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Page 4B • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY March 2016 Little Swiss Clock Shop 270 W. Main Street • Downtown Waukesha • 262-547-2111 Mon–Fri 9–5:30pm • Saturday 9–5:00 pm www.LittleSwissClockShop.com AIRPLANE TRAIN LIGHT HOUSE STEAMING CUP GUITAR ZEBRA HEN ROOSTER OWL SEA HORSE HORSE LADY BUG PINK POODLE WESTIE PUP Come see them all! all $68 00 fun, whitty whimsical CLOCKS 248914004 By Chris Bucher Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — Area coaches aren't giving up on changing the trend of increased forfeits in high school wrestling meets this season. While the sport has seen a slight increase in participa- tion on the national level, the rates in Wisconsin don't necessarily reflect the numbers. According to the National Wrestling Coaches Associa- tion, from 2007 until 2015 the number of wrestling teams nationwide rose from 9,445 to 10,597, thus increasing the number of male partici- pants from 257,346 to 258,208. In that same span, the number of female wrestlers increased from 5,048 in 2007 to 11,496. At a Division 1 regional hosted by Waukesha South last year, the 106-pound class had seven entrants — just one shy of a full brack- et — and 145 filled all eight slots. There were 19 total forfeits in the meet, which was the same as in 2014 at a regional at Brookfield Central. There was a sharp increase this year at a D1 regional at Central. The 106 bracket saw four competitors out of its eight allotted spots, and it was the same story at 145. The for- feits meant wrestlers in those two weight classes already advanced to the sec- tional without stepping foot onto the mat. In all, there were 27 forfeits in weights at the regional. "Not just this year, but the last several years," South coach Ryan Green said when asked if there's been an increase in forfeits. "It's been a topic from the wrestling coaches over the last three to five years, I'd say." The 2015 WIAA Regionals saw just 35 out of 126 (27.8 percent) D1 teams field a full squad of 14 wrestlers. The lapse in complete line- ups for often results in an increase in forfeits in dual meets and tournaments. Of those 126 teams com- peting in last year's region- als, 42 percent had 13 or more wrestlers and 58 per- cent of schools had 12 or more, according to data pro- vided by Green. It's an issue that Brook- field Central coach Chris Demos said had a direct impact on his roster this season. "We normally don't have a bunch of teams (in the Greater Metro Conference) that have full weight class- es, but with my team in par- ticular, I typically have enough kids to fill a varsity lineup and actually have plenty of JV (wrestlers)," Demos said. "This year, not as many kids came out to wrestle and I know some of the other area conference teams are in the same boat." Making the most out of the situation With an enrollment of 812, Pewaukee has one of the smallest enrollments in D1. Yet the Pirates, ranked No. 10 in the division by wiwrestling.com, have found success on the mat and haven't had major issues filling its weights. "(Pewaukee's) the small- est school in D1 and we can field a full team. What's the difference? Pewaukee's got tougher kids than them? I don't agree," Pirates coach Ed Kurth said. Kurth added as a coach, it's a difficult job to retain students, but it's a necessity to build a successful program. "You've got to fill lineups. You don't just open the door, you have to go get kids," Kurth said. "You can't tell me some of these schools that've got 1,000 to 1,700 kids, you can't find 20 kids? I really believe that you can recruit. I mean, we don't have all stars through our lineup, but we've got guys who are gaining the benefits of being in wrestling and that's going to last them the rest of their lives. So I think coaches can get kids out (to wrestle) but I think it's very hard." At Mukwonago, a wrestling culture has been built on success and the Indians never seem to have an issue filling all of their weights. With an enrollment of 1,594, Mukwonago is ranked No. 4 in the state and advanced to its seventh team state meet in the past 12 years with a dual meet victory over Pewaukee. Indians coach Jon Wierzbicki said his pro- gram's success is construct- ed on showing kids the posi- tives of wrestling in an effort to get them to out for the team. "You have to fight to get kids out," Wierzbicki said. "They're not going to show up Nov. 15 and want to wres- tle. It can be a real energy vampire as a coach when you're constantly cognizant and working to get kids to be part of your program, and we've had some success at Mukwonago. And we still are constantly vigilant about recruiting." Recruiting for continued success This season, the Indians' roster boasts well over 50 wrestlers. While recruiting can be a difficult job at times, Wierzbicki said the solution isn't far. He added it's important to build strong relationships with other athletic programs in the school. "We go through cuts after basketball and try to get kids to see the value in a terrific sport," Wierzbicki said. "I think the big thing is having a connection with the football coach and con- tinuing to work on develop- ment at all levels. We've got a great wrestling club (in Mukwonago) and the mid- dle school team; you have to have the numbers. "At the end of the day it's wrestling. It's painful, it's not very glorious, but there's the huge sense of accomplishment when you finish." Catholic Memorial coach Bill Young has been the Cru- saders' wrestling coach for 41 years. His situation is unique, as he's also Catholic Memorial's football coach. "At our school I'm a firm believer that if you're a lineman or a linebacker or in the secondary, wrestling teaches you balance, lever- age, angles and a lot of dif- ferent things apropos to football," Young said. Green said he believes the increase of teams unable to fill a full lineup is due to kids having many other options nowadays to call a hobby. He agreed that it starts with internal rela- tionships within the school, but doesn't end there. "It's important to try and help kids to get out for opportunities," Green said. "I always tell them not to just be just a football player, be an athlete, go out for mul- tiple sports. I think that's one of the reasons numbers have declined, a lot of kids are specializing earlier or joining a club earlier and excluding themselves from other opportunities." The recent participation numbers are more discour- aging with smaller enroll- ments in the Division 2 and Division 3 levels, with 65 percent of teams in the for- mer having 12 or less wrestlers at last year's regionals while that num- ber's 84 percent in