Last night I took my family to "Alumni Night" at the River Falls High School. The wrestling team had a home dual meet and many former RFHS wrestlers attended. A few former coaches drove great distances to be recognized by the booster club. It was a fun evening for wrestling junkies like me and a lot of work went into making it special. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that the non-wrestling people felt the same.
We arrived at the school at approximately 6:30. We would have been there earlier, but we did our best pre-bedtime routine for our kids before we left so we could bring them back and take them straight to bed. The varsity dual meet was scheduled to start at 7:00. We had a good time talking to others and watching our oldest son, Isaiah, run around. Liz was being very patient and waited until 7:17 to ask when everything was going to start. I assumed she was talking about the alumni recognition and varsity dual meet. I had lost track of time, but she clearly didn't. So we walked around more and ran into the coach. The time management was clearly out of his control and he was noticeably anxious to get the show going (the official was late and weigh-ins took much longer than anticipated). The varsity match finally started around 7:45 to the chagrin of the coaches and those caring individuals who had organized the event.
Here's my point: there is no way a high school varsity basketball game would start 45 minutes later than scheduled. I don't think a hockey game would either. If these are sports wrestling is competing with for participation and attention, I think it's in the best interest of wrestling to be sure to follow advertised start times. I might be too picky, but I don't think I'm far off on this one. My situation was not unique. I had two small children with me who got antsy and were already past their bedtime. We had to leave early. Now, I'm a wrestling junkie and there isn't much, if anything, that is going to turn me away from the sport, but my wife may feel differently. She went to a wrestling event and left frustrated with wrestling. That's not good. Again, I'm so entrenched in the wrestling culture that I'll be able to smooth things over at home and my wife will continue to give wrestling a chance, but will others? I say this time and time and again, wrestling hurts itself more than administrators, budget cuts, rules, etc. If there is an advertised start time, I think it's important (and professional) to be punctual.
Understand me on this, I'm not opposed to junior varsity competitions. In fact, I think they are as important as the varsity matches in terms of development and sustainability of a program. In the j.v. matches that I watched last night, I was inspired far more by a few individuals competing in that setting than the ones competing on the varsity team. That's not the point. Provide those opportunities AND be punctual.
This post is in no way a dig at the program that is so dear to me. If that's what is interpreted, then you're missing the point entirely. This is not the first time I've been a part of a situation like this. Dual meets, high school tournaments, youth tournaments and the like often start later than advertised. As a wrestling community, let's change. Let's be punctual. If we advertise a start time, let's start at that time. It's probably better to not publish a start time than it is to publish one and not follow it. We need to be aware that we're trying to sell our product and we're giving them a bad taste.
To put one other gripe on the table...I was extremely disappointed with the conduct of the opposing team's coaching staff. Sure, they started late, but there is absolutely no excuse for how they treated the referee and for their mat side conduct. It was disgusting. After watching those coaches yell at the referee, I'm not surprised that we have a significant shortage of referees. On the other hand, the conduct from the River Falls bench was very admirable.
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I agree... we have been to many matches this year that have started late, some due to snow, some due to just starting late. It makes the nights late for all involved. It hasn't just been the duals that have been running late. Some of the tournaments we have been to on the weekends aren't starting on time and then end very late. There were a couple weekends where we didn't get home until 10 or 11 at night.
ReplyDeleteI, like Kevin, love the sport of wrestling, even though I never competed. I would go out to watch wrestling in almost anything but it seems as though things have gotten worse. I don't remember this happening as frequently with my older son who is now in college.
Let's get back on track with things running efficiently and being punctual.
I will also ditto the yelling at referees. Not our coaches, but wrestlers, fans, parents, etc. These men and women are giving their time and effort for the love of the sport also. They aren't perfect and the calls won't always go as you see them. Give them a break. How would you feel if you were the one out there?