MECHANICSBURG: Wrestling coaches are known for their toughness and no-nonsense approach to the sport they love.
Winners and losers are determined through hard work, preparation and one-on-one skill in the middle of the mat. When adversity springs up, you deal with it head on, improve and move on to the next task.
No excuses.
That's what is so perplexing by the decision that came out of Wednesday's PIAA Wrestling Steering Committee meeting. Mediocrity and being more inclusive won out over excellence in the eyes of these same men.
The committee, which is made up of district chairmen, approved by unanimous decision a proposal that will expand PIAA Championship brackets at each weight from 16 to 20. It was an objective that was championed by the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association.
If the motion is passed by the PIAA Board of Directors in a meeting that is scheduled to take place May 21, it will go into effect next season.
“It was put together by the PWCA, and they wanted to increase the pairings,” said PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi.
“The reasoning was to improve participant opportunity and help stimulate the growth in wrestling. We're not opposed to it and if the coaches association wants to give it a try, we'll give it a try.”
Continued Lombardi, “I don't think it hurts the integrity of the tournament at this time. We had a kid finish fifth at regionals win a championship. I think our field is pretty deep and by adding four more wrestlers, it doesn't negatively impact the timing of the tournament.”
Timing isn't the issue. It's the diluted product. Especially in Class AA, where the brackets aren't as deep as Class AAA.
Under the new system, the number of qualifiers from the four regional tournaments will increase by one. That means the Northeast and Southeast Class AA regionals will advance six to the state tournament.
So, a wrestler can make it to the semifinals, lose the next three matches and still punch his ticket to Hershey's Giant Center? There is no excellence in that scenario.
In Class AAA, you have a wrestler or two in loaded weight classes that have been left behind. But to change the integrity of the tournament for a few makes no sense.
Besides, the extra qualifiers will be based on representation, not on who deserves to make the March trip to Chocolatetown.
“Why water it down,” Boiling Springs head coach Rod Wright said. “You get some left behind, but you get that in the earlier rounds if a guy doesn't wrestle well.
“I like the 16-man bracket. It's been that way for so long, and people just want to change things for no reason. I don't get it.
“How about working harder? How about wrestling harder? How about training harder?”
I understand the coaches — not all, but most — wanting this measure to pass. It seems the popular catch phrase when someone wants something passed is “For the growth of the sport.”
Let's be honest, this has nothing to do with promoting wrestling. There is no evidence this measure will grow the sport. It's about a coach getting their wrestler to states that otherwise would fall short.
Growing the sport happens in the elementary and junior high programs. Kids see a wrestler overcome the odds, work hard and get his hand raised in the state final. When a youngster sees a big name — one in his community — standing at the top of the podium, that is motivation.
There are other reasons. A kid gets involved because of friends or because his father was a wrestler. Some parents just want to toughen up their kids.
In some cases, it's tradition. A great coach is in place and a school is known for its wrestling program. Kids want to become part of a winner.
It certainly has nothing to do with getting one more kid to states that doesn't deserve to be there in the first place.
Remember when those intense third-place matches mattered? Those were the best matches of the tournament. There was something on the line.
That was taken away with the fourth qualifier. Now, the coaches want to take away fifth-place matches. What's next, give everyone a medal?
The reality is that society continues to change. It leans away from hard work and striving for excellence and has been replaced by taking the easy path.
Everybody is equal, right? Wrong.
But that is the new direction a lot of sports have taken. I just never thought it would trickle down to high school wrestling.