A first in Minnesota: Boys wrestling star is a girl

Even the broad-minded folks who support girls having their chance to compete in boys sports sometimes draw the line at wrestling. Should girls be permitted on the mat in what is the ultimate contact sport? Further, in a sport requiring endurance, power, strength, how could girls possibly compete?

This is how.

Last week, Elissa Reinsma of Slayton, Minn. broke the cauliflower-ear ceiling, becoming the first girl wrestler in history to qualify for the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. Reinsma, 5-foot-3 and and just over 100 pounds, earned the berth by finishing second in the 2AA Individual Tournament at 103 pounds.

Reinsma was defeated in her opening-round match by another sophomore Jacoby Bergeron, 9-2. As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported, Bergeron (40-2) was ranked third in that weight class and Reinsma (32-9) was No. 7. The match was the first time the two had wrestled. Reinsma is also a sophomore, so could be back - stronger and more experienced - next year.

From the Star-Tribune's coverage:

"Talking with the media in a corridor off the arena floor, the 16-year-old smiled and said, "I just wrestled in the state tournament. I'm pretty happy. I shouldn't be, because losing the match was not what I planned. He was a really good wrestler. But I'm happy."

Youth sports programs getting a haircut

As the economic crisis worsens, sports programs are getting slammed in predictable and, at times, surprising ways. A few examples from around the country.

In Las Vegas, one Little League reports fewer players and higher registration fees. "We had to raise prices because we didn't get as many sponsorships, so we need to make up the costs to cover those sponsorships and our other normal costs," a league official told the The Sun.

A Little League in Central Florida is down to one lighted field for 130 kids because it can't afford more space.

Minnesota prep sports are getting a haircut. At a few high schools, teams head off to road games on a one-way bus. "The athletes must ride home with parents or friends," notes the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Also under consideration: cutting back on scrimmages and games.

Thanks to Andrea Grazzini Walstrom for the Minnesota tip.

The college scholarship dream

Grooming a child to play college sports - and earn a full athletic scholarship - is a highly dubious proposition. Shall we review a few of the reasons? Kids who start in sports too early and train too hard are candidates for burnout and overuse injuries. The commitment in time and money - to pay for private lessons, travel squads, summer sports camps and the like - is startling. (See Monday's blog post). Even gifted athletes are prohibitive long shots to pay their way through college with their sports talent. Just one in 100 high school athletes succeeds.

These points and other good ones are made in an excellent three-part series in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The series started Monday with an installment on how elusive athletic scholarships truly have become - answer, very. I'm especially interested in the final installment in today's newspaper explaining the steps taken - and, often, money blown - by parents promoting their teen athletes to college coaches. I confess to having spent far more than was necessary or prudent on just this sort of thing. Anyone interested in a private screening of a professionally produced video: "My older son, the baseball catcher, blocking balls in the dirt"?

Here's a link to Part One. From this page, you'll be able to access the entire package of articles and charts.

Thanks to Lee Engfer, our Twin Cities eyes and ears, for passing along the articles.