Everybody needs to check out these highlight videos on Youtube. 3rd grade phenom Steve Poulin is a machine. Just type in "stevowrestle." There is a handful of his videos. It starts with stevowrestle1 and works its way up to stevowrestle5.

Scott Casber of Takedown Radio did an interview with him this week. Pretty funny little guy. Interview can be found at www.revwrestling.com

his technique is amazing for someone at that level. Shots are better than a lot of HS kids. He hit a freaking leg cradle. ridiculous...

unbelievable. See dad's it CAN be done!

With that hair at least at least you don't have to worry about him ending up at Skutt.

The question is not can it be done, the question is should it be done.

When I first saw this video I was very impressed. I am all for an athlete working hard and excelling at his craft. What concerned me later is the amount of pressure and noteriety (radio interviews?) that this kid is under at such a young age. I am also concerned about the critics and microscope he is under. Look at the comments under his youtube video for examples. His father has to come to his sons defense many times. As well, in one of the comments his father says that Steve is already sponsored to go to different tournaments so he can compete against better competition and the family has to do this to afford the travel (will this ruin his college eligibility?). You take that and couple it with his father chronicling him on youtube and I am concerned about the effect of this bright spotlight on a young kid. We have all seen what can happen when a father becomes a fan of his son instead of being a dad. His dad has website for him already, and sponsorship, really? I don't know this family so I have no clue if that is occurring or not but it sometimes does with young athletes that achieve a lot of success early. What happens when other kids catch up with him physically and he doesn't have the same dominance? Does he become grandiose and arrognant because of his early success and elevated status? Does he become bored with normal life if he is not in the spotlight?

I guess, if I was this kids father, I would continue to work hard in wrestling but I would not create stevowrestling, seek sponsorships, and post youtube videos. I don't see how that serves a 3rd grader well. May serve the father, but I don't think it serves the 3rd grader.

Just my thoughts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: You know,

You Know:
that is a very good point, but we have all seen this but with a different sport. Can you say Tiger Woods? His dad had him on TV hitting golf balls on the tonight show and the Dick Cavitt show. To me everybody now a days likes to analyze things to death and kids listen and believe what they hear. If his dad is selling his sons gifts then let him do it, as long as he has his sons head on straight. If little Stevo can take our sport to the level that Tiger did for golf, then let the leg craddling freak have at it.

Good example with Tiger Woods. Look what happened with him. He lost his morality and felt like he was above the normal standards of decency that we live by. Could Tiger not have made the same impact in golf without having the spotlight on him before his maturity would allow such attention. I think he could. But in a society that is always looking for the next phenom and the next superstar, I understand the appeal of the attention. I just don't think it is good for the kid and think it is POTENTIALLY more self-serving for a parent that lives vicariously through the success of his son. I would prefer my son works hard and is successful as a third grader and then dominate the sport later in life with some noteriaty that he is more equipped to handle and put into context emotionally.

Ditto You Know, I agree completely.

Wow I really cannot believe that people think this is great over 280 matches and the kids is only 8 said he has been wrestling for 4 years so over 70 matches a year which includes when he is 4 or 5! Even if he is great why would a parent have a kid wrestle THAT MUCH at that age? I know he “loves it, asked to go each week” but my kids love candy and want it all the time as a parent you need to moderate.

I will say the kid does have talent, but how great that talent is I think will be shown not in 3rd grade or even 4th grade but in high school and perhaps later. None of the matches in the video were close but he has lost about 30 matches so is he just that good or is the competition in the videos that bad? Also all of those headlock throws probably won’t work after about 4th grade and would not be allowed in any Huskerland rules meets here.

Oh and nice touch in Stevo1 where they show the other kid run off the mat after the take down this was in 2009 so we are talking about 6 and under division, real class. Oh hey guess what in Steveo2 they show a kid crying after getting pinned, twice again 2009 so it would be under 6. You will never guess another kid crying in Stevo 4 after he throws him. I hope that anyone who posts here takes into consideration that part of what is being promoted is one kid making another 6 or under kid cry, personally I don’t like crying in sports but I would never post any kid that age crying in a sports event. Stop hyping the kid and hype the great high school wrestlers instead there are plenty that could use the publicity more than this kid.

First Tiger lost his morality after he dominated the PGA, not when he was a young child. His father was in the service and was very strict so Tiger wasn't out running around trying to sleep with random women when he was younger. If you ever read interviews of his college roommates they called him a dork, nerd and a homebody. His behavior changed when he could beat everybody in the world at the sport he played. Second, if there is a kid competing in 70 spelling bees or geography bees a year is that ridiculous? If he is "bullying" his kindergarten teacher, then that teacher needs to grow a pair and then the parents need to pull him back a little. But If they can afford it and he wants to do it, why is that bad. The last time I looked wrestling doesn't cause tooth decay or hyper activity or weight gain. It does teach a lot of real good qualities in people and the one he will learn soon enough will be modesty.

This is a train wreck waiting to happen. For every Tiger Woods there are a 1000 kids that flame out.

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Originally posted by lincwre:
Also all of those headlock throws probably won’t work after about 4th grade and would not be allowed in any Huskerland rules meets here.

I am very removed from Huskerland rules, but why exactly is a headlock illegal?

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if there is a kid competing in 70 spelling bees or geography bees a year is that ridiculous? .

