By Joe Tuscano, Staff writer

jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

An old problem is making its way through area wrestling and it's not related to any type of contagious skin disease.

Forfeits, a growing problem of this sport since the PIAA raised the number of weights from 11 to 14 over the years, seem to be infesting many more teams than usual this season.

Forfeits are detestable for any number of reasons: They eat at the competitive core of the sport; they frustrate fans who want to see their children compete; they aggravate coaches who can go through a season with no hope of winning a meaningful dual meet; and they frustrate athletic directors, many of whom refuse to sell tickets for a dual meet that might last only 20 minutes.

Smaller schools have always struggled with forfeits. But now, larger schools are finding it a problem.

So why is this happening on a larger scale than usual and how do you stop the trend?

Well, those questions are difficult to answer.

"Kids want fun and wrestling is not a fun sport," said Peters Township head coach Dale Murdock. "They say practice is too hard and it's just not fun. They have Nintendo, Xbox, and I don't know if we can battle that. When you and I were younger, we had three stations on our television, no computer and no computer games. If I had the kind of opportunity that kids have today, maybe I wouldn't have wrestled."

The common complaints about those who stay away from the sport involve the same old subject: weight, and in particular, weight loss. But a closer look shows that because of rule changes over the past five years, it's not a legitimate excuse anymore.

We've all heard the horror stories of wrestlers sitting in hot showers with rubber suits on to lose weight; or taking laxatives and diuretics to try and drop those last few pounds before a big match.

But those abuses have been eliminated by the PIAA's new weight loss restrictions that went into place two years ago. The rules severely limit the amount of weight a wrestler can lose in a season and forces him to wrestle at or near his recommended weight class from the start of the season.

Those new rules have not sparked an increase in participation.

"Forfeits make a huge difference," said Fort Cherry coach Rick Chaussard. "We've had at least one in our lineup since we won the WPIAL team title (2002). It's demoralizing. Sometimes, our matches last an hour, hour and 15 minutes tops. Almost every team has at least one."

Even with the new weight restrictions, wrestling still battles some unique problems.

First, most schools in the Washington-Greene County area are losing enrollment. Canon-McMillan and Peters Township have seen increases but the numbers are falling everywhere else as Southwestern Pennsylvania continues to lose population.

Second, the weight restrictions make it nearly impossible for a coach to move wrestlers to different weights during the regular season. Before the restrictions, wrestlers could move up and down the lineup when needed. Now, a wrestler can only compete at his current weight plus one weight above.

"The weight loss (restrictions) tie your hands," said Washington head coach Rich Burgdolt. "Kids can't wrestle out of their natural weight class and a coach can't juggle his lineup. That has a lot to do with it."

But there is another symptom that produces fewer athletes in the wrestling room. Many coaches see the children of former wrestlers choosing other sports.

"Wrestling is like a fraternity," Burgdolt said. "We rely on people who wrestled before to guide their kids to the sport. Wrestling is a complex sport. It's difficult to entice a kid whose father has never wrestled. You see the hotbeds across the state and those kids had grandfathers and fathers who wrestled.

"West Greene is a small school but they are competitive because they have a strong core of parents who wrestled. And they push their children to the sport. You look back 20 years and the names are still the same."

Building a wrestling program is not easy because it has to start in the youth program. These athletes are the heart of any program, though many won't be at the varsity level for years. Making sure those athletes make the transition from the youth program to junior high then the varsity is critical.

"I'm worried about it," Chartiers-Houston head coach Bill Sutton said. "The junior high programs in Double-A? Burgettstown is close to a full team and we are, too. We haven't seen many others. We've got to get it back on the upswing. It starts in the youth and junior high programs. If you are a good athlete, then you can learn to wrestle. But it starts there."

Coaches are just as frustrated with forfeits. They understand that their wrestlers practice with the thought of competing, not walking up and having an uncontested win handed to them. Wrestlers are frustrated because they want to compete.

"Sometimes, you have an important match and some of the guys know they have a tough match, and some know they have forfeits," Sutton said. "It takes a lot of the fun out of it."

The problem extends into the local college ranks, where Waynesburg and Washington & Jefferson compete. Waynesburg had only three wrestlers available for 54-6 loss to Thiel last week, and forfeited the other seven weights.

"The key is the junior high," Murdock said. "And you have to have (a coach) in the building who can recruit kids into the sport. Once they get into high school, it's too late."

Specialization in sports also is a problem for wrestling. Many football athletes spend the winter lifting weights, rather than competing in basketball or wrestling.

"Football coaches love wrestlers," Murdock said. "The defensive coordinator from Notre Dame came down here and he wanted to know what football players wrestled. Those were the kids he wanted. He liked their warrior mentality."

You can't force athletes to wrestle. Like many other sports - lacrosse, water polo, and hockey come to mind - wrestling is an acquired taste.

While it might never reach the status of 10, 20 or 30 years ago, it can be an entertaining and competitive outlet for many athletes.

"What do you do? That's a good question," Chaussard said. "I'm going to hit the hallways at school and try to get more bodies out for the sport."

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