https://usatodayhss.com/2016/how-hard-is-it-to-play-a-sport-in-college-or-the-pros-wonder-no-more
Only 2.7% of all wrestlers make it to NCAA competition. |
That doesn't mean it's the hardest, it means most don't want to wrestle in college. I have seen these stats before. They don't really reflect reality. There just isn't a market for college wrestlers. Field sports remain the most competitive to play in college. Again, the numbers here don't reflect it. They only show the total playing in HS versus the total playing in college; not the total against those who try and/or want to play in college. |
That article is over a decade old. |
So few of the best athletes wrestle too. |
The sport has been one of the unfortunate NCAA victims in all the Title Nine progress. There are hardly any NCAA programs to go to compared to another winter sport like basketball. |
Oh okay, blame women for an unpopular sport. One that requires young men to foster eating disorders and slap around a sweaty floor together. Yep, if not for those stupid girls who want an equal opportunity to play sports, wrestling would be so popular. Face it, the only "athletes" who wrestle, are small boys who cannot excel at other sports. Sorry, it's the truth. But go ahead and blame female athletes for that. |
Wrestling is super creepy and weird. |
That article is a decade old. The hardest now are mens tennis and then I think mens soccer, but I can’t remember the exact stats. |
+1. My friend's daughter is a wrestler, and she constantly talks about it. Yuck. |
“There just isn't a market for college wrestlers.”
DS was recruited to wrestle for Princeton and Stanford as well as NESCACS so it was a pretty good market for him. |
Look, I agree that blaming women's sports for a decline in wrestling is beyond stupid. But putting the word athletes in quotes and saying only small boys who can't do other sports wrestle might just be the dumbest thing ever posted to DCUM. The wrestlers are the best athletes at a school. And its not even close. They are fitter, stronger, more flexible and more mentally tough than the other athletes, including the hard sports like crew or swimming, etc. Actually watch an NCAA meet and tell me these guys couldn't excel elsewhere. Gimme a break |
Sure, just tell yourself that. They are the most capable of purging and the most willing to wrestle. Those are the two characteristics that high school wrestlers share. It is a no cut sport in most schools around here because finding kids who meet those criteria is not easy. |
In my son's close friend group from HS, they are almost all pretty good athletes. But far and away the best one was a kid who excelled at soccer (played on the highest level teams for Arlington Soccer) but quit soccer for wrestling in HS. He made it to the state finals and is now in a D1 wrestling program. He is an amazing athlete who is in fantastic shape. And he doesn't suffer from any eating disorders (though he wrestles at 187, I think). |
Many of the eating issues were reduced with rule changes 10+ years ago. That poster is irrationally hostile and obviously uninformed.
And sure, wrestling isn’t super popular around here, but in some geographic areas the best athletes do choose to wrestle. Certainly many of the best football and lacrosse players wrestle to improve their grit, strength, stamina, and toughness. I have a D1 athlete in another sport, and he maintains that high school wrestling practice is the hardest physical thing he’s ever done. With all the issues to disagree about, can’t you just let kids enjoy their activity without blatant hatred? |
Well I guess they have a lot in common since pretty much every sport that women play is unpopular. I'm not really a wrestling fan, but it's arguably the toughest and most grueling sport besides MMA or boxing. |