Welcome back to Behind the Whistle: Inside the Official’s Mind with Rick Solofsky and Dave Marotta, and this is Season 2, Episode 1.

Today, we’re kicking off the new season with a deep dive into the 2025–26 high school wrestling rule changes. These updates come straight from the NFHS, and as always, we’ll break down what’s new, why it matters, and how it’ll impact athletes, coaches, and officials this season.

Here’s what’s on the mat for discussion:

Rule 1-2-2: The optional procedure for determining the starting weight class has been modified.

Rule 4-1-2: Updates to how a school’s name and associated marks appear on uniforms.

Rule 4-3-5: Changes around the use of leg sleeves that don’t have built-in pads.

Rules 5-11-2c and 5-11-4: Clarifications on how a technical fall is scored.

Rules 7-1-5n and 7-3-3: Clarifications on illegal holds and maneuvers.

We’ll also touch on referee signal corrections, including:

The removal of a signal for the referee’s timeout,
A directional change in the “No Control” signal, and
A modification to the Near-Fall signal.

By the end of this episode, you’ll know exactly what’s changed, how to apply it on the mat, and what to watch for as the new season begins.

So let’s get into it — Behind the Whistle, where we don’t just talk about the calls, we get inside the official’s mind.

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