Category Archives: Opinion

4th Annual Best High School Girls Programs in California Top-30 List

First, let me apologize for not posting as often as I usually do, I’ve been dealing with some issues that have made it challenging for me to sit down and get as many things up onto the site as I would like. I have also been finishing up a project that I have been working on for the past couple of years and which I believe is finally ready for me to unveil in the next couple of days.

In the meantime, it’s about time I release the 4th Annual Best High School Girls Programs in California Top-30 List. This year it’s much earlier than last year’s (which I posted in August) but still not as early as I would like (I would like to shoot for April next season).

Albany HS has moved up to the number 3 spot this year. Northview seems unmovable from the number 1 spot, sending multiple wrestlers to state every year. The biggest jump in the rankings come from Menlo Atherton (from 19 to 10) and Beaumont (32 to 23). I’m please to say that girls wrestling continues to grow at a healthy pace and that is reflected in my list where more and more schools seem to be trading spots every year. But enough of my blabbering.

In 2011, when the first official CIF girls wrestling state championships took place, 154 schools participated. In 2019, with the increase from 25 to 32 wrestlers per weight class, a total of 263 schools competed (an increase of 43 schools over last year). Since that first championship tournament, 541 different schools have sent at least one wrestler to represent them. This year, 50 schools that had not sent a single wrestler to the tournament since 2011 were represented by at least one! Programs have come and gone but a few have continued to thrive year after year.

Inevitably, at the end of each season the question gets asked, which are the best high school girls wrestling programs in California? This is not a question that is answered as easily as one might think. What are the criteria that should be used to decide? Does the number of individual champions trump the number of team championships? Does a team with acclaimed consistent coaching out-rank one from a school that has supported girls wrestling year after year but has been unable to find staff that will stay longer than a season or two? And, is a program with a single wrestler that places at state better than a one that sends 6 wrestlers that do not place? Some coaches have even commented that the number of boys sent to their respective state championships should be included when deciding, in effect throwing the girls back into the fold that they have tried to separate themselves from for so long.

As difficult as the question may be to answer, I have decided to make an attempt at doing just that. In the year’s best list, I have taken 2 factors into consideration and given them point values. The first is the number of wrestlers sent to state. The second is the final top-8 placings of wrestlers, giving a higher value to higher placings.

I have also included an All-time best program list. The method I used to decide who goes on that list is to simply take the points accumulated by a program in each year and add them up. There are 3 points of contention I expect to hear:

The fact that I only go back to 2011 in my rankings, when the first CIF-sanctioned state championship was held, there may be some who believe a certain program is not being recognized because I did not go back far enough in time. To those who feel that way, I apologize and can only say that I wish getting hold of records from earlier dates was as easy as getting them since the time CIF recognized the sport.
There will be those who feel the programs at the top of the list are there because they dominated the sport when the competition was not as developed as it now is and it will be difficult to catch up to them. My response to that is, a program cannot rest on its laurels it must continue to work, even if it no longer dominates the state championships, every wrestler it sends to state cements its standing atop the list (and sending wrestlers to state is no longer a cakewalk). As for a program being unable to catch-up, I believe this sport is here to stay, I think there is plenty of time for the All-time list to see some changes (pun intended).
Some will wonder why some schools are not in the top 30 when they have had a dominant wrestler, for example Gabby Garcia (Valencia of Placentia)— a 4-time state champion (2013-2016). Unfortunately, even though Miss Garcia is a legend in her own right, a single wrestler cannot constitute a top program. Schools can build a successful program out of having a single dominant wrestler but the program, to be considered a top program, in my opinion, needs to continue to produce results beyond that single wrestler.

As I said at the opening, there have been 491 different schools that have competed at state since 2011, for the sake brevity I will only list the top-30 in both the year and the all-time list but I will give as much context and justification as possible to each listing. I hope you enjoy this list and see it as my humble effort to continue to celebrate and record the history of this great sport. If someone disagrees with my lists or methods please feel free to contact me, I will be more than happy to discuss differing viewpoints but the bottom line is that these ranking are a product of what I consider the most important factors in rating a successful program and they may be very different from other people’s.

