Some kids are put in shelters and there are a number of reasons. Kids run away from home and there are other problems in the community that have an impact on attendance. They are breaking state law by not coming to school.

There aren't even truant officers any more. I deal with kids that don't come to school and why (they don't). It has a lot to do with family problems. That is the biggest change. The counselor must find out how to solve the problem. The truancy officer must connect with the community and understand family problems.

I had one girl miss 100 days. Kids sneak out in the middle of the night and the parents don't know where they are at. They look in their room and they are gone.

The kids have been shocked with how things have started. So, this was a good way to turn things around.

We have a good core of kids to build the team around, and that's really encouraging. I've seen these kids work very hard during the indoor season, and now we're going to see what we're about ... It's nice to train but opening day and that first meet is always exciting.

We've always had kids from all over come here. This program has been a magnet for good wrestlers from around the state, but our link with the Navy Juniors program has been pretty good for us the past few years.