Woody Cavenaugh

Send a copy of the video tape to News 2 and watch heads roll!

kathy wc

Right on. Want me to make a couple of phone calls? Nothing gets done until it makes the 6 o'clock news.

The behavior you described is embarrassing and speaks poorly for Guilford County schools as a whole. I hope some of the "news" people who apparently read your blog WILL do something. A school system is only as good as its worst school. See why I'd rather homeschool??

My boss's husband was interviewed by FOX8 yesterday, but it is my understanding that the Guilford County superintendant is going to hold a press conference on the matter.

If there isn't a head on a pike, than the superintendant will be supporting and condoning random acts of rudeness in guilford county schools by students, teachers, and coaches.

Can you update us, via your blog? That's seriously upsetting stuff, especially for people who have children in this school district.

Northwest is having a wrestling meet at home tomorrow night. The parents will be meeting with school officials afterwards to discuss the issue.

Hopefully Dr. Greer will have held his press conference with the Jackson coach's head on a pike first.

Keep us updated, I'd be interested to hear how this pans out.

And one wonders why we have so much violence in our schools when behavior such as this is tolerated (probably even encouraged) by the coach and administrators of this school

I sent a permalink to some on the Board of Education.

Good post, Woody - bad situation.

As on Wednesday afternoon, the injured student was still in the hospital. It is shameful and embrassing that this action was condoned by coaches and other adults. I would suggest that the team be disbanded. How unfortunate that an opportunity to teach sportsmanship/compassion/statesmanship/etc. was not used by the coach from Jackson. Shame on him, shame on the principal and shame on GCS. Hopefully action will be taken.

Do you have the technical means to that video on the web?

I think that would move people toward discussing and solving this problem.

I have the means to put that video on the web. Please get in touch. I do NOT agree that speaks badly for GCS on the whole. It speaks very badly for the Jackson sports program, though.

Woody,

We're certainly interested in this incident over here at the News & Record. I'd love to hear from you or anyone who may have witnessed this event. My number is 373-7078 or I can be reached via e-mail at bbuchanan@news-record.com

This is a perfect example of how one person can make a real difference. You go Woody :-)

Sue,
My comment about GCS was poorly worded-- I mean if the incident happened as stated and GCS does not address and correct this behavior- then shame on them-

I think you are so very right. They need to tighten up their wrestling team and realize that this is supposed to be somewhat professional fighting an not street fighting. They should feel very disgusted with themselves and their team.

Frankly, the coach of the Northwest team was irresponsible in not calling a halt to the match. He should not have allowed his students to be exposed to this environment and the possible and, indeed, actual harm it caused. The Jackson coach and team were reprehensible, but the Northwest team gave them credence by engaging them.

Michael, I think it's a tough call to take your team off the mat. I also don't know if the injured student was hurt AFTER extreme bad behavior was demonstrated. My lawyer/husband agrees with you, though, and is a soccer referee (but not a coach). He thinks the NW coach **may** have certain liability, but where was the match referee? Why didn't he stop the match if it were dangerous or inappropriate? H.S. refs get paid to make difficult calls. Does anyone know who the ref is?

Every investigative reporter in the Triad should have a copy of that tape. The Jackson coach deserves to be fired. The parents of the injured student should at least be consulting with a lawyer. Whatever State association that regulates middle school sporting events should have a copy of that video as well.
If you have gang members wandering into a gym during a match and behaving like animals, that facility has a security problem on top of having a team and coach problem. More security? Maybe they just shouldn't host sports events anymore.
I think TV exposure is the best chance to put pressure on officials to make some permanent changes. Good luck.

My Parent reports this morning that the tournament this weekend at Northwest went off without a hitch.
Jackson was present (though they were missing some players) and behaved like good little mat monkeys. The coach of Northwest went the extra mile with his group to send a memo around the parents of his wrestlers to remind them that what had past was in the past and to be on their best behavior as good role models for their children. Should he have pulled his team last week? Its his call. Based on what I heard I would have pulled my fencers.

There was no visible media, which was good news to "the parent" (I have gone this far not naming names, I might as well keep up the good work.)

Congratulations goes out to Jamestown for winning the event. Word is they were a good team and had a very good coach.

I'm thinking the ugliness has passed...for now...