Section codes are as follow:

Central Coast Section, CCS
Central Section, CS
Los Angeles City Section, LACS
North Coast Section, NCS
Sac-Joaquin Section, SJS
San Diego Section, SDS
Southern Section, SS

Top-30 All-time Best High School Girls Wrestling Programs in California (as of 2019)

In the table below, along with the school’s all-time ranking, I have also included their all-time ranking prior to the end of the 2018-2019 season, the total number of wrestlers they have sent to the state championships, as well as the total number of placers the school has had since 2011.

Rank	School	Section	All-time Ranking Previous Season	Total Wrestlers to Have Competed	Total Placers (including Champions)	Total Top-3 Placers (including Champions)	Total Champions
1	Northview	SS	1	68	22	15	3
2	Selma	CS	2	43	21	12	11
3	Albany	NCS	5	41	15	9	4
4	West Covina	SS	3	37	6	10	5
5	James Logan	NCS	4	35	17	6	2
6	Birmingham	LACS	11	30	14	8	4
7	San Fernando	LACS	17	45	7	5	1
8	Corona	SS	7	25	15	6	0
9	Jesse Bethel	SJS	6	26	2	6	1
10	Menlo-Atherton	CCS	19	24	12	5	2
11	Pioneer Valley	CS	9	34	6	2	1
12	Hillcrest	SS	9	28	15	4	0
13	Del Oro	SJS	12	30	10	4	3
13	Enochs	SJS	7	16	12	8	4
15	Walnut	SS	18	27	9	4	0
16	Benicia	NCS	13	19	9	7	2
17	Tokay	SJS	15	29	7	4	0
18	Santa Ana	SS	14	28	6	3	1
19	Terra Nova	CCS	15	28	8	2	0
20	Newark Memorial	NCS	20	24	4	3	2
21	Steele Canyon	SDS	21	26	5	1	0
22	Santa Paula	SS	22	24	6	0	0
23	Beaumont	SS	32	20	5	1	1
24	Bella Vista	SJS	35	10	8	6	3
25	Porterville	CS	23	19	4	2	0
25	San Dimas	SS	28	17	6	2	0
27	Millikan	SS	24	21	7	1	0
28	Lincoln-Stockton	SJS	26	15	4	3	2
29	Overfelt	CCS	25	19	2	3	2
29	Santa Monica	SS	32	11	5	5	2

Top-30 Best High School Girls Programs in California of the 2018-2019 Season

In the table below, I have listed the top-30 programs out of the 263 schools that participated in the state championships of the 2018-2019 wrestling season. I have also included the programs’ all-time ranking as of the end of the season.

Something that might be noticed, my formulation does not guarantee a top-spot by simply having a champion, though it does help. The best way to insure a high ranking in the list is to send a large delegation and to get as many placers as possible.

Rank	School	Section	All-time Ranking After 2018-2019 Season	Competing Wrestlers	Champions	Top-3 Placers (including Champions)	Placers (including Champions)
1	San Fernando	LACS	7	13	0	2	3
2	Birmingham	LACS	6	9	0	2	4
3	Menlo-Atherton	CCS	10	7	1	2	4
4	Albany	NCS	3	7	0	1	4
5	Northview	SS	1	4	0	1	3
6	Norte Vista	SS	101 (tied)	3	1	2	2
7	Monroe, James	LACS	75 (tied)	4	0	1	2
8	Walnut	SS	15	5	0	1	1
8	Corona	SS	8	4	0	0	2
10	Arroyo-N	NCS	132 (tied)	2	1	1	2
10	McClatchy	SJS	94 (tied)	2	1	1	2
12	Liberty	NCS	44 (tied)	4	0	1	1
12	Selma	CS	2	4	0	0	2
12	Newark Memorial	NCS	20	4	0	1	1
12	Silver Creek	CCS	40 (tied)	2	0	1	2
16	Orland (N)	SJS	143 (tied)	3	1	1	1
16	Cerritos	SS	97 (tied)	3	0	0	2
16	Mt. Whitney	CS	88 (tied)	2	0	1	2
16	La Costa Canyon	SDS	132 (tied)	2	0	1	2
20	Clovis	CS	223 (tied)	2	0	1	2
20	Westminster	SS	90 (tied)	2	0	1	2
20	Bella Vista	SJS	24	2	1	1	2
20	Beaumont	SS	23	2	0	0	2
24	Fremont	CCS	231 (tied)	4	0	0	1
24	Folsom	SJS	70 (tied)	2	0	1	2
24	Yucaipa	SS	231 (tied)	2	1	1	1
24	Rowland	SS	78 (tied)	2	1	1	1
28	Del Oro	SJS	13 (tied)	4	0	0	2
28	Durham	SJS	252 (tied)	4	0	0	1
28	Ayala	SS	97 (tied)	2	0	1	1
28	Norco	SS	252 (tied)	2	0	0	2
28	Escalon	SJS	155 (tied)	2	0	1	1

3rd Annual Best High School Girls Programs in California Top-30 List

Wrestling season is right around the corner so what better time to release our 3rd Annual Best High School Girls Programs in California Top-30 List?!

