Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association

Congratulations to all of you on the special seasons that you have had with your athletes, parents, and communities creating a positive buzz about wrestling. Those experiences and memories are above all the most powerful tools to retain and recruit future wrestlers. As many of the ambassadors of the sport of wrestling have said, once a wrestler, always a wrestler. 

A couple of reminders as you head off into the off season: 

• Coaches, take the time and get involved with the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association voting process. The timelines that are involved are posted on the website www.wwca.org. Take the time and recognize your colleagues and their respective seasons. 
• Finish your ranking of officials for the 2011-12 at www.RefRanking.com. The officials have done the leg work to make it as easy as possible for coaches to rank them with pictures and putting their schedule in for our convenience. Take the time and help their profession continue to grow. 
• Attend your district meetings this spring. Your voice is important to the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association. It also provides a better direction for all of us to continue to move forward in making Wisconsin one of the premier wrestling states in the country. 
• Check into the regulations and guidelines for out of season contact with your athletes. Remember, knowledge is powerful. 

As for the state of the state of wrestling in Wisconsin. The WIAA appears to be listening and looking for change in the way we do the state tournament and the state tournament series. With that said, the number of ideas that can be generated with the opportunity for change are unlimited. We, coaches, then begin to believe that I like that change only if you change this, and so on and so forth. That is where we 
get stuck and change never happens. 
 
So, as a voice of direction, we need to make a list of priorties that are important in enhancing the sport of wrestling in Wisconsin. For example, does changing the State Team and Individual Tournament to a three day affair go in front of changing the way we qualify for the state tournaments or do we look a a package proposal that changes both. Also, what principles are we going to advocate for? Are we going to 
advocate for fans, facilities, parents, schools, media, etc. or we stand for the training and competition of our athletes. The choices may seem simple, but many times the cause and effect are complex. Please take the time in the next couple of months and help us move forward. Check out our website www.wwca.org for the most up to date proposals, ideas, etc. that have been brought forth. 
 
Let us become unified and promote a solid direction as it will continue to lead the state of Wisconsin to the top.