User Guide
In 2020, we created the College Wrestling Clip Library (“College WCL”), an educational and training resource for collegiate wrestling officials, and the first and only resource of its kind in existence. Since its debut, demand from the wrestling officiating community for a high school (NFHS) version has been steadily growing, and we are pleased to finally announce that the High School Wrestling Clip Library (“High School WCL,” or “the Library,” for short), is now live!
Watching video has proven to be one of the most effective training methods available, and the High School WCL has assembled, categorized, and analyzed hundreds of video clips pertaining to all aspects of the rules of high school wrestling. Certain parts of the Library, such as “Tough Calls” clips, are made available to the general public, so that they can challenge themselves to “make the call,” and discuss their reasoning, with other participants in, and fans of, this great sport.
The WCL system, which includes both the College WCL and High School WCL, has taken several years and thousands of hours of hard work to create and grow. It has evolved from what was originally a hyperlinked PDF document, into two full-fledged, responsive websites, capable of unlimited expansion. As it continues to grow over time, its utility will only continue to increase. Building it has often been a challenging and tedious process, though still an enjoyable one in many ways — but by far, the most exciting part is finally being able to share the fruits of this labor with all of you.
Please take a moment to read this User Guide and familiarize yourself with how the site works. Answers to many frequently asked questions can be found therein. You can also feel free to ask us any question(s), or send any feedback, you may have via the form on our contact page. We make every effort to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.
We hope you enjoy using the High School Wrestling Clip Library!
Gray, the High School WCL mascot
The Catalog is your starting point for browsing the High School Wrestling Clip Library. It is an accordion-style menu that organizes clips into numerous sections and subsections covering all of the topics a high school wrestling official may potentially encounter. Clicking on a row of the Catalog will either expand that row to reveal its subcategories (expandable rows contain a plus sign on the right-hand side), or, if the row does not expand further, will take you to the clip listing page for that particular Catalog entry.
Useful Tip
For your convenience, whenever you see the Catalog icon throughout the site, you can click on it and a mini-Catalog will slide out from the right-hand side of the screen. Try this by clicking on the Catalog icon below!
This row is expandable because it has a plus sign on the right-hand side.
1 of 2This row is not expandable. Clicking on it will take you to the clip listing page for section 10.
2 of 2Members of the public can freely access all of the Library’s “Tough Calls” clips. They are also able to view the “call on the mat” information box for each clip, which contains the call on the mat and any subsequent history regarding that call (such as whether it was ultimately changed), if known. Public access is available without having to log in to the site.
If you have a High School WCL account, you will be able to access features and parts of the website that members of the general public cannot. These include:
- Full analysis of each clip, carefully reviewed and approved by nationally-recognized wrestling officials;
- Analysis videos, which accompany certain clips where the user would benefit from a more visual explanation in addition to the written analysis;
- “Examples” and “Hypotheticals” clips;
- Meta information for each clip (i.e., its description and any tags assigned to it);
- Bookmarking functionality, to save your favorite clips for easy retrieval later; and
- Search functionality.
Eligibility for Full Access
To be eligible for a High School WCL account, you must be a state association-registered wrestling official. [Details forthcoming.]
To log in, simply go to the login page. Enter your username and password in the appropriate spaces, and click the “Log In” button. Note that you can check the “Remember Me” box so that your credentials will be saved for future visits (of course, you should not do so if you are using a public computer).
If you lost, forgot, or otherwise cannot access your password, or if you wish to change your password, you can click the “Lost password?” link located below the login button. You will be taken to another screen and asked to enter your username or e-mail address connected to your account. An e-mail will then be sent to that address. Click on the link contained in that e-mail, and you will be taken to a page where you will be prompted to create a new password. Once you have done so, you will be able to log in immediately with that new password.
The link to reset (or change) your password is located here.
1 of 1
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
The clip listing page contains, as the name suggests, a listing of all of the clips for a particular section or subsection of the Catalog. Clicking on a clip’s image box will take you to the video page for that clip.
At left: If you are a logged-in user, three buttons will appear at the top of the screen as you scroll the clip listing page. Clicking on them will automatically scroll you up or down the page to the start of the listing for that particular clip type.
