News Page
11 Nov 1999
Things are easier the second time around, isn’t that what people say? As we begin the second year of UIL Wrestling you would think things would be easier.Not likely. As with every UIL activity, a new school year brings new challenges and new opportunities. Opportunity comes in the form of increased participation. This year there are 152 schools with a boys wrestling program, up from 128 last year, and 76 schools, up from 49 last year, with a girls wrestling program.
In case you didn’t know, Texas and Hawaii are the only states in the nation that have a separate program for boys and girls wrestling all the way to the state championship level. Allowing boys to wrestle boys and girls to wrestle girls has led to increased participation in both activities as we strive to increase the wrestling program in Texas. Research has consistently shown that students who participate in extracurricular activities perform better in school than students who do not participate. The more students we can involve in our activities the better, as long as we do it the correct way. How the program is administered at the local as well as the state level will be the key to a successful program.
I urge coaches to use this new school year as an opportunity to become more involved in the wrestling program. The Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association is developing a website to provide wrestling coaches with a forum to contact each other and stay in touch with what is happening in wrestling across the state. The site is currently under construction and will be available in the coming weeks. The web address is www.texwres.com.
I cannot stress enough the need for wrestling coaches to become involved in the direction of the program. Proposals for alterations or changes regarding the wrestling program must be presented to the UIL Legislative Council for study and approval. I know this is a transition from the less stringent structure of the TIWA, but wrestling is now a UIL program and will follow UIL guidelines. The UIL will not make exceptions for wrestling just because it is a new activity. Working through a coaches organization to draft proposals is an effective way to create awareness of a particular problem or situation that needs to be addressed.
Speaking of opportunities, let me take this one to give wrestling coaches a few pieces of information for the coming season. The first day for dual meets or tournaments is Nov. 8. No school or individual representing a school can wrestle a match against an individual from another school until this date. Weight classes for boys and girls will be the same as last year, with a two pound growth allowance beginning Jan. 5, 2000.
There are few changes in the weight control plan as well. The process for establishing the minimum weight class is the same. Student athletes must be weighed during the first after school practice in which they participate to get their scratch weight. Minimum weight class for wrestling is determined by that scratch weight minus 10 percent of the scratch weight. The biggest change is that wrestlers must wrestle at least half of their regular season matches at the minimum weight they will wrestle in the state championship series.
Weekly weigh-ins can be done as competition weigh ins and the weekly weigh in form is filed with the athletic director of the school. All documentation concerning the UIL weight control program must be available if requested by the District Executive Committee or the UIL. Violations of the UIL weight control program could result in severe sanctions to the school and school employees. We will not take a chance on the safety of student athletes. All I can say is that if weight control records are requested, they better be there. Coaches have the primary responsibility of maintaining these records and ensuring that wrestlers are in compliance with weight control provisions.
The district certification deadline is Feb. 5, 2000. Regional Wrestling Tournaments will be held Feb. 11-12, 2000. The State Wrestling Championships will be held again at the Austin Convention Center on Feb. 25-26, 2000.
Best of luck on the upcoming season.
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IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT OVER AT SULLIVAN HIGH THAT THE GOLDEN ARROWS WRESTLING SQUAD HAS BEEN THE MOST
SUCESSFUL TEAM ON CAMPUS THROUGH THE LAST 25 YEARS. ONLY 4 TIMES OVER THE QUARTER CENTURY HAVE THE ARROWS
WRESTLED TO A LOSING RECORD. JAMIE IZAKS HAS MORE FROM THE WRESTLING MATS AT SULLIVAN HIGH. A BIG REASON FOR THE SUCCESS OVER THE YEARS AT SULLIVAN HAS BEEN THIS MAN COACH ERICH BLEVINS.
UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO THOUGH BLEVINS CONSIDERED HIS COACHING DAYS A THING OF THE PAST, HE WANTED TO
FOLLOW HIS SON'S COLLEGIATE WRESTLING CAREER. BUT BLEVINS VACANT COACHING SPOT REMAINED UNFILLED THORUGH
OCTOBER. BLEVINS COULDN'T LEAVE THIS YEARS CROP OF TALENTED
WRESTLERS UNCOACHED. INDIANA GIRLS WRESTLING ISN'T A
SANCTIONED HIGH SHCOOL SPORT, BUT GIRLS CAN WRESTLE BOYS IN COMPETION. WITH THIS BEING THE FIRST YEAR FOR GIRLS
AT SULLIVAN, IT'S DOUBTFUL WE'LL SEE A BATTLE OF THE GENDERS, FOR NOW
THEY'RE LEARNING THE SPORT AND GETTING INTO
WRESTLING SHAPE. AND JUST HOW ARE THE GUYS TAKING TO THEIR NEW PRACTICE PARTNERS? THERE'S A CHANCE THE SULLIVAN GIRLS COULD WRESTLE AGAINST A GIRLS TEAM FROM ANOTHER SCHOOL THID SEASON, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN SCHEDULED. JAMIE IZAKS.
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Leg liability
More women in athletics mean more injuries specific to females
By Dann Denny,
Sunday Herald-Times
Staff illustration by Stewart Moon
A generation ago, girls with athletic ability had two options — cheerleader or pompon squad.
Today, they participate in practically every sport on the planet — basketball, softball, swimming, hockey, track, tennis, volleyball ... even pro boxing and high school wrestling.
But the influx of females into the sports arena, while hailed as a healthy trend, is not all sugar and spice.
Recent research indicates that girls and women, perhaps due to their hormone levels and anatomy, appear to be more vulnerable to certain sports-related injuries, in particular knee injuries, than boys and men.
Several studies have shown that women are particularly susceptible to injuries involving the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a major stabilizing ligament in the knee.
Some research in this area has found that women suffer about eight times as many ACL injuries as men — particularly in such sports as soccer, tennis, volleyball and basketball.
"I've seen three girls go down with ACL injuries in the last six years," said Larry Winters, the girls varsity basketball coach at Bloomington High School South. "ACL injuries, along with shin splints, are the two most common injuries we see."
"During the last 10 years I've seen a lot more ACL injuries among women tennis players," said Lin Loring, who's been coaching women's tennis for the past 27 years — the last 23 at Indiana University. "It seems as if every third or fourth team we face has lost a player due to an ACL tear."
Erich Weidenbener, a Bloomington physician who gave a seminar on the difference between ACL injuries in men and women last summer at Bloomington Hospital, says there has been lots of research recently conducted on this topic.
"Probably the main reason women are more likely to tear the ACL than men is that their wider pelvis puts their thigh bone and knee joint at a different angle to the ground," said Weidenbener. "This angle predisposes women to suffer ACL injuries when they plant their foot and change directions."
Weidenbener says another possible factor contributing to female ACL tears may be that women are more loose-jointed than men, perhaps due to hormonal differences.
"Tests have shown women have more joint laxity (looseness), and also are more likely to tear their ACL, when their progesterone and estrogen levels are at their peak," he said.
What's more, he says, studies show female athletes are more "ligament dominant," meaning they use their ligaments more than their muscles to provide cushion and restraint. Male athletes use their muscles more than their ligaments to provide restraint.
"That may be why researchers have found that when women make a cut or land from a jump, they do so with more force than men," said Weidenbener. "This can actually be measured with special 'force plates.'"
There's yet another physiological difference that puts undue stress on female athletes' ACL.
"Males are more hamstring dominant and females are more quadriceps dominant," said Weidenbener. "The hamstring muscles work with the ACL and the quadriceps muscles work against the ACL."
All these factors, everything from greater joint laxity to a different alignment of the lower extremities, may explain why most ACL injuries suffered by women are non-contact injuries.
Conversely, males tend to suffer ACL injuries due to violent blows to the knee, such as the kind that occur during football games.
Two weeks ago, Amanda Dunnavent, a member of the girls varsity soccer team at Bedford North Lawrence High School, severely sprained her lateral collateral knee ligament during a game.
"I was running and tried to turn and change directions," she said. "My cleat got stuck in the grass and my knee twisted. I felt something pop, and I fell to the ground in pain."