Here is a link to the Greensboro101.com comments to this article. It is important because "The Parent" has spoken.

http://www.greensboro101.com/feature/rate/205/index.php#comments

Sir do you live in Minnesota

because I wrestled for Jackson Middle 2 years ago and we never acted like that. Just out of curiosity are you talking about my Middle School

Whoops! Sorry about that Ben, I speak of Jackson Middle School in Greensboro North Carolina.

I hope I didn't put my foot in it up in Minnesota!

I stumbled across this blog from Woody Cavenaugh while looking for an article concerning wrestling. Woody’s original blog is old (February 3, 2005), nonetheless, I am inspired to write a response even though it is two years old.

I was not there to witness this wrestling meet, but neither was Woody. Based on my knowledge of the sport of wrestling I feel that his account of this wrestling meet just doesn’t add up. On the surface it seems that it was just a wrestling meet gone terribly wild. If you go beyond the surface there is a deeper issue here and one that needs to be addressed.

I will start by establishing that Woody in not knowledgeable in the sport of wrestling. Woody said, “The wrestlers themselves seemed to have TV wrasslin' and greco-roman wrestling confused” Woody has Greco-Roman wrestling confused with Folkstyle wrestling. Wrestling in the United States at the College, High School, Junior High, Middle School level is a style of wrestling called Folkstyle. Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling, as done in the Olympics and international competition, have different rules. Folkstyle, in my opinion, is the safer of the three styles and a perfect sport for high school kids. In Greco-Roman and Freestyle you are allowed to lift your opponent off the mat and bring him/her to the mat in a manner that would be considered an illegal slam in Folkstyle wrestling.

Woody wrote, “The Northwest wrestlers faced foul language, abuse, gang signs, disrespect, slap[p]ing, punching, body slams and pile drivers with calm professionalism.”

Foul language and rowdiness from the spectators is hard for the referee to control. In general it is the job of a peace officer to control disruptions from the spectators. In this particular Jackson wresting dual meet the officer found it necessary to arrest one of the spectators. The law officials were on site doing their job.

The job of the referee is to handle the behavior of the wrestlers and their coaches. The wrestling referee is not a layman that was pulled off the street. He/she is required by the state athletic activities association to know the rules of the sport. Each state is a little different but in general a referee must join the state association and in some cases a local association. He/she must pass an annual exam and participate in annual rules interpretation meetings and training sessions that are required by his/her state or local association. The referee is the most unbiased individual in the gym. He/she is usually the only individual in the gym that does not have a preference of who wins or loses.

Foul language is considered unsportsmanlike conduct in wrestling. In the sport of wrestling, something as simple and seemingly harmless as a wrestler reporting to the official’s table without his/her headgear on AND fastened, is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and is punished by one match point. Slapping, punching, body slams, etc, is unnecessary roughness and would not have been tolerated by the referee. The first and second time a wrestler is penalized for either, the opponent is awarded one point. Third time is two points and the fourth time is disqualification. If what Woody describes really occurred in this wrestling meet, the referee would have likely ruled Flagrant Misconduct in which the Jackson wrestler would have been ejected and 6 team points awarded to Northwest.

Wrestling injury rates are surprising low when compared to football, basketball and baseball. It is difficult to witness any athlete who has been injured and in pain, especially injuries of the spine and neck. Ironically, it seems that most wrestling injuries are from legal moves, simply because in our sport you see mostly legal moves. The people guilty of most illegal moves and holds are the inexperienced wrestlers that are still learning the sport. However, I had a wrestler that was knocked unconscious and suffered a broke collar bone from a legal but hard double leg takedown. Unfortunately, as with all contact sports, injuries are a part of wrestling.

Woody wrote, “As my boss's employee I am angry enough to write two blog entries in one day over it” Woody...face it...go to Google...type your name...search. You are an accomplished “blogger” on many topics.

Woody wrote, “When the match is over they shake hands with the coach of the other team and return to their seat.” Shaking hands is optional but it does show character. If a wrestler decides to shake hands, he/she must do so in a sportsmanlike manner or he will be penalized.

Woody wrote, “I would have had a "diplomatic" discussion with the Jackson Coach. I might have even used a little "folding chair diplomacy" if words were not enough.” Folding chair diplomacy? Woody, you seem to have TV wrasslin' and Folkstyle wrestling confused. I thought the whole idea of your blog was to discourage this type of mentality. How ironic.