the latter. It's an issue that's left area coaches searching for an answer. Catholic Memorial, a D2 school in wrestling, is faced with a tough task annually of competing in dual meets and tournaments against teams with higher enroll- ments and complete weight classes. Young said he hasn't had much of a problem getting kids out to the wrestling team this year, with over 30 on the roster, but injuries and other factors can quick- ly change that. "With wrestling, you have to get guys out," Young said. "We had 32 kids out this year. Injuries face every- body, we had our 106 pounder, Andy Herrera, break his arm. We lost him and then we're in a dilemma." Kurth said he thinks a big reason for the decline in participants is due to a change in culture and hob- bies available to students. "I think our area has got- ten soft," Kurth said. "I think kids have many more alternatives and nobody wants to bang heads and find the toughness needed or has the toughness need- ed." Kurth added he thinks the recruiting process is one of the toughest aspects of high school wrestling. "The worst part of coach- ing wrestling is recruiting because it's the hardest sport to recruit for and com- pete in," Kurth said. "It's tough. You've got all kinds of stereotypes with it and it's uncomfortable. I don't like recruiting for youth or for middle school, but you've got to do it. It's good for kids, but it's the most unpleasant part. "Everybody wants to coach that guy that medals at state, everybody loves to coach that guy. But you need to get the kids out that real- ly are going to benefit from wrestling, even if they're not going to be stars." Added weight In 2003, the National Fed- eration of State High School Associations changed the number of weight classes in high school from 13 to 14. In 2007, it kept the same class- es but raised the limit on heavyweights from 275 to 285 pounds. Then, in 2012, it formulated the 14 weights high schools in the United States currently wrestle under in competitions. The changes were made in an effort to increase what each coach seems to seek in the sport: increased opportuni- ties. While the initiative achieved its objective, in some cases, forfeits have become increasingly com- mon. Some coaches say for- feits lead to a trickle-down effect among programs that reflects poorly on the partic- ipation rates. Oftentimes, coaches pro- pel underclassmen to the varsity roster in an effort to avoid a forfeit, fill the weight and remain competi- tive as a team. While the young athletes may look for- ward to the early opportuni- ty to wrestle at the varsity level, coaches argue it's not the proper way to prepare a wrestler. "That's one of the hardest things for coaches," Green said. "The varsity score goes into the conference record, so it's really hard. That's the person on your team that feels the pressure to perform and compete. Imagine playing football with 10 guys on one side of the ball, you want to give yourself every opportunity to compete, but there's just some kids that aren't ready for that." Young said high school coaches walk a tightrope when sending unseasoned wrestlers to the mat against older, more experienced ones. They may get some valuable mat time, but also may question if it's worth it at the end of the season. "We have kids that haven't wrestled much before and if they keep getting ham- mered, they won't compete as sophomores and juniors," Young said. "There's a fine line trying to keep kids. It's difficult for those kids if they're not too experienced and get beat consistently. No one wants to keep getting beat really bad all the time. Pretty soon a kid says they don't want to do it anymore and decides to pack it in." Wierzbicki said promot- ing young wrestlers to var- sity is something that may have a direct correlation with the dwindling num- bers. He stressed the impor- tance of pushing kids toward a goal, but not push- ing them too hard. "You can't just crush them every night. They signed up (for wrestling) because they like it and want to have fun and be on a team," Wierzbicki said. "There's a fine line because you have to challenge them, but yet you can't lose them. For us coaches, the chal- lenge is incorporating our ninth-graders, transition- ing them from middle school to high school and working out with upper- classmen potentially. It's a huge jump and we're mind- ful of that, we don't want to run kids off." Solving the problem One of the solutions to the issue that has been dis- cussed by coaches on vari- ous forums is decreasing the number of weights. Demos, who wrestled at the collegiate level under 10 weight classes, said he's a proponent of decreasing the amount of weights. "I'm all for smaller weight classes," Demos said. "I'm not saying 10 (weight class- es) is the answer in high school, but when I wrestled in high school there were 13 and then they added the 14th to attract more football players. In my opinion, I don't think it did what everyone thought it would do. I think a lot of programs would benefit with fewer weight classes." Kurth said despite having a fair amount of kids on his roster, the Pirates some- times struggle to fill some parts of the lineup due to injuries and other factors. "I look at it as the (young) guy who gets to be on varsi- ty, but I understand both sides of the argument," Kurth said. "If it's 12 (weight classes) you have more guys on JV and you're building up your JV. On the other hand, I like kids get- ting the experience of being on varsity." On the other side of the spectrum, Mukwonago con- tinues to thrive with the current number of weights. Wierzbicki said one of the Indians' biggest roster issues is finding time on varsity for some wrestlers who have consistently worked hard to compete. "I wish we had more weights," Wierzbicki said. "We only have 14 weights, and we have some kids as backups that are maybe good enough to start but are waiting their turn and pay- ing their dues, it can be frustrating." Green said he wants to make an effort to see num- bers increase again, but realizes the uphill battle that faces him and other coaches. "If the trend continues, I see administrators cutting programs," Green said. "Then you're really talking about limiting opportunities." Email: cbucher@conleynet.com With forfeits increasing across the area, coaches seek solution Area coaches not quitting on participation trend Mary Langenfeld/Special to The Freeman Pewaukee junior Jacob Raschka won the WIAA Division 1 state title at 195 pounds this season. Mary Langenfeld/Special to The Freeman Arrowhead senior Aidan Yde competes at the WIAA Division 1 state wrestling tournament.

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