MACON YOUTH WRESTLING 2017-18 PARENT HANDBOOK What is Macon Youth Wrestling? Macon Youth Wrestling (MWY) is a Missouri NonProfit corporation located in Macon, Missouri. We are affiliated with USA Wrestling on the national level and Missouri USA Wrestling at the state level. Who is in charge of MYW? Officers Philip Prewitt, President (660-651-1212) Paul Lang, Vice-President (660-651-0484) George Quinn, Secretary (660-651-7029) Nancy Davis, Treasurer (660-676-0384) Board members Curtis Harland Paul Lang Ebeney Magruder BJ Marino Coaches Davis Keleher (head coach) Thad Davis Michael Llewelyn Lock Morris Clothing Committee Sonja Legan (660-651-4107) Sarah Bramer Nancy Davis Lock Morris Philip Prewitt George Quinn Philip Prewitt George Quinn Anthony Witt Heather Witt Tara Leeper Heather Witt New Parent Welcoming Committee Sarah Bramer (660-221-1030) Sarah Marino Tournament Sign Ups Nancy Davis (660-676-0384)
What does MYW do for me and my child? MYW does many things: Teaches your child folk style wrestling skills; Purchases your child his or her National wrestling membership card from USA Wrestling so s/he can attend tournaments; Coordinates where you can buy necessary wrestling clothes; Helps you register your wrestler for wrestling tournaments; Provides coaches at the tournaments attended by MYW to coach your child; Lets your child use up energy during the cold, winter months while having fun; and Gives your child the opportunity to make new friends while building confidence. What is the goal of MYW? Create a positive experience for the kids so they want to continue wrestling for years to come, possibly in to high school and beyond. What is wrestling? A sport in which a wrestler tries to get control over the body of another wrestler during a match. What is a match? When two wrestlers compete against each other. Typically, a match is broken in to three parts called periods. The three periods are each a certain time length, depending on the ages of the wrestlers. Typically ages 5 to 8 wrestle for three one-minute periods and ages 9 to 14 wrestle for three one ½-minute periods. When will matches occur? For youth wrestlers, matches almost always occur during tournaments. What is a tournament? A gathering of wrestlers who get together to compete against each other. Normally a wrestler will compete in several matches at a tournament. When do tournaments occur? Tournaments are held every weekend during the wrestling season. Typically, the tournament is on a Saturday from about 8 am to about 2 pm, but they sometimes are also on a Friday or Sunday. What is a wrestling season? A time period during which tournaments are held. MYW only participates in the folk style wrestling season which starts with the Macon Youth Tournament on the second Saturday in December. It ends for the 5 and 6 year olds at the 6U Tournament at the end
of January. It ends for all other age groups in late February or March, either when the various wrestling clubs stop having tournaments or when your wrestler loses, if at all, during the State playoff tournament series. What are the different types of wrestling? MYW offers Folk style wrestling which is the style of wrestling played in Missouri high schools. Free style and Greco are other types of wrestling which can be played in Missouri, but not during the folk-style season. Who puts on the tournaments? Almost every club hosts at least one folk-style tournament during the wrestling season. This is the primary fundraiser for these clubs each year. Macon s tournament is the second Saturday of December each year. MYW will publish a list of tournaments we will be attending as a club once the other clubs start announcing them in November and December. Missouri USA Wrestling, our state association, also hosts several state-level tournaments. MYW does not teach these other styles of wrestling. To learn them, you will need to attend camps or clinics offered by other clubs and individuals during those seasons. Where are tournaments held? Tournaments are held all over the State and in other states in the gyms of cooperating colleges, high schools and middle schools. Typically, MYW only attends tournaments in the north-central part of the State of Missouri. However, almost all the state-level tournaments are in Sedalia, St. Louis or Kansas City. What are the folk style State Tournaments? The 6U tournament is for ages 5 and 6. It is normally held on the last Saturday morning in January in Sedalia. The Rookie Tournament is for wrestlers of all ages with zero to two years wrestling experience. It is normally held on the same day as the 6U Tournament in the afternoon. The District Tournament is the first tournament in the State playoff series. Typically, a wrestler must place in the top 6 of his or her bracket to advance to the Regional Tournament. The Tournament is hosted by a local club in north-central Missouri. The Regional Tournament is the second tournament in the State playoff series. Typically, a wrestler must place in the top 4 of his or her bracket to advance to the State Tournament. The Tournament host alternates each year between a local club in north-central Missouri and a St. Louis area club.
