Jump to content

Fishingbasket

Gorillas
  • Posts

    119
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from randalllynch in Qualified Weigh-ins   
    Regarding question #2, the time frame you give would not allow by the rule of 1.5% a week to achieve the desired weight. It's not a suggestion, these are the guidelines were all supposed to adhere to. In talking with several coaches around State, I think the weight management plan is extremely misunderstood. Also you are correct that if you consider bumping a guy up for a competition, you definitely have to pay attention to their weight to not get to big for their normal weight or they must work down again. Hope this helps
  2. Thanks
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from SharkBit in Qualified Weigh-ins   
    Regarding question #2, the time frame you give would not allow by the rule of 1.5% a week to achieve the desired weight. It's not a suggestion, these are the guidelines were all supposed to adhere to. In talking with several coaches around State, I think the weight management plan is extremely misunderstood. Also you are correct that if you consider bumping a guy up for a competition, you definitely have to pay attention to their weight to not get to big for their normal weight or they must work down again. Hope this helps
  3. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to Kookie953 in Class Wrestling - Participation   
    I am totally new, and therefore totally unqualified and I haven't participated in previous discussions / debates...but if the argument is that class wrestling would increase participation that would seem to be totally illogical.
     
    Of any sport that I have seen, you either love to wrestle or you don't.  I really don't think expecting a "successful state run" will matter much to a 14-18 year old kid making a choice to wrestle.  
     
    And of any sport there is...wrestling is the ultimate meritocracy.  It does not matter where you are from...if you can beat the guy in front of you then you advance.  Just the incredibly long list of schools participating in the state finals...and the fact that small schools can have multiples more participants than the behemoth high schools (or some 5A and 6A football schools having ZERO participants in the state finals) proves this fact.  
     
    Any statistics that would seem to show a correlation between class wrestling and an increase in participation would be a study in false equivalency in my opinion.  
  4. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to mamabratch in Prayers out for Bratcher   
    Scott and I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for Christian and his girlfriend Olivia after their accident, the support we have been shown from parents, fans, coaches and wrestlers proves what a special "family" the wrestling community is. Through your prayers and the grace of God, In time, both Christian and Olivia will make full recoveries from their injuries.
     
    I would also like to publicly acknowledge New Haven's athletic director for arranging for Christian & I to have floor passes so that he could still be part of the semi state experience.
    As much as we would have loved to watch our son participate, we were truly humbled by the affection that was shown to Christian on Saturday.
     
    God bless all of you,
     
    Misti Bratcher
  5. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to Y2CJ41 in Article: WrestlingWednesday: Shenandoah Not a Fly By Night Program   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
     
    When Gary Black Jr. interviewed for the head wrestling coach at Shenandoah, his goals were clear. He didn’t want to maintain the status quo for the Raiders. He wasn’t content with getting a few kids through to semistate. He wanted to put Shenandoah on the wrestling map, and he wanted the small Henry County school to compete, and win against the state’s best programs.
     
    His vision for the program landed him the job, and now, seven years later, he has done exactly what he said he would.
     
    Shenandoah won the school’s first sectional two weeks ago. The Raiders dominated larger schools such as New Castle and Richmond in the process.
     
    Last week the Raiders fell 1.5 points shy of winning the school’s first regional title.
     
    “We had to get a mentality change,” Black said. “We had to understand the physicality of wrestling. We reached out to the elementary school. We implemented a club to get young kids invested in the sport at an early age. It took us a few years, but when we had an opening for the middle school job and I had John Slivka and my dad (Gary) take over, we really started developing our feeder system.”
     
    Shenandoah has seven wrestlers competing at the New Castle semistate Saturday. Sophomores A.J. Black (106) and Dallas Pugsley (126), senior Ryan Surguy (138) and freshman Silas Allred (170) were all Richmond regional champions. Sophomore Hayden Lohrey (132) lost a close match to undefeated Cainan Schaefer in the championship round. Josh Gee (senior, 160) lost to No. 2-ranked Alston Bane 1-0 in the championship and sophomore Jake Webster placed fourth in the 152-