Football vs Wrestling

[RollRedPhoto]

I saw this story in today's Nashville City Paper, and wanted to ask you guys here if high school football players are encouraged to wrestle, or whether they are steered away from the mat when football season ends.

 

http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/sports/titans-draft-picks-show-common-theme-wrestlers-make-good-football-players

 

“It’s something that to me, when a guy has been a wrestler, especially when he has been a successful wrestler, it says something about his toughness and his commitment,†Titans general manager Ruston Webster said.

[HTV]

I don't see that in East Tennessee, and especially considering that most of the wrestling coaches are also football coaches. It might happen elsewhere in the state, but not in the East.

 

Wrestling is still a fairly new sport to most of the public schools in Tennessee. It just doesn't have the popularity that it does in some other states, where it has been a varsity sport for decades, now. I believe that is more of a factor than anything else in who may or may not choose to participate.

[StarRaider]

A couple of years ago, a bunch of the old coaches told us the story about Cleveland started their wrestling program as an off season football workout/agility program when the high school first opened (1967 I think? )... anyways they had a great football team but the best athlete was Bill Emendorfer who was the school's first state champ as a heavyweight wrestler. Bill went on to become and an All-SEC lineman for some of the great Tennessee teams of the early 70's, earned a degree in dentistry, then opened a chain of restaurants in Knoxville and now in Athens.

 

Edit: I wanted to add that he also won the SEC wrestling championship although he only had a couple of weeks of wrestling practice after football was over....

 

Lots of others like Bill, Scott Wells, the Reveiz brothers, Shazzon Bradley, Dennis "Big Foot" Harrison come to mind. Scottie Boykin at Riverdale has a shot at a D1 scholly and a wrestling state championship (he should have been a finalist this past season).

 

HTV - There have been TSSAA State tournaments since 1961 so it is not a new sport in Tennessee. Wrestling is mainly in East Tenn and the larger cities in Middle Tennessee and Memphis. The sport is still not state wide but most cities of any size in East and Middle Tennessee have programs.

Edited May 8, 2012 by StarRaider

[HTV]

A couple of years ago, a bunch of the old coaches told us the story about Cleveland started their wrestling program as an off season football workout/agility program when the high school first opened (1967 I think? )... anyways they had a great football team but the best athlete was Bill Emendorfer who was the school's first state champ as a heavyweight wrestler. Bill went on to become and an All-SEC lineman for some of the great Tennessee teams of the early 70's, earned a degree in dentistry, then opened a chain of restaurants in Knoxville and now in Athens.

 

Edit: I wanted to add that he also won the SEC wrestling championship although he only had a couple of weeks of wrestling practice after football was over....

 

Lots of others like Bill, Scott Wells, the Reveiz brothers, Shazzon Bradley, Dennis "Big Foot" Harrison come to mind. Scottie Boykin at Riverdale has a shot at a D1 scholly and a wrestling state championship (he should have been a finalist this past season).

 

HTV - There have been TSSAA State tournaments since 1961 so it is not a new sport in Tennessee. Wrestling is mainly in East Tenn and the larger cities in Middle Tennessee and Memphis. The sport is still not state wide but most cities of any size in East and Middle Tennessee have programs.

 

I understand that is isn't "new" in years, but it's only been in the last decade or so that a lot of schools, and especially the smaller schools, put an emphasis on wrestling and began fielding full teams. Before it was an afterthought, if a school had a team at all.

[runtheball]

No player of any sport should be discouraged or asked to not participate in other sports.Coaches should encourage athletes to participate in as many sports as they can.There are many carry over skills.Number one is competing. This is high school,not college.

Edited May 8, 2012 by runtheball

[STARSNBARS]

Eye rilly don't see a problum wif hit....Jist az long az tha footbawl playurs don't....

 

A. Try two load tha toes ov thair footbawl cleets

 

2. Pull out thair dentull werk and raik hit ovur sumbodie's I's inn a pyle

 

C. Throw enny poysun powdur err othur fore-inn substunces intwo th faces ov tha ovvur teem's playurs....

Edited May 8, 2012 by STARSNBARS

[cbg]

The only objection that I could see any football coaching having with his players participating in wrestling is if they don't participate in any type of strength/training program. I have known some wrestling coaches that allowed the football players to lift for one hour after school and then go into the wrestling practice.

[plumb69]

Interesting article. I remember Faud Reveiz wrestling in the intramural tournament at UT but it might have been after his football career in college was over.

[Old Warhorse]

No player of any sport should be discouraged or asked to not participate in other sports.Coaches should encourage athletes to participate in as many sports as they can.There are many carry over skills.Number one is competing. This is high school,not college.

 

 

Great Post....Way too much specialization, too early. It is sad to hear kids say when they are 17 or 18, I wished I would have played football. Just sad.

[runtheball]

The only objection that I could see any football coaching having with his players participating in wrestling is if they don't participate in any type of strength/training program. I have known some wrestling coaches that allowed the football players to lift for one hour after school and then go into the wrestling practice.

Having coached both sports I can say that the wrestling workouts and weight program were much tougher than any football practice and weight program was.Wrestling will be the best strength program a kid goes through even if he is never in the weight room,although most wrestling programs have weights as part of practice.. All of the muscles are used in a way similar to football and not just doing bench,squats,curls and any other lift concentrating on just one muscle at a time. Wrestling uses multi-muscle group movements much like football. I will also say that some of the best athletes never touched a weight in high school because they were always in a sport competing. Edited May 9, 2012 by runtheball

[nununu]

Wrestlers are the best conditioned football players on the field. I've coached football and currently coach wrestling, and all of my wrestlers are usually starters or play a significant role on the team. It has been a struggle to get football players to come out, mainly because I think they are afraid of the 1 on 1 and accountability. You can't blame any one but yourself on the mat, while on the field, players can say someone missed a block, etc. Wrestling is the ultimate offseason workout for any other sport, and most college and pro coaches love wrestlers, because they know they are tough, agile, mobile, and flexible.

[JSamson7]

Coming out of Maryville, I won't go as far as saying the coaches there discourage it, but I will say they're not too crazy about guys wrestling either. I fell that they're really ignorant to the fact that most wrestlers who play football excel more often times than not. As a DB, wreslting helped me learn how to fight off blocks & tackle properly. Otherwise, weighing in at 135 lbs my Sr. year would have gotten me killed & I probably would have never seen the field as a player that size.

 

Looking at the NFL, I can name a ton of guys who were top notch wrestlers. Troy Aikman, Ray Lewis, Scott Wells, Roddy White, Fred Weary, Stephen Neal, Lorenzo Neal, Tiki & Ronde Barber, Roger Craig, Ronnie Lott, Mike & Bob Golic, Bo Jackson, Warren Sapp, etc. etc. etc.

 

My coach at Maryville (Hammontree) wasn't all that crazy about me wrestling & cutting weight, but he was real quick to try to get our heavywieght to come out for football. According to our HW, Hammontree tried to get him to stop wrestling altogether after his Jr. year to focus solely on football. Of course he said no & quit football soon after that. I would say that was definitely a good choice on his part as he took 3rd place in the state tournament his Sr. year in an extremely stacked heavyweight class...