The State Tournament is the third and last tournament in the State playoff series. In 2018, the Tournament will be in St. Louis at Chaifetz Arena. In 2019 and 2020, the Tournament is expected to move to Kansas City. Note: State Tournaments are all double elimination bracket tournaments using Track Wrestling and the Bout Number system for mat assignments. Are there tournaments during the off-season? Yes. There are tournaments of all the various styles offered from March to November each year, but they are typically held in other states. Our state association, Missouri USA Wrestling, offers the opportunity for wrestlers to join District and State teams which compete against other Districts and States throughout the year in various wrestling styles. Scholarships are available from the State to help with the cost of this participation. Contact MYW to find out more information. Should my child NOT do wrestling? If any of the following bothers you or your wrestler, this might not be the sport for you and your child. We are going to be nice to your kid. However, we are not going to be easy. This is not a day care. It is a physical sport. Your child will physically hurt from all the activity and he or she can get injured. Wrestling is also an emotional sport. There will be winners and losers. Tempers will flare and tears will be shed if your wrestler cares at all about what is going on. Wrestling is an individual sport. What this means is that it is just your child and his or her opponent out on the mat. Your child will be expected to compete with everyone watching him or her. This can be difficult for kids used to being surrounded by others in team sports. There is no hiding behind others and no blaming others if your wrestler does not do well. Who you are or what you do for a living has no impact on the success or failure of your child at wrestling. What matters is how much s/he practices, how hard s/he tries to win, and the natural talent your wrestler has for the sport. There will be a lot of travel involved while attending the various tournaments. You will spend a lot of time at those tournaments in crowded, stuffy gyms doing nothing but waiting for your wrestler s next match.
The right attitude and desire to participate are important. If your wrestler does not want to wrestle...or if you do not want to be involved with your child s wrestling...this is not something either of you should be doing. What does MYW expect of wrestling parents? Mostly, that you be nice and considerate of everyone connected with MYW and the tournaments we attend, including the coaches, referees, volunteers, and parents. In addition, we expect you to be supportive of your wrestler by getting the wrestler to our events on time, helping keep track of when your wrestler will wrestle at the tournaments you attend, and tracking the results of his or her matches for use later. What does MYW cost? $150 membership fee, which may be paid in three installments. $50 of that $150 will be returned to you in the form of a tournament credit if at least one adult per wrestler works the Macon Youth Tournament on Friday evening (setup) and Saturday. If an adult does not work, the $50 is used to hire someone to work for you. Other participation costs are: Clothing Competition uniform - a singlet, wrestling shoes, headgear and a mouth piece (approx $120) Team gear of a t-shirt, shorts and a sweatshirt (approx $65) Tournament fees Travel expenses Each tournament charges $15 to $20 for your wrestler to participate. Gas, food and lodging, if applicable Are scholarships available? Yes. If you qualify for free or reduced lunches at your local school, MYW will consider granting your wrestler a scholarship which will cover the membership fee, competition uniform, team gear and tournament fees. Please talk to a board member if you want to be considered for a scholarship and the conditions required to receive it. How do I sign up for MYW? Go to our SI Play website by clicking here or by searching for Macon Youth Wrestling on the internet. You can also find a link to our website at the top of our Facebook page at Macon Wrestling. Click the Registration Online banner in the middle of the page and follow the prompts. At the end of the registration process, you can pay by credit card in one lump sum or choose to pay in three installments, with $50 due at time of sign up and the rest due over the next two months.
