Urban VS Rural

[Bearhugger]

Early today I joined my good friends TrueSouthFanInRuralWV and TrueSouthFanInUrbanWV for a spot of tea. I want to share their ideas about how to fix the state tournament situation.

These two Goofuses think that the schools need to be divided up into four groups:

1. Large Urban
2. Small Urban
3. Large Rural
4. Small Rural

This would declare four state champions versus the current two. With the current participation challenges that are leading to increased state tournament byes, we could have a "Large Rural" state champion that only has to wrestle and win one match.

I am simply relaying "their" idea. Not mine.

[mscoach20]

"Their" idea is an actual proposal from the competitive balance committee. You can see the entire list on www.wvtailgatecentral.com

No word on what they would do with wrestling as a sport. Just a general classification system. I like it, personally. It increases EQUITY though most are arguing for EQUALITY

[Gator]

Isn’t 90% of West Virginia rural?

[Bearhugger]

"Their" idea is an actual proposal from the competitive balance committee. You can see the entire list on http://www.wvtailgatecentral.com

No word on what they would do with wrestling as a sport. Just a general classification system. I like it, personally. It increases EQUITY though most are arguing for EQUALITY

Wow! Here I just figured TrueSouthFanInRuralWV and TrueSouthFanInUrbanWV had lost their minds and sense of reality. I view this proposal as teaching kids that life entitles you to a different set of rules if you grow up in the sticks versus growing up in the hood. Farmer versus City Slicker.

On another note, thank you for the clarification Tench. Send me some individual ranking input please.

[TJV]

I'm not saying it's the best solution. I do however, like the conversation. My understanding is that the competition committee basically considered you urban if you were within 30 minutes of a population center of 10,000+ people. I know in Moorefield since corridor H has opened up within 15 miles or so of the Virginia state line there has been increased opportunities for our athletes. The city of Winchester, VA is now only 50 minutes away as opposed to an hour an half of twisty and often treacherous roads. In the last 10-15 years Moorefield youth and HS athletics have benefited from the following logistical conveniences based in Winchester & the surrounding area: 1) Access to year-round wrestling clubs & clinics. 2) Our youth program has become part of the Mason-Dixon League (territory extends from SE PA down I-81 to Strasburg, VA). 3) Organized fall baseball and softball leagues for youth & HS teams. 4) Access to competitive travel baseball and softball tournaments for youth thru HS ages.

Since corridor H has opened we've won 3 baseball state titles (2002, 2009, & 2018), which are also our only state baseball titles. We've also started a HS wrestling program in that time and have produced one state champion, Wil Schoonover (2016).

I believe where the cut lines are drawn and defined would be the most difficult part of this proposal, but the merits & access to more urban areas are clear.

[WrestlingFan1]

Parkersburg South AAA-Urban, Independence AA -rural, best two programs in the state. It's all about quality coaching, not your zip code. I'd rather see us go to one state champion, we definitely don't need four, it just cheapens it.

[TJV]

I'd agree that we do not need 4 state wrestling champions. This classification proposal, like most other decisions is geared toward the 3 major sports, IMO.

[mscoach20]

I'm going to play devil's advocate. According to a researcher on tailgatecentral, somewhere around 70% of all titles are won by urban schools (based on their definition and based on his research...I'm simply not fact checking at this point).

I believe it DOES make a direct impact on your team to be from a city vs. farther out. Namely, money. Cities obviously have more income, and larger cities are going to be pumping more money in to the school system due to taxes. There is no denying this fact, and I believe they are making an effort to quantify athletic success with economic opportunity. And, for the most part looking at this list, it seems to correlate. There are obviously going to be outliers and those that do not fit the mold, but as a whole, you can see the talent follows the finances as a trend. So, perhaps this is simply data driven.

Or it is just a list.

Or both.

