huskerj...is that why he has put a $100 bounty on me? He has no clue who I am...but we all know that my opinions are causing a great stir...we got people so mad and I am not even being sarcastic or rude any more. My ideas are striking many sour cords with these fellas!

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No that problem is that other schools do not enjoy the same priviledge that the Omaha schools do and it gives Omaha schools a competitive advanatage.

What would that privilege be? That they have better programs and wrestlers want to go wrestle for them? Take a look at some of the top programs across the state. What do you notice about them? They have aggressive, hard working coaching staffs who constantly push their wrestlers to make them better, even if it means taking them to out-of-state tournaments to go against even better competition. They are fired up coaches who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Maybe some coaches need to sit in on a Skutt, Prep, Lincoln East, Millard South or Burke practice and watch how things are run. For those of you farther out west, I suggest Aurora, Kearney, Valentine, St. Cecelia, or Amherst. I bet youll see wrestlers working hard and getting the most out of their practice time. The privilege arguement is just to cover up the shortcomings of your own coaching staffs. Ask Tyler Herman or Ryan Brand if they feel like they have "privileged" programs.

Sid...we are sure to know that the argument about a one class system is never going to fly! Everyone has sour grapes about the big guys always winning the titles. I agree with many of the positive posters...if you want to beat the best...get better at what you do and make your kids champions! It is an easy formula to follow! Hard work equals success!

Wrasslin, I don't want any part of your squabble with NWI or anyone, but I felt I needed to say this.

Growing up in Burwell, I was raised to believe that the only way you get somewhere in life is through hard work. Since coming to Fairbury I have tried to implement the "we must outwork and out train our opponents if we want to win" theory. I believe in that theory and will continue to do so.

However, I have this question for you. I am not saying that teams like Skutt recruit by any means, but I do have the following argument.

Since Skutt has been a power house in wrestling, a lot of kids that had older brothers, or have or still do live in other school districts opt to go to Skutt to get the opportunity to wrestle there. Skutt draws kids from all over the metro area.

Now, living in a town in the middle of nowhere, you have what you have. Even if you happen to win a state title, you aren't going to draw kids from anywhere, because there is no where to draw from!! That is the disadvantage wrasslin.

I used Skutt as an example, and there are more teams that have the opportunity that Skutt has right now, I just used them as an example. I want to reiterate that I am not saying they recruit, I am just saying that the kids come from all over the metro area to get the opportunity to wrestle there..

My two cents and thanks for listening.

P.J. Smith

sorry, after reading my post, I meant there were kids that had older brothers that wrestled for other schools and the younger brother is now at Skutt, sorry for not clarifying that.

these blowouts happen because schools recruit kids away from there home schools. maybe if they address that situation and put everyone on the same playing field when it comes to $$$ and facilities you would see a big change in scenary in all sports, not just wrestling. as far as making class a larger, i think thats foolish !! we who live in large cities cant help that our school enrollment is the way it is.

The hard work argument is a small portion of that equation. Talent wins and hard work with elite talent makes a great wrestler better. The kid who was once terrible and gets to an elite status because he's worked his butt off is the exception rather than the rule. As someone on here said once, no matter how hard the UNO football team works this offseason, they couldn't come close to beating Nebraska next year. Ya know why? Because Nebraska has better players-end of story.

Sid Vicious:

Open enrollment gives the Omaha schools a competitive advantage. Omaha has a lot of wrestlers that the schools can draw from any they don't have to move out of town or away from their families to go to the school. In otherwords they would have to make less of a change to their daily living. I bet it would be a lot harder to get a good wrestler to go to Franklin from Grand Island (or vice versa) than it would be to get a good wrestler to go to Skutt or Millard South from Omaha.

HB I'm going to address you because you know what you're talking about...

If you are a wrestler in a city and you have a chance of going to either a program with a tired, lackluster program and a coach who is simply treading water until retirement, or an aggressive coaching staff who clearly work as hard as anyone else in the state, which would you choose? Players choose UNL over UNO because NU has a tradition of excellence, they will be coached better, and they will get more media exposure. Same thing goes with high school wrestling.

"You know", the Cottles transferred from Arlington to Skutt. Jake Smith transferred from Blair to Bennington. Wheaton transferred from Tekamah to Skutt. 525 transferred his son from Oakland to Tekamah. They were willing to sacrifce to make themselves better. If you are in a small town and can't transfer,then find out what your coaches are doing to make the program better. Are they going to camps in the summer? Are the coaches involved outside of the November-February schedule? You have that right to expect something from your coaching staff if you want to see your team improve.

And just to address some of those that think for me this is a Skutt only issue-couldn't be further from the truth. If Skutt optioned the NSAA to compete in Class A next year I would still be pushing for this move to 40. Class A would still have the same problems that plague it now even with Skutt. When you only have around 20 teams in Class A that can consistently put a viable product on the mat, you've got a problem.