In 2011, when the first official CIF girls wrestling state championships took place, 154 schools participated. 2018 saw 220 schools competing (an increase of 28 schools over last year). Since that first championship tournament, 491 different schools have sent at least one wrestler to represent them. This year, 50 schools that had not sent a single wrestler to the tournament since 2011 were represented by at least one! Programs have come and gone but a few have continued to thrive year after year. Something to note, this year each of the 14 weight classes had 25 entries versus the previous year’s 24.

Inevitably, at the end of each season, the question gets asked, which are the best high school girls wrestling programs in California? This is not a question that is answered as easily as one might think. What are the criteria that should be used to decide? Does the number of individual champions trump the number of team championships? Does a team with acclaimed consistent coaching out-rank one from a school that has supported girls wrestling year after year but has been unable to find staff that will stay longer than a season or two? And, is a program with a single wrestler that places at state better than a one that sends 6 wrestlers that do not place? Some coaches have even commented that the number of boys sent to their respective state championships should be included when deciding, in effect throwing the girls back into the fold that they have tried to separate themselves from for so long.

The fact that I only go back to 2011 in my rankings, when the first CIF-sanctioned state championship was held, there may be some who believe a certain program is not being recognized because I did not go back far enough in time. To those who feel that way, I apologize and can only say that I wish getting hold of records from earlier dates was as easy as getting them since the time CIF recognized the sport.
There will be those who feel the programs at the top of the list are there because they dominated the sport when the competition was not as developed as it now is and it will be difficult to catch up to them. My response to that is, a program cannot rest on its laurels it must continue to work, even if it no longer dominates the state championships, every wrestler it sends to state cements its standing atop the list (and sending wrestlers to state is no longer a cakewalk). As for a program being unable to catch-up, I believe this sport is here to stay, I think there is plenty of time for the All-time list to see some changes (pun intended).
Some will wonder why some schools are not in the top 30 when they have had a dominant wrestler, for example Gabby Garcia (Valencia of Placentia)— a 4-time state champion (2013-2016). Unfortunately, even though Miss Garcia is a legend in her own right, a single wrestler cannot constitute a top program. Schools can build a successful program out of having a single dominant wrestler but the program, to be considered a top program, in my opinion, needs to continue to produce results beyond that single wrestler.

Section codes are as follow:

Central Coast Section, CCS
Central Section, CS
Los Angeles City Section, LACS
North Coast Section, NCS
Sac-Joaquin Section, SJS
San Diego Section, SDS
Southern Section, SS

Top-30 All-time Best High School Girls Wrestling Programs in California (as of 2018)

In the table below, along with the school’s all-time ranking, I have also included their all-time ranking prior to the end of the 2017-2018 season, the total number of wrestlers they have sent to the state championships, as well as the total number of placers the school has had since 2011.

