ntplowman

Yeah, that was the other Kelliher brother. Craig.

OGGoldy

Valley is insane. How do you have 2 of the top rated middle school wrestlers in the nation on the same team? And on top of that, one of them wasn't even on teh varsity team for state.
http://revwrestling.com/hsrank.php?c=Middle-Schoolers

I would like to see how they do against the top private school/recruiting schools in the country.

tooldude

they are not a private school but there is plenty of recruiting going on at Valley. None of those finalist are from Valley. Devos and Mccauley are from Iowa and all the Kelliherboys are from Illinois. Lavalle was from Morehead minn. How good do you have to be when champions move in from other places everyear? Its a joke, they have plenty of cash to help move your family to Valley as long as your kid can help them. I wish somebody would give them a beatdown. Its not fair to the rest of the state they tiptoe around the rules and the state lets them. and both Devos and Mccauley were on the state team. I think your thinking of Dakota trom who wrestled team and matt Kelliher wrestled Ind. 112(lost in finals- Thank God)Mincey is the other finalist he may have grown up in Valley. They have twins moveing in this year from what I hear and I am willing to bet they are pretty good. Same old BS at Valley. Why is the other High school in Valley not so good(EASTVIEW)?

Schlottke

What rules do you suggest they are tip toeing around?

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goferphan

Its not technically recruiting because the school isn't actually offering the kid anything other than the opportunity to make the team. The fact that the team has now transcended the school in terms of what they can offer a kid doesn't make it Apple Valley's fault. As long as there are families out there that have devoted their lives to wrestling and parents who are willing to move in to the district in order to make this happen, it will continue and it is far from illegal, just strange that it happens in a sport like wrestling. In baseball, football, basketball and hockey it has been happening for decades.

Does it seem a little bit unfair? Yes, I suppose it does but if you can get your son a full ride scholarship be it DII or DI which now costs anywhere from $80,000-$160,000 grand at some of these better schools, it is an investment in a parents time.

Do I think its a little messed up? Yes, as I sincerely hope that I never put that kind of pressure on my kids to perform.

The other thing that some people don't realize is that Apple Valley is a pretty damn good school district and a pretty nice place to live so there are alot of things that are a benefit to moving to the area for families than wrestling.

My mother in law was the Asst. Principal at Eastview when it opened up and they are starting to see significant upticks in all of their sports programs as well. Apple Valley has become to wrestling what Hopkins has become to basketball and what Cretin Derham and Lakeville have become to Football.

The last thing I can say is that I wrestled at Apple Valley in 86-88 and the program had alot of talent in it then with Matt Demaray, Jason Skapyak, Tim Duran, Joey Vennowitz, Brian Kemp and Paul Cluskey but its NOTHING like the talent they put in that room now. Wow.

Go Eagles.

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tooldude

well if their moveing familys in and helping with jobs so a family can move there or letting wrestlers stay with host familys like they do. I would say the playin field isn't level. If you move in to a district you should sit. The MSHSL is weak if they can let Justin Lavalle decide at Fargo he would wrestle for Valley and not have to sit for a year. This is Highschool and if you want to act like a free agent then rules should apply. In College ask Metcalf about sitting for a year before joining the Hawks this year. Devos takes 6th grade twice so he can be a 6-time champ. How bad do your grades have to be to take 6th grade over? Then we get all these guys who rave about Valley but they hate when info about their program gets out. If everything is on the up- and up at Valley then why should people get so upset when people question their ethics. Sports were for fun when I was a kid. This is all about ego. If Coach Jackson is the greatest of all time like Valley Backers claim then close your doors to transfers and prove it.

Schlottke

1.) Even if the coaching staff does help someone find a job, what is wrong with that? Some would say helping someone find work is a sign of being your friend... Who did they do this for?

2.) In High School, the student has no rights and moves when their parents do. In College, the person is over 18 and made the decision to attend that University.

3.) I think its a little weird that all of these kids are being held back (Falck, DeVos, etc) If it continues to happen every couple years with great young wrestlers, I would say there is an issue.

4.) Why should people get upset when ethics are questioned? Are you serious?

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tooldude

There is alot of nice school districts so that is weak, but at least you have admitted to the fact that Valley has benefited like no other school from transfers. I would be much more impressed with Coach Jackson if he was devoloping his own guys instead of takeing great wrestlers from parts unknown and claiming them as Valley Eagles

goferphan

Quote your source on the "found jobs" and the fact that Devos was purposely held back in order to be a six time state champ? That is so ridiculous I don't even know where to begin.

Deciding whether a kid should be held back or not is not always at just the discretion of the parents. Kids are tested, teachers consulted with and School Psychologists are brought in to help make these decisions. My wife has her Master's Specialist degree and scoffs at your comment. So it was actually predicted that Devos would be a six time champion even though the kid had six losses his 7th grade season? That's stupid.

As far as finding jobs for people who come to Apple Valley, what the hell are you talking about? If you are talking about construction jobs, teaching, electricians then I could see your point but beyond that do you really think Apple Valley has some kind of corporate pipeline for bankers, politicians and business owners? You sound ridiculous now.

I will give you the point that people are moving their so their kids can be a part of the program but also understand that it is the program's success that brought the kids there and the program starts in 1st grade as Schlottke can attest. We were encouraged as wrestlers to spend time coaching the teams at elementary and middle school levels. I have never been a part of an area before or after that pulled such attendance to these programs. I was one of six coaches that each had an assistant and then we each had a team of 1st and second graders with about 10-15 kids on it. We had 60-95 kids out for wrestling in 1st and 2nd grade where most schools had a problem getting 25 kids out for Varsity.

The program had sustained success and people from outside the area and outside the state started to hear about it and wanted to be a part of it. Don't be an idiot then and start talking about coaches getting parents jobs and kids being held back. I know of one time when the job thing did happen and the details of that situation would not impress you.

Senator Paul Wellstone's kid came to Apple Valley as well. Prior to this time, his son was NOT the best wrestler in the state at his weight class and could hardly be considered a "recruit". He did work hard however and eventually moved in to the line-up and placed at state. I have been in the room and it is intense. You also have high expectations. I remember alot of sleepless nights before matches worrying about not letting people down and making sure I gave 110% for six minutes (then).

It is the program that has made the team and then the team that has drawn the quality wrestlers. That's my rant.

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tooldude

I was kicked off the forum(guillotine) because of valley backers had their feathers ruffled and cried to the mods and it wasn't even me who raised the questions about their ethics. I think there was good points made and I agreed with some of them. The rules for transfers and open enrollments should be changed. If you know your school is benefiting from tranfers and the rules are not working to give other schools a chance to win how could you beat your chest like you have really done something. In Minnesota it use to be awesome to watch the team portion of the state meet and now the interest is very little because of the unlevel playing field. There is alot more interest in who wins the AA or A title than AAA. Outside of Valley nobody cares. That does not seem healthy for wrestling. I live in a AA town so I could really care less about Valley but I do care about Wrestling and with all the cuts going on in sports we need to keep wrestling strong and popular with the masses