If you had your way

[Ched64]

On 6/6/2025 at 11:31 AM, wrestlingshoe said:

Washington. Wrestled all over the PNW as a little kid--WA, ID, OR, MT, CA and Western Regionals. When I returned from college there was a growing winter kids folkstyle season.

Interesting… am curious whether the Northeast was different from the rest of the country or the West was…my guess is that you were an outlier but I certainly could be wrong…there were few national tourneys at that time and everything was regionalized..wold be curious if iowa, ohio and penn were more freestyle than folk in youth tourneys in the 70’s and 80’s

[flyingcement]

In Lehigh Valley in the 90s, there were definitely some kids wrestling freestyle and to a lesser extent Greco when we were younger.  It wasn't that popular, but some kids had ultra-aware parents, doing lots of research to help expose them to different parts of the sport.  Other kids may have been so good that coaches actually steered them in that direction to give them a taste for it.  I didn't do freestyle in any youth competitions and had only been exposed to it in one clinic as a kid.  

[WrestlingRasta]

12 hours ago, Ched64 said:

Interesting… am curious whether the Northeast was different from the rest of the country or the West was…my guess is that you were an outlier but I certainly could be wrong…there were few national tourneys at that time and everything was regionalized..wold be curious if iowa, ohio and penn were more freestyle than folk in youth tourneys in the 70’s and 80’s

I grew up in Indiana, started wrestling at 6 years old, competing at 7.   I never wrestled a folkstyle match until Middle school.   Through middle school and high school, I never wrestled a folkstyle match outside of the school season.  To be honest I don't remember any folkstyle being offered outside of the school season.  

Every year at the Indiana HS state finals, they would announce how many athletes in the medals participated in the ISWA (Indiana's..now USAW.. affiliate, which only offered FS/GR outside of the school season).  The percentage was very very high.  

Edited June 9 by WrestlingRasta

[wrestlingshoe]

Fargo used to be Jr nationals at UNI. I competed 3 years and had over 100 in my bracket each time. Wrestled in the first Cadet Nationals back in Michigan the summer after my freshman year (1986). I had older kids in my club team going to Jr. Nationals in the 70s and they were big brackets then too. 

[MPhillips]

On 6/8/2025 at 10:20 PM, Ched64 said:

wold be curious if iowa, ohio and penn were more freestyle than folk in youth tourneys in the 70’s and 80’s

We wrestled and trained FS/GR from May through July in Ohio, but we travelled all over the US. This would have been 80-84 or so...

[ionel]

1 hour ago, MPhillips said:

 80-84 or so...

... the good old days ...

[Wildcat92]

I started wresting in 1980.  All folkstyle.  I didn't wrestle my first freestyle tournament until 1983.  Didn't have a clue what I was doing and wrestled it like a folkstyle tournament.  My area of IN didn't take freestyle seriously back then and still doesn't today, other than a few studs that do all the styles.

[WrestlingRasta]

2 hours ago, Wildcat92 said:

I started wresting in 1980.  All folkstyle.  I didn't wrestle my first freestyle tournament until 1983.  Didn't have a clue what I was doing and wrestled it like a folkstyle tournament.  My area of IN didn't take freestyle seriously back then and still doesn't today, other than a few studs that do all the styles.

Mater Dei?