Life at Lambert.

I feel as if Lambert High School has been my second home for the past couple of weeks. Since Soccer season ended (We did not make the playoffs) I have been going up twice a week to help out with the fledgling Lanierland Fs/G program. I have enjoyed working as a coach with the wrestlers, but it is kind of a long commute for me. This mornings 45 minute commute was a breeze in my Smart car, but I was dragging by the time I got home. Shawn Feilds set up the program with Coach Contardi, and he told me to take this week off. I will more than likely show up on Thursday anyway.
On to wrestling. Here are some of the high spots from the tournament.
Facilities are excelent. The view of the competition from the entranceway was great. I love being down close to the action, but the panoramic view from that spot was the way all gyms should look.
The volunteers were freindly. Many of them had helped out the week before at Georgia Games. They were eager to do a good job, an worked hard.
brackets were up first thing in the morning, and there were almost zero changes. Sometimes when we change brackets to accomadate a few wrestlers, we make everyone wait for an extended period of time. We got started by 8:30am.
There was some great matches, and excellent competition.
I did not take a look at the brackets before I gave any mat assignments, and did not notice that the mats were split by age groups. Many times there a variety of age groups on every mat, and you get a chance to officiate a variety of sizes of wrestlers. This week I ended up with all young guys and girls. There was some great competition, and for the most part the wrestlers were waiting to wrestle, which made our mat move quickly. I also got a close up view of a perfectly executed 5 point throw, unfourtunately it was not leagal for the age group and I was forced to call it ileagal. In the same match I had a wrestler requesting a time out. Unfourtunately you can not call a time out in FS/G, and the wrestler wa in a danger position. If the wrestlers would have been in a neutral position I could have given the wrestler requesting the time out a caution, and awarded his opponent a point, but that was not an option from this position. His coach ended up throwing in the towel so I called the match. That match was a precoursor to a new rule coming down the pipe for folkstyle next year.  Next year if you try to tap-out when you are on your back it will be called a forfeit. I am curious aas to weather a requested injury time will be considered atap-out.
Lambert, and Coach Contardi did a great job, and the tournament was enjoyable. Can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. Tommorow will be a great Sunday(Team Georgia Practice).