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Question for wrestling fans

ouchmyknee

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Nov 10, 2006
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I somehow went down the wrestling rabbit hole on YouTube and have watched more matches in the last few days than in my entire life. Based on some of the videos I’ve seen, it seems like many of the top college wrestlers have been known commodities since they were in middle school or earlier. Is that accurate? Do any wrestlers evolve into top guys in high school or were most already on that trajectory for years leading up? I was watching Spencer Lee in high school and it was pretty apparent he was going to be a stud. Same with Suriano, Fix, etc. Are college coaches recruiting kids in middle school?
 
I was thinking the same thing the other day as it does seem that the learning curve for wrestling is steeper than other sports where you can rely on speed and size to give you an edge while you learn the nuances of a game. Size only gets you so far in youth wrestling as you obviously match kids your same weight.

I watched the Flo video on Ben Askren which I thought was pretty good. If I recall correctly early in his career he lost every match in a year and was going to quit the sport but stuck with it and over time helped create a new school of technique.
 
It’s probably not much different in other sports. People knew Lebron James was going to be a stud when he was in middle school. You just don’t really hear about the kids that flame out in wrestling like you do in football or basketball.
 
It’s probably not much different in other sports. People knew Lebron James was going to be a stud when he was in middle school. You just don’t really hear about the kids that flame out in wrestling like you do in football or basketball.

Maybe just a TAD different... You will know the next "Big THing" by soph. yr..... in NJ for instance... Howard, Griffith, Foca, Ramirez, Poz, Fernandez... were knwn by the time of their JR yrs....
 
Kids can be really good in middle school, but they need to continue to prove their abilities through high school to keep going. Some kids burn-out. Others who haven't wrestled, but have the right abilities, catch up in a hurry as they mature.

Like many sports, wrestling is a combination of natural ability and access to elite coaching. The type of athletic ability needed for wrestling differs from other sports (a wrestler doesn't need to sink free throws, hit a fastball or throw a football 70 yards). Wrestling is about balance, strength, speed, power, body awareness, good hips, etc. A kid who is 6'2 185 pounds and a good overall athlete is going to have more options to compete compared to a kid who is 5'6 130 pounds. As a result, kids under 150 pounds who are good athletes may gravitate toward the sport. Plus, the 130 pounder probably comes from a family of 130 pounders. As with many sports, if family members competed at the highest levels, they'll know how to get a kid elite coaching early, and genetics increase the odds that kids will have natural ability.
 
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I somehow went down the wrestling rabbit hole on YouTube and have watched more matches in the last few days than in my entire life. Based on some of the videos I’ve seen, it seems like many of the top college wrestlers have been known commodities since they were in middle school or earlier. Is that accurate? Do any wrestlers evolve into top guys in high school or were most already on that trajectory for years leading up? I was watching Spencer Lee in high school and it was pretty apparent he was going to be a stud. Same with Suriano, Fix, etc. Are college coaches recruiting kids in middle school?
Usually the best college prospects are top nationally ranked throughout their hs career. If a recruit is in the p4p as a sophomore then they are basically a can’t miss recruit..

i don’t think college coaches are recruiting kids in ms... they need to see how the kids do at least their freshman year.. all the kids u mentioned were elite all throughout their hs career.
 
Look at Cassar. He was a local NJ kid who was a good highschool wrestler but nothing special. Then goes on an incredible tear his senior year in high school, walks on at Penn state and wins a national title. Recruiting for wrestling is all about mentality with accolades being a bonus in my opinion.
 
Look at Cassar. He was a local NJ kid who was a good highschool wrestler but nothing special. Then goes on an incredible tear his senior year in high school, walks on at Penn state and wins a national title. Recruiting for wrestling is all about mentality with accolades being a bonus in my opinion.
Cassar reminds me of Dave Zabriske of high point.. nothing special in high school than boom both tore it up their SR season.. they both ended up winning a NCAA title at hwt too.

This is more of an outlier then the exception though.. who’s to say aren’t all hs state champions mentally tough on some level ?? I guess it’s now about finding who loves to compete and constantly trying to improve on that next level.
 
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I just saw Mekhi Lewis injury default to #10 ranked kid Wetzel from Pitt. Wetzel was handling him winning 2-0 and cranking on his shoulder when the stopped the bout. Wetzel then escaped after injury time and it was clear Lewis could not continue
 
Look at Cassar. He was a local NJ kid who was a good highschool wrestler but nothing special. Then goes on an incredible tear his senior year in high school, walks on at Penn state and wins a national title. Recruiting for wrestling is all about mentality with accolades being a bonus in my opinion.
Can say the same thing about Sebastian Rivera too. Granted he was a poor high school wrestler early on because of his size, but he exploded in a way I don’t think anyone really expected.

Jordan Burroughs too. He was a good HS wrestler but I don’t think he won a state title until his senior year. As a freshman at Nebraska he was a .500 wrestler. He would later go on to be a 2x national champion, Olympic champion and one of the best wrestlers in USA history.
 
Can say the same thing about Sebastian Rivera too. Granted he was a poor high school wrestler early on because of his size, but he exploded in a way I don’t think anyone really expected.

Jordan Burroughs too. He was a good HS wrestler but I don’t think he won a state title until his senior year. As a freshman at Nebraska he was a .500 wrestler. He would later go on to be a 2x national champion, Olympic champion and one of the best wrestlers in USA history.
Great examples, Rivera and Burroughs were def not highly touted recruits coming out of hs..

I’m trying to think of recent NJ wrestlers that weren’t big recruits out of hs but did really well in college can u guys think of more?
 
This is my favorite example of someone who had tremendous ability and went under the radar: Haslerig, 6 time national champ. Not an NJ guy, but one hell of a story.

Do we think under the radar guys are more likely at upper weights?
 
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