Whose Fault Is It? Ted Witulski For wrestling in Texas there are always a lot of villains. Maybe it’s the old west attitude that’s a cornerstone of the makeup of Texas. In Texas wrestling it is clear there is a lot of in-fighting about who did what to who and when. There is also the high school coaches and programs that care more about football then having a great and growing wrestling program. But, the ultimate villain in the sport of wrestling are the multiple colleges that don’t offer collegiate wrestling for the thousands of young people that are filling the mats in Texas. It doesn’t take long to hear the complaints about how Texas is the biggest state out there that lacks any collegiate opportunity for its graduating seniors. So, in a state that wrestling seems to be exploding in popularity isn’t it time that we ask ourselves whose fault is it? That’s right: Whose fault is it? Someone or something has to be to blame for the lack of a collegiate program in the Lone Star state. Maybe we should blame the infighting in Texas that eats up time and energy that could be better spent on starting a collegiate program. Maybe we should blame the behemoth of football for sucking dry the resources that could be used to start a wrestling program. Or, maybe the blame lays closer to home on the wrestling community as a whole in Texas. That’s a tough argument to sell to the good people of Texas, but please hear me out on this. Wrestling is the ultimate sport for one basic reason the inherent values it teaches. At the top of that values list is “responsibility”, followed closely by “commitment”. In wrestling if a boy or girls is to excel in the sport then they better take a good look at themselves and digest the values of responsibility and commitment. Essentially, if a wrestler fails, it can be said that the reasons they failed were all of their own making. Isn’t it time that we apply that “ownership” thinking to ourselves—the grassroots wrestling community? The facts are clear there are no school sponsored collegiate teams in Texas. Yes, we have some club teams. And, yes we have several colleges that could add a program and compete in the best wrestling conference in the country the Big 12. And, yes there is a compelling need for these colleges to give youth the opportunity to wrestling in college and spend the tax dollars they take from the Texas citizenry on programs the public supports. However, the most important fact that the wrestling community of Texas must come to grips with is the wrestling community of Texas has never stepped up en masse and demanded of its universities that they provide collegiate wrestling. Whose fault it it? Yes, it is time we shoulder the blame. And, it is time that we change wrestling in Texas by breaking down the barriers that have kept wrestling out of collegiate athletic departments in the state. It is time to take action, and I’m willing to do my part. To succeed in this effort at a minimum I need to hear from five hundred committed individuals who want to make this dream become reality. Of course, I expect people to have questions. What do you expect from me? What’s it going to cost me? How much time will this take up? And, all of those are fair questions. But, first I want to know are there five-hundred people in Texas that will take the time to email me at twitulski@usawrestling.org to take on the challenge of getting wrestling started in the state? I have a plan that I believe will work but again to make it happen I need a minimum of 500 foot soldiers for the sport of wrestling. Each person that I hear from will be filled in on the details. At the end of January, I will up-date the people of Texas about my response to this letter to the wrestling public. Will I hear from 500 wrestling loving citizens of Texas? I hope so. We share some blame for not having wrestling in Texas, but we can be a part of the solution. I hope to hear from you soon. In the wrestling spirit, Ted Witulski
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