Jump to content

russianbear

Members
  • Posts

    338
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

russianbear last won the day on March 15 2017

russianbear had the most liked content!

Recent Profile Visitors

2,871 profile views

russianbear's Achievements

Competitor

Competitor (6/14)

12

Reputation

  1. Very nice list Durdon. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
  2. CBG I completely agree with you. I suppose I've been trying to say this (among other things) for years but you worded it perfectly. I've yet to hear of any other state losing money by hosting it at a true sports arena. In fact I would love to see how much every other states makes off the tournament as compared to TN. You are also correct that you can do this at the Murphy Center. Sometimes (in fact most times) being cheap has an adverse affect.
  3. Fargo Super 32 Regional qualifiers for Fargo Everything else (have no idea about the girls)
  4. “Anyone know the cost associated with the event being at Bridgestone, Municipal Auditorium......... any other venue, any other city?” when i looked into this 4 or 5 years ago its was 35k+ CBG you are exactly correct . I’ve been to State tournaments in OH, GA, PA, CO, and IN. I’ve also seen the facilities in at least 20 other states. The only thing that’s even close to TN (in a bad way). Is KY. We are currently in the bottom 5% and it isn’t even close. I guess someone has to be last. I do need to say the quality of wresting in TN is trending up. Too bad we don’t have an appropriate facility to showcase it.
  5. Just went to the UTC match against Campbell University. I was thoroughly entertained and impressed. One of the best dual meets I've seen in a while. I went expecting Campbell to pretty much dominate as they were the clear conference favorites. They left deservedly humbled. UTC was in shape, more aggressive, mean, strong, hungry and believing they could win. They got out of bottom, were sound defensively and wrestled with purpose. I believe today will be remembered as a turning point for the future of the program. Let us hope the current staff can stay pretty much in tact for a few years.
  6. Unbelievably impressive how PennState performed. Especially considering their 125 didn't even compete or he may have won it as well. The only one they don't have coming back is Guilibon.I completely underestimated Cox. Not sure if anyone predicted 125. Two things I failed to consider. 1) Valencia and Hall have wrestled thousands (according to Hall) of times when training. 2) Clark and Gross were teammates. Clark wasn't to be denied. He wanted it and earned it. You're right about 165, never saw that coming. 141 I just flat out don't like to watch him wrestle (though I obviously respect his ability to win) so that was an emotional pick.
  7. There's obviously a bit of a carryover as the collegiate recruits start out as high school wrestlers. Just as from time to time there are forums regarding the middle school wrestlers and who to look for and where they will be attending high school. You can usually tell what the thread is concerning by it's headline.
  8. I agree. He made 13K as the head coach in 1984. We slept in the cheapest hotels, drove 1 small van everywhere (and he was the driver) and actually slept in the bunks at Citadel and on the wrestling mats at VMI's wrestling room. With the money he saved from the budget he had a floor put in our wrestling room and put up chin up bars. The most dedicated person to any one thing that I've ever met. Very sad he left to coach weight lifting at a high school and made more money. If they actually paid him a salary he'd probably still be there today. But, CBG, you pretty much contradict yourself in back to back posts. Ethan Reeve didn't exactly get top of the line recruits. He had 4.5 scholarships. Jeff Rufolo made it to the blood round and never even qualified to the State Tournament in NJ. Tom Herring was a 2 time Conference Champion and ranked his senior year. His best high school year he was 3rd in Georgia. Clarence Arrington was ranked in the top 10 and didn't start wrestling until his Junior year in Alabama. I can go on and on. Again, there are different philosophies. Kevin Jackson recruits talent and sits in the room and blows the whistle. Other coaches recruit a specific kid that may fit a style. Some head coaches run practice and let the assistants do paperwork. Other head coaches allow the assistant/s run practice and do their own paperwork. But to just blindly go after guys from papered credentials doesn't work. To properly recruit (and coach) requires scouting. Lots of it. Of course that requires money and help - help from someone that knows what to look for and how to sell. Recruiting is one thing, but, again, the single most important thing to build and consistently win at any level is to develop the guys you've got. How do the guys progress from freshman to senior (if you're fortunate enough to retain them that long)? That's how you monitor the success. When I was coaching at Ohio University, I can attribute our success at the NCAA's and in the MAC(5 AA's,a runner up and National Champion with the class I was there for) directly to developing the guys in the room. Eric Kimble was a 2-time AA and I don't believe he was a state champ (I may be wrong about that). Sean Enright was 4th (as a true freshman) and National Runnerup and never a State Champ. Dwight Gardner was a National Champion and he was from Florida. The other big factor was watching film. You better believe when we face a top 10 program at NCAA's our guys our scouted. And scouted thoroughly.
  9. The first '5' is number of years as head coach. The second '5' is Southern Conference Championships.