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When you only have around 20 teams in Class A that can consistently put a viable product on the mat, you've got a problem.

Truer words have never been spoken, HB.

It has always been my understanding that open enrollment or option enrollment was designed to afford parents academic choice. It was never designed to allow parents to choose the best place for their kids to participate in extra-curricular activities. In fact, the original proposal stated that a student couldn't enroll for anything other than academic reasons.

Tweak the rule to read that if a student is really truly wanting to attend a school for academic reasons, then they may go to class in that district, but go back to their "home" district for extra curricular activities. That should take care of students moving for purely athletic reasons. And that would satisfy the true intent of the option enrollment rule, academic choice.

Ankle pick -- way back when option enrollment was being considered in the Legislature, I saw it for what it was...and it had nothing to do with "academic choice" as the proponents then (and, to this day, still) claimed.

While there ARE some families who utilize the option enrollment choice for a variety of reasons -- academic and personal -- I would be willing to bet that the majority of the optioned kids moved for extracurricular purposes, the majority of which being to move their kids into "better" programs.

A friend of mine had a son who was a very good baseball player, but lived in a small town where no high school program was available. They optioned him to another school district where high school baseball was available, and in that case I don't see a problem with it. If your school doesn't offer a particular activity that your child excels in, you should take advantage of that opportunity.

But how many of these option enrollees move because mommy and/or daddy don't like the coach, don't like his philosophy, don't like the fact that Junior didn't play X number of games, minutes, etc. -- those are the parents who, in my opinion, abuse the option enrollment availability. You have parents in this sport who have abused this over the years, and not just so their kid could wrestle at Omaha Skutt or some other high-profile program.

NWI, how about an example from a city you used to live and work in. You have a son who is a pretty good wrestler, do you send him to the upper-class school where the program is simply treading water, or do you send him to the smaller-class parochial school that is consistently challenging for championships, and will likely even get a better education?

I send him to the school that is going to give him the best education first, and make the time and effort to make him a better wrestler after that.

You can only wrestle for so long, Sid...the physical skills that you gain and exhibit on the mat are only temporary when compared to what you learn in the classroom. Your education is something you will use until the good Lord calls your number...which, if you're lucky, will be long after those physical skills have whithered away.

If your focus, as a parent, is on athletics over academics, you are not being a very good parent, IMO.

That's why I threw in the part about even getting a better education, NWI. With all the public school educations being relatively equal, hopefully parents will look to the extracurricular programs where coaches will make them the best that they can possibly be, and give them the most positive experience possible.

I'll just say NWI that after travelling all around the state, surely you MUST admit there are some coaches who could be doing more for their programs or are just treading water until retirement. With open enrollment, wrestlers aren't forced to put up with that. Take a look at the programs wrestlers are leaving, and take a look at one's they are going to.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sid Vicious,

Hey Granby

I have the deal of the century for you.....you simply cannot refuse.....If you prove I am wrassssssslin, I will give you 10 large, but if I prove I am not.....then you sport me one little C note. Now those are some pretty decent odds for you, wanna play? What do you think Ross or Mike....is that a good deal or what?

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I think there has to be a concerted effort to bring the level of wrestling up from within class A. I believe this is being done. Certainly, we can't do much about the new schools....they have great coaching staffs and time will put them in the hunt. I know when Millard West opened up, it hammered me for at least 7 years. With regard to many of the OPS schools, Bob Danenhauer (head of OPS AD's) has a really good plan. He is trying to get the feeder schools in line with the high schools in OPS and then he is trying to establish clubs for each high school. This way, the head coaches and the staffs get a chance to be involved with the kids when they are young...this should establish a modicum of loyalty at each high school. As you can see, there are things being done. I think we can all agree that NO class A school should be without a full lineup somehow.

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If your focus, as a parent, is on athletics over academics, you are not being a very good parent, IMO.

Just curious if anyone has chastized 525, or the Cottles, or Jake Smith's parents, or anyone else for doing this...

Hey there granby...if you will share the 10 grand that Denson is giving away...I will claim to be him! You will win! LMFAO!

Grapplinman...if they think that you are me...I can I be me? It is interesting...some think I am from Omaha North, some think I am RJ Nabisco, some think I am Denson, some think I live in the metro and am a head coach, Some think I am crazy, some think I am smart, some think that I am stupid...but all think about me some!

I love being anonymous! Life is good and I can be all and see all from a distance...ever think that I might be someone that runs the OWH? What about from the NSAA? How about from out west with Metro envy!

You all have to get more creative with your guesses...

Wrasslin, I've figured out that you are actually NWI, and the feud between you two is all made up. Out yourself now, Carnes!