How is everyone doing? Any new schools picking up the sport? Good luck to Coach Kettler and the Letcher Central Cougars. Don't know that much about who is coming out. We have no elementry, or middle school program, so it is going to take time. Good luck to all teams; especially Campbell Co who is the defending state champ. :Thumbs: On a most dismal side note, we are happy to have a wrestling program, but feel the school and the AD doesn't take it seriously. I thank Coach Kettler for taking this job, but this makes three coaches in three years with no wrestling background. We can never get a head in this program. I feel we need to start getting the elementry kids involved and work with them and middle school. I really don't know that much about coaching but hopefully one day we can get a staff together who can get with the youth and work with them. Comments are welcome, and am I the only one who feels this way about there wrestling program?
to all the young man and women that wrestler this year. no matter what school they are at. best of luck to all of them.
Anyone got any scheduls yet? When I get ours from coach Kettler I will post.
Does this guy not have wrestling experience either? What are the people in charge thinking when they hire for that job? Do they not have a job to bring in a coach who at least wrestled? They spent a lot of money to revamp the football program this year. A wrestling program at the same time would of made them contenders within the next ten years.
I just dont understand if they dont want the program, or wont create a job for a coach or what in Letcher. This needs to be done right. You will never be successful with a coach who doesnt know the sport. It takes A LOT of work to get a good feeder program started and kept running. One coach cant do it, and I know its tough to get any parents with knowledge to help at that level, but you have to get kids wrestling young in order to be successful in high school.
Well if you wait until your freshman year to go out for wrestling, then you are already behind because most kids are wrestling at age 11 and sometimes younger than that.
thats what I meant by getting a good feeder program started. Kids have to be wrestling before High School.
Johnson County has an elementary school camp in the summer.... and they also have an elementary school team that competes during their season.
There is wrestling program at the middle school made up of the 7th and 8th grades....
And the high school has a team.
Wrestling is a sport that you have to have a feeder program. I wrestled in high school..... I started wrestling as a freshman. Having to compete against kids that had been wrestling since they were still in diapers is pretty tough. The better the feeder program, the better your high school team. You may have some talented kids come out for the team and get some wins. But your not gonna be able to stay competitive year in and year out without a feeder program.
At the middle school and elementary school levels...... without quality coaching, teaching proper fundamentals and competing against kids from other areas........ wrestling will not grow in a school system.
We have been trying for years to get a elementary program. Failed miserably!
Johnson Central has a great program. My son wrestles for both the middle school and youth programs. (he's in the 4th grade)Well mostly middle school I guess. I take him to out of state tournaments every weekend from Nov. to March. It's a long process but well worth it. If you want your child to grow and succeed in tue sport you have to be willing to out the time and effort in also. It's well worth the money, time, and effort I've put in when I see my Childs face after winning the state championship. Priceless
I still wonder why they never did. They have told us in the past they could never find anyone with experience. These kids have suffered for three years without someone who knows how to teach these kids from the ground up.
If their was a position with it im sure they could find someone.
Johnson also has a bunch of dads and coaches that care about the program and help things run smooth. Hard to do that at a school thats trying to get started or doesnt have someone invested in the future.
There is all kind of people who could help. They really need to sit down and figure out how to get this program to the next level.
The level of competition in the state of KY is rising! Individuals who want to succeed not only need good instruction but lots of quality time on the mat. Practicing a month before the first meet is not going cut it anymore. FewFirstChoice has the right idea. Do not rely on the school to do anything for you, seek outside help if needed. Like summer camps, fall break camps and even winter break camps. I went to a mid season camp once that lasted two and half days, and came out a totally different wrestler! Amazing what a little extra time on the mat with a different perspective can do for you!!!
Mat time, mat time, mat time is what it's all about. Don't depend on the school system for the majority of your mat time. Go out and find it on your own. It is out there. You may have to travel some but it's well worth it when your third grader wins region in middle school. But another big key is to have great coaching. Johnson Centrals program is were it's put because of this. Coach Matney and Herman Preston both do a outstanding job with their kids and it shows.
You want to coach? I am sure ether coaching vacancy will be open. Lol!
Haha Maybe some day in the future Cougarpride08. I need to build up my resume a little before I start seeking positions like that.
No need at our program. It takes a little or no so you will do fine.
I can't believe the athletic director and administrators would not seek out the best opportunity for the kids!
Football, and other sports takes priority up there.
The best suggestion I could make is for the coach to reach out to nearby schools with successful wrestling programs and attempt to participate in a few of their practices. It would be an exceptional learning experience for the wrestlers and coach! I am sure there a several teams that would jump at the bit for the opportunity.
It is really hard to do anything more this late in the year unless the program has some money. If the program has money, the team could goto a weekend camp at the beginning of the season. If not, have the team start doing some fund raising and save up for a weeklong camp in the summer for the next year. Have the high school team host a free summer mini camp for the youth to introduce the sport to the community. I believe this would be a great start to creating a program. Another way to spark interest is to host a duel match right before a big basketball game where attendance would be high. Just some ideas to ponder.
Love the ideas..will implement them to the coach, and hopefully he is on BGR.