I possibly can...what are these plans you say? Well, that's not your business just yet! In the meantime, I will be your favorite forum blogger trying to throw out my takes from the wrestling I got to watch from the comfort of my couch... - Early season candidates for coach of the year....last week I mentioned coach Shuler from Grassfield...this week...Steve Stiegler from Orange County. They brought 6 wrestlers to Beast of the East (four girls, two boys). Both boys qualify for day two...Three of their four girls are top 8. Just a great performance by a small town school. OH YEAH! And without their two defending state champions in the lineup they finished third at Mechanicsville, just two points out of second. Pretty impressive. I've had the pleasure of working w/ Steve and think he is one of the most selfless individuals. Truly cares about his athletes...Orange may be a title contender this year in 4A.
- My outstanding VA Wrestler from Beast goes to...Thomas Stofka from First Colonial. Stofka came in as the #14 seed at 150, knocking off the 3 and 11 seeds to make it to the semifinals. He eventually finished fourth place. I don't say this often about VA kids...but I think Stofka is a LEGIT D1 talent. He's already a 2x state champion and I think this is what he needed to really show he's a d1 talent. From an outsider perspective I think he'd be a great fit for George Mason.
- This one might spark some spicy comments...but VA's production continues to decline at national events...Last year at BOTE we had 14 place winners...this year we are down to 10. We need to stop trending down...HOW do we do that...that leads my to a big topic I will continue to bring home...
Our high school system sets our athletes up for failure at the national level 7 state champions limited to 5 tournaments (anything more than a quad is considered a tournament) consider that most solid teams attend atleast 1 of the following - Beast, Ironman, Powerade, Escape the Rock, Trojan Wars...we're limited to REALLY four events per year...
ONE of those MUST be an in season competition that brings the states best together. We've gotta put our egos aside to make this happen...somehow...someway!!!
I recently listened to an interview w Tony Ramos (Associate Head Coach at UNC) talking about an event in FL. He goes there to recruit the SE because states like Georgia(also has 7 classes) you can't attend the state championships to get a good gauge on athletes.
Sooo folks...stay tuned...I am trying my dang hardest to make something like this happen in 2025!!!
So. To spark some conversation...If you're hosting an event to bring together the BEST teams/individuals in the state...who can't be left off the list?
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Post by vawrestle01 on Dec 18, 2023 10:39:14 GMT -5
Staunton River Mountain View Great Bridge St Chris New Kent Paul VI Cox BCP or Grundy
8 Team Dual Tourny
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Rando
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Post by Rando on Dec 18, 2023 12:00:04 GMT -5
Staunton River Mountain View Great Bridge St Chris New Kent Paul VI Cox BCP or Grundy 8 Team Dual Tourny Just an observation here but Sherando finished ahead of New Kent in the team point standings at BoE with only 4 participants compared to New Kent’s 14 participants.
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Post by colanowski on Dec 18, 2023 12:35:30 GMT -5
Staunton River Mountain View Great Bridge St Chris New Kent Paul VI Cox BCP or Grundy 8 Team Dual Tourny Just an observation here but Sherando finished ahead of New Kent in the team point standings at BoE with only 4 participants compared to New Kent’s 14 participants. Well...Mr Rando...I have a sneaky suspicion you may have a slight Sherando bias...but lets just make things as obvious as they can get...Sherando had a place winner. New Kent did not. Thats the difference maker at the national level.
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Rando
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Post by Rando on Dec 18, 2023 17:37:54 GMT -5
Just an observation here but Sherando finished ahead of New Kent in the team point standings at BoE with only 4 participants compared to New Kent’s 14 participants. Well...Mr Rando...I have a sneaky suspicion you may have a slight Sherando bias...but lets just make things as obvious as they can get...Sherando had a place winner. New Kent did not. Thats the difference maker at the national level. I should have used just Skyline. That’s a better example and wouldn’t have shown any bias. Skyline only had 5 wrestlers (no placers) and still beat New Kent’s 14 at BoE in team points. You had asked what BEST teams/individuals would make for great event and someone always mentions New Kent as being one of the best. The fact is that although New Kent might have been one of the best teams the last couple of years, THIS YEAR they are not. They lost a lot of talent to graduation. Staunton River and Mountain View are the best 2 teams THIS YEAR in my opinion. But if you really want to have the best of the best like a Who’s No 1 in VA, then it should be by individual and not by team.
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Rando
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Post by Rando on Dec 18, 2023 17:57:04 GMT -5
Heres an idea: maybe VAWA exec board can have a meeting with VHSL and propose to partner with them in doing a Who’s #1 in VA state championships with all the 6 class state champs doing a one day round robin (5 matches) for one true public school state champ! This would legitimize the VA state champion nationally.
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Post by wrestler2027 on Dec 18, 2023 18:18:11 GMT -5
Heres an idea: maybe VAWA exec board can have a meeting with VHSL and propose to partner with them in doing a Who’s #1 in VA state championships with all the 6 class state champs doing a one day round robin (5 matches) for one true public school state champ! This would legitimize the VA state champion nationally. Why limit it to just the public schools? If it's going to be done it should include all the state Champs. Why not use the all class rankings, expand it to top 16 and run a tournament for the top 16 kids at each weight?
