It's a boy...

Max is a very talented wrestler. He won NY states this year and last year for his class. This was his first "bad day" wrestling and he only had a few losses at this point so was a strange feeling for him to lose. He finished 2nd last year at MAWAs. I don't want to make excuses for him but we should have wrestled him a weight class below but then he would have had to cut weight and we didn't want that. He's in the middle of the weight ranges so next year hopefully he will be closer in his range. He qualified at 48 lbs for the prior mawa qualifier (getting 1st) so he had to continue at this weight. He ended up placing 9th out of 16 at 2023 MAWAs. We definitely do not force him to do anything. He just had a bad day and his first losses of the season. But I do agree with you. Depends on the kid and when they are so young competition can be to much. We always tell him we only do it if he wants to wrestle and not all the little kids in our club compete for sure.

@@blackducklife5594 That's awesome, you're definitely doing the right thing in making sure he wants to compete and letting him choose. It's great to see people posting videos of this sport, it's so under-rated, but I think that's also part of what makes our community what it is. We have so many parents who seem to push competitions on to their kids and I've lost athletes who had so much potential but just needed time to unlock it. I hope my comments weren't offensive or anything, it's really none of my business. As they say, opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one. ;) Best of luck to Max as he starts his career!

@@LoicFarris absolutely agree with it all. I'm just happy he's wrestling. I hear it's one of the best sports to have as a foundation. I hear you on the burnout with young athletes. It's definitely something you hate to see happen to a talented athlete 🥰

@@blackducklife5594 It definitely is and not just from a physical standpoint but also an emotional standpoint. If you haven't read it, look up the article by Forbes on how businesses like to hire college graduates with Wrestling backgrounds, it's a great read. With regards to burnout it's hard as a coach to have a kid you put so much time and effort into leave. It's also not just the time and effort but the connection that you build as well. Some coaches have an easy time staying detached, but that's not how I'm wired. I remember every kid, what they each need to work on, how they think, how to motivate them, how to pick them up when they're down and how to keep them grounded when they're on a roll.