anyone else notice that?... at many weights but particularly Norstrem at 133 vs Conaway. Small thing for sure but irked me nonetheless.
VATech's head slaps...
- Thread starter shak66_psu
- Start date
It does seem to me that slaps/clubs are becoming common place today. I guess those doing it are trying to assert their dominance and I look for more opponents to retaliate which may escalate! Refs seem as hesitant to call the slapping as they are to call stalling and some to call a pin!
I'm not sure what you are expecting the ref to call.
The only rule that addresses head slapping is 5.5 Unnecessary Roughness. It reads:
"Unnecessary roughness involves physical acts that occur during a match. It includes any act that exceeds normal aggressiveness. It would include, but is not limited to, a forceful slap to the head or face, gouging or poking the eyes, a forceful application of a crossface, a forceful trip, or a forearm or elbow used in a punishing way, such as on the spine or the back of the head or neck. Points for unnecessary roughness shall be awarded in addition to points earned."
I don't recall one head slap (by VT or PSU -- wrestlers from both teams did it during the dual on Sunday) that I felt was even close to approaching unnecessary roughness. Reaching out and touching the head is in many cases almost an involuntary wrestling reaction -- kind of like when they shift weight from toe to toe, adjust their headgear, etc. Head slapping only warrants a call from the ref when it is done in a manner that far exceeds a normal reach and/or control, and is delivered as a blow to the head.
It certainly a matter of interpretation, but I thought some of the slaps were excessive and done to elicit an emotion from the victim to get him out of his discipline and get him to make a mistake. I was happy to see that the slaps did not get our wrestlers out of their discipline.
Another judgment call for the refs to call. Tom posted the rule, so I'll just add to the discussion re. why it's done. Head tapping (or slapping) has been around forever. It distracts wrestlers, and/or can make an opponent lose concentration...giving a wrestler an advantage.
I watched it on replay and did not see anything close to what I would consider to be unnecessary roughness with the head taps.
Eliciting an emotion from your opponent and attempting to get him out of his discipline and get him to make a mistake is an integral part of any sport.
Eliciting an emotion from your opponent and attempting to get him out of his discipline and get him to make a mistake is an integral part of any sport.
Like I tell all of the kids I coach: "Sometimes, you just have to take the technical. You can always score more points."
you didn't see anything in the 133 match? Conaway was getting repeatedly clubbed on the left side of his head. When weaker wrestlers resort to that, it's always pissed me off. And stronger wrestlers don't have to resort to it.
SurpriseD you all haven't pointed out who one of their aSst coaches is that Joined them in the off season
I looked for him when I was down there, but I couldn't find Derek St. John behind Bill Zadick's beard.
No, I didn't see any actions that I thought warranted an Unnecessary Roughness call. I'm going from memory, but nothing in the 133 match even gave me reason to wonder about making such a call.
Stalling? I didn't see it as that. The VT guys were not all that active in terms of shooting throughout the dual. Tapping the head as either an involuntary reach, or as part of establishing a collar tie or some form of head control is not, in of itself, stalling.
I noticed the slapping and thought that it was borderline. I think it's reasonable for the ref in such cases to just tell the guys to knock it off and thought that would have been appropriate a couple times this weekend.
What bothered me more is the restarts, which is a consistent and unnecessary problem with a lot of refs. A ref needs to have a consistent whistle. It should be "set", followed by a short and consistently timed pause, followed by a whistle. When I see false starts over and over again during the match, it tells me that the ref is not doing this, which leads the wrestlers to try and time the whistle. You just don't see that with refs are are consistent with "Set.....beep!"
Interesting. I would argue the complete opposite.
I posted earlier this week about the college rule change this year, where the ref is supposed to wait 1 sec after "Set" before blowing the whistle. I think, to some extent, that caused some of the issues this weekend, as that was not previously the rule.
In terms of a "consistently timed pause followed by a whistle," most ref training is to not do that. The feeling is that if you are very consistent with the pause, that the wrestlers do try to time the whistle and cheat by moving just before or just as the whistle blows. If you vary the pause, then the wrestlers have more trouble trying to time the whistle.
As an aside, it's my experience that the guys that don't look at the ref, and only wait to hear the whistle, get far fewer cautions. There's exceptions to that, but it's been my general observation. The guys that are watching the ref and looking for the cheeks to puff, or for the ref's arm to move before the whistle, are the guys that are looking to jump the whistle, and more often get cautioned.
The new rule for this year is...
Once the offensive wrestler assumes the correct starting position, the
referee shall say, “Set.” At this time the offensive wrestler shall remain
stationary (motionless) and the referee shall wait a minimum of one
second before sounding the whistle. With both wrestlers stationary
(motionless), the referee will start the wrestling.
The present pause then start is going back to the way it was many years ago. t always irked me that many got an unfair advantage by going form touching the elbow right to the start. With this being "new" this year it will take a few matches until every one settles down. As for the head slaps I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
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