Alex Frazier introduces the SOL’s new coaches and also goes over this season’s controversial weight class changes.
By Alex Frazier
Welcome to the 2011-12 wrestling season. I hope to provide the wrestling community with pertinent news and informative features on area wrestlers. If any readers have ideas for stories, I welcome them. Please e-mail ideas to suburbanonesports@comcast.net.
Each week I will also be doing a roundup of league matches. I anticipate this will be another exciting season of wrestling.
Let the grappling begin.
New coaches – Each year I like to acknowledge the new league coaches. This year there are only two.
Tristan Boyd, Souderton
During his high school years, Tristan Boyd was a four-time state place winner in Ohio (second, third, third and second) and a NHSCA national runner-up.
He started at Lehigh University from 1999-2003 at 133 and 141 pounds, finishing fifth twice in the EIWA Tournament.
This is his ninth year coaching. He assisted one year at Parkland, helping Nick Guida win a state championship at 171. He was also an assistant at Port Charlotte High School in Florida before taking over the team. After two years there, he became an assistant at Central Bucks South and then ended up at Souderton.
After he assisted two years at Souderton, longtime head coach Stan Smith stepped down, handing over the reins to Boyd.
Boyd’s goals this year focus on building character and work ethic.
“I do not expect us to win every match or for our kids to be at the top of every podium,” he said. “However, I do expect my wrestlers to be competitors and to learn from both their successes and failures.
“Regardless of my win-loss record as a coach, I will evaluate my success based upon how hard my wrestlers compete and how they deal with adversity. Competitors are created through hard work and will have the self-confidence to tackle any obstacle they may encounter in their lives on or off the mat. Meanwhile, everyone has setbacks and disappointments, and the truly successful people in society are able to learn and grow from those experiences. If my athletes develop a strong self-esteem through hard work and perseverance, I feel confident that they have the skill set necessary to be successful as young adults.”
Philip Kealy, Pennsbury
Philip Kealy is no stranger to Pennsbury or wrestling. He has taught physical education and health in the district for the past eight years and was an assistant to former coach Joe Kiefer for the past three years.
Kealy started wrestling when he was four years old.
“My dad drug me out there, and it’s a habit I haven’t been able to kick,” he said.
He grew up in northern New York and wrestled at South Jefferson Central High School. He went on to become a 158-pound all-American at Cortland State in 1993.
He earned his teaching certification in 1999, and after traveling around ended up at Pennsbury.
He was an assistant wrestling coach at Notre Dame (NJ) for six years until an assistant job opened up at Pennsbury.
As head coach this year, Kealy is not focusing on wins and losses but rather developing his wrestlers to be able to compete with anybody.
And part of that has to do with upgrading the schedule. Since he wasn’t hired until late in June, he was limited in how much he could do. He did manage to add three tournaments—the Council Rock Duals, Governor Mifflin Tournament and the Abington Duals—which will challenge his wrestlers.
“We will continue to increase the competitiveness of our schedule,” he said. “We’re going to try to get our guys the best competition possible. We have a young team. We’ll set the precedents for them and hopefully they’ll pick it up next year and take it even further.”
What’s your weight?For the first time in 23 years, many of this year’s wrestlers will be competing at different weight classes.
Ten of the 14 weight classes, in fact, have been shifted up. 103 moves to 106, 112 moves to 112, 119 moves to 120, 125 jumps to 126, 130 advances to 132, 135 goes to 138, 145, 152 and 160 are unchanged, 171 drops to 170, 189 drops to 182, 195 is added, 215 jumps to 220 and heavyweight remains unchanged at 285.
According to Dale Pleimann, chairman of the National Federation of High Schools Wrestling Rules Committee, the changes resulted from a three-four year study of 200,000 wrestlers across the country with the intent of creating weight classes with approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class.
The state associations were apprised throughout the process and a majority agreed with the proposed changes.
Not everyone, however, is enamored of the new weight divisions.
District One coaches voted against the changes, but as a state Pennsylvania went along with them.
“Most Pennsylvania coaches were against it,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Glenn Kaiser, “yet Pennsylvania voted for it.”
“It’s a shame that coaches did not have any input into it,” said Council Rock South coach Brad Silimperi. “Talking to coaches around here and my coaching friends around the state, nobody gets it. Everybody’s at a loss for words.”
