The question all wrestling coaches hear at this time of the year between the kids on the team and the new kids who are being recruited is "Where ya goin'?" It is not a question regarding the plans that each of the kids has for the upcoming weekend, nor does it relate to which restaurant a wrestler will go for his last big, good, fattening meal. "Where ya goin'?" is a question directed to every wrestler asking what weight class they intend to compete in during the upcoming season.
I don't put a whole lot of faith in the answers I hear to this question. I have found in the last 10 years, that in most cases, wrestlers under-estimate their actual weight when answering this question, while they tend to over-estimate their weight when talking about it with other wrestlers and their coaches. A kid might weigh 150 but he tells everyone he weighs 165 and his answer to the question "where ya goin'?" is 132. As a coach, these discussions have humored me for may years. Sometime, the kids are more accurate, but most of the time I don't count on their answer as being accurate and I just smile, nod my head and carry on with my business.
It has been my experience, that after a week of practice and the nightly weigh-outs, I know "where they are goin'" and when they will be able to get there. The practice of over and under estimating weight and weight classes is nothing new. I am sure that most of the boys in the state champs picture were guilty of this in their day as well.
So, the next time you see a kid on a high school or college wrestling team, go ahead and ask them "where ya goin'?" but don't have a whole lot of faith that their answer will be all that accurate.
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