If an official feels as though a coach’s behavior interrupts the normal flow of wrestling he can use his discretion to penalize that team by awarding the other team with match points, team points and by the third infraction the coach is removed from the building. From the hundreds of wrestling matches and tournaments that I have been involved with, I can tell you that the worst offenders are not the coaches but the spectators. Spectators are usually the ones removed from the building and sometimes banned for life. Woody, threatening another coach with bodily harm would not only get you banned for life but will also get you arrested.

Woody wrote, “...the young Jackson criminal thug used a ridiculous and highly illegal TV wrasslin' move on him.”
Are middle school criminals allowed to wrestle in Guilford County? How can you tell a criminal wrestler from a non criminal wrestler? Do they have to wear some indication of their criminal past on their singlet? Perhaps a tattoo on their forehead ? Or can you tell just by looking?

It has already been established in an earlier paragraph that you don’t know much about wrestling. Likewise, I can tell you that I know nothing about fencing. I don’t have a clue what is legal or illegal in fencing. As far as I know, taking your sword and whacking your opponent in the back of the head would be considered illegal swordplay. But before I can make a judgment on that, I would ask a fencing expert.

How have you determined that the wrestling move was illegal? (Or as you put it “Highly Illegal”). Illegal wrestling moves are clearly defined in the NFHS handbook. Are the rules different for Guilford County? Do they have highly illegal wrestling moves as opposed to moderately or mildly illegal wrestling moves in Guilford County?

Woody wrote, “First off very few [Jackson] parents showed up. The visitor bleachers were full, the home bleachers were fairly empty” Woody, have you ever been to a wrestling dual meet? There is no clearly defined visitor bleacher or home bleacher. If you are going to embellish the facts, at least make it believable. Anybody that has been around the sport of wrestling can tell you that amateur wrestling is not a spectator sport. A middle school wrestling dual meet might draw 50 to maybe 100 spectators on a good day. You’re not going to come close to filling either set of bleachers in the gym at the smallest of middle schools.

I have no way of knowing for sure because I live in the mid west, probably at least 600 miles from Guilford County, but I can guess that everybody sat on the same side of the gym. That’s what they do at a wrestling meet, I don’t care where you’re from. Unlike a basketball game, there is never enough spectators to fill both sides during a dual meet. There is no clear way to determine where “home” should sit and where “visitors” should sit. So, what you end up with is a scattering of fans who have made a feeble attempt to segregate themselves into their respective teams. It becomes even harder to segregate yourself from the opposing team when the school colors are close to the same. Inevitably fans from both sides mix together in the middle of one half of the gym. HOWEVER; when the affluent fans from Northwest (just a wild guess here Woody) begrudgingly travel to the school of the less affluent Jackson (another wild guess) it becomes easier for the fans to figure out where they are “supposed” to sit. The difference in the “colors” are more discernable.

When you point your finger at the Jackson coach and his wrestlers you are pointing three fingers towards yourself. Woody, guess what. The kids and parents at Jackson are not reading your blogs. You want to have an effect on them? Then do something worthwhile for the kids at Jackson. You are a volunteer fencing instructor. Go to Jackson Middle School and volunteer your services. You will have an impact on some kids that need it.

Woody, let’s both of us stop writing blogs and focus on keeping our kids off the streets and out of trouble through sports. Let’s spend most of our energy teaching our young people, no matter what their socioeconomic background is, some discipline and sportsmanship through our sports; fencing and wrestling. It takes a village to raise a child.

Thank you for your comments Randy. Clearly you have a lot to teach about the sport of wrestling.

I enjoy blogging, partially because I think I sound good on paper, but mostly because it allows me to meet folks like yourself who I would otherwise never have the pleasure of knowing.

I do so know about fencing.

when northwest had that match with jackson middle school,northwest wrestlers parents were saying rude and racis comments.In front of their kids at that.

I agree with Randy. Your account of the events that occured at this particular meet sound racially charged and heavily biased. Seeing as how you lack rudimentary knowledge of the sport and the specific event, the things you state as fact- that you know "for sure" based on a story by a person who shares similar views as yourself- show both your prejudices and ignorance. If you do have tangible evidence of this event please post it.

I am a black teen and you have managed to offend me deeply.

And no you don't "sound good" on paper.

Oh, and that school just happened to be 76% black

Thank you for your post Lynx. I had no idea what the race demographic was. It had never occurred to me.

You made me re-read my article because you said it was racially charged. I didn't see it.

Our opinions on race are formed very early, and so many of us stubbornly stick to them even if the situation before us proves us wrong. ,