LittleGiant91

Hey Coach,

Are you rolling tonight? I have a kid that wants to come, but he heard you are on spring break, and not going tonight. 

Thanks!

Is there a post / listing anywhere that has the full team state final results for all classes? I was officiating Saturday, so I did not have a chance to attend. I've seen some scores mixed in with lots of commentary, but I did not see team state scores listed under dual results, unless I am mistaken. 

Thanks!

Crawfordsville High School is looking for a dual meet this Thursday, 1-17. Our senior night opponent had to cancel due to their conference being moved. Please contact Athletic Director Bryce Barton at brbarton@cville.k12.in.us or Head Coach Chris Ervin at cervin@cville.k12.in.us if you are interested. We could possibly host on Wednesday as well, but Thursday is definitely our best day. 

Crawfordsville High School is selling a full sized mat. The mat is 24 years old and has been re-conditioned once. It is 42' x 42'. The competition side is good, and has been used for meets (including sectional) up through this year. The back side (with practice circles) has several cracks and the vinyl is peeling in several places. Since this is public property, it is being sold via online auction. The link to the auction is below.

http://publicsurplus.com/sms/auction/view?auc=1833749

If you have any questions beyond what is on the auction site, feel free to email me at school:

cervin@cville.k12.in.us

Chris Ervin

Head Wrestling Coach

Crawfordsville High School

Matt,

email me at school and I can give you some details.

cervin@cville.k12.in.us

Chris Ervin

Head Coach

Crawfordsville HS

Matt,
Crawfordsville may have one available soon. we just bought a new one, and it looks like we will not have the storage space for one of our old mats. Let me know if you are interested.

Chris Ervin

Crawfordsville HS

cervin@cville.k12.in.us

Calling all female wrestlers! Have you ever wished you could work out in a place designed FOR GIRLS and run BY GIRLS? Crawfordsville Wrestling Club will be offering girls - only practices beginning on Monday, March 27th, and running through ISWA Girls' State Finals on May 7th. All girls from Schoolgirl through Senior age groups are welcome. Practices will be held at Crawfordsville Middle School from 6:30pm - 8:00 pm (enter door 15) and are FREE, but you DO need to have a USA card (A complete practice schedule will be distributed at the first practice on Monday). Workouts will include Freestyle technique, drilling, and lots of LIVE wrestling. All practices will be run by Coach Gibby Paxton, former Varsity wrestler at Southmont HS, and Cumberlands College. If you have ANY questions, call Gibby at 765-365-2393, or email her at gibbypaxton@yahoo.com.

Coach Gibby Paxton

High School

2011 USAW Freestyle Nationals - 8th place at 112 lbs.

2012 USAW Folkstyle Nationals - 3rd place at 112 lbs.

COLLEGE

2014 WCWA Nationals - 3rd place at 109lbs, ALL AMERICAN

2016 WCWA Nationals - 3rd place at 109lbs, ALL AMERICAN

Chris Ervin

Head Coach

Crawfordsville, HS

My first thought was skepticism, but looking at Ersland's resume, he has been part of some strong programs. Obviously, being coached by Gable and being part of three national championship teams, he has been around the best. ALL of the programs that he has coached in have been successful. He has been around some great coaches over the past 17 years. I was one that really wanted to go after a "Big Name", and I thought Kolat, Henson, etc. would have been awesome. However, I'm also trying to remember that being a great wrestler does not mean that a guy is going to be a great coach. The fact that he missed out on AA status shouldn't disqualify him from being a great coach. Good luck to Tony Ersland and his staff and I for one am hoping that he wants to get involved in Indiana wrestling and help the entire state grow!

Seems kind of odd to me that they are taking so long. The program is in limbo as long as they are without a head coach. Spring training, getting kids to their summer camps, etc, will really suffer. I'd like to see them go big, like an assistant from PSU, Iowa, or OSU (Lou Roselli would be great!), but Joe is probably right. They are probably making more as assistants, and with better facilities, than Purdue is willing to pay. I hope they decide to pony up. It could be great for wrestling in Indiana!

FYI: Robert Manns from Crawfordsville is planning on going for Greco at 195. He placed 2nd at Greco State. He said that he turned in the forms AT Greco State, but he probably has not paid yet. I know he was going to do some fundraising. He is also available and interested in Freestyle if you need him. He placed 5th in Freestyle.

You can contact me at cervin@cville.k12.in.us if you need any info or need to contact Robert.

