Anybody's Kid Participate in Wrestling?

[StantonHyde]

As part of PE, the teacher said they could try wrestling or run/do some other cardio. DD's friend talked her into wrestling and she really liked it! (I played rugby in college. There is NOTHING like the feeling of a good hit/tackle/ruck/maul.) She wants to go to the team meeting and do some pre-season workouts with them. This team is really open to all comers. I know that girls wrestle with the school team. She has never really played any sports despite being strong and well muscled. She may not keep up with it (wrestling was always one of the most intense sports when I was in HS, those guys were FIT). But I am telling her to go for it and see what she thinks.

Anybody have experience with HS wrestling? TIA

[Snow mom]

DH wrestled in high school and I've already said no to our kids wrestling (but I feel like that about a lot of sports.) DH has a lot of injuries from wrestling, most notably his neck and a badly dislocated elbow which still bothers him. My other problem with wrestling is the weight cutting that goes on. I think people are more aware now but DH admits that he did things to cut weight that could have very well killed him and both his coaches and parents knew what he was doing but didn't step in.

Another thing I would consider/find out is whether she will be wrestling boys or girls. When DH wrestled there weren't many girl wrestlers so the girls wrestled boys in their weight class. It sounds like it was pretty awkward and no one wanted to have to wrestle against a girl. There was pressure both to go easy on a girl opponent but also not to lose to a girl. She should be prepared to be treated different if she is one of the only girls on the team or is wrestling boys.

[StantonHyde]

I won’t allow her to cut to make weight and she wouldn’t want to -she has a strong body image. There are girls that wrestle and she may have to wrestle boys-i have no problem with that. She’ll just work through it. I’ve done stuff that people thought girls/women shouldn’t do all my life. Never let it stop me.

What does concern me are the injuries you noted. I didn’t think about that.

[HannaAddict]

I have a rugby player who is also a wrestler as his private high school started a team. He just started last year and their team does not cut weight and there is huge emphasis on how that is not okay. I know there are power house programs with very different ethos and culture but our team has their school culture vs tough guy culture if that makes sense. It was a great experience, hardest workouts ever, but he liked it and didn’t complain at all. They love the coaches who have an infectious enthusiasm. They had a handful of girls turn out and the lighter guys wrestled girls in practice and got over any awkwardness very quickly when the girls proceeded to crush them. [emoji4] In voting for team captains, one of the girls is going to be a captain and this is the whole team not the “girls.” The first meet I went to was quite a shock. So primal and different than other sports. Our team did quite well over the season but definitely has a different vibe than the yelling style coaches. If your school has a good culture, I would be fine with it. I know lots of adults who wrestled and no worse injuries than soccer players or other sports. Less than football for sure. All of our kids are required to wear ear protection practice and meets vs some schools don’t require it. That would be a must for me.


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[StantonHyde]

I will check on the ear protection! I loved watching HS wrestling--I think it's amazing what they can do.

[AnnieW625]

Dh wrested from 90-92 in high school and had a great time. He said there was a lot of running but he never had to lose weight to make a weight class. He didn’t particularly care for the running but he loved wrestling. He had no injuries or lingering issues from it. Ear protection was required back then so I am sure it is required at the ops school as well.


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[specialp]

DH did and has nothing but positive praise for it for boys and girls which I can't say for the other sports he played in HS and college. (Yes to the ear protection. The puffy ears are a sure thing if you don't.) As with any sport, all cultures and programs aren't equal, but as a whole he loved it. He encouraged a teeny tiny neighbor (and his parents) to join his school wrestling team after the boy was having some issues because teams often need kids in lower weight class. A couple of years later and they say it was a wonderful decision for him.