Wrestling Parents are CRAZY,

...but when was the last time you checked out the stands at an 11 year old travel baseball game???

I have spent a lot of time in youth sports, both as a coach of three sports - football, wrestling, baseball - and sitting in the stands spectating.  In my younger days, I always thought that wrestling parents were the craziest.  This was probably fueled by my experiences seeing fathers pounding the mat like crazed zombies during their kids matches, moms screaming at referees before, during and especially after their kids matches, the occasional "scruff hold walk of shame" endured by some 10 year old kids after a tough loss, the occasional melee breaking out in the stands of a tournament, etc., etc. etc.  But after many years I've come to the conclusion that most of the parents are really good people, despite the borderline psychotic/illegal behavior they may exhibit in your local gym, and that, on the whole, baseball parents are a lot worse.

A tale of two wrestlers

Most of the time when you have two or more brothers wrestling, they tend to be of like abilities.  Or at least in the same ballpark.  Same with any sport really, you have a great football player on your high school team, the coaches can't wait to get the younger brother on the team.  The Philadelphia Eagles draft Casey Matthews in hopes of getting their next (and probably first under Andy Reid) All-Pro linebacker.  That's the way it usually works.  Usually...

A little background and a story....

I'm actually back dating this post because it should be first in order to give you a little bit of background info.  I have 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl, that are all involved in wrestling.  I'll call them Cale, Conor and Julie to protect the innocent.  My two boys are wrestlers and my daughter was a wrestler for a short, but eventful week when she was 10.  I still call her involved because she loves to travel to the tournaments and meets with us.