One adult will be the owner of the SI Play account. If you are separated or divorced from the other parent, please go ahead and add the other parent to the account and decide which of you will be the owner. Then add the kids. Do I need to sign up for anything else? Yes, USA Wrestling also requires you to create an account on their website for you and each of your wrestlers. You can go to that site by clicking here. Once your account is created, then you need to create a sub-account for each of your wrestlers. If your child is a returning wrestler, an account was created for him or her during past seasons. If so, you will need to claim that account so it is tied to your account and then associate yourself and your child with Macon Youth Wrestling on the website. Start that process by clicking the Go To Profiles button on the left of the page and follow the prompts. If your wrestler has never had a USAW number before, you will need to create your account and then create a new sub-account for your wrestler. Start that process by clicking the Go To Memberships button on the right of the page and follow the prompts. I will have a flyer on Facebook and our website showing you the steps to take to register at USA Wrestling. What documents do you need from the parents? We need a signed Waiver form. You can print it out from our Facebook page or our SI Play website under the forms tab. We also need a copy of the birth certificate for your wrestler if you have not already provided one to MYW in past years. When are practices? Practices are held on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The time depends on the age of your wrestler. Ages 5 to 10 practice from 6:15 pm to 7 pm. Ages 11 to 14 practice from 7:05 pm to 8:05 pm. Where are practices? Practices are held at our wrestling room located at 2005 N. Missouri (Hwy 63) across from Pizza Hut. What clothes should my wrestler wear to practice? Uniform for practices are shorts or sweat pants, a t-shirt and soft soled gym-style shoes, preferably wrestling shoes. A football-style mouth guard is recommended, but not required. Some wrestlers also wear the protective head gear required during
competitions. Do not wear your wrestling shoes outside of the wrestling room because you will hurt yourself and others by bringing dirt on to the wrestling mats. What should happen before practice? Go to the bathroom at home before you come to practice. We have limited time to practice. Going during practice keeps the wrestler and his or her wrestling partner from the opportunity to get better by wasting valuable practice time. What time should my wrestler get to practice? Please do not drop your wrestler off for practice before 6 pm (early group) or 7 pm (late group) so you do not disturb others who are already practicing. What should happen after practice? Wrestling involves close contact with others. Wrestlers should shower after practice and wrestling clothes need to be washed after every practice. Failure to do this may result in skin diseases. What is expected of my wrestler at practice? Your wrestler is expected to attend wrestling practice both nights. If you cannot attend, there is no need to call to report it, but keep in mind that the more your wrestler practices, the better s/he will get. Your wrestler is also expected to pay attention to the coaches and not do anything that will injure himself, others or the wrestling room. What other groups use the wrestling room? We share the wrestling room with the high school team and Purler Wrestling Academy. The high school team practices Monday through Friday, after school until 6 pm. Purler practices every Monday night from 6:15 pm to 8:30 pm. What is Purler Wrestling Academy? A private business which offers advanced wrestling classes for paid members. It is not a part of MYW. What if my wrestler is sick? Don t come if your wrestler is sick! Wrestling involves close contact with others. An illness isn t something that we want to share! Can I practice with MYW without being a member? No. Our insurance requires the wrestler be a paid member in order for our insurance to cover the wrestler. All wrestlers must join MYW after the first week of practice to keep practicing with us.
Can I practice with MYW without going to any tournaments? Yes. You decide how many, if any, tournaments you want your wrestler to attend. Keep in mind, the more tournaments you attend, the better your wrestler will get in the sport. What is the purpose of a tournament? There are several purposes. To let your wrestler get better at the sport by competing against wrestlers from other clubs. If good enough, to let your wrestler win a medal or trophy for his efforts on the mat. To build up a win-loss record that will be used when seeding the wrestler at the District Tournament. How does MYW decide what tournaments to attend? We try to pick tournaments within a 2 hour drive of Macon so no one needs to stay at a hotel or get up really early to attend. The tournaments we pick are the ones which will benefit the majority of our wrestlers based on their experience levels. Who would my wrestler compete against at a tournament? The wrestlers compete against any kids who show up who are in the same age and weight class. The age groups are 6U (5 and 6 years olds), 8U (7 and 8 year olds), 10U (9 and 10 year olds), 12U (11 and 12 year olds), and 14U (13 and 14 year olds). The weight groups are set by USA Wrestling based on the age group and can be found on our website. How many tournaments does my wrestler need to attend? None. You decide how many, if any, tournaments you want your wrestler to attend. However, the more tournaments your wrestler attends, the better your wrestler will get in the sport. How does my wrestler get to a tournament? You drive the wrestler there or arrange for the wrestler to ride with someone else. MYW can assist with transportation, but it is not something we automatically do for you or your wrestler. What do I need to do before a tournament? Decide what weight class you want your wrestler to compete in at the tournaments. Think carefully about what weight you choose because if your wrestler is not at or below the maximum weight allowed for the weight class at the weigh-in for the tournament, your wrestler may not get to participate in the tournament and you forfeit the entry fee you paid for him or her to attend. Register your wrestler for the tournament by the deadline set by MYW. This will typically be before the registration deadline of the tournament itself because we have to have time to prepare and submit the list of wrestlers who will be attending
