What is Wrestling All About?
Excerpts from American Coaching Effectiveness Program
Wrestling is a popular sport for kids. One particularly attractive feature is that wrestlers are matched up according to weight, age and experience. This allows youngsters too small to compete in other sports to face opponents of about the same size, age and ability. Wrestling provides the benefits of physical development, nutritional awareness, and increased self-responsibility, self-confidence and exposure to new learning experiences both on and off the mat.
Wrestling is not a highly complex sport. But, because of the physical contact rules do exist to provide a fair competition and to ensure the safety and health of the participants.
Matches
A referee, timekeeper, and scorekeeper are necessary to conduct an official match. The match is divided into three periods. Matches begin with wrestlers on their feet, facing each other in a “neutral position”, with no advantage to either one.
The second and third periods can start with either a) both wrestlers down on the mat with one in a position of advantage (“referees position”), or b) both wrestlers on their feed in a neutral position. A coin toss determines which wrestler gets his choice of position.
The duration of the match depends on the age group involved with younger wrestlers wrestling one-minute periods and older wrestlers extending to one and one-half minute periods. Winners are determined by points accumulated during the entire match, however a match can end due to a one opponents pinning the other (a “fall”), technical fall (point differential), injury, forfeit, or disqualification for misconduct, stalling or other rules violation a referee believes warrant it.
Classification Systems
The wrestlers are matched up by weight, age, and experience. A weigh-in is held before the competition. The wrestlers body weight must be within pre-set weight groupings. See www.txusawrestling.com for the current weight and age classifications.
Scoring Maneuvers
Wrestlers will train on many techniques to help them to score points or to pin an opponent. Points may be scored from any position. This leads to some dramatic and exciting finishes. To add even more drama, wrestlers may win a match at any time by pinning his opponent, regardless of the score. Here’s a basic description of maneuvers and scoring:
Maneuver | Scoring | Description |
Takedown | 2 pts | Taking the opponent down to the mat from the neutral position |
Escape | 1 pt | Getting away from the opponent and gaining a neutral position |
Reversal | 2 pts | An exchange of control when the bottom wrestler gains the top position |
Near Fall | 2 or 3 pts | Both shoulder blades are exposed to the mat for a count of 2 or more seconds but a fall does not occur |
Fall/Pin | End match | An opponents shoulders/blades are held to the mat for 2 seconds |
Technical Fall | End match | A margin of greater than 12 points ends the match |
Tournaments
A youth wrestling competition usually takes the form of a tournament where several wrestlers from different teams enter into a specific classification and/or weight class. In the Central Texas region all local tournaments separate "Rookie" (1st year to wrestle) and "Novice" (only 1 year of prior experience) from the Open division wrestlers who have more experience. The tournament may be run as a bracket (wrestle only a few of the other competitors) or a round-robin (wrestle all of the other competitors). In bracketed tournaments wrestlers names appear in pairings. Winners of these pairing matches advance to face each other. Pairings continue until there is only one winner. Almost all bracketed tournaments have a consolation or double-elimination format, so that a wrestler who has lost only once still has an opportunity to place in the standings.
It is customary to award the successful wrestlers with some token of achievement, usually a medal or ribbon for the top 4 places. Regional and statewide championships sometimes award trophies.