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Post by 3arankings on Dec 18, 2023 18:44:55 GMT -5
Heres an idea: maybe VAWA exec board can have a meeting with VHSL and propose to partner with them in doing a Who’s #1 in VA state championships with all the 6 class state champs doing a one day round robin (5 matches) for one true public school state champ! This would legitimize the VA state champion nationally. Why limit it to just the public schools? If it's going to be done it should include all the state Champs. Why not use the all class rankings, expand it to top 16 and run a tournament for the top 16 kids at each weight? Oh goodness, it should never go by rankings, no matter how good they are lol. Top 4 from the 6 classes equals 24 kids, doesn't PA do 20 or 24? Private school kids get the opportunity to compete in national preps so they're not a necessity. Most the good ones find the good public school kids on their own time anyways.
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Rando
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Post by Rando on Dec 18, 2023 20:44:50 GMT -5
The reason I left VISAA out was not because I didn’t think they should be included. I just didnt think it would work for them scheduling wise with national prep.
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Post by colanowski on Dec 19, 2023 7:17:00 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wrong...but I don't think an additional week of season is the way to go...maybe im thinking too high level here... BUT first issue I see is referees. VAWA folkstyle states is happening + girls state championships week after season Issue #2...Kids dont want to put it on the line once they've made it to the top of the mountain (hence why VAC super states has never taken off) #3 COACHES dont want to put it on the line once they've already done it (and quite frankly they're exhausted and want to spend time w their family after 4 months of wrestling everyday)
In order to make it work it needs to be in season.
@rando you said a ranking system won't work...I think it's the only way...You have to have an unbias committee of rankers that honor the integrity of the event...
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Rando
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Post by Rando on Dec 19, 2023 8:11:57 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wrong...but I don't think an additional week of season is the way to go...maybe im thinking too high level here... BUT first issue I see is referees. VAWA folkstyle states is happening + girls state championships week after season Issue #2...Kids dont want to put it on the line once they've made it to the top of the mountain (hence why VAC super states has never taken off) #3 COACHES dont want to put it on the line once they've already done it (and quite frankly they're exhausted and want to spend time w their family after 4 months of wrestling everyday) In order to make it work it needs to be in season. @rando you said a ranking system won't work...I think it's the only way...You have to have an unbias committee of rankers that honor the integrity of the event... That wasn’t me. That was 3aranking. He said: Oh goodness, it should never go by rankings, no matter how good they are lol. Top 4 from the 6 classes equals 24 kids, doesn't PA do 20 or 24?
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Post by wrestler2027 on Dec 19, 2023 8:16:41 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wrong...but I don't think an additional week of season is the way to go...maybe im thinking too high level here... BUT first issue I see is referees. VAWA folkstyle states is happening + girls state championships week after season Issue #2...Kids dont want to put it on the line once they've made it to the top of the mountain (hence why VAC super states has never taken off) #3 COACHES dont want to put it on the line once they've already done it (and quite frankly they're exhausted and want to spend time w their family after 4 months of wrestling everyday) In order to make it work it needs to be in season. @rando you said a ranking system won't work...I think it's the only way...You have to have an unbias committee of rankers that honor the integrity of the event... 100% agree with everything said here. And I made a similar point on a different thread last week. The wrestlers that win or place at States have not historically shown up to a post season event (super states etc). If they don't immediately move on to FS/GR they move on to spring sports or simply focus on academics. An in season event using the ranking system is the closest thing we could hope for. Unfortunately you'll always have the perception of bias unless there's a clear set of criteria for ranking and not simply by committee or votes. Someone will always complain regardless, but if the process is transparent it's much harder to have a valid complaint.
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Post by VisionQuest on Dec 19, 2023 8:19:35 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wrong...but I don't think an additional week of season is the way to go...maybe im thinking too high level here... BUT first issue I see is referees. VAWA folkstyle states is happening + girls state championships week after season Issue #2...Kids dont want to put it on the line once they've made it to the top of the mountain (hence why VAC super states has never taken off) #3 COACHES dont want to put it on the line once they've already done it (and quite frankly they're exhausted and want to spend time w their family after 4 months of wrestling everyday) In order to make it work it needs to be in season. @rando you said a ranking system won't work...I think it's the only way...You have to have an unbias committee of rankers that honor the integrity of the event... Any way we can petition/propose for VHSL to use 3 classes for state championships in individual sports like wrestling, cross country, swimming, golf etc…
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Post by wrestler2027 on Dec 19, 2023 8:23:26 GMT -5
Maybe I'm wrong...but I don't think an additional week of season is the way to go...maybe im thinking too high level here... BUT first issue I see is referees. VAWA folkstyle states is happening + girls state championships week after season Issue #2...Kids dont want to put it on the line once they've made it to the top of the mountain (hence why VAC super states has never taken off) #3 COACHES dont want to put it on the line once they've already done it (and quite frankly they're exhausted and want to spend time w their family after 4 months of wrestling everyday) In order to make it work it needs to be in season. @rando you said a ranking system won't work...I think it's the only way...You have to have an unbias committee of rankers that honor the integrity of the event... That wasn’t me. That was 3aranking. He said: Oh goodness, it should never go by rankings, no matter how good they are lol. Top 4 from the 6 classes equals 24 kids, doesn't PA do 20 or 24? If it's in season why not include VISAA and make it 28? Then you'd have a cleaner 32 man bracket and to make it interesting use random seeding so whoever gets the byes in round 1 doesn't get any perceived advantage. It would need to be late season so there's a clear picture of who the top 4 wrestlers are from each class.
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Post by colanowski on Dec 19, 2023 8:59:54 GMT -5
Top 4 from 7 classes is too much...
In the most polite way possible...not every weight from every classification SHOULD be represented. If this is an elite event and we want to make it worth everyones time lets cut the fluff.
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