Thanks!

Chris Ervin

Head Coach

Crawfordsville HS

1. Terry Brands!!!

Head coaching experience! STUD! Iowa guy! He would bring AWESOME intensity to the state! PU should ante up and pay the man!

2. Cody Sanderson !!

4 National titles in a row! Head Coaching experience

3. Schwab from Northern Iowa

He's done an amazing job turning that program into a contender in a short time!

I agree with Cal Warner. I have known Coach Peck for a long time, and he has always worked hard to promote his program and the sport, despite what some "know-it alls" seem to think. I take his word at face value.

That said, the original post by Y2 was correct in many ways. From the beginning of the team dual state series, teams / coaches have sent JV teams to wrestle highly ranked opponents, sat out wrestlers to avoid tough matches, etc. We (the coaches) have been warned MANY times by the IHSAA that this shed our sport in a negative light in their eyes and were warned / threatened not to do it. Year after year, coaches continued to do this, claiming that it was best for their team , program, whatever. Our sport has struggled to move forward in Indiana because we cannot come together for the good of the sport. There have always been coaches who "can't see the forest for the trees", so to speak. When I was a head coach, we were ecstatic to advance our smaller (700 students) school and wrestle the largest high school in the state (4000+) at the time in the team regional. Our youngsters battled hard and did not back down, and it was a great experience for them and our program.  Now, like it or not, we are going back to the "old" tournament format, likely for good. We had something good, but we screwed it up. You can blame the IHSAA if you want, but the wrestling programs of Indiana (at least a few of them) did not help ourselves when we had a chance, if you ask me.

Weakest in the state? I think that's a stretch! I'm not going to argue that it's the toughest by any means, but I've seen much weaker over the years.  The earlier comments about having a lot of smaller schools is correct. And maybe, just maybe, part of the reason that only 14 got out of regional last year was because the Zionsville sectional was LOADED! Carmel, Westfield, Hamilton Southeastern, Zionsville are all big (5A football) with great programs, and the smaller schools in the sectional all turn out some strong individuals. That makes the draws for wrestlers coming out of C-Ville TOUGH! I'll agree that the Crawfordsville Sectional is not one of the toughest in the state, but they have an extremely tough match up with the Zionsville sectional. Maybe instead of calling out coaches of the smaller programs, we should be calling out the IHSAA to balance sectionals a little better. Good luck to all wrestlers this weekend. Have a GREAT tournament and LEAVE IT ON THE MAT!!

Chris Ervin

Just a fan!  

Looks great! A ton of work from some dedicated individuals. I do have one question. Will the IHSAA give those teams invited a "waiver", so they can wrestle an extra tournament, or will they have to drop a tourney from their regular schedule in order to participate? I could see this causing some scheduling problems. Also, what about the one wild card team picked during the season of the tournament? Without a waiver, they would have to cancel a meet that is already on their schedule. I'm sure this has already been discussed and accounted for, I just didn't see it.

Thanks again for all the hard work for our sport!

What a cool opportunity to start a new program! I definitely agree with Coach Wadkins. I think the best thing would be to start a middle school program in year one,  add JV for two years, then add Varsity in year 3 or 4. Scheduling will also be important. It is important that once you start a program, you schedule programs that you can be competitive with, then gradually improve the schedule as your program progresses. Good luck!

Congrats to Coach Wadkins! Jim is a class act and works tirelessly for his program and for our sport!

Jim, as Max would say, "you're SOME LITTLE GIANT"!

Great idea, Jake! Looks like you've covered all the bases! I like the idea of finishing the team tournament before individual tourney starts. We could crown team champs, then wrestle for individual titles!

In the early to mid 90's, LN had a kid named Case Hooper that was a 2-time champ at 152. One year, he wrestled a New Pal kid in the finals, and the annoucer said that all of his losses were to the LN kid.  Regional, SS, and State, and I think possibly sectional too. I think the New Pal kid' s name was Jade ??? Help me out, Wildcat or Dragon fans!

