I'm not aware of any sites or forums (since NJ.com closed theirs). I was curious if anyone else follows. I mostly follow at the youth level (because my kids are and also coach at that level), but follow a little bit of HS.
Anyone interested, feel free to use this post for related discussions.
In any event, there are not many good forums, that is for sure. For youth wrestling, as you are probably aware, there is quite a bit of crossover from PA to NJ...well, for PA to anywhere really.
Attached is a link to a fairly active forum from PA, especially if you are looking for regional/national tournament info.
PA Wrestling Forum - ( New Window )
Shoot me an email at 10wrestling@comcast.net
Blair is still top 4 in the country year in and year out.
On another note.......I really believe wrestling is moving up in popularity these days. The NCAA's are an awesome spectacle and ESPN and the like are starting to realize it. The NJSIAA States in AC are by the far best any sport has to offer in HS sports. The competition at the youth level is insane. Far different than it was when my older boy went through.
Such a great sport.
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I follow wrestling at the NCAA level mainly watching my alma mater and the MAC conference...Also I had a college buddy that wrestled for ODU who was from Blair Academy which I think was a power house at least back in the day. I'm not all that familiar with NJ wrestling other than that its a strong wrestling state.
Blair is still top 4 in the country year in and year out.
On another note.......I really believe wrestling is moving up in popularity these days. The NCAA's are an awesome spectacle and ESPN and the like are starting to realize it. The NJSIAA States in AC are by the far best any sport has to offer in HS sports. The competition at the youth level is insane. Far different than it was when my older boy went through.
Such a great sport.
Another thing to consider regarding its popularity is that a lot of these good NCAA wrestlers transition into the MMA after college.
I know VA isn't as tough as NJ or PA, but when I was in HS and college there were some really good teams and wrestlers that came out of the eastern part of the state.
The main difference seems to me there are two major hubs in PA -one in East in LeHigh valley area down to Philly, who battles with West Jersey and lots of cross over with South Jersey, and another hot spot in Western PA that competes with some of the Ohio powerhouses.
At the youth level, there seems to be a few elite kids who are clearly at the top of NJ brackets whereas PA may have 7-8 kids who are at that level.
No, Maryland is not PA or even NJ in most respects, but then again, it is a much smaller state.
That being said, we had two athletes win gold in wrestling at the Rio Games a couple months ago, and both of them are products of Maryland youth and high school wrestling.
Helen Maroulis out of Montgomery County Maryland became the US's first female Gold medalist and Kyle Snyder from Carroll COunty Maryland may darn well be the best wrestler in the world.
I still go to some of the high school matches especially against the better teams.
I remember going with my son to tournaments in PA and watching four year-old's wrestle. The worse part was how some of the parents of these little kids were so serious.
Some of the wrestling parents---especially the mom's---give football and hockey parents a run for their money, and more.
To tell you the truth, I miss it. Not that high school competitions don't have their fair share of characters.
Wrestling is such a great sport for kid though...physical toughness, mental fortitude, self-reliance, teamwork, self-denial, personal responsibility. In my opinion, you can do no better for your kid from an activities standpoint than to get him involved in wresting.
FREAK - ( New Window )
Also there was a lot of crazy stuff happening, from the physical altercations between parents and their kids to cops being called to remove parents. And this was a decade ago.
The high school matches though are a great atmosphere, from the team introductions to the back and forth between the student sections.
For the first few years of my kid's wrestling career he was not one of the top guys and I can tell you, when he went to one of these tournaments and finished in the top 3 of a 20 kid bracket, nothing made him happier than getting that trophy or medal.
It's well documented on these boards that at the age of 50 I "sponge" most of my glory from my kids, and I can tell you, no matter what any of them accomplishes, nothing has ever been more satisfying than looking in the back seat and seeing my 8 year old kid sound asleep with a medal hanging around his neck. I will miss those days forever.
But yes, high school is a different scene and equally rewarding in an entirely different way. His dream is to wrestle at one of the Service Academies...and if that comes to fruition, I may be talking non-stop about Annapolis for years and years to come! LOL...it's a good time.