So what can high school and college coaches do to help prevent Amanda and other female athletes from suffering knee ligament injuries — particularly those involving the ACL?
Weidenbener says part of the answer lies in strength and flexibility exercises, something many female athletes already do on a regular basis.
"I have the girls lift weights but I make extra sure they lift with proper technique because they are not as strong as the boys in their lower backs," said Tom Beerman, varsity girls volleyball coach at Bloomington High School North. "It's easier for them to injure their lower backs because they are not as muscular."
Loring, whose tennis teams have dominated the Big Ten during his tenure, says his players lift weights for two reasons — strength gain and injury prevention.
For certain sports, Weidenbener feels the most effective preventative measure coaches can take is to train female athletes to move differently.
"Anyone who's ever watched a girls' basketball game can immediately see that girls move differently than boys," he said. "That is not a sexist remark. They just have different body motion patterns."
Indeed, one recent study found that female basketball players generate far less squeaking noise on the court than men — underscoring these differences in body movements.
Weidenbener suggests that coaches of female athletes use training videos specially developed by researchers.
"The videos help teach female athletes how to run, cut and land in ways that produce less stress on their joints," said Weidenbener. "Already, several studies have shown that female athletes trained with these videos show a sharp decrease in the number of ACL injuries."
Research indicates female athletes may also be prone to other types of sports injuries.
For example, the absence of menstruation — common among some female gymnasts and long-distance runners — may accelerate bone loss and increase the incidence of stress fractures.
Another area of the body frequently injured by female athletes is the rotator cuff — located in the shoulder.
Beerman says his female volleyball players experience a good number of rotator cuff problems.
"Spiking is an unnatural motion," he said. "It puts a lot of strain on the shoulder, which can aggravate the rotator cuff."
Loring says his tennis players' most common injury is rotator cuff tendonitis.
"It's an overuse injury," he said. "My first year of coaching we played eight or nine matches during the entire season. Today, we play year-round, counting the summer tournaments. That, along with the stiffer rackets, puts a lot of stress on the rotator cuff."
Some feel the number of sports-related injuries among women would decrease if more women wore shoes specially designed to fit the female foot.
To be sure, Loring says two thirds of his players wear "female" tennis shoes, which are narrower than regular shoes.
And Winters, in his first year as varsity coach, says his players will try wearing female basketball shoes this season.
"I'm not sure if they will reduce ACL injuries or not," he said. "But we will give them a try and see how they feel."
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TOUGH ENOUGH GIRLS FIGHT FOR SPOTS ON SCHOOL WRESTLING TEAM
The Augusta (Ga.)Chronicle
December 5, 1999,
As Jody Johnston cleaned her blood-splattered T-shirt Tuesday, ignoring the
adjacent urinals inside the Evans High School football field house, an
age-old question
came to mind: What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?
''It's fun, it's hard, it's adrenalin,'' the Evans sophomore said after
competing against teammate Michael Chesnut in a wrestle-off in the 140-pound
weight class.
Johnston is one of seven girls on the Evans wrestling team, which began its
inaugural season last week. And in her first meaningful match, Johnston
squared off with
Chesnut for a varsity position on the Knights' squad.
Although Chesnut eventually beat Johnston, the victory was not without cost
- it was his blood on Johnston's shirt, and she wasn't a bit queasy.
''No, it's great,'' she said. ''Everybody in here gets bloody noses and
black eyes - you're not a wrestler if that doesn't happen.''
Wrestling is a coed sport in the Georgia High School Association. In
accordance with Title IX provisions, girls can compete in any sport that
does not have a female
equivalent. For instance, a girl can play high school football but not
basketball on a boys' team.
The law allows girls to wrestle at Evans, but that doesn't change the
reality of the sport - intimate contact and sensitive hand positions are
going to occur. And when
the touchy situation involves teen-agers of opposite sex, Evans wrestling
coach J.J. Williams understands the concerns.
''It's awkward,'' said Williams, who never had a girl on his squads during
three years as head coach of the Screven County High School wrestling team.