For your convenience, a Catalog icon appears in this spot on every clip listing page. Click it and a mini-Catalog will slide out from the right-hand side of the screen.
1 of 2Click anywhere on a clip’s image to go to the video page for that clip.
2 of 2For identification purposes, each clip in the Library is assigned an alphanumeric code utilizing the following system:
Tough Calls clips begin with the code TC, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a three-digit number (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with 001). For instance, TC 1.1-001, TC 3-008, or TC 6.3.1.2.1-001.
Examples begin with the code Ex, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a letter (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with A). For instance, Ex 4.1-A, or Ex 12.3-C.
Hypotheticals begin with the code Hy, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a two-digit number (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with 01). For instance, Hy 7.1-01, or Hy 5-03.
Once you understand this system, you can actually tell which type a particular clip is simply by looking at what follows the dash. If it has three digits, it is a TC, if it has a letter, it is an Ex, and if it has two digits, it is an Hy.
Pro Tip
High School WCL pages are organized using the following URL structure:
highschoolwrestlingclips.com/catalog section number (without periods)/clip number or letter
For instance:
Clip TC 1.2-015 would be located at highschoolwrestlingclips.com/12/015
Clip Ex 1.1-A would be located at highschoolwrestlingclips.com/11/a
Accordingly, if you already know the code of the clip you are looking for, you can go directly to its video page by typing its URL in your web browser, thereby skipping the Catalog and clip listing page.
The video page is where you watch individual clips; each clip has its own video page. To begin playing the clip, click on the play button in the center of the video area. (Note: Depending on the device and/or web browser you are using, you may need to click a second time to begin playing the video.) Most clips have audio, and the audio is set to “on” by default, so you may need to lower or mute your device’s volume depending on the environment you are in. (You can also adjust the volume on the video player itself.)
Below each video, you will notice one or more boxes, depending on your level of access. Click on a box to reveal its contents.
All users will be able to see the “Call on the mat” box, which contains the actual call(s) on the mat, if known, as well as any subsequent history (such as whether there was a coach’s challenge or official review, and if so, the outcome), if known. If, for whatever reason, we do not know either of those things with certainty, this will be explicitly stated.
Logged-in users (i.e., those with full access) will be able to see the Analysis box, which contains a complete and independent analysis of the clip. Each such analysis has been carefully reviewed and approved by nationally-recognized officials. While it is important to note that this does not render such an analysis technically authoritative (only a state association, through its official rules interpreter, can make authoritative rulings), it should nonetheless give the user confidence that it does represent the best possible answer.
In addition, logged-in users will be able to see the “Meta information” box, which contains the clip’s description and any tags assigned to it. These are utilized by the Library’s search feature, which is also available only to logged-in users.
Another Catalog icon, for your convenience.
1 of 4Click on the analysis box to reveal the analysis for the clip. (Note: This box is visible to logged-in users only.)
2 of 4Click on this box to reveal the call on the mat and any subsequent history, if known.
3 of 4Click on this box to reveal meta information (e.g., description, tags) for the clip. (Note: This box is visible to logged-in users only.)
4 of 4Analyze each clip yourself first.
Don‘t look at the call on the mat or the analysis before fully analyzing the clip yourself. (The call on the mat may appear in the video, but this is sometimes unavoidable.) Try to come up with the correct answer and rationale, without regard to what the mat official called. It is one thing to be able to determine, for example, that a takedown should or should not be awarded, but it demonstrates understanding on a completely different level to be able to explain why that is the correct call in a given situation. It is this higher level of understanding that we are most interested in furthering.
Don't think about who the official is.
There are quite a few exceptionally-talented high school wrestling officials, but they will be the first to tell you that no wrestling official is perfect. An official will make hundreds, or even thousands, of calls during the course of an event, and it is more likely than not that at least one of these calls will be incorrect (or at least capable of reasonable dispute). It is also important to keep in mind that when you watch a clip, you may not be seeing the full context. For example, you may see an official make a call, but what you might not know (at least not until you view the call on the mat information box) is that the official subsequently decided to overturn that call after conferencing with a coach at the scorer’s table.
In short, if you allow yourself to be influenced by who the official in a particular clip is, you will likely arrive at the wrong answer quite frequently. The Library was designed very deliberately in this way.
Visit often.
