It's funny how finding stories works. I approached John Swartz and Bill Grubbs with the intention of writing an article about how kids adapt to the noise and bright lights of wrestling at the Coliseum. About 10 minutes into our talk, John dropped the nugget about having over 400 high schools applying to compete every year, and my whole article changed.
HAMPTON – For
many high school wrestlers, having a chance to compete at the Virginia Duals is
the culmination of their athletic careers. Wrestling on the mats at Hampton
Coliseum provides for opportunities that prep athletes cannot find elsewhere.
“There’s
something to be said about being in a meet where you’re wrestling, and on the
next mat over, there are a couple of college guys,” said Bill Grubbs, high
school director for the Duals.
It’s an
experience that many teams want to renew on an annual basis.
“Once a team
gets in the Virginia Duals, no one wants out,” adds John Swartz, tournament
co-director, and also coach of Smithfield High. “We have 48 teams in the high
school divisions, and 48 will want to come back next year.”
As optimistic as
this might seem to a meet director, it does create a problem.
“We get about
400 applications from high schools every year,” added Swartz. “There are a lot
of unhappy teams.”
Ironically, the
original problem morphed to become the current one. Two years ago, while facing
150 applications from high school teams, Swartz turned to Jason Bryant for
assistance. Bryant is a Poquoson native and jack-of-all trades, namely as a
wrestling guru, one who has expanded the sport on a national level to online
platforms such as his own website, as well as Mat Talk podcast. Now based in
Minnesota, Bryant is the go-to guy for wrestling teams of all levels to seek
when they wish to expand their social media exposure.
Bryant helped
Swartz to develop an online application process, one that would streamline the
entry process and help to take the mounds of paper off of Swartz’s desk.
The new
application form was a success. However, with the increased exposure came more
applications, hundreds more.
I told Jason,
“Maybe we should turn this off,” said Swartz, laughing as he recalled the
conversation.
There is a
waiting list, and Grubbs admits, “There are teams that have been on the waiting
list for years.”
In an effort to
make room, changes have been made to the process. Admission to the Duals no
longer guarantees a permanent spot in the line-up.
Two changes are
significant. First, when a team wins either the Black and Blue or American
Division, they are forced to move up to the next division.
The reasoning
was simple. From 2003-2005, Brentsville District won the B&B Division, and
in 2005 presented their strongest team. In spite of the ease with which they
won titles, Swartz says, they simply refused to move up.
Fearing that one
very strong team would dissuade others from competing, the change was made.
Recently, it has affected one local team, Poquoson, who two years ago won the
Black and Blue and were elevated to the American Division. While they didn’t
win at the next level in 2015, they did perform well.
“It does give
the team a chance to wrestle against tougher competition,” said Swartz.
One team almost
completed the trifecta. In 2011, Ocean Lakes won the Black and Blue, and then
came back the following year to capture the American title. However, they
failed to make the semifinals in the National Division in 2013.
The second
change was built to maintain competitiveness. If a team goes 0-3 for the
tournament, they are removed and put back on the waiting list.
For Grubbs, this
new rule led to a painful moment. “Two years ago, York went 0-3, and were
dropped. And my own kid is on the (York) team!”
Instituting the
two new rules helped to open up some vacancies in the brackets. The next
problem was coming up with criteria to select the replacement teams from the
pool of 400 applicants.
Swartz believes
that they a workable system in place, although there are still some kinks to
work out.
“First, you have
to have a competitive team. Teams that are traveling a long way to come to the
Duals expect to have stiff competition to wrestle against. Second, the team has
to travel well.” Asked about how a team such as Arvada West High from Nevada is
considered to travel well, Swartz pointed out that they have brought as many as
40 fans to Hampton.
There is a third
criterion that can help a team.
“We like teams
that can bring a lot of volunteers. It hurt after last year when Tabb left,
because they had a lot of people who helped. It takes 600 volunteers to run
this tournament.”