Rank	School	Section	All-time Ranking Previous Season	Total Wrestlers to Have Competed	Total Placers (including Champions)	Total Top-3 Placers (including Champions)	Total Champions
1	Northview	SS	1	64	29	14	3
2	Selma	CS	3	39	20	12	11
3	West Covina	SS	2	37	19	10	5
4	James Logan	NCS	5	32	18	6	2
5	Albany	NCS	4	34	15	8	4
6	Jesse Bethel	SJS	6	26	12	6	1
7	Corona	SS	15	21	13	6	0
7	Enochs	SJS	8	15	12	8	4
9	Hillcrest	SS	10	26	15	4	0
9	Pioneer Valley	SS	7	31	9	2	1
11	Birmingham	LACS	16	21	10	6	4
12	Del Oro	SJS	13	26	8	4	3
13	Benicia	SJS	11	17	10	7	2
14	Santa Ana	SS	9	27	10	3	1
15	Terra Nova	CCS	14	27	7	4	0
15	Tokay	SJS	12	26	7	4	0
17	San Fernando	LACS	27	32	4	3	1
18	Walnut	SS	19	22	8	3	0
19	Menlo-Atherton	CCS	30	17	10	3	1
20	Newark Memorial	NCS	23	20	7	2	2
21	Steele Canyon	SDS	17	25	7	1	0
22	Santa Paula	SS	18	23	7	0	0
23	Porterville	CS	20	19	9	2	0
24	Millikan	SS	36	21	8	1	0
25	Overfelt	CCS	23	19	4	3	2
26	Lincoln-Stockton	SJS	38	14	6	3	2
27	Scotts Valley	CCS	23	16	5	3	2
28	Baldwin Park	SS	21	18	6	1	0
28	La Sierra	SS	21	12	6	4	1
28	San Dimas	SS	30	14	6	2	0

Top-30 Best High School Girls Programs in California of the 2017-2018 Season

In the table below, I have listed the top-30 programs out of 220 schools that participated in the state championships of the 2017-2018 wrestling season. I have also included the programs’ all-time ranking as of the end of the season.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Top 30 wrestling programs by year rev_2018

Rank	School	Section	All-time Ranking After 2018 Season	Competing Wrestlers	Champions	Top-3 Placers (including Champions)	Placers (including Champions)
1	Selma	CS	2	8	3	3	6
2	San Fernando	LACS	17	9	1	2	2
3	Corona	SS	7 (tied)	5	0	3	3
3	Northview	SS	1	6	1	2	3
5	Menlo-Atherton	CCS	19	6	0	1	3
6	Birmingham	LACS	11	6	1	1	2
6	James Logan	NCS	4	4	0	2	3
8	Albany	NCS	5	6	0	0	2
9	Hillcrest	SS	9 (tied)	4	0	1	2
9	Newark Memorial	NCS	20	3	1	1	2
11	Elk Grove	SJS	59 (tied)	4	0	0	2
11	Millikan	SS	24	3	0	1	3
11	Mt. Whitney	CS	132 (tied)	4	0	1	1
11	Upper Lake	NCS	73 (tied)	2	0	1	2
11	Walnut	SS	18	4	0	0	2
16	Del Oro	SJS	12	3	1	1	1
16	Ridgeview	CS	190 (tied)	2	0	0	2
18	Cerritos	SS	167 (tied)	3	0	1	1
18	Monroe, James	LACS	147 (tied)	3	0	1	1
20	Enochs	SJS	7 (tied)	2	1	1	1
20	Lincoln-Stockton	SJS	26	2	1	1	1
20	Mira Costa	SS	109 (tied)	3	0	1	1
20	McClatchy	SJS	173 (tied)	2	1	1	1
20	Terra Nova	CCS	15 (tied)	3	0	0	2
25	Benicia	SJS	13	2	0	1	1
25	Bella Vista	SJS	35 (tied)	2	0	1	1
25	Casa Grande	NCS	44 (tied)	2	0	0	2
25	Rodriguez	SJS	156 (tied)	3	0	0	1
29	Ayala	SS	139 (tied)	2	0	1	1
29	Chaminade	SS	230 (tied)	1	1	1	1
29	Granada Hills	LACS	202 (tied)	5	0	0	0
29	Gilroy	CCS	67 (tied)	2	0	1	1
29	Kennedy	SS	49 (tied)	2	0	1	1
29	Rowland	SS	109 (tied)	1	1	1	1
29	Westminster	SS	132 (tied)	1	1	1	1

Creating More Wrestling Opportunities for ALL Female Wrestlers

Jessica Philippus, wrestler, professional MMA fighter, 2X Grappling world medalist. image: Twitter profile

I have long lamented the lack of wrestling opportunities in Southern California for female wrestlers after high school. Unless a wrestler went on to a college team or joined the Olympic Training Center, the only way they would ever see competition again would be by participating in the national-level tournaments they could still enter.

I have also often wondered why there weren’t more all-girl tournaments that catered to every age-group at the same event. I know, “the numbers aren’t there to support such an event.” But, is that a fact? Or, is it just something that’s being thrown around as an excuse for not taking risks in the growing of the sport?

