COACHES CORNER
Top college wrestlers need to stay on mat
By Steve Fraser, U.S. National Greco-Roman coach The 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia were fantas-
tic. While enjoying this year’s close team race between Penn State, Cornell and Iowa, I was struck by how much talent we have in the USA. The competition was fierce among the many tough and skilled athletes. As National Greco-Roman coach for our U.S. team I could not
help but think how we might capture this great wrestling talent and turn it into Olympic gold medals. I sat in the crowded Wells Fargo Center thinking about how we can help many of these wrestlers go on to the biggest sporting event in the world - the Olympic Games. Why do so many of these great athletes end their wrestling careers after college? Why are there so few wrestlers that go on and compete in the two Olympic styles, Greco-Roman and freestyle? The Olympics! Without a doubt, the Olympic Games are the
most prestigious sporting event on the planet. You think winning the NCAA Wrestling Championships is a
thrill? Think about the title, “Olympic Champion.” I can tell you it is the thrill of all thrills! Winning a medal in the Olympic Games or a World Championship is the ultimate high. Even the big-money professional athletes realize how special
the Olympic Games are. That is why so many famous pro-ten- nis players and pro-basketball players try so hard to compete in the Olympics. So what is it with our sport? Why does it seem so difficult for
the wrestling community to get together and work toward a com- mon goal of creating a wrestling country that promotes all three styles of wrestling - folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman? Am I wrong when I imagine that “all” wrestling people in the
USA feel proud when our country does well in world and Olympic competition? Don’t middle and high school folkstyle coaches walk a bit taller when they see the U.S. wrestlers win- ning these medals? I get the fact that the three styles of wrestling in the USA have
vastly different rules. But still, it is wrestling! And the fact is - the wrestlers that wrestle and learn all three styles actually do better
in high school and college wrestling than the athletes that specialize just in folkstyle. For our country to win Olympic
and world medals it takes a uni- fied nation. It takes an organized and interrelated approach to guide and develop our talent. As the Greco-Roman coach I can tell you that we need help. We need a lot of help from our youth coaches throughout America. We need young wrestlers getting more experience and learning Greco and freestyle skills early in their careers. We need more kids wrestling Greco-Roman and freestyle in
Fraser
the spring and summer - throughout their high school and col- lege years. Why not? We are a smart country. We can surely figure out
this dilemma. These days more and more wrestlers are wrestling folkstyle year-round and do not experience Greco or freestyle at all. I submit that this is a huge problem, a problem that all wrestling enthusiasts, coaches and athletes will regret down the road. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out that this sys- tem is not helping our nation’s Olympic effort. It is frightening how few Greco-Roman wrestlers we have
coming up through the youth ranks. It is amazing how well we have been able to do world-wide considering this fact. In 2007, the U.S. Greco-Roman team actually won the World
title. In the last four Olympic Games, the U.S. Greco team has won more Olympic medals than every country in the World, except for Russia. Just think if we had a U.S. system that better developed Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestlers. I am telling you we would be beating the Russians consistent-
ly. Agree or disagree? I would love to hear your comments,
ideas and/or suggestions regarding our nation’s international wrestling effort. Please email me at
sfraser@usawrestling.org. As always, let’s expect to win. In all styles of wrestling!
Six Juniors repeat at Folkstyle Nationals CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - With over 1,100 wrestlers entered in
the Cadet and Junior Divisions at the Asics/USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in early April at the UNI-Dome, it was expected that the competition would be as deep as ever. While the competition was deep, several wrestlers reclaimed positions atop the podium as the Junior Division wrapped up on Saturday afternoon. Darshawn Sharp of Georgia, Freddie Rodriguez of Michigan,
Nick Wanzek and Jake Short of Minnesota, Jahwon Akui of Illinois and Cody Krumwiede of Iowa claimed championships for
26 USA Wrestler
the second time in their careers. Sharp had to beat Hawaii's Cassidy Oshiro in overtime to
claim the championship at 112 pounds 6-4. Rodriguez won the championship at 119 pounds after finishing as a Triple Crown winner last year at the Junior level. Rodriguez beat Sharp's twin brother, Marshawn, in the finals
12-7. The match went back and forth before Rodriguez broke it open with three third-period takedowns. Short won for the first time at the Junior level, edging Iowa's Brandon Sorensen 6-5 in the finals at 140 pounds.
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