We will be adding at least five clips per week to the Library, so be sure to return often to check out what’s new! You will see a list of the newest clips on the front page of the site.
Send us feedback.
Your feedback is important to us! We want to know what you think we can do to improve the Library, down to the most minor details. While we may not, of course, be able to act upon all the feedback we receive, that does not mean such feedback is not worth sharing. Sometimes, feedback about one thing ultimately prompts new ideas regarding other things. This process is valuable, and you are a critical part of that process.
To maximize clarity and readability, we employ certain terminology that, although commonly understood, may not be the precise terminology used by the Rules Book. Each such term is explained below, as are any terms that do track the Rules Book usage but nonetheless may not be commonly recognized or understood.
Editor’s note on our stylistic preference for utilizing gendered terms (i.e., “man” instead of “wrestler,” “person,” “competitor,” etc.): The College WCL, which preceded the high school version, has always utilized gendered terms simply because there is no collegiate folkstyle wrestling for women (all women’s collegiate wrestling is freestyle), and women are not permitted to compete against men in collegiate wrestling; therefore, because there is not a possibility of a collegiate folkstyle wrestler being non-male, gendered terms in this regard were a logical fit. At the high school level (as well as younger levels), however, girls do compete in folkstyle wrestling, so we considered whether we should perhaps move to gender-neutral language in the High School WCL.
We eventually concluded that we would continue using the gendered terms in the High School WCL. The main reason for this is because “man” is a very short, one-syllable word, and the other choices are not. Written or verbal descriptions of wrestling action can get complex and confusing very quickly, and, as we discovered, frequently that can be exacerbated by attempting to use longer words with additional syllables multiple times during the course of a sentence or paragraph. We always want to keep the Library’s content as crystal clear and easy to process as possible, and utilizing anything other than “man” frequently caused our descriptions and explanations to become more verbose, unwieldy, and/or difficult to follow. This was a choice made solely for reasons of practicality; it is not intended, and should never be construed by anyone, to convey any political opinion of any kind whatsoever.
top/bottom man
The Rules Book uses the terms “offensive wrestler” to mean the wrestler in the top position and “defensive wrestler” to mean the wrestler in the bottom position. Instead, we utilize the terms “top man” and “bottom man,” respectively.
outside/inside man
We use the phrases “outside man” and “inside man” when relevant in the neutral position, which is most commonly for neutral out of bounds stalling situations. The outside man is closer to the boundary line, while the inside man is closer to the center of the mat. These are not phrases utilized in the Rules Book.
attacker/defender
The Rules Book does not have specific terms for designating which wrestler is which when both wrestlers are engaged in action from the neutral position. We utilize “attacker” to mean the wrestler in the neutral position who attacked first during a particular action sequence, and “defender” to mean the other wrestler.
This designation continues until the action sequence concludes, due to a change in position (in which case we begin using “top man” and “bottom man”), or when both wrestlers are once again facing each other on their feet (as a natural result of wrestling action, or because of a match stoppage).
Note that this means a defender may, in certain situations (such as scrambles), be the one who ultimately secures a takedown. It also means that the wrestler designated as the defender in one action sequence may be designated as the attacker in another action sequence, or vice versa.
no call
In wrestling, there are “calls” and “no calls.” Everybody knows what a call is. However, let’s say that an official does not award a takedown in a particular situation. The call on the mat is not “no takedown,” because there is not a signal for “no takedown.” Wrestling officials do not call the absence of x, they only call x. Accordingly, the call on the mat with regard to whether there was a takedown would simply be the absence of any call, or what is referred to as a “no call.”
Logged-in users have access to the Library’s search interface. After signing in, you will see “Search” as an option in the main menu. A detailed guide to how our search functionality works can be accessed on the search page.
One of the most time-consuming parts of building the Library is watching the countless hours of wrestling video required in order to discover the best possible clips for our purposes. This is frequently somewhat of a “crapshoot,” in that a particular event could end up yielding several useful clips, or only a single clip, or even no clips at all.
