Carver Hawkeye Arena

Carver Hawkeye Arena

I wanted to write about something that I have been looking forward to for about a month. I went to the Ohio State / Iowa Dual last night at Carver Hawkeye. The weather was horrible but the wrestling was fairly good. Both teams are working to get better and make an impact. Both head coaches wrestled for Gable. It made for an interesting match. But the Hawks ran away with it.

It was good to get to catch up with the OSU guys I can’t tell you how much I respect them and getting to work with them at the Buckeye Club was one of the greatest experiences I have had. I fully support Coach Ryan’s mission to build a Regional Olympic Training Center in Columbus. They will be able to attract the best wrestlers on the east coast to a great city, provide them outstanding coaching, and the talent pool is so deep in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania that I would imagine a lot of guys will be like Joe Heskett and look to return and be closer to their homes.

The good thing about catching up with Joe, Tom, and Ross is that those guys are some of the people that I respect most as coaches. Listening to Tom Ryan talk about the adversity he has gone through and how it has been a positive force to make an impact on the lives of young athletes is incredible. Joe Heskett is one of the best wrestlers to ever come out of Cleveland and his faith in god is an inspiration for anyone that has ever struggled with faith. Joe walks what he talks! The same goes for Ross Thatcher. Ross is like me and he doesn’t pull his punches but he works hard to prepare his athletes and he is honest with them as they develop.

I also got the chance to catch up with Ken Chertow. I really respect Ken because he has put together some great camps and built an organization that is focused on providing services that help wrestlers reach their goals.

I had the great chance to sit on the floor at the start of the dual. It was something I never thought would happen. That is a dream come true for a lot of people. If you can’t wrestle in Carver Hawkeye sitting on a team bench is an exciting opportunity. So, if you watch the tape I am sitting in the row of chairs just behind the bench wearing my Central Wrestling Sweatshirt!

The dual also reminded me of one of the principles of coaching. That is the need for bonus points. Wrestling is unique because a win is not just a win. Winning by 8, 15, or pin can provide your team with the points to go ahead. A pin is worth as much as two decisions. In matches where you are closely matched against the other team the team leaders have to push to get bonus points to help their team win. Make sure you put yourself in the best position to win and then move forward and wrestle tough the entire match and if you can get the bonus you are helping the team.

On the same note, if you are losing it is important that you keep the match close. I have always believed that winning and losing are determined by preparation but how you lose is a matter of pride and desire for your team. If you are getting beat by 7 then you have to avoid giving up one more so you can save that point for your team. The same with getting teched or pinned how you lose is for your team so put up that fight.

After the match Tom Ryan snuck me backstage and showed me the Iowa Wrestling Room. That is one of the shrines to the sport. Think about the names that have trained there! Brands, Lewis, Banach, DeAnna, and the list goes on and on! It was just amazing how sweat and blood has been dedicated to winning in that room. On the way out Matt Fields stepped on my foot. He was very nice about it but I for sure wasn’t going to get mad at him. He is one big dude!

I took some pictures and I will post them as soon as I can. Keep checking back.