Here are three ideas, one small and two large, that can energize and revolutionize your wrestling program! We present them to you now, as it may take a while to convince others to get on board. We suggest that these concepts be applied to all programs from the Freshmen level on down, i.e. elementary, youth, recreation, middle or junior high school and freshmen teams.

1. All competitions are held only on Fridays after school and/or Saturdays. NO matches are held Sunday through Thursday. Matches during the school week are tough on coaches, wrestler-students and parents. Take the pressure off and wrestle only on Fridays and Saturdays!

2. Every wrestler competes in every competition. "If you practice, you wrestle." Period. There is no first team, second team, etc. EVERYONE WRESTLES EVERY COMPETITION! When kids don't wrestle, they get discouraged and many quit. This will also eliminate the need for wrestle-offs and practices can now be spent exclusively on technique, conditioning and fun.

3. Use the Madison System for all competitions. Since weight classes are created AFTER weigh-in, there is no need for wrestlers to cut weight thereby eliminating wrestling's biggest problem! No more weight making practices. No more concern from parents and football coaches. No more constantly checking their weight. They just get on the scale once, weigh-in and wrestle!

Other suggestions: Conduct tournaments for each competition. Note that there is no need to seed any of these tournaments. All wrestlers receive a participation card for each event. Below is a possible 7-week competitive schedule. The first event would be more like a scrimmage in that if a kid gets pinned start over again in neutral position. If the same wrestler gets pinned a second time, the match is terminated. Let the coaches actively assist the wrestlers on the mat during their bouts. Beginning with weekend #2 the matches function entirely by standard rules. Using the schedule below, the minimum number of matches would be 14 and the maximum 20. The 4-man, 8-man and 16-man CCB brackets without seeding used below are explained here.

Try to have your current league convert to this system. If that fails, convince as many teams as possible to form a new group.

The Madison System article discusses a low-tech approach that uses paper tags to set up the weight classes. A more efficient method is to use a computer and a spreadsheet to create the weight classes and print out the wall charts and bout sheets.

Be sure to abide by all state and conference/league rules. If you must use weight classes for certification purposes put the LOWEST weight of a wrestler in a bracket at the top right of the wall chart for tournament use and the certification weight class in the far bottom right. For example, if four wrestlers in a bracket weigh 127, 128, 128 and 129 name the class 127 for tournament use and 130 for certification purposes.

Tournaments vs. Dual Meets - The concepts discussed here use tournaments as its competitive venue, however, there can be some value in calculating dual meet scores during tournaments. Leave it up to each coach how they want to score it. You should use whichever system makes your team look better!

The 30-team Grapevine Wrestling League located in southern New Jersey has taken the Madison System even further. They pair up the wrestlers according to weight, age and experience. Every effort is made to keep ages within +/- one year, weight difference within 10 percent and rating within +/- 1 level. All wrestlers are rated on a scale from 1 to 6. They also use a free computer program called Matchman to create the match-ups.

Implement the above suggestions and transform your program into one where coaches coach and wrestlers wrestle! No weight cutting, no wrestle-offs, no disappointed kids who don't make the starting team and no disappointed parents whose kids don't make the starting team! The most important result will be many more kids on the squad at the end of the season as well as happier coaches, parents and wrestlers!

Suggested Readings:

• Madison System
• Creative Competition Bracket (CCB)
• Grapevine Wrestling League (NJ) By-laws detailing the match-up guidelines
• Computer program: Matchman

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association has adopted the Madison System for determining weight classes, albeit only at the Junior High/Middle School level and on a volunteer basis. Here's how they present it:

OPTIONAL PA JUNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL INTERSCHOLASTIC WRESTLING COMPETITION
A junior high/middle school, in cooperation with other junior high/middle schools, may conduct interscholastic wrestling competition using the following criteria:

• At weigh-in, all wrestlers shall be listed from lowest to highest match-up weights.
• To the weight of 138 pounds, the difference in stripped weight for that day shall not exceed 5 pounds. Above 138 pounds, the difference in stripped weight shall not exceed 10 pounds.
• Minimum weight classification certification shall be done at the 18 weight classifications set forth herein.
• The selection of wrestlers in the bouts shall be done by the two schools alternating with the visiting team having first choice.
• Forfeits shall not be permitted.
• No limit to number of matches.