I was just talking to a friend about this yesterday. Obviously, it's a hindrance to not have mat access, but if a wrestler is motivated, there should be nothing that stops him from getting a good workout at home and sweating. Push ups, sit ups, jump rope. Heck, i used to put on sweats and run up and down our basement stairs. Not to mention, there's plenty of snow and ice to shovel / chip. I shoveled for 20 minutes yesterday and I was drenched in sweat!  You can shadow wrestle and do hip heists, etc. on the living room floor. Most kids (the ones I used to coach are included!) are just too lazy to do it on their own without a coach there to "make them" do it.  They would rather whine about not having practice and not being able to make weight.  That reminds me of one of my favorite t-shirt quotes:

"I will find a way, or I will make a way"  - Hannibal

Good luck to all wrestlers at regional this Saturday!!

My Ascics Dan Gable "Super Flex" back in 1985.  They were white and you could get red or blue stripes.  Mesh uppers were the coolest, most breathable pair of wrestling shoes I've ever had. Unfortunately, they discontinued them when the "Dan Gable Ultra Flex" (vision quest) came out... also a fine shoe, but I preferred the Super Flex.  Wore mine, taped up, until they finally gave out on me! Man, i miss those shoes!!  Any other old timers remember those?  

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Congratulations, and welcome to Montgomery County Coach Swain! You were always a class act as a wrestler and as a coach at Highland. I'm sure you'll bring the same thing to North Montgomery.

Chris Ervin

Drooke,

Yes, I hung it up at the end of the season after 19 years as head coach at C-Ville.  Basically, I'm just tired. I still love the sport, but I don't have the time and desire to do all of the out of season things anymore that are needed to develop a program.  Both of my kids are at an age (9 and 14) where they are involved in lots of activities and I don't want to miss them. I will still be coaching the elementary wrestlers in our club (and also coaching youth baseball and football), so I will be involved in the program. I plan to get my officials license and stay involved as much as possible. It is not official yet, but it looks like my long time assistant, Roger Tribbett, will be the head coach next year. He is committed to the program and to the kids and he will do a great job! Thanks for asking.

Chris Ervin

FORMER head coach - Crawfordsville High School

I am the coach of the opposing wrestler, and I have to say, we were confused by the call as well. Just before that call happened,  West head butted McBride (I'm not saying it was malicious, but there was definitely a head to head contact) and there was no call. Dylan was visibly shaken and the refs even gave him a few seconds to clear his head. When they re-started, they hit heads again, and that is when the DQ happened.  I didn't realize what they were calling, and when I asked the official, he said that the opponent (West) had intentionally led with his head and he called it a flagrant foul.  Dylan felt like it was accidental on Jim's part, and wanted to continue to wrestle. He stated to me "Coach, I don't want to win that way. I want to finish the match!" I told him to tell the offcial, which he did, and he was told that the call had been made and it couldn't / wouldn't be changed. 

 I too, feel bad for Jim. It was a strange situation and one that no wrestler or coach wants to have end his season. I don't know Jim, and we had never wrestled him before, but I will say that he handled that situation very well and showed great sportsmanship after the match towards Dylan and myself.  I feel that at the least, he should be recognized as a medalist and awarded the 8th place medal.  Without naming names, I saw worse behavior after a semi final and final match and those wrestlers were allowed to stand on the podium.  I want to wish Jim the best of luck in the future and congratulate him on a great season.

Chris Ervin

Crawfordsville H.S.

PHS coach,

I totally agree. The "weight loss plan" is convoluted and confusing. In fact, on the online rules meeting this year, there was an example showing a weigh in sheet for one date and another for a date where the kid had lost more than 1.5% in a week.  It clearly stated that the wrestler was NOT ineligible, but this was not a qualifying weigh in. From that example, it is easy to believe that Coach Joll   (or any other coach that this happened to) might have thought that it was not illegal for the athlete to weigh in that much lighter, but simply that it did not count toward his qualifying weigh ins.  The rule (or it's ever-changing interpretation) is very confusing.  Personally, I feel that the old rule of having to make a weight for half of your total weigh ins (with a minimum of 5 at that weight) was a better way to insure that kids are keeping their weight regulated.  

Here's another thought: When all of this weight control started after the deaths 10-12 years ago, my former college coach told me " the only way to stop weight cutting is to put a scale next to the scoring table and have the wrestlers step on it as they check in and make weight in their full uniform."  It may sound crazy, but he's right! Adjust all of the weights 5 pounds higher to account for a uniform. No wrestler in his right mind would step on the mat to compete if he was dehydrated or hadn't eaten in two days! Thus, if one really wanted to drop a weight class, the way to do it would be to eat healthier and exercise more so you could make that weight fully hydrated. With today's technology and portable scales, it is becoming a more viable option.  I say let's try it!