tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13009903.post-1119138795723490742005-06-18T16:53:00.000-07:002005-06-18T16:53:00.000-07:00Y'know, the first thing people can do is maintain kids programs. Go to the YMCA or the rec department, ask about it, if they have it get involved and make donations, help at tournaments, help organize matches with other teams. That kind of foundation is critical for high school wrestling, and when the competition and skill is there in high school, that leads to a strong support base in a state. And when there's a strong state support base, people in that state want to see it at the college level.<BR/><BR/>That doesn't guarantee it'll be there, but it helps create the interest.<BR/><BR/>Otherwise, I'd say the international style rules <I>need</I> to be stabilized, simplified, and designed to promote as much wide-open action as possible. The rules have gotten increasingly byzantine in my lifetime, and I've gone from seeing shoot-outs with the Smiths and the Brands' and the late 80's teams to seeing wrestlers on the mat not even sure how the scoring went as the ref blows the whistle yet again. Let 'em loose, or you're going to get less conditioned athletes just doing what they need to win the match, and not really showing great wrestling technique.J Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02169083439729235279noreply@blogger.com