Enter Jessica Philippus

Turns out I’m not the only one thinking about such things. And, MMA Fighter Jessica Philippus didn’t just think about it, she did something about it too. For those of you not familiar with Jessica, she was born in the East Bay area of California. She started wrestling in high school on a dare. Accepting that dare paid off with dividends. She received a scholarship to wrestle at Missouri Valley College and graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Science. She then continued her academic career at Lindenwood University where she earned an M.A. in Business Administration.

In 2009, she embarked into the world of MMA. Her first outing in the amateur circuit ended in a loss but she would not duplicate that result again. Her amateur career record, 7-1. Her professional career began in 2012, with the same result as her amateur career, a loss. Her second fight, and latest, ended in a submission victory via a brabo choke; a potential sign that her professional career will follow that same successful trajectory as her amateur career.

Halfway through her amateur career, she founded Wrestler Chick, a company whose goal, in her own words is to,

“help make the wrestling experience easier and friendlier than what I experienced and endured 15 years ago, that still seemed to be an issue for girls in the sport of wrestling. My objective was to connect parents, athletes (current and former), and coaches so they could collaborate on girl’s tournaments, camps and practices. My second goal was to help provide female specific wrestling gear because there’s nothing worse than seeing an elementary age wrestler have to wear a bulky T-shirt under an ill fitting, boy-cut singlet.”

All the while still supporting the sport that has given her so much in the state she now calls home, Iowa. She became National Team coach and, in 2015 founded an all-female wrestling team in a small town in Iowa that has since grown to around 30 girls, ages 4-18, and has gained national attention by the NWCA. But her thoughts have never been too far from the state where her career started and her desire to give back to the sport in California has been the driving force behind her participating in the creation of something special.

The Kern Fitness Expo

The Kern Fitness Expo is being billed as California’s biggest multi-sport event. Considering that arm-wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kettlebell competition, powerlifting, wrestling (both folkstyle and freestyle), and even an “American Ninja Warrior” type obstacle course challenge will be taking place it’s difficult to argue against the claim.

The event takes place May 12^th through the 13^th at the San Diego Convention Center. Besides the various competitions, there will also be exhibitors showcasing their wares, celebrities from the fitness world, and special guests.

And, who is behind the wrestling part of the event? That would be Jessica Philippus.

Wrestling

As mentioned earlier, both folkstyle and freestyle wrestling will take place with the girls and women competing on Saturday (5/13) and the boys and men on Sunday (5/13). The Madison Weight System will be in use, so weight-cutting will be unnecessary, and all groupings will be in a round-robin format to make sure the wrestlers get the most matches possible.

The most exciting part, as I had intimated at the beginning of this post, is the opportunity for an all-female tournament to take place and for female wrestlers who have long since graduated from high school to hit the mats once again in the women’s open division. They can wrestle folkstyle, freestyle or both! This type of opportunity, unfortunately, is too rare and that needs to change, It’s going to take more organizers like Jessica to take chances on the belief that the wrestlers are out there just waiting for the opportunities to present themselves. But, it is also going to take the wrestlers showing up and taking advantage of the opportunity. They need to show other organizers that if they build it the talented female wrestler of California will come.

If you would like to learn more about the tournament you can visit the event page on this site for more information. If you would like to register you can go to Trackwrestling and do so.

I wish Jessica, this event and the wrestlers participating in it the best of luck and hope the experience will inspire a new wave of events and wrestlers to start popping up, not just around Southern California but, around the whole state.

Can’t Afford a School Visit? Somar Has Your Back

The idea of having one’s wrestler go on to pursue a higher education while still chasing their wrestling dreams seems like a pipe dream to many parents. That is until her high school coach tells them of a college asking questions about her or the wrestler herself telling them she had a conversation with a college coach about wrestling for their program. Now what? That pipe dream is close to becoming a reality and it’s scary.

As a parent, you might not know anything about the recruiting process. What’s a good wrestling school? If it is, is it academically sound? How are you going to pay for it? What if you choose the wrong school? It’s overwhelming, it truly is.

My family went through it and I am grateful for three things; we really wanted to make my daughter’s dream come true, we knew we weren’t knowledgeable enough to do this on our own, and we weren’t afraid to ask questions of anyone that did have the knowledge.

