What Does It Take

What Does It Take?

Dear Parents and Wrestlers,

2008 State Tournament AAAAA Team Standings

1. / Collins Hill / 223.00
2. / Harrison / 179.50
3. / Union Grove / 157.50
4. / Kell / 125.00
5. / Parkview / 120.50
6. / Centennial / 115.50
7. / Walton / 113.00
8. / Peachtree Ridge / 110.00
9. / McEachern / 99.50
9. / (tie) / Pope / 99.50
11. / North Gwinnett / 84.50
12. / Camden Co / 84.00
13. / Hiram / 79.50
14. / Kennesaw Mountain / 74.50
15. / Brookwood / 71.00
16. / Valdosta / 70.00
17. / Milton / 56.00
18. / Murray Co / 55.00
19. / Tift Co / 53.00
20. / Lowndes / 49.00
20. / (tie) / South Gwinnett / 49.00
22. / Grayson / 46.50
23. / Shiloh / 45.00
24. / East Coweta / 41.50
24. / (tie) / Forsyth Central / 41.50
26. / Sprayberry / 41.00
27. / South Cobb / 34.00
28. / Paulding Co / 33.00
28. / (tie) / Mundy's Mill / 33.00
30. / Etowah / 32.00
31. / Redan / 27.00
31. / (tie) / Newton Co / 27.00
33. / North Forsyth / 25.00

Over the past few seasons the North Forsyth wrestling program has seen a lot of change. We have moved up in classification, we have had wrestlers go to other schools, and we have added new coaches. We have had some successes, and we have had some performances that we would like to forget. The past two seasons we have finished 42nd and 33rd in the state tournament. While both seasons have been somewhat successful, I am sure I speak for everyone when I say, “We can do better than that!” I know that the last two seasons we have been a relatively young team, and we have shown improvement from year to year, but we must ask ourselves, “What will it take?” What will it take for us to return to the top 10 in the state tournament? What will it take for us to have multiple wrestlers placing at state? What will it take for us to have a wrestler compete for a state championship? What will it take for us to return to the State Duals in Macon? What will it take for us to score 100, 150 or 200 points at the State Tournament? I ask myself these questions on a daily basis; I ask my assistant coaches these same questions quite often as well. We have most of the things that the other schools have, so why are we finishing outside the top 30? The one answer that I continually come up with, the one word that always seems to pop up in all the answers to each of these questions is commitment. We need a total commitment in three areas for this program to once again reach the goals that we have established for ourselves.

Commitment from the Coaching Staff: I have never been a part of a program that has had more committed coaches than what we currently have in the North Forsyth Wrestling Program. From Mike Nelson, who coaches the Junior Program up to myself as the Head Coach, we are constantly looking for ways to make the wrestlers at North Forsyth better. The coaching staff is showing their commitment by holding off-season practices 3 or 4 nights a week, off season weight training in the summer 3 days a week, setting up team camps, entering summer duals tournaments, etc. The administration here at North Forsyth also shows their commitment to the program by supporting the team at every varsity and JV event, hiring quality assistant coaches to help the program, and by allowing the coaches and the wrestlers to schedule events that sometimes require early release from school.

Commitment from the Wrestlers: Commitment during the season has never really been a major issue for the wrestlers here at North Forsyth High School. However, the same can not be said for off season commitment. Wrestling season does not and can not end in February if we want to contend for state titles. If we want to get to the top, then we will need more wrestlers taking advantage of the numerous opportunities that are available to them in the off season. All wrestlers need to take advantage of every off-season open mat that they can attend. All wrestlers need to do everything they can to make it to the team camp each summer, and if they can not make it that week due to some kind of scheduling conflict, then they should make plans to attend another camp that is a better fit for their schedule. Each wrestler should seek extra training at some of the other facilities that are near by. The new wrestling center in Gainesville makes this even easier to accomplish. I am fully aware that no one will be able to attend every single off-season function, but many of the wrestlers are missing more open mats than they are attending. We will not reach our goals if this trend continues.

Commitment from the Parents: WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Parents, you are a very important part of the North Forsyth Program, and we need your support in many different areas. We need your support year round. If we expect the wrestlers to wrestle year round and if we expect the coaches to coach year round, then we need your support year round. In the off season, you can help the coaches and the wrestlers by providing a way for your son to take advantage of the opportunities that are available. Whether it is through financial support (helping to pay for camp or tuition to one of the wrestling academies), transportation (to and from open mat, summer duals, wrestling camp, wrestling center in Gainesville), or simply motivation from home, we need your support. We are dealing with teenage boys who sometimes (or constantly) need to be reminded and encouraged to be the best that they can. We also need your help during the season, and we need everyone’s help to accomplish our goals. We can not continue to rely on the same 5 or 6 people to continually take care of everything that the program needs. Parents need to communicate both during the season and the off season in order to make sure that everything necessary is being done. We need the parents to aggressively help in the fundraising department. Doing this will also help to generate community interest and involvement and will help us pay for some of the things we would like to do during the season and the off season. Finally, parents we need to hear you; we need to see you at the matches standing up and cheering and being loud. The kids need to walk off the mat after a hard fought match and see all of the parents standing and applauding their effort, no matter the outcome of the match. We need parents and, most importantly we need the parents to be the fans. We need you, all of you, to be at every possible match you can attend. Believe me when I say that your son will graduate before you know it and you will remember these moments for the rest of your life. Share in those moments with your child.

Sincerely,

Travis Jarrard

770-596-8224