''Here's the
situation: You've got a dad who hopefully has raised his son to not touch a
girl's private parts. Now we put them in a situation where they are
violating morally
everything they've been taught.''
When a girl and boy roll around on a wrestling mat, the person who wants to
win must take charge.
''You can't tell them to hold back; there can't be a different set of
rules,'' Williams says. ''If your move requires you to go high crotch,
you've got to go high crotch.''
That particular hold probably was a reason why Danielle Fleming's parents
weren't excited about her joining the high school wrestling team.
''My mom and dad were strictly against it. My dad said it's not a girls'
sport,'' said the Evans sophomore, who eventually received her parents'
blessing. ''My mom
said she would be supportive in whatever I chose to do.''
Fleming was competing in the 135-pound class in Tuesday's wrestle-off, and
she viewed her time on the mat as an opportunity to escape a stereotype.
''Everybody at school thinks I'm this prissy girl who walks around in a
dress - which I do - but I wanted to prove people were wrong about me. I
wish I could beat a
guy, and I'm trying,'' she said. ''Since this was a first-year sport, this
was a chance to get involved in something where nobody knew any more than I
did. I can
compete and be just as good as the rest of them.''
During the wrestle-off, Fleming, Johnston, Tara Danielson, Brandy Gwinn and
Kalan Garza vied for spots in Evans' season-opening match, which was
Wednesday
at Elbert County. Garza and Gwinn fell short of the coveted varsity and
junior varsity spots in their weight classes, but Johnston, Fleming and
Danielson each earned
JV positions.
To earn her spot, Johnston pinned a male opponent.
''I put him in a half-nelson and pushed on his back. He finally gave out,
put his arm back, and I got him,'' Johnston said. ''Some people may think
the girls aren't any
good, but we're good wrestlers.''
Johnston doesn't have to convince her coach.
''Jody is tough. She has a gymnastics background, and she's so flexible -
you can put her in positions a guy physically can't get in. She got out of
some things today
that made her look like a contortionist.'' Williams said.
Johnston, who also plays volleyball at Evans, is just glad to have the
chance to wrestle - when she lived in South Dakota, girls couldn't wrestle
on a boys' team.
''They were nervous about high schoolers doing that. All I have to say is
when you are out there on that mat, there's nothing sexual about it,'' she
said. ''The action is
so quick, you're not thinking about where you are grabbing. You're both hot,
stinky, sweaty - there's no way.''
When Chesnut was applying ice to his bloody mouth injury, courtesy of
Johnston, romantic thoughts were the last things on his mind.
''It's kind of awkward, but you have to treat them just like a guy and go
for it,'' he said.
During the course of Tuesday's action, Evans freshman Scott Fernandez found
himself in a precarious situation - he had to beat two girls to take a
varsity spot in the
130-pound class. He did it, defeating Danielson and Garza, but it was far
from easy.
''They're tough, really tough,'' Fernandez said after pinning both opponents
to the mat. ''You get to the point where you don't think about them being
girls.''
Respect is coming quickly for the Knights' women warriors.
''The girls out here have been great,'' Williams says. ''I was thinking
there would be more issues involved, but we have the type of student where
they are handling
this very maturely. They all realize this is a sport - it's not sexual. I've
told them that from the first day.''
To expand on that notion, Williams has set a specific rule for his team: no
dating.
''I don't know how legal or how far you can get saying there will be no
dating on the wrestling team. But that stipulation is there,'' he says.
Of course, if a girl pins a guy, you wouldn't expect the vanquished foe to
be asking the conqueror out to dinner. In that respect, Williams already has
dealt with the
prospect of bruised egos.
''That's one of the things I struggled with at first. As a guy, how do you
deal with a match against a girl? If you win, you are expected to, and if
you lose, it should
have never happened,'' Williams said.
But in order to achieve solidarity, Williams believes there should be no
shame in losing, regardless of gender.
''Jody almost beat a guy earlier, and she told me, 'That would have been
embarrassing.' I said, 'Why? You should expect to win,' '' he said.