Be Wary All-Stars!!!
ALL-STARS BE WARY: THE SEASON STILL GOES ON AFTER JANUARY 9
Being selected as an “All-Star” is a great honor, but at the same time it is just another meet on the schedule. What I am getting at is this: if you’re selected as an All-Star it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to be a state champion, and on the other hand, not being selected doesn’t mean you can’t reach the top of the podium in February.
As a member of the All-Star committee and involved in the selection process I want to tell every wrestler and every parent of a wrestler and every coach that the selecting these 56 wrestlers was by no means an easy process. Personally, I spent hours on the phone with coaches, a few of my wrestling friends out there who I think are reliable sources of information, as well as fellow committee members. My biggest fear is that we may have “slighted” a deserving a wrestler. But I promise you it wasn’t because of “politics” or lack of effort.
Using the word “slight” might not be the best term to use however. The non-selected wrestler, his parents and coach may feel so, but I really believe in my heart of hearts that the committee did the best it could to come up with these final teams. We go by the best information available at this time of the season, and many of these selections were agonizingly difficult. Thought and prayer went into these decisions and hopefully we (the committee) have done it pretty darn close to right.
As a Head Coach I have been fortunate enough to have three wrestlers participate in the All-Star dual. Two of those wrestlers actually finished second in state later that year. But I think they deserved to be there based on the information we had available at the time going into the process. One of those wrestlers who placed second in state won in the All-Star meet beating a wrestler that later became a four-time state champion. He showed he was legit to be in the meet. The other wrestler that took second was undefeated at the time and was beat at state by a wrestler that cut down a weight after the All-Star dual.
At the same time I thought I had two strong cases to have All-Stars where these wrestlers ended up not being selected.
First, I had a wrestler that placed second in state two straight years not get selected. Instead, the committee (which at that time I was not involved at all) chose a returning state champion from the year before at a lower weight. Anyway, we beat this wrestler in the semi-finals at state and went on to take state. Still, I don’t feel my wrestler was slighted at all. I understood that this was a difficult decision for the committee. My wrestler and parents took it pretty well and we all got focused on the most important in-state meet, the state tournament.
I also had another wrestler who ended up taking state as a junior who didn’t have the opportunity to wrestle in the All-Star meet that year. He got his opportunity the next year as a senior, though he probably showed he was the most deserving his junior year as well. But again, the selection process was fair, it was a tough decision that didn’t go our way in this case.
What I am getting at is that many of these All-Stars won’t take state. Many of these All-Stars may get beat by wrestlers in their same classification before the year is through. Many of these wrestlers will meet other “unselected” All-Stars a few more times before the season is through and anything can happen. That’s the nature of sport and that’s why I love athletic competition.
The selection process is just that—a selection process. Somebody has to be chosen to represent each of these four teams at that weight. To be truthful, some weights at different classifications were easier than others. And yet we were cognizant of the fact that for every All-Star there were others who could claim to be as equally qualified. The All-Star Classic committee worked with the Utah Wrestling Coaches Association (UWCA) classification representatives. This year we wanted more people to be involved thus decreasing the chances of any egregious mistakes in selections. Still, it must be said again that any selection process may leave some feeling slighted or left out.
I beg of anyone that might feel this way to give those involved in the selection process the benefit of the doubt. Come support the 2007 All-Star Classic on January 9 at the UVSC McKay Event Center! And once again, not being selected doesn’t mean you can’t reach the top of the podium at the big tournament, and if you were selected, certainly don’t think you’re unbeatable…there are plenty of wrestlers who want desperately to knock off an All-Star!
Story by Brian E. Preece
2007 All-Star Classic Committee Member