West Michigan All Star » high school wrestling

Calling all smart people: EGR wrestling on the chopping block, like so many others. What can we do?

ryan vaughn — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:02:43 +0000

The tough reality of it is, there’s just not enough money to field a wrestling team.

The East Grand Rapids wrestling program, a storied program in its day, struggled through a stretch of mediocrity before coach Tom Baranoski arrived in 2007. Since then, they’ve been showing improvement in both wins and participation, but it might not be happening quickly enough to save the program. From The Grand Rapids Press:

The East Grand Rapids school board this week was given a proposal to eliminate high school wrestling.

The cut would save the district about $20,000 annually, officials said.

Kevin Philipps, assistant superintendent of business, also noted low participation in the sport the past few years.

“Obviously, I’m really disappointed for the kids,” Baranoski said. “I worry that we are going be cast off to the side and that the kids I have won’t be able to succeed in the sport that they love.

“There is still hope, but it doesn’t look good, which is kind of baffling to me, because we cost $15,000 at the most and it doesn’t seem like you are going to save a ton of money by cutting us.”

While these specific talks are relatively high profile, which is why they made the GR Press, rest assured that this is not the only instance of a major high school sport finding itself on the chopping block due to budgetary concerns. It’s a sad reality around the entire region, as schools struggle to maintain their athletic offerings despite declining budgets out of Lansing. I’ve personally talked with more than one administrator in situations similar to EGR. And it extends beyond just the playing field — administrative obligations to maintain as much of the status quo as possible even lead to the refusal of one art teacher’s request for clay. Yes, clay.

So often in sports we tend to operate in a bubble. There is so much to be gained and lost on every single play in every single game, that we often don’t think about the bigger picture. And rightfully so, I’d argue. Part of the appeal of sports is their ability to serve as a microcosm of life, and thereby take us away from concerns like budgets. And because of that, sports are important now more than ever. Never mind their ability to educate our youth about teamwork and their own potential for greatness. But sometimes reality bites. And right now it’s biting our athletic opportunities.

So that’s the problem, summed up all nice with a bow on it. And if we leave it at that now, then that’s where it stays. We’ll just wait until the next major sport is in a similar situation, and we’ll have this same discussion then.

School administrators are doing everything they possibly can. There’s a limited (and shrinking) amount of funds, and they’ve got to cut something. If cutting wrestling affects the least number of people, then that’s what they have to do.

But here’s the thing: In today’s Internet environment the everyday Joe has more power than ever to be a part of the solution. I’ve often found the WMA readership to be full of intelligent, thoughtful human beings, and I know this issue either has already impacted each of you, or will do so in the future. So let me raise the question.

What can we do?

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WMA takes attendance: Semifinal action happens tonight

ryan vaughn — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:05:14 +0000

A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:

BankHoops class-B all state team — HSBB
All-Muskegon Area wrestling team, Division (1-2)(3-4) — Muskegon Chronicle
Muskegon Heights’ Plummer earns all-state Class-B — Muskegon Chronicle
Muskegon Heights’ matchup is previewed here — Muskegon Chronicle
Awesome story about Gull Lake pg Schultz — Kalamazoo Gazette
Preview of Gull Lake’s semifinal matchup — Kalamazoo Gazette
Preview of Kalamazoo Central‘s semifinal matchup — Kalamazoo Gazette
Portage Central girls soccer raring to go — Kalamazoo Gazette
Hard to argue with this Mlive game of the week — Mlive.com
Guy is one senior you don’t want to mess with — Grand Rapids Press