New Mexico Wrestling - USA

JANUARY 2020

TO:       SOUTHERN PLAINS COACHES AND LEADERS

FR:       RUSTY DAVIDSON

RE:       NATIONAL COACHES COUNCIL

Coaches and Leaders,

Happy New Year !  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your families, and that the wrestling part of your life is rolling along.

I know I’ve been silent for a while.  My apologies.  Your Coaches Council HAS been active but, since September, we’ve been in a bit of a reconfiguration mode.  It’s going well and we’re getting stronger.  Our new Staff Liaison is Mike Clayton, Manager of Coach Education.  Mike brings some fresh ideas, a passion for development, and a true commitment to Coaching excellence to our group !  

One of our successes is that we are transitioning to a Quarterly NATIONAL Newsletter.  Look for the inaugural edition , late January / early February.  This newsletter will echo much of what I provide our Region.  Most of what we discuss is fair game for ALL Coaches, nationwide.

This does not mean I’ll stop communicating directly with Southern Plains constituents.  Occasionally, there are issues, policies, concerns that affect us, specifically.  There are times when our laundry doesn’t need to blow off the line, into the neighbors’ yards.  (For you young people… you can actually hang laundry outdoors and it will dry !)  Representation, for Developmental Coaching, is by Regional selection.  I will always make the Southern Plains my priority.

Last Fall, much of our Council business agenda involved input and feedback, to our National Teams Staff.  The big topic was ‘Redefining roles and parameters for Regional Training Centers.  In our ever-tenuous relationship with the NCAA, it is imperative that USAW can demonstrate a clear distinction between the RTC and the Local Club.  One is open to everyone, the other serves projected World and Olympic competitors, in collaboration with University programs.   Equity and ethics guide this pathway.

We also continue to engage in accommodating the selection and preparation for Age Group Continental and World Championship competition.  This conversation is broad, with multiple components.  Far from perfected, I believe you’ll keep seeing significant improvement in process, through the next quadrennium.

Personally, I’ve been fascinated and entertained by the NFHS and several states’ reaction to the growth and legitimacy of Girls High School Wrestling.  The bulk of the 2019 – 2020 Rules Presentation was dedicated to what kids are wearing !  What does it say, about a room full of predominantly male, predominantly middle-aged ‘Leaders’ in Sport, when they devote their attention to “Under-Garments” ?

In 1989, UWW (then FILA) figured out that men and women can accomplish Medical Check and Weigh In, in the same room, under public scrutiny, by wearing a legal competition Singlet.  Add an appropriate sports bra and you go, Straps Down… Skin Check, Straps up… weigh in.  Oh, yeah… like we do for 5,000 teenagers, in Fargo.

Please try to push your local and state Association Leaders into the 21st century.  Please help show the few, leftover sexual bigots the door.  Scholastic Wrestling is moving on… and right now… girls are rowing the boat !

I hope your scholastic season is going well and wish you the best, through January’s grind.  Look for that National Newsletter, in a few weeks.  I’ll get back with you, regionally, as the transition to the Olympic styles grows close.

Thanx for what you do and HOW you do it.

Rusty  

5 POINTS FOR PARENTS: KEEPING KIDS SAFE IN YOUTH SPORTS 

USA Wrestling’s Safe Sport Program is the cornerstone of USA Wrestling’s commitment to ensure a safe, healthy and positive wrestling environment for all of its members and volunteers. In order to be successful, we all have a role to play. Raising awareness and education are key to creating a culture that will takedown misconduct. 

Get Educated Education is the most important tool for combatting misconduct.  Look for resources that can help you understand how abuse occurs and what you can do about it.  You should be able to recognize signs of grooming behavior and boundary violations and what to do when you suspect a child’s safety is at risk. 

Create Healthy Boundaries It’s important to establish healthy boundaries between athletes and coaches and have clear expectations about the coach’s role.  A coach can often serve as a teacher, a mentor, or a role model for a young person.  A coach is not an athlete’s friend, peer, or romantic partner.  Teams and youth sport organizations should spell out prohibited behaviors to ensure strong and safe boundaries between adults and athletes. 

Identify and Address High Risk Areas For misconduct to take place, an offender needs privacy, access, and control.  One way to reduce the risk for abuse is to design strategies for addressing these high-risk areas, which include travel, locker rooms, and electronic communications.  Teams should adopt policies that spell out expectations and create boundaries. 

Speak Up If you recognize questionable behaviors, say something!  Your youth sports organization should designate someone—the team administrator, or a parent advocate—who is there to hear your concerns or take a report of inappropriate behavior.  Make sure that everyone knows that person. 

Talk to your Kids! Physical and sexual misconduct can be a hard topic for parents to talk about with their children.  Having these conversations is extremely important in helping prevent your child from becoming a victim of abuse.  Having ongoing and open conversations with children about their bodies and appropriate boundaries will make it easier for them to talk to you if anyone is making them feel uncomfortable. 

www.takedownmisconduct.com   Adapted courtesy of USA Swimming Safe Sport 

Congratulations to New Mexico NHSCA High School All-Americans:

Freshman Division

120 Avery Atma - 8th

Senior Division

160 Javier Tapia - 8th

160 Fabian Padilla - 6th

285 Austin Roman - 6th

Team NEW MEXICO USMC Girls folk style National Championships

Juniors

WEIGHT            NAME                                      PLACE 

144 LBS            Destiny Bailey-Aztec                  8th Place                       

180 LBS            Rayana Vigil -Atrisco                  7th Place

16U                    

122 LBS            Makayla Munoz-                       8th Place

180 LBS            Tristian Martinez-Grants            Runner Up

14U

127 LBS            Cristen Martinez                       4th Place

12U

118 LBS            Jaden Meadows                        3rd Place   

9U

45 LBS              Izabella Pacheco                       6th Place