[timamos]

I'm not saying it's the best solution. I do however, like the conversation. My understanding is that the competition committee basically considered you urban if you were within 30 minutes of a population center of 10,000+ people. I know in Moorefield since corridor H has opened up within 15 miles or so of the Virginia state line there has been increased opportunities for our athletes. The city of Winchester, VA is now only 50 minutes away as opposed to an hour an half of twisty and often treacherous roads. In the last 10-15 years Moorefield youth and HS athletics have benefited from the following logistical conveniences based in Winchester & the surrounding area: 1) Access to year-round wrestling clubs & clinics. 2) Our youth program has become part of the Mason-Dixon League (territory extends from SE PA down I-81 to Strasburg, VA). 3) Organized fall baseball and softball leagues for youth & HS teams. 4) Access to competitive travel baseball and softball tournaments for youth thru HS ages.

Since corridor H has opened we've won 3 baseball state titles (2002, 2009, & 2018), which are also our only state baseball titles. We've also started a HS wrestling program in that time and have produced one state champion, Wil Schoonover (2016).

I believe where the cut lines are drawn and defined would be the most difficult part of this proposal, but the merits & access to more urban areas are clear.

Corridor H opened in Moorefield area November 2005, expanded again five years later in 2010. No disrespect intended toward any of the other Moorefield programs but when I think of Moorefield athletics I think of the football dynasty you had in the mid to late 1990's. Coach Fiddler started kicking butt a decade or more before the corridor straightened out the twisty roads. Moorefield is not the best example of why this classification proposal is better than the status quo. I am not sure about the new classifications for football and basketball but creating four divisions in wrestling is a step in the wrong direction.

[KDunbar]

I'm going to play devil's advocate. According to a researcher on tailgatecentral, somewhere around 70% of all titles are won by urban schools (based on their definition and based on his research...I'm simply not fact checking at this point).

I believe it DOES make a direct impact on your team to be from a city vs. farther out. Namely, money. Cities obviously have more income, and larger cities are going to be pumping more money in to the school system due to taxes. There is no denying this fact, and I believe they are making an effort to quantify athletic success with economic opportunity. And, for the most part looking at this list, it seems to correlate. There are obviously going to be outliers and those that do not fit the mold, but as a whole, you can see the talent follows the finances as a trend. So, perhaps this is simply data driven.

Or it is just a list.

Or both.

I'm wondering if this is an attempt to make Wheeling Central play on an even basis with all the other schools since they have the capacity to draw from such a large pool of athletes that no other small schools has (other than the other private schools). I'm going to guess that their state championships certainly skew the "urban" side of the equation, especially for small schools. Likewise, because of the history of wrestling in Parkersburg, using wrestling in the equations also will certainly skew the results strongly toward "urban" with the "urban" factor not likely as important as it would seem, in wrestling anyway. Why not just give the private schools their own championship at the end of the year and they can feel good about being a champion and the true small schools can compete against each other.

[TJV]

Moorefield is probably not the best example. There are most definitely more remote/rural areas in our state. It's just the one I'm personally familiar with. Coach Fiddler & MHS had a great run it the late 90s and early 2000s. But some of the now larger A schools were AA then. Back in 1998 I don't know that it would have mattered what class Moorefield was in & that was a looong time ago.

Personally, I don't think they'll adopt this version of classification. Even if they did, I don't see the WVSSAC moving to four classes for wrestling. Probably two classes just like it is now...

The urban vs. rural conversation to me is about access. Access to facilities, access to coaching, clinics, competition, etc. In my humble opinion, if we are truly concerned about growing the sport of wrestling (or any sport for that matter) in WV maybe we should look at ways of trying to bring people into the fold that are currently not participating rather than catering to the ones that have a long standing tradition in the sport. In essence, how does WV wrestling attract Pendleton Co., Tucker Co., Pocahontas Co., & others that do not currently have wrestling programs? I've personally helped start two single A wrestling programs in W.V. so, I understand the challenges growing this sport in rural areas.

[Bearhugger]

Isn’t 90% of West Virginia rural?

The AAA regional map paints a very clear picture. The largest populations are along state borders and where the state capital is.

[chriscolumbus]

This is very odd. There isn't a real city in the entire state. Why thin out sports in an already thin state? Who's best interest is in mind with this proposal?

[Bearhugger]

This is very odd. There isn't a real city in the entire state. Why thin out sports in an already thin state? Who's best interest is in mind with this proposal?

Wisdom you speak.

Based on your joining date, I suspect you are a wvmat forum veteran incognito.