By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski
Richard P. Borkowski, EdD, CMAA, is a sport safety consultant based in Narberth, Pa. The former Director of Physical Education and Athletics at the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa., his most recent book is titled Coaching for Safety, A Risk Management Handbook for High School Coaches, published by ESD112.
Athletic Management, 18.5, August/September 2006, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/am/am1805/gptighteningrules.htm
As a former wrestling coach, I can quickly list all the wonderful aspects of this sport. It combines team and individual pursuits, is open to athletes with a diverse array of body types, trains participants in both strength and agility, and is fun!
But I am worried about the long-term feasibility of wrestling. When three collegiate wrestlers died in 1997 while trying to make weight, parents became skeptical of the sport’s safety. “What type of coaches tell their athletes to binge diet and run in rubber sweat suits to lose weight?” parents asked. “That’s not a sport my son is going to compete in.”
The good news is that the NFHS has finally followed the NCAA’s lead and implemented rules to curtail wrestling’s emphasis on making weight. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that rules are only one piece of the puzzle. As athletic director, your job is to make sure your wrestling coaches not only follow the letter of the law, but the spirit of it, too. Because if athletic administrators and coaches do not get serious about making wrestling a safer sport, its days at the high school level may be numbered.
New NFHS Rules
Starting this season, each state that follows NFHS rules must enact regulations to discourage excessive weight reduction. Under the new rules, wrestlers will be required to weigh in at a hydrated state (specific gravity no more than 1.025) before their first match of the season, at which time their baseline body fat percentage will be assessed. From there, a safe minimum weight will be determined based on a body fat of no less than seven percent for males and 12 percent for females. For the remainder of the season, the wrestler’s weight must stay at or above their safe minimum. And if weight loss is permitted, it must not exceed 1.5 percent of the athlete’s body weight per seven days.
States can decide for themselves how the testing should be conducted. Some state associations are implementing strict procedures, while others are letting school districts or individual high schools figure out what works for them. The hydration testing is easily accomplished through a urine test, but body fat percentage can be assessed in several different ways. Some states also have different rules on who is allowed to conduct the testing.
Whatever the testing scenario in your state, you need to sit down with your wrestling coach and go over the changes. Talk about the why behind the new rules and get a sense for whether your coach embraces them. You can explain that research tells us excessive weight loss is unhealthy and actually hurts athletic performance. Dr. William Herbert, Professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Director of its Laboratory for Health and Exercise Sciences, has reported that “wrestlers who lost three percent or more of their weight regressed or stayed constant at anaerobic threshold, while wrestlers who ate and drank fluids properly showed significant gains.”
Next, be prepared to assist your coach with the rules changes. This may mean securing the services of a nutritionist to teach both coach and athletes about healthy weight loss. Or it may mean providing your wrestling team with additional athletic training support to assist with weight monitoring and body fat testing.
You will also have to support your coach through the transition and the culture change. If your state has somewhat loose rules on how the testing is to be performed, it will most likely take a year or two to work out the kinks. There may be complaints that a competing school is not doing the testing correctly, and you’ll need to remind your coach to take the high road.
Educating athletes is also important. According to a 1987 article in The Physician and Sportsmedicine, many high school wrestlers are preoccupied with making weight and more often turn to fellow wrestlers than to physicians for nutritional advice. Getting a team physician involved in your wrestling program would be a great proactive step. Another idea is to have each wrestler (and his or her parents) sign a simple written contract agreeing to maintain healthy habits during the season.
Overall, the key to following the new rules will be acceptance of the process by the athletic director, coach, and athletes. Clearly these requirements have been adopted because previous weight control rules were not successful. The new certified weight plan can work, but it needs cooperation from everyone involved.
Mat Safety
Although weight management may be the hottest topic in wrestling safety, there are other areas where you can reduce risks in the sport. To start, take a look at your wrestling mats. The most preventable wrestling injury is one that happens when athletes make contact with something other than a safe, regulation wrestling mat.
Purchase mats only from reputable dealers and follow their suggested guidelines. Ask for advice from manufacturers on how to maintain the mats’ effectiveness. For example, keeping mat sections rolled up for a long time adds to their degradation and excessive heat causes mats to become soft and “bottom out.”
Have the shock absorption of your mats checked regularly by calling ASTM International to find a professional who knows how to use a “metal head drop” evaluator. This is a computerized instrument that measures the shock absorbing quality of the mat. In addition, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for reconditioning the mat, which is usually necessary every seven years.
Carefully examine the placement and security of the mats. If your wrestling mat is near a wall, pad the wall to at least six feet high. Use wrestling mats that are properly taped. And know that mats on wood have far more shock absorbing quality than those placed over tile or asphalt. A thin base mat under the wrestling mat is also an excellent idea.
Because communicable skin conditions are a major concern for wrestlers, check mats daily for cleanliness, cuts, and taping. Disinfect the mat at least once a day and preferably before and after each practice. Let the mat dry before use.
Supervision & Instruction
Like in all other sports, wrestling coaches must be present whenever athletes are under their care. I remember a junior high coach that liked to open the wrestling room so wrestlers could get in a little more mat time while he dressed. That stopped the day a kid broke his leg when he fell off the bleachers during a game of tag.
Your coach should be knowledgeable and keep up with current coaching trends. He or she should know about proper warmup, teach athletes how to fall properly, and use “back to the wall” supervision. The coach must always have a whistle or a very loud voice to control and stop potentially dangerous situations.
Coaches must allow a reasonable amount of space during team drills. A wrestler landing on other wrestlers during drills can and always should be avoided. Most mats have nine inner circles—if you place a set of partners in each circle, you can have 18 wrestlers active with reasonable “buffer zones.”
Wrestling coaches often ask me if it is okay for mismatched wrestlers to partner up, such as a coach wrestling a team member or wrestlers in different weight classes drilling against each other. With appropriate safeguards, these traditional wrestling teaching situations can be a positive learning experience. The keys are total control, specific instructions, and being goal-specific. A coach should never wrestle as a competitor, but rather as a teacher. When a larger wrestler is drilling against a smaller teammate, it should be in a short drill situation with restrictions.
With communication and common sense, wrestling will not only remain a positive experience for young people, but be a safer experience, too. It’s up to you to help your wrestling coaches update and upgrade the sport with a slant toward safety.
Resources:
A full description of the new NFHS weight-management rules can be found in the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book or online at: www.nfhs.org.
To read an in-depth article on the athletic trainer’s role in the rules changes, search for “Wrestling with Regulations” at:
www.AthleticSearch.com.
A complete wrestling safety checklist, as well as 32 other sport safety checklists, can be found in Dr. Borkowski’s book, The School Sports Safety Handbook. Search “Borkowski” at: www.lrp.com/store.