Yes, for similar reasons but that would mean 70 different events, not more like the 20 or so tournaments you would need to enter to get 70 matches, but still same principal.

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But If they can afford it and he wants to do it, why is that bad. The last time I looked wrestling doesn't cause tooth decay or hyper activity or weight gain. It does teach a lot of real good qualities in people and the one he will learn soon enough will be modesty.

True but the lesson not being learned is moderation. Playing video games increases hand eye cordination and map functions of the brain, but playing video games for 4 hours a day every day is not good development for a kid. Throwing a baseball is good exercise and so is pitching, but throwing 100 pitches a day everyday is not. The issue is moderation.

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I am very removed from Huskerland rules, but why exactly is a headlock illegal?

Huskerland rules no headlocks 2nd and under, 15 sec 3rd & 4th. No penalty, but no takedown and wrestlers are returned to thier feet in 3rd & 4th if no pin return to referee's position and award any earned back points, if not takedown, then back to thier feet.

I agree this is a train wreck waiting to happen. And honestly, ALL those headlocks?? To me, if your main move is a headlock, you need to hit the mat training harder than you ever have before, there are more wreslters that know how to defend the headlock out there and will roll right through it..... I HATE HATE HATE, did I say HATE headlocks!!!! I cant say it enough, headlocks are to be used only for desparation and only once in every blue moon. I have a wreslter who has wreslted for 9+ years now and has maybe used a headlock 10 times, EVER!! And, if a headlock is put in on him, he will roll through it every single time and pin you in a heartbeat.......
Let this little kid be a kid, let him love wreslting, let him learn how to win and lose with class and dignity, that is what it is all about.
perhaps this kid need to spend some time in each of our families......

Time will tell- but I have seen many parents get caught up in a dream and not stay realistic. With that many matches at this young age it is possible he will loose his drive and love. What about if he begins to loose? How will he handle that? Good luck to them and it is always easier to judge and make speculations when it isn't your child.

quote:

Originally posted by 4 The Love Of Wrestling:
To me, if your main move is a headlock, you need to hit the mat training harder than you ever have before, there are more wreslters that know how to defend the headlock out there and will roll right through it..... I HATE HATE HATE, did I say HATE headlocks!!!! I cant say it enough, headlocks are to be used only for desparation and only once in every blue moon. I have a wreslter who has wreslted for 9+ years now and has maybe used a headlock 10 times, EVER!! And, if a headlock is put in on him, he will roll through it every single time and pin you in a heartbeat.......

If your kid has such a high success rate at defending the headlock you should love that move. You should hope and pray every wrestler tries to throw it on your kid. After all every time is a pin.

The Headlock is the worst thing a kid can learn early and have success with. It is the easiest move in the sport to defend against...and it is a coaching failure that the defense isn't taught to EVERY kid on EVERY Team.

My youth program was 100% against the headlock. Some programs dominated with headlocks, Seward sticks out in my mind. Headlocks are not the worst move. The often work if done right. I have seen many kids win at the last second throwning a headlock. This is when the opponent is expecting it most and it still works. A well timed and well thrown headlock is nearly impossible to stop. I am not sure where the hatred for headlocks come from.

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Originally posted by MatCop:
The Headlock is the worst thing a kid can learn early and have success with. It is the easiest move in the sport to defend against...and it is a coaching failure that the defense isn't taught to EVERY kid on EVERY Team.

No wrestler should be shielded against any move at an early age. I know kids tend to focus on the headlock early but most of that is instinctive. Most first year wrestlers always want to attack the upper body and not shoot a take-down. The coaching failure is not being able to show your wrestler other techniques to get them off of the headlock. There are two reasons coaches hate the headlock so much; One is because young kids want to do it all to often and two is because their own wrestler gets burned by it.
To me its amazing that a coach is expected to show a defense to a move that they don't want their wrestlers to do. To have a good defense against any move is to have great knowledge of the offensive move. A wrestler needs to understand the situation and the set ups for the headlock to best defend against them.
If its the EASIEST move to defend against out of all the moves in wrestling, a coach should always hope the other wrestler tries to do it.

So there is 10 seconds left in a match and your kid is down by 5 and both are neutral. Have him shoot in cause you never showed him the headlock offensively. There is a time and a place for the headlock just like every other wrestling move.

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Originally posted by First to be Banned:

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Originally posted by 4 The Love Of Wrestling:
To me, if your main move is a headlock, you need to hit the mat training harder than you ever have before, there are more wreslters that know how to defend the headlock out there and will roll right through it..... I HATE HATE HATE, did I say HATE headlocks!!!! I cant say it enough, headlocks are to be used only for desparation and only once in every blue moon. I have a wreslter who has wreslted for 9+ years now and has maybe used a headlock 10 times, EVER!! And, if a headlock is put in on him, he will roll through it every single time and pin you in a heartbeat.......

If your kid has such a high success rate at defending the headlock you should love that move. You should hope and pray every wrestler tries to throw it on your kid. After all every time is a pin.

I use to think the same about the headlock for youth until I realized it wasn't the headlock that was bad to teach but that the wrestler had to also know other offensive moves so that they weren't one dimensional. It's also instrumental in knowing the headlock in order to understand 'how' to defend it. The headlock is a MUST if you're going to compete in GR and seems to have worked well for the likes of Darrion Caldwell, Quentin Wright and Kurt Kinser who regularly use it in folkstyle.