  10. Everyone has a different philosophy. I've been around a lot of wrestling, programs, coaches, philosophies, styles, etc. on all different levels. The single most important factor to success is to develop what you've got. To do that you have to make the kids believe. And Maj, not to belabor my point, but, what is the message if you're shooting for top 20??? Answer: 65% dual meet record and 1st or second in Southern Conference.
  11. Alonzo Allen 125 So. Conyers, Ga. / Rockdale County HSScottie Boykin 197 Sr. Murfreesboro, Tenn. / Riverdale HS Roman Boylen 141 So. Douglas, Ga. / Alexander HS Bryce Carr 174 Jr. Dublin, Ga. / West Laurens HS Chris Debien 133 So. Cleveland, Tenn. / Cleveland HS Clay Dent 197 Sr. Piedmont, Ala. / Piedmont HS Dylan Forzani 165 Jr. Salinas, Calif. / Salinas HS D.J. Franklin-Smith 197 Sr. Glen Burnie, Md. / Archbishop Spalding HS Austin Gould 133 Sr. Alabaster, Ala. / Thompson HS Fabian Gutierrez 125 Fr. Commerce City, Colo. / Adams City HS Cody Hill 133 Jr. Baton Rouge, La. / Live Oak HS Jake Huffine 133 So. Catersville, Ga. / Woodland HS Jared Johnson 285 Sr. Jefferson City, Mo. / Jefferson City HS Rodney Jones 197 So. Duluth, Ga. / Duluth HS Dominic Lampe 165 So. Fairdale, Ky. / Saint Xavier HS Justin Lampe 174 Jr. Fairdale, Ky. / Saint Xavier HS Sean Mappes 174 Sr. Greenwood, Ind. / Center Grove HS Luke Mullin 125 Fr. Cleveland, Tenn. / Notre Dame HS Jacob Murphy 141 Jr. Marietta, Ga. / Walton HS Michael Pongracz 141 Sr. Milford, N.J. / Delaware Valley Regional HS Dylanger Potter 149 Fr. Arlington, Texas / Martin HS Zach Shareef 149 So. Woodstock, Ga. / Woodstock HS Logan Sims 133 Fr. Cartersville, Ga. / Woodland HS Chad Solomon 174 So. Maryville, Tenn. / Maryville HS Ben Stacey 197 Fr. Fairview, Tenn. / Father Ryan HS Connor Tolley 285 So. Franklin, Ind. / Franklin Community HS Barrett Walthall 165 Jr. Memphis, Tenn. / Christian Brothers HS Trey Watson 157 So. Jacksonville, Ala. / Thompson HS Chase Zemenak 141 So. Nazareth, Pa. / Nazareth Area HS My point final point Ummmno. It doesnt really matter where you get them from or what their past accolades are (https://www.facebook.com/NWHOFDGM/videos/1329306567092182/?hc_location=ufi). Get the guys who fit your style that you (and your staff) can develop.
  12. You're making my point Michael Keefe - GA Howard Langford - TN Cody Cleveland - TN Brent Gustafson - FL Guy Harris - FL Charlie Heard - GA Cerritas - FL (not possitive, but I think so) Matt Keller - TN Not one guy from PA, IN, NJ or OH
  13. First off, anyone who "isn't concerned" about who they draw in the first round of the NCAA tournament will find themselves again in the first round - the first consolation round. Secondly, there aren't very many D1 wrestling programs. UTC isn't going to get the first tier guys (at least until we get to a top tier program). That's a given. The key is to get the guys with the untapped potential. That means taking a chance on a great athlete that isn't a straight A student. Getting someone who started wrestling as a sophomore in high school that no one sees wrestle in Alabama. Someone from FL that came to UTC's camp and showed signs of being a scramble freak. The straight A, clean nose kid that's a high school AA is going to Cornell, not UTC. Ethan Reeve knew this and he got guys to fit the style he wanted to wrestle. The question is what type of style does UTC want to wrestle.
  14. Maj, I'd have to disagree with you about not being top 5. Why not? Your outcome very rarely exceeds your expectations. I guess I'm just not a small thinker. There are several things UTC has to offer: 1) An opportunity to start as a freshman 2) An opportunity to qualify for the NCAA's as a Freshman (what conference is easier to qualify through?) 3) The size of the university is ideal - Not too big, not too small. The same can be said for the size of the city. 4) You can monopolize GA, FL, TN, SC, AL, KY. The quality of wrestling in these states is much improved, especially in GA and AL (yes, AL). There are no Universities south of Chattanooga that have a D1 program. 5) The administration loves Heath. He has their total support. Many programs wouldn't have survived the Corey Mock ordeal. Thank God Heath was there. Not sure what would have happened to the program if he wasn't. I also give him much deserved credit for bringing in (and running perfectly) the Southern Scuffle. 6) The alumni support is very good. 7) Academically it's actually a pretty good school - especially the business and nursing schools. 8) For kids in the elite states (OH, PA, IN, NY, NJ, etc) there are far fewer D1 programs to choose from than before. One thing we lack is a Sunkist Kid's, or NYAC type of offseason training program. There never has been a graduate assistant coach. Someone elite still competing working out and taking in kids to personally train with. This has been an ongoing problem. Kid's that see themselves wrestling after college automatically scratch UTC off the list. When I wrestled at UTC (1984-89) Ethan Reeve had 4.5 scholarships. Ethan was great at certain things, but appealing to the administration's pocket book wasn't one of them. He also had zero pay for an assistant coach. He had volunteers. We were close, on the verge, but didn't quit get over the hump. That's with no money and no help. We were ranked consistently in the top 20 his last 2 or 3 years, had at least 3 or 4 guys in the blood round, but unfortunately no AA's. Ralph Manning took over and produced 3 AA's over the next 2 years (all of those wrestled their first 2 or 3 years under Ethan). Ralph was good with the administration. He got the scholarships raised to 6.5 and eventually 7 or 8. If I'm not mistaken Mark Leen (who took over after Ralph) got it raised to at least 9. I have no idea what UTC has now. I'm sure Heath is very frustrated and disappointed. I think the biggest issue is the ability to retain at least one Assistant Coach. It seems they stay for a couple years and then he has to start over. IMO the most important job of the Head Coach is to hire the right assistant coach.
×
  • Create New...