Last summer a petition was circulated by Marc Petrucelli, a junior high and youth wrestling coach for 32 years in the Owen J. Roberts area, challenging the NFHS findings and arguing for a return to the old weight classes. One argument was that by adding another upper weight, you make room for another football player who may have only one or two years’ experience and denying a middle weight (135), who is more likely to be a seasoned grappler moving up the ranks, the chance to wrestle varsity.
To date, Petrucelli has received 1,498 responders from 40 different states with 1,464 voting to change back and 34 who like the new weight classes.
“I hope some of these petitions get heard at the local level and at the national level and maybe for once we do have a voice,” said Silimperi. “We want to do what’s best for the sport, and I don’t think this is best for the sport.”
As a psychology teacher Silimperi understands the theory, but he’s also aware of the reality.
“There’s a phrase we use, ‘Figures always lie and liars always figure,’” he said. “They’re trying to use figures to validate the weights. In theory, I can understand what they were trying to do, but in the reality of where kids are, why would you take a weight class away from where most kids are and put it where they’re not?”
While everyone is in the same boat, it doesn’t follow that the boat is seaworthy.
Adding an upper weight could put a burden on many schools, especially smaller ones, to fill the lineup.
Silimperi, Norristown coach Mark Harner and Kaiser all agree that they are on solid footing this year in the upper weights, but that may not be the case next year.
“It’s just by chance,” said Silimperi. “It’s not the norm.”
“The sport doesn’t sell real well,” said Harner, “and upper weight wrestling in particular doesn’t go over well. Even at states the bleachers empty out at 171 or 160.”
Also, bumping 103 to 106 might not sound like much, but by the time the post-season rolls around that weight is 108. Every year there are young kids that have a chance to start in a varsity sport even if they’re small. That’s one of the beauties of wrestling.
Would Billy Rappo have been a state champ last year if the weight were 108? Who knows, but he probably would have had a much harder road.
And would kids like Pennridge’s Scott Parker and Quakertown’s Collyn Dorney have made the varsity lineup at 106, when they didn’t break 100 pounds?
“My biggest complaint and concern is that 106 is the first weight class,” said Kaiser, “when we typically have many, many lighter weights than 106. They’re putting them at a disadvantage.”
“The one sport we can say size doesn’t really matter and we have a place for the little guys, why take that opportunity away from those kids?” asked Silimperi. “It’s the only sport they can use their size to their benefit.”
According to Kaiser a couple of states are not using the new weight classes. Maybe after a year more will follow suit.
“It’s really a big task to get something like this revoked,” said Kaiser. “There’s no understanding from a coach’s standpoint why the changes were made.”
Little known trivia department – Council Rock South coach Brad Silimperi was the last 98-pound state champion (1988) when he wrestled at Nazareth. Now, with the new weight classes, his wrestler Billy Rappo is the last 103-pound champion (2010).
Next week:A look at who’s who by weight class. New rules on counting tournaments.
SOL Preseason Top 5
1. Norristown
2. Council Rock South
3. Council Rock North
4. Souderton
5. Central Bucks South
Pre-season Top Guns(Last year’s weight class and finish at sections, districts, regionals and states)
106—Scott Parker, sophomore, Pennridge (103: S-first, D-third)
113—Billy Rappo, senior, Council Rock South (103: S-first, D-first, R-first, S-first)
120—Kolton Veit, sophomore, Souderton (112: S-first, D-first)
126—Aaron Rodriguez, junior, Wissahickon (112: S-second, D-fourth)
132—Josh DiSanto, junior, Pennsbury (119: S-first, D-second, R-second)
138—Mike Springer, sophomore, Norristown (135; S-first, D-second, R-fifth)
145—Justin Staudenmayer, junior, Plymouth Whitemarsh (125: S-first, D-first, R-second)
152—Seth Ehlo, senior, Central Bucks West (145: S-second, D-fourth)
160—Brett Harner, junior, Norristown (152: S-first, D-first, R-first, S-fourth)
170—Shane Springer, Norristown (160: R-third, S-fifth)
182—Tim Riley, senior, Council Rock South (189: S-second, D-fourth)
195—Larry Gordon, senior, Norristown (189: S-second, D-fifth, R-fifth)
220—Bryan Osei, senior, Abington (215: S-first, D-fourth, R-fifth)
285—Joe McNamara, senior, Souderton (285: S-third, D-fifth)
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