Membership:

Who We Are
The Kansas Krusaders have been established in response to the ever growing number of girls and young women in Kansas who are taking up the sport of wrestling.

Under the leadership of long-time wrestling enthusiasts Ed and Jenni Edison, and with the support of USA Wrestling - Kansas, the Kansas Krusaders have a simple mission: TO ENCOURAGE YOUNG WOMEN TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS OF BECOMING COMPETITIVE WRESTLERS.

This Is AccomplishedBy:

Supporting the creation of more female versus female wrestling competitions as well as protecting the rights of female wrestlers to compete against male wrestlers.

Supporting and hosting wrestling camps and clinics.

Creating a state-wide wrestling team for women wrestlers.

Organizing and supporting practices throughout the state for women wrestlers.

Traveling as a team to regional and national competitions.

Promoting successful women wrestlers.

All Kansas girls and women wrestlers between the ages of 4 and 18 with valid USA Wrestling memberships are automatically eligible to join the Kansas Krusaders. Additionally, at the direction of USA Wrestling, girls from surrounding states may petition to compete with the Kansas Krusaders should their home state not provide opportunities to compete.

For More Information, Contact:

Coach Ed & Jenni Edison
Kansas Krusaders
(316) 721-5122
edison6@swbell.net

Mike Juby, Chairman
USA Wrestling - Kansas, Inc.
(620) 663-1312
mikejuby@usawks.com
Program Overview & Expectations
A Basic Overview of the Krusaders Program

Most teams have a few guidelines to follow. The Krusaders are no different:

Practices:
The Krusaders do conduct team practices at different locations. Please check with Coach Edison regarding Krusader practices. Be it with a local wrestling club, with a high school team or at one of the Krusader practices, athletes are encouraged to attend regular workouts in order to sharpen and develop the wrestling skills necessary to advance their wrestling careers. The physical conditioning from regular workouts that will allow wrestlers to compete at their peak performance levels. Don't believe the edgy slogan, "Attitude is Everything." It looks good on a t-shirt but in real life there is no substitute for hard work and conditioning.

When dropping off girls, make sure they are safely in the building before you leave. Allow them time to catch up with you in case there is a change in schedule or some sort of emergency. It is important that wrestlers are dressed (shoes on and ready) by the start of practice and that they stay for the entire practice. If your wrestler arrives late, you should escort them into the building and make sure they make it to practice. If your wrestler has to leave early, please give the coaches advance notice.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: IT'S THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PICK UP WRESTLERS AFTER PRACTICE!

It is best to meet them in the wrestling room, that way they are not lingering outside. Coaches can't be two places at once and their primary responsibility is to oversee what takes place on the wrestling mats. Coaches cannot be expected to monitor everything that goes on in the parking lot or outside of the practice room. Most facilities provide a pay phone, but pay phones do not always work and there is not always a place for a stranded girl to go for help or to make a phone call. If you cannot meet your daughter in the wrestling room, encourage them to wait inside or in a well-lit area. Remember that sometimes the building doors lock automatically or are locked once practice starts. Your wrestler might not able to get back into the building if there is a problem, so please be on time!

Practices are a time for coaches to work with athletes. Parents are reminded that during practice the wrestler's attention should be on the coaches and not the parents. Just like your wrestlers, we appreciate your involvement and support. We encourage you to make plans whenever possible to monitor practices. In order to conduct practices that are both efficient and productive, parents are asked to save any comments or questions for the coaches or other staff, until after the workouts are over or during breaks.

Coaches arrive 15-30 minutes early to set up mats. You are welcome to come early to help us set up for practice. Such assistance is always appreciated.

On occasion, the Krusaders will need to roll out wrestling mats prior to practice and/or roll the mats up after practice. When this is necessary, all wrestlers are expected to help with the wrestling mats. This is a common practice for most wrestling teams and it is a good team building experience for the wrestlers.

Please stress to your daughter that while the Kansas Krusaders is a team made up of wrestlers from every corner of the Sunflower State, we expect to be a close-knit team that supports, challenges, and encourages one another. While we expect the girls to have fun, they must always be courteous and respectful of the coaches and the others.

Tournaments
Tournament information will be available on our web site and schedules and entry forms will be handed out at Krusader practices. Unless told otherwise, it is the responsibility of each wrestler to submit tournament registrations and entry fees directly to the tournament directors. Entry fees are typically $12-15 for single day tournaments. Entry fees at major competitions can be in the $20-$50 range. There are some tournaments (most National events) when the Krusaders will enter the wrestlers as a team. Coach Ed & Jenni Edison will notify wrestlers well in advance when this will happen.

Just as in the case for most club tournaments in Kansas, wrestlers are expected to handle their transportation to all tournaments. The exceptions are select major tournaments that are held out-of-state. For such events the Krusaders try to find transportation (charter buses, vans, RV's, parent carpools) to transport the wrestlers to and from the tournaments. Whenever possible, there are multiple pick-up points in Kansas where wrestlers can board the team vehicle. When overnight lodging is necessary the Krusaders do their best to reserve rooms at hotels offering safe and economical accommodations.

Wrestlers must remember to bring their wrestling shoes, singlet, headgear, and when appropriate, their USA Wrestling membership card to the tournament. In some cases a notarized copy of a birth certificate might be required.

Most weigh-ins are scheduled from 6:00 - 8:00 am the day of the tournament with some tournaments scheduling weigh-ins the night before. Wrestling usually starts about 9:00-9:30 AM and will continue throughout the day.

The wrestlers are bracketed by age and weight. First, wrestlers are sorted into groups by their ages, i.e. 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 16-17. Next, each age group is placed into brackets based on weights. Weight brackets vary but generally wrestlers are within 5-10 lbs. of each other. Please note: It is common at girl wrestling tournaments to combine two brackets together to produce a larger weight bracket and increase the potential number of matches for each wrestler. Until the number of girls participating at wrestling tournaments increases, this practice is to be expected and tolerated.

Concessions are generally offered at the tournaments. Usually breakfast and lunch are served. You may find that bringing our own food is more economical, however, food and coolers are usually not allowed in the gym. Out of respect for tournament directors who are creating opportunities for our girls to wrestle, we ask everyone to follow rules concerning food and drinks in the gymnasiums.

Admission is usually listed on the entry form. Typically adults should expect to pay an admission fee from $1-$5. At major competitions this admission fee can run as high as $15-20 per person.

Weight Management:
We want our wrestlers to be at their ultimate competition weight and we will work with the girls to determine their ideal wrestling weight. Weight maintenance is important but we want to focus on the development of wrestlers who know how to manage their weight as opposed to the development of extreme weight-loss experts who have some wrestling skills. We want our wrestlers to make healthy decisions.

Code of Behavior:
Each of us - parents/guardians, coaches, and girls wrestling for the Kansas Krusaders - should understand and accept that we represent the Krusaders at wrestling practices, meets, and tournaments. Everyone affiliated with our program is an ambassador of the Krusaders, USA Wrestling-Kansas, and the entire girls wrestling community. While we have fun and help girls wrestling grow, let's always challenge ourselves to set high standards for conduct and sportsmanship that other wrestling programs will want to copy.

A Good Sport:
- Cheers for both good effort and performance
- Congratulates opponents for good performance
- Maintains a highly competitive attitude without degrading, making fun of, or insulting opponents and teammates
- Willingly accepting the instructions and judgments of officials (bad calls happen all the time)
- Playing by the rules
- Treating opposing wrestlers and coaches with respect
- Treating referees and other officials with respect
- Learning the rules, tactics, and strategies of wrestling
- BE A GOOD SPORT