from MYW along with additional information about each wrestler required by the tournament. Make sure your wrestler eats right and gets plenty of sleep in the days leading up to the tournament. This is a good opportunity for you to talk to your wrestler about how a good sports diet and proper rest will help him or her do well at the tournament. Double check that your wrestler is bringing all the things needed for the tournament, especially the singlet, headgear and wrestling shoes. What do I need to do at a tournament? Make sure your wrestler arrives before the deadline to weigh in and that s/he weighs in as soon as s/he gets there in the singlet uniform. Failure to make the deadline may mean your wrestler does not wrestle that day and there is no refund of the tournament fee you paid. Make sure the coaches know you have arrived and weighed in. Find a seat for you and your wrestler in the gym Try to sit with other parents from MYW so you can help each other during the tournament. The gym fills up quickly so getting there as early as possible is necessary to get a good seat. Or, if matches have been assigned numbers (the bout number system described below), you may want to find the specific mat assigned to your wrestler and sit near that mat because all the matches for your wrestler will be on that mat during the entire tournament. Get your wrestler something light to eat and drink after the weigh ins. Coolers are frequently banned from the gyms, so you will need to buy something there or go back out to your car to eat. Have your wrestler gather on the mats with the other MYW coaches and wrestlers at the appropriate time for warm ups. Ask one of the coaches when you report your arrival when and where on the mat warm ups will occur. Help your wrestler get to the appropriate mat at the appropriate time. How you do this depends on the assignment system being used by the tournament: Bout Number System Every match your wrestler will be in during the tournament is assigned a specific number. Find the list of matches (typically, either listed on the Track Wrestling website or posted in the cafeteria or outside the gym on the wall, as applicable) and write down the numbers for each of your wrestler s matches. Watch for those numbers to come up on the board beside the assigned wrestling mat and make sure your wrestler gets to the appropriate mat a few matches before s/he is supposed to wrestle. The mat number is typically the first number in the list of match numbers assigned to your wrestler (for example, matches 901, 917 and 931 will all be held on mat 9). In a bracket format, your wrestler s first match is assigned a number and the next match number is not known until the first one is done. In a round
robin format, all the matches for your wrestler that day have an assigned number and opponent before the tournament begins. Bullpen System The tournament announcer will call for certain groups of kids to report to the Bullpen for assignment to a mat, starting with the youngest and lightest kids and cycling through the oldest and heaviest kids. The Bullpen is a specific place in the gym or adjacent to the gym where the wrestlers are identified and paired with an opponent. Ask the coaches where the Bullpen is located when you report your arrival. The wrestlers are then led to the appropriate mat by a volunteer. Parents may tag along with the kids as they walk through this process, but the older kids typically go alone. Record the name and club of your wrestler s opponent and the result of the match. Keep these records until needed at the end of the season for seeding purposes at the District Tournament, if appropriate. The records can be kept on paper or there are several apps you can download to use on your smartphone. Search for wrestling apps in the appropriate online store to find them. Watch your wrestler from the stands. You are not allowed to be down by the mat without a coach s card (although this rule is frequently not enforced by the tournament director). Never, ever touch another wrestler or go on the mat itself, particularly during a match. Doing so are grounds for you to be ejected from the tournament and may result in criminal charges. Be courteous to everyone involved with the tournament. Encourage your wrestler and stay positive. What is Track Wrestling? Track Wrestling is a website used by an increasing number of tournaments to register and run the tournaments. It may be found at www.trackwrestling.com. You will need to register for a free account to use the site. When you do so, you can view the tournament information before and during the tournament, including who your wrestler will compete against next. When MYW chooses to go to a tournament using Track, use our normal tournament sign up procedure and then MYW will handle registering all our wrestlers as a team with Track. What is the format of a tournament? Tournaments are either bracketed or round robin. At a bracketed tournament, wrestlers are placed on a typical eight or sixteen man bracket and wrestle opponents in the order listed on the bracket until they lose two matches, at which point they are done for the day. Round robin tournaments mean that your wrestler will wrestle all other wrestlers in the assigned bracket.