This is where you can help us grow the Library, as crowdsourcing can be extraordinarily productive for such purposes. The more sets of eyes we have looking for potentially useful clips out there, the more clips we can obtain, and the faster we can add them to the Library. Assuming that the event is being recorded on some platform that allows for subsequent retrieval (e.g., Flowrestling, Trackwrestling), you just need to send us enough information to allow us to track down the match containing the clip. You do not have to literally send us video footage yourself, although you are certainly welcome to do so; indeed, if the event is not being recorded anywhere other than your own device, you would be giving us access to a potential addition to the Library that we would otherwise never know existed.
The Catalog is your starting point for browsing the High School Wrestling Clip Library. It is an accordion-style menu that organizes clips into numerous sections and subsections covering all of the topics a high school wrestling official may potentially encounter. Clicking on a row of the Catalog will either expand that row to reveal its subcategories (expandable rows contain a plus sign on the right-hand side), or, if the row does not expand further, will take you to the clip listing page for that particular Catalog entry.
This row is expandable because it has a plus sign on the right-hand side.
1 of 2This row is not expandable. Clicking on it will take you to the clip listing page for section 9.
2 of 2Useful Tip
For your convenience, whenever you see the Catalog icon throughout the site, you can click on it and a mini-Catalog will slide out from the right-hand side of the screen. Try this by clicking on the Catalog icon below!
Members of the public can freely access all of the Library’s “Tough Calls” clips. They are also able to view the “call on the mat” information box for each clip, which contains the call on the mat and any subsequent history regarding that call (such as whether it was challenged, and if so, what the result was), if known. Public access is available without having to log in to the site.
If you have a High School WCL account, you will be able to access features and parts of the website that members of the general public cannot. These include:
- Full analysis of each clip, carefully reviewed and approved by nationally-recognized wrestling officials;
- Analysis videos, which accompany certain clips where the user would benefit from a more visual explanation in addition to the written analysis;
- “Examples” and “Hypotheticals” clips;
- Meta information for each clip (i.e., its description and any tags assigned to it);
- Bookmarking functionality, to save your favorite clips for easy retrieval later; and
- Search functionality.
Eligibility for Full Access
To be eligible for a High School WCL account, you must be a state association-registered wrestling official. [Details forthcoming.]
To log in, simply go to the login page. Enter your username and password in the appropriate spaces, and click the “Log In” button. Note that you can check the “Remember Me” box so that your credentials will be saved for future visits (of course, you should not do so if you are using a public computer).
The link to reset (or change) your password is located here.
1 of 1If you lost, forgot, or otherwise cannot access your password, or if you wish to change your password, you can click the “Lost password?” link located below the login button. You will be taken to another screen and asked to enter your username or e-mail address connected to your account. An e-mail will then be sent to that address. Click on the link contained in that e-mail, and you will be taken to a page where you will be prompted to create a new password. Once you have done so, you will be able to log in immediately with that new password.
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
There are three types of clips. The first, and most common, are “Tough Calls” clips, which, as the name suggests, are clips in which the official is presented with a situation we view as difficult and/or controversial. Naturally, some clips are more so than others; nonetheless, we consider the vast majority of them to be at an above average difficulty level or greater.
The second of the clip types are called “Examples,” which are primarily instructional in nature. The purpose of an Example clip might be to show what a particular hold or maneuver looks like during live wrestling action, or to show what exemplary officiating mechanics look like in a particular situation, or even to illustrate what an official should not do in a particular situation. Unlike Tough Calls clips, Example clips typically involve situations that are straightforward and uncontroversial. Put simply, Examples are intended to assist the user in identifying, understanding, and adhering to best officiating practices.
The third of the clip types are called “Hypotheticals.” In Hypothetical clips, the actual call on the mat is unimportant (sometimes the official will have made the correct call, sometimes not) — instead, we use the situation in the video as a starting point, tweak that situation slightly, and then ask a question based on that slightly different, hypothetical situation. One purpose of Hypotheticals is to draw attention to certain situations or rules nuances that might be encountered by an official for which a definitive rules interpretation, or other NFHS guidance, has not yet been issued. Accordingly, a Hypothetical scenario may not actually have a “correct” answer, even if the user is confident that their analysis represents the best answer.
The clip listing page contains, as the name suggests, a listing of all of the clips for a particular section or subsection of the Catalog. Clicking on a clip’s image box will take you to the video page for that clip.
For your convenience, a Catalog icon appears in this spot on every clip listing page. Click it and a mini-Catalog will slide out from the right-hand side of the screen.