Along the way, we found out the following things come up time and time again:

Don’t commit to a college too early, a better opportunity might come along and once that Letter of Intent is signed undoing it becomes very difficult.
Fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible.
Don’t wait for opportunities to come calling, your wrestler needs to create her own opportunities by reaching out to the programs she thinks she would like to wrestle for.
Negotiate, the best package with realistic expectations and goodwill. Those coaches want to get the best wrestler they can at the best deal possible, also.
Go visit the schools your wrestler is interested in.

We did everything on the above list, except number five. Unlike with an NCAA program where the school may be able to pay for the trip, that does not happen in women’s wrestling under the WCWA and we simply couldn’t afford it. Throughout our daughter’s career, we fundraised for many of the national events she participated in, we did everything we could to stretch every dollar as far as it could go. Unfortunately, paying for airfare to four or five colleges simply was not in our budget.

Thankfully, that year Richard Ramos of Somar Wrestling held his inaugural Coaches Combine with six coaches scheduled to present a sample of how they ran their team practice and selling the athletes on the reasons why their school would be the right choice for the wrestlers. It was thanks to that combine that my daughter and my family were able to say yes to the school she ultimately signed with; to this day she is still happy about her choice, as is her mother and I.

2016 Coaches Combine -El Monte High School

I am not, by any means, saying that the combine can replace an in-person visit. If you find yourself in a financial situation that will allow you visit the campus, absolutely do it. But if you can’t, the combine is the best next thing. Your athlete’s success will be dictated not by wonderful residence halls with modern amenities, malls with walking distance or lovely weather. Her success will be dictated by her desire to be successful, her relationship with her coach, and the quality of the education being imparted. Those three things will never be presented during a campus tour, beyond the public relations aspect of it.

So, if money is tight and you think that college is in your wrestler’s future, for $50, this April ~~14 and~~ 13 through 15, you can at get an in-depth first impression of ~~four~~ five coaches that are so invested in finding hidden gems that they are willing to come to the wrestlers versus waiting for the wrestlers to come to them.

This year the combine will take place at Cerritos High School in the city of Cerritos. You can read more about the event here. You can also register and learn more about the organization at Somar Wrestling’s site. I know, you might be thinking well these schools must be desperate, top schools wouldn’t need to take part in this combine. This year, 32 schools participated in the WCWA National Championships and here is how the ~~four~~ five schools stack up :

Emmanuel College – In its third year as a program; finished 4th as a team this year; was 12th last year.
Grays Harbor College – In its second year as a program; finished in 7th as a team this year; was 18th last year.
Southern Oregon University – In its third year as a program; finished 12th as a team this year; was 10th last year.
University of Providence (formerly University of Great Falls) – In its first year as a program; finished 17th as a team this year.
Lyon College – This fourth-year program finished 21st as a team this year and are looking to improve that result next season.

As you can see the only things these schools are desperate for is to become the top women’s wrestling programs in the nation and are willing to travel to get the talent they need to accomplish that. I must add that If a school your wrestler is looking at is not participating in the combine, you should not look at it as a negative sign. Schools have budgets too and the programs need to use their funds in the most effective way to meet their goals. Your wrestler will simply have to find a different way to help her make her decisions.

I know this post probably sounds a bit like a commercial. I am in no way trying to pass myself off as a journalist. What I am is an advocate for women’s wrestling and the opportunities it creates. Richard Ramos started his organization from the desire to not have parents figure everything on their own like he had to when his daughter was wrestling and I started this site for the very same reason. So, I will continue to advertise for organizations that fall in line with that belief system, whether it be Somar or any other organization.

Wentworth Military Academy To Close And The Lesson It Teaches Us

Some heartbreaking news came out of Lexington Missouri, yesterday. After 137 years, Wentworth Military Academy is scheduled to permanently shutter its doors at the end of this semester (May 31). What makes this news even more Heartbreaking is that Wentworth had only just added a women’s wrestling program last year. This brings the number of WCWA programs down to 33 34 for the next season (list of current and future WCWA programs).

Nine wrestlers are being affected by this closure two of them are from SoCal. I can only hope they and the other athletes will be able to find homes at other programs and that the WMA will do its part in helping to at least put them in contact with programs (new or current) in need of wrestlers. I knew it was a bad sign when the school did not take part in this year’s WCWA Nationals. Funding prevents many programs from competing in as many tournaments as would be ideal; but there has to be a pretty compelling reason to miss the association championships and Wentworth had one.