How many matches will my wrestler have at a tournament? It depends on how many wrestlers show up and if it is a bracketed or round robin tournament. Round robin tournaments typically give the wrestler 1 to 5 matches, depending on the number of wrestlers in that age and weight group. Bracketed tournaments are typically two losses and you re done. If a lot of wrestlers show up, your wrestler could have as many as 8 matches. If not many show up, your wrestler may only have one match or none. You don t really know for sure until you get there, although if the tournament uses Track Wrestling you can see the wrestlers and brackets before you arrive. When does my wrestler compete at a tournament? When his age group is called to report to the Bullpen in the Bullpen system or when his bout number is listed on the board next to his assigned mat in the Bout Number system. Typically, there is between 45 minutes and an hour and a half between matches. It all depends on how many wrestlers show up at the tournament to compete. The more wrestlers who show up, the longer in between matches your wrestler will have to wait. What do I do when my wrestler has finished all of his or her matches at a regular club tournament? Ask the coaches which wrestlers get an award. At some tournaments, everyone gets an award. At other tournaments, only the top few wrestlers in each bracket get an award. If everyone gets one, listen for your wrestler s bracket to be called by the gym announcer and then have your wrestler go to the designated award location to get the award. The same is true for tournaments where only the top few get an award, but the tournament may also have those wrestlers pose for a picture together. You are allowed to take pictures of the group along with everyone else. Once your wrestler has received his or her award from the tournament, if applicable, you are free to stay and watch the rest of the matches or leave the tournament. Will my wrestling son have to wrestle a girl? It is possible. Folk-style youth, middle school and high school wrestling in Missouri are all a co-ed sport. It is not until college and international competition that wrestling is split in to male and female only divisions. What if I do not want my wrestling son to wrestle a girl? MYW and the tournaments in Missouri do not separate girls and boys for practices or matches. MYW can try and find a different partner for your son to wrestle at practice, but there is no guarantee. At tournaments, if your wrestler is assigned a match against a girl, you can forfeit the match resulting in a loss for your wrestler and a win for your opponent. In a double elimination bracket, this will count as one of those losses.
Are there any special uniform requirements for girl wrestlers? Yes. Girls must wear either a sports bra or a tight-fitting shirt under the singlet. Are there any restrictions on hair length? Yes. Both boys and girls must either have hair short enough that it is not hanging down on the shoulders or the hair must be covered under a tight cap, similar to a swimming cap, which is attached to the headgear. What must my wrestler wear at the tournament? Normal street clothes are normally worn to the tournament, although most wrestlers also wear their singlet under their street clothes on the trip there. This is because wrestlers must weigh in as soon as they get there while wearing their singlet. Wrestling shoes should not be worn outside under any circumstance, but they may be worn around the inside of the building where the tournament is held. When wrestling, the wrestler will wear headgear (with an attached hair cap, if applicable), a singlet (with a sports bra or tight shirt, if applicable), and shoes, preferably wrestling shoes, although standard gym shoes are allowed. A football style mouth piece and socks are recommended, but not required. The shoe laces must either be tucked in to a pouch built-in to the tongue of the wrestling shoes, taped down with athletic tape, or both. Failure to secure the shoe laces will result in a penalty point being awarded to the opponent against your wrestler. When not wrestling, wrestlers will typically take the straps down on their singlet and attach their head gear to one strap so they don t lose the headgear. Sweat pants and/or shorts, a t-shirt and/or a sweatshirt will be worn until their next match. A wrestler should not go bare chested around the tournament location. Can I take my wrestler to a tournament which MYW is not attending? Yes, you can. However, at most tournaments you will not be able to go mat side and coach your wrestler unless you have a coach s card. If your wrestler does not have a coach mat side, the Tournament Director may not let your wrestler compete. To avoid this problem, you can easily get a coaching card. How do I get a coaching card? There are several levels of coaches. The basic level coaching card is obtained by going to the Missouri USA Wrestling website and choosing the Coaching tab. Follow the prompts to submit your electronic application to USA Wrestling. At the end of the process, USA Wrestling will send you to a website to get a background check. After you enter your information on that site and pay for the background check, you will typically wait several days for the check to be completed. Once it is successfully completed, you
will be notified to go back to the USA Wrestling website to pay a fee there and download your coaching card. The higher levels of coaching certification are Bronze, Silver and Gold. Silver and Gold are not needed by most people. However, at certain tournaments we go to, including the State Tournament series, a Bronze Certification is required to be mat side. To get a Bronze Certification, you need to either attend a class put on at different times around the State by Missouri USA Wrestling or complete an on-line class. Contact Missouri USA Wrestling or MYW if you are interested in getting your Bronze Certification. How does the club communicate with the parents? By posting information on our SI Play website and on our Facebook page at Macon Wrestling. We also send out emails and text messages from our SI Play website so it is important you enter all the email and phone numbers in your account that you want us to use for that communication. ` How can we communicate with MYW? By emailing us at maconywmo@gmail.com or calling Philip Prewitt at (660) 651-1212 or contacting one of the board members or coaches.