1 of 2Click anywhere on a clip’s image to go to the video page for that clip.
2 of 2Above: The clip listing page.
Below: If you are a logged-in user, three buttons will appear at the top of the screen as you scroll the clip listing page. Clicking on them will automatically scroll you up or down the page to the start of the listing for that particular clip type.
For identification purposes, each clip in the Library is assigned an alphanumeric code utilizing the following system:
Tough Calls clips begin with the code TC, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a three-digit number (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with 001). For instance, TC 1.1-001, TC 3-008, or TC 6.3.1.2.1-001.
Examples begin with the code Ex, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a letter (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with A). For instance, Ex 4.1-A, or Ex 12.3-C.
Hypotheticals begin with the code Hy, followed by the Catalog section, followed by a dash and a two-digit number (sequentially-ordered within each section, starting with 01). For instance, Hy 7.1-01, or Hy 5-03.
Once you understand this system, you can actually tell which type a particular clip is simply by looking at what follows the dash. If it has three digits, it is a TC, if it has a letter, it is an Ex, and if it has two digits, it is an Hy.
Pro Tip
High School WCL pages are organized using the following URL structure:
highschoolwrestlingclips.com/catalog section number (without periods)/clip number or letter
For instance:
Clip TC 1.2-015 would be located at highschoolwrestlingclips.com/12/015
Clip Ex 1.1-A would be located at highschoolwrestlingclips.com/11/a
Accordingly, if you already know the code of the clip you are looking for, you can go directly to its video page by typing its URL in your web browser, thereby skipping the Catalog and clip listing page.
The video page is where you watch individual clips; each clip has its own video page. To begin playing the clip, click on the play button in the center of the video area. (Note: Depending on the device and/or web browser you are using, you may need to click a second time to begin playing the video.) Most clips have audio, and the audio is set to “on” by default, so you may need to lower or mute your device’s volume depending on the environment you are in. (You can also adjust the volume on the video player itself.)
Another Catalog icon, for your convenience.
1 of 4Click on the analysis box to reveal the analysis for the clip. (Note: This box is visible to logged-in users only.)
2 of 4Click on this box to reveal the call on the mat and any subsequent history, if known.
3 of 4Click on this box to reveal meta information (e.g., description, tags) for the clip. (Note: This box is visible to logged-in users only.)
4 of 4Below each video, you will notice one or more boxes, depending on your level of access. Click on a box to reveal its contents.
All users will be able to see the “Call on the mat” box, which contains the actual call(s) on the mat, if known, as well as any subsequent history (such as whether there was a coach’s challenge or official review, and if so, the outcome), if known. If, for whatever reason, we do not know either of those things with certainty, this will be explicitly stated.
Logged-in users (i.e., those with full access) will be able to see the Analysis box, which contains a complete and independent analysis of the clip. Each such analysis has been carefully reviewed and approved by nationally-recognized officials. While it is important to note that this does not render such an analysis technically authoritative (only a state association, through its official rules interpreter, can make authoritative rulings), it should nonetheless give the user confidence that it does represent the best possible answer.
In addition, logged-in users will be able to see the “Meta information” box, which contains the clip’s description and any tags assigned to it. These are utilized by the Library’s search feature, which is also available only to logged-in users.
Analyze each clip yourself first.
Don‘t look at the call on the mat or the analysis before fully analyzing the clip yourself. (The call on the mat may appear in the video, but this is sometimes unavoidable.) Try to come up with the correct answer and rationale, without regard to what the mat official called. It is one thing to be able to determine, for example, that a takedown should or should not be awarded, but it demonstrates understanding on a completely different level to be able to explain why that is the correct call in a given situation. It is this higher level of understanding that we are most interested in furthering.
Don't think about who the official is.
There are quite a few exceptionally-talented high school wrestling officials, but they will be the first to tell you that no wrestling official is perfect. An official will make hundreds, or even thousands, of calls during the course of an event, and it is more likely than not that at least one of these calls will be incorrect (or at least capable of reasonable dispute). It is also important to keep in mind that when you watch a clip, you may not be seeing the full context. For example, you may see an official make a call, but what you might not know (at least not until you view the call on the mat information box) is that the official subsequently decided to overturn that call after conferencing with a coach at the scorer’s table.
