Cutting Weight for Youth Wrestling – How Young is too Young?
what is the correct age to be cutting weight for wrestling? Wrestling is one of the most demanding sports you can find. One of the aspects of this sport is that it is sometimes necessary to drop a few pounds so you can wrestle a lower weight class.
The same applies to many other sports where there are weight classes, such as boxing, judo, and mixed martial arts fighting. When it comes to weight cutting, most people think about wrestling when they hear those words.
youth wrestlers
What is Cutting Weight?
Cutting weight is the act of reducing a person’s body weight quickly. The objective is to wrestle a certain weight class for a tournament or a dual. There are safe and unsafe ways to cut weight.
I’m not going to cover how to cut weight for wrestling. I can tell you that it is usually done by reducing calorie intake, working hard in practice, and restricting water intake.
This is for short-term weight loss. This means a wrestler will lose weight and gain it back right after a weigh-in.
Dropping Weight for Youth Wrestlers?
This is a topic that a lot of people are passionate about. Some parents and kids are fanatic about dieting to wrestle. Others think no wrestler should restrict food and water to compete. In my opinion, it really depends on the kid.
I found a great article by Steve Fraser from Kansas USA wrestling. He talks about his experience with losing 20 pounds during his sophomore year in high school. In the article, he said that he was an average wrestler when he pulled from 165lbs to wrestle at 145lbs.
I’ve seen kids as young as eight years old cut weight. If your wrestler is in elementary, then there is no long term advantage to going without food or water. If you and your kid have to constantly watch the scale in little league, there is a good chance your kid is going to burnout.
As a general rule, I’m not a big fan of anyone under the age of twelve losing more than a pound or two. I realize that you want to teach your son how to be a good wrestler. In my opinion, you should focus technique instead of how heavy your kid is.
When a child reaches junior high, the child should make the decision of how much weight to lose. If a wrestler is going to cut, then he/she should learn how to do it the correct way.
In my opinion, there is one time when a youth wrestler should drop weight. A lot of kids involved with heavyweight wrestling tend to be over weight
If you have a child that is 5-12 years old and they are obviously over weight (BMI over 27), then as a parent you should definitely have your child lose weight. I would do this by changing your families eating habits.
My guess is that if your child is overweight, that he/she is not eating a healthy diet. I would NOT recommend starving a kid to make weight.
Advantages vs Disadvantages
I would be lying if I said there were no advantages to dropping weight to get to a lower class.
If the weight loss is done right, there are some definite size and strength advantages over a wrestler who does not cut weight. Have you ever noticed that a wrestler appears to be bigger than his opponent?
What I can say is that if a wrestler cuts weight at a very young age, he/she will most likely burn out and quit this sport before high school. Younger wrestlers would be better in the long run by focusing on chain wrestling and focusing improving their technique.
Also, any parent that is starving a kid, could be impacting the child’s growth.
Conclusion
In the end, this is a decision that the parents and kids have to make. The goal should be to keep your kid excited about wrestling. I just hope I gave you something to think about before making that decision.
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Great article. Let your kid grow. State medals will always be there
I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Thank you for this article. I’ve been looking around for perspective on this topic. My son is 9 (2nd yr wrestler) & our head coach is strongly opposed to cutting before puberty. I feel even stronger. If the kids is overweight its called proper diet & exercise. If you start cutting calories on a low body fat kid it could possibly stunt their growth, especially if the wrestler is working out at a high level.
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for the feedback
Awesome article! I’m a firm believer that kids cutting weight is a silly practice that should never be used. A weight cut is an advanced competition technique and kids are anything but advanced in the sport.
Thanks for the great article, really well written!
I live in a small town where the youth wrestlers start cutting weight at age 6. They wrestle from November to April and are only supposed to eat chicken and rice during the season. It’s no wonder there are no wrestlers at high school age above 5’6′. It makes me sick. 5th grade boys wrestle as low as 52 lbs. You can’t tell me it healthy. I’m glad to see an article that speaks common sense!
I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
I don’t believe it should not be aloud for youth to cut weight. They cut just to win and at this age they should have to stay at the weight they weigh in at or give a two pound allowance. My son is in the 5th grade who weighs 57lbs we struggle with him gaining weight he loves wrestling but he works hard and is good for his size but when you allow a kid that has been wrestling at a higher weight all year to cut to get down that upsets me because my dr. On doesn’t have a chance they weigh in at 57 and then go eat and by the time they wrestle that other kid is anywhere from 5 to 7 pounds heavier then my son so he gets dis courage. We let my son eat whatever he wants on a daily base and still can’t gain weight yet these kids are cutting. It’s all about winning to these parents that allow their kids to cut or they are avoiding some other kid to be the best you have to wrestle the best!!
Carla,
Cutting weight will never be eliminated from the sport. The only way to prevent the weight cut is to get certified just like you do in high school and college. I just don’t see youth parents doing that. The other way is to do two weigh-ins for national tournaments. As a parent, if you focus on technique over weight cutting, your child will be better in the long run. I have a kid that wrestles in college. If I had it to do over again, I would have focused a lot of effort on takedowns and strength training. Thanks for reading the article and I appreciate the feedback.
Is there any books out that focus on this I am afraid that my 10 year old grandson is starting to develop eating disorder because of the focus to stay in a weight group. He is bing eating and then throwing up. He is already thin I am looking for books that encourage muscle strength and healthy diet for wrestlers to hopefully educate him and his parents.
To begin, you need to nip the binge and purge habit in the bud asap. No wrestlers should be doing this and this can lead to lifetime problems. To hear of a 10 year old that purges to make weight is concerning. As the adult, its time for you to step in. it’s time to have a talk with your grandson, his coach, and a counselor if his purging doesn’t stop.
I’m not sure of any books that recommend strength over weight cutting. I would advise you to seek out coaches and older wrestlers in your community that can give your grandson guidance.
Thank you for the article. Great topic among a lot of contact sports that has been a topic of concerns for many parents of young elementary kids. I gree focusing on technique at this age will make them a better wrestler in JR. high/ middle school. I feel as parents and coaches we should start by building a good solid foundation. Trust me, all athletics will find there own struggle to make their own decisions to cut weight before competition.