Wentworth had had declining revenue and enrollment with increased expenses for a period of time, a lawyer, with a firm representing the school, explained to The Kansas City Star. Its inability to run in the black is the main reason the decision was made to close.

I was listening to a financial adviser on the radio, just last week. He was discussing about the newest issue facing current and future college students: BANKRUPTCY. No, it’s not parents or students burdened with astronomical student loan debt that are filing for bankruptcy at an alarming rate. It’s schools. Tougher regulations governing financial aid along with increased competition among schools to attract students to their campuses through more and more amenities are beginning to take their toll, especially on smaller private schools. Small colleges have been building luxury dorms and state of the art student halls to get students to trade-in their big-city lifestyle for higher education in small-town settings. Sometimes, this means taking on debt when they are already operating in the red due to diminishing student enrollment. It’s a gamble that, like all gambling, has risks.

The other way a small school can increase its enrollment and revenue is by offering something new and exciting. Something that seems to be growing and will be around for a while. Women’s wrestling hits the mark perfectly. I’m not saying a 24-woman wrestling team is going to make a small college’s financial woes disappear but what it can do is put them on the map. As women’s wrestling continues to grow, the public will become more accustomed to hearing about the sport and the athletes that practice it. A college that a few years earlier was unknown outside its county now becomes, “that school with the women’s wrestling program.” And that label helps it reach a section of the population it would have never reached before. Now, if we take into account that some of these schools are not only adding women’s wrestling but also other sports that are also growing in popularity; we end up with what these schools are hoping will be a winning formula that will change their fortunes. But it doesn’t always work.

The Lesson

I don’t like writing or even thinking this way but I’m a parent and I love this sport. I want every practitioner to go on to college. I want every little wrestlergirl to compete in the Olympics. But that’s not going to happen. So, I have to be satisfied with helping the few that do and their parents with information; equipping them with knowledge that will help them make the best decision possible.

I know of parents that could care less about their daughters’ high school wrestling, at best they tolerate it, and then are surprised that a college wants her to attend the school and on a scholarship, no less. Some parents, will at that point, do everything they can to make it happen; others will squelch the dream due to the financial hardships it will cause the family. There is not much that I can do for the latter except hope the wrestler will find a way to continue on her path. For the former, I hope the piece of advice I am offering will be of some use.

There is also the other side of the coin, the parents that are completely invested in their daughter’s wrestling dream. Here too, there are two types. The first, is on top of everything — from educational path to training and competition — they have a goal and are involved during every step. The second, give their wrestler the independence to control the trajectory of their own career. One is not better than the other when the wrestler’s goal is the same as their parents but that is a discussion for another time.

Here is my advice to all parents and wrestlers, given what has happened to Wentworth, First, there is a laundry list of questions that parents and athletes have, when talking to recruiters. Ask the questions! Yes, it’s a flattering experience when a coach approaches a wrestler and shows interest. More often than not wrestlers (and parents) don’t want to say the wrong thing; afraid they will sour the deal. So they keep quiet. But, if asking a legitimate question will sour an offer from a recruiter, that is not the program for you. Trust me, if one program took notice others will too and they might be more willing to discuss things openly and honestly. Some of you may feel differently, but I would rather my daughter take a chance at school where she has no shot at being on the starting line-up but the coach has answered most of our questions satisfactorily, than going to a program where she has been promised that starting position but the recruiting coach failed to give straight answers to the majority of our concerns.

Now the second part of my advice, do your due diligence and research the financial health of the school. Most people will research the wrestling program’s accomplishments, the coach’s experience and the quality of the education provided by the institution (not necessarily in that order) but it is now becoming a must to see if the school will be in operation for the two (if it’s a J.C.) to five years the student will be attending. I’m not saying that financial difficulties should automatically disqualify a school. Sending your wrestler to any college is just as much of a gamble as it is for a school to have a women’s wrestling program. It may pay off it may not but if a decision is made to send an athlete to a school that has had financial difficulties and the school does happen to close, hopefully a contingency plan has been made thanks to the information collected beforehand.

Choosing a college isn’t easy. Taking chances isn’t easy. But, if I have learned something through this sport it’s that, there is no one better prepared to make difficult choices and take chances than a wrestler.

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