In short, if you allow yourself to be influenced by who the official in a particular clip is, you will likely arrive at the wrong answer quite frequently. The Library was designed very deliberately in this way.
Visit often.
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To maximize clarity and readability, we employ certain terminology that, although commonly understood, may not be the precise terminology used by the Rules Book. Each such term is explained below, as are any terms that do track the Rules Book usage but nonetheless may not be commonly recognized or understood.
Editor’s note on our stylistic preference for utilizing gendered terms (i.e., “man” instead of “wrestler,” “person,” “competitor,” etc.): The College WCL, which preceded the high school version, has always utilized gendered terms simply because there is no collegiate folkstyle wrestling for women (all women’s collegiate wrestling is freestyle), and women are not permitted to compete against men in collegiate wrestling; therefore, because there is not a possibility of a collegiate folkstyle wrestler being non-male, gendered terms in this regard were a logical fit. At the high school level (as well as younger levels), however, girls do compete in folkstyle wrestling, so we considered whether we should perhaps move to gender-neutral language in the High School WCL.
We eventually concluded that we would continue using the gendered terms in the High School WCL. The main reason for this is because “man” is a very short, one-syllable word, and the other choices are not. Written or verbal descriptions of wrestling action can get complex and confusing very quickly, and, as we discovered, frequently that can be exacerbated by attempting to use longer words with additional syllables multiple times during the course of a sentence or paragraph. We always want to keep the Library’s content as crystal clear and easy to process as possible, and utilizing anything other than “man” frequently caused our descriptions and explanations to become more verbose, unwieldy, and/or difficult to follow. This was a choice made solely for reasons of practicality; it is not intended, and should never be construed by anyone, to convey any political opinion of any kind whatsoever.
top/bottom man
The Rules Book uses the terms “offensive wrestler” to mean the wrestler in the top position and “defensive wrestler” to mean the wrestler in the bottom position. Instead, we utilize the terms “top man” and “bottom man,” respectively.
outside/inside man
We use the phrases “outside man” and “inside man” when relevant in the neutral position, which is most commonly for neutral out of bounds stalling situations. The outside man is closer to the boundary line, while the inside man is closer to the center of the mat. These are not phrases utilized in the Rules Book.
attacker/defender
The Rules Book does not have specific terms for designating which wrestler is which when both wrestlers are engaged in action from the neutral position. We utilize “attacker” to mean the wrestler in the neutral position who attacked first during a particular action sequence, and “defender” to mean the other wrestler.
This designation continues until the action sequence concludes, due to a change in position (in which case we begin using “top man” and “bottom man”), or when both wrestlers are once again facing each other on their feet (as a natural result of wrestling action, or because of a match stoppage).
Note that this means a defender may, in certain situations (such as scrambles), be the one who ultimately secures a takedown. It also means that the wrestler designated as the defender in one action sequence may be designated as the attacker in another action sequence, or vice versa.
no call
In wrestling, there are “calls” and “no calls.” Everybody knows what a call is. However, let’s say that an official does not award a takedown in a particular situation. The call on the mat is not “no takedown,” because there is not a signal for “no takedown.” Wrestling officials do not call the absence of x, they only call x. Accordingly, the call on the mat with regard to whether there was a takedown would simply be the absence of any call, or what is referred to as a “no call.”
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One of the most time-consuming parts of building the Library is watching the countless hours of wrestling video required in order to discover the best possible clips for our purposes. This is frequently somewhat of a “crapshoot,” in that a particular event could end up yielding several useful clips, or only a single clip, or even no clips at all.
This is where you can help us grow the Library, as crowdsourcing can be extraordinarily productive for such purposes. The more sets of eyes we have looking for potentially useful clips out there, the more clips we can obtain, and the faster we can add them to the Library. Assuming that the event is being recorded on some platform that allows for subsequent retrieval (e.g., Flowrestling, Trackwrestling), you just need to send us enough information to allow us to track down the match containing the clip. You do not have to literally send us video footage yourself, although you are certainly welcome to do so; indeed, if the event is not being recorded anywhere other than your own device, you would be giving us access to a potential addition to the Library that we would otherwise never know existed.