Opinions, please

[totdad]

I have a 6 year old wrestler. I looked into a few programs and there was one who did things a bit differently. The majority of their younger wrestlers (I think 8 & under, but I know 6 & under for sure) do not wrestle in Sunday tournaments(except the one they host, I think).

They invite other clubs to bring their little guys over and match them up to get them 2 or 3 matches on a Saturday. According to them, they are done by noon most Saturdays and the kids get as many matches as they would on a Sunday tournament. There are no brackets, no medals/trophies, no all day keeping track of little guys, no huge crowds.

I am thinking this is a great introduction to the sport, and I think it takes care of the problems people always discuss on these boards about kids getting medals whether they win or not. And, I think it teaches appreciation for the sport of wrestling and that competing in wrestling is the reward - medals will come later.

Unfortunately, my son had a broken humerus (jungle gym accident) and won't be wrestling this year. But, I keep thinking this is the way to go with the little guys.

Opinions?

[Stalliondad]

My son is in his 2nd year of wrestling and is 6 years old. He loves the tournaments but is actually not too fond of practices.

The way I see it, I think tournaments are great for young kids. At this age I think winning medals gives them a ton of confidence and builds self esteem. Take school for instance; Teachers give kindergarteners and 1st grade students stars or stamps just for doing a good deed or getting a certain answer correct. Classwork and homework always get smiley faces if they're done correctly. Same situation.

When it comes to medals, even though it's hard, we as parents should praise our kids whether they receive a 1st place or a 4th place medal. We have this division so our children could "get their feet wet" so to speak in the sport of wrestling so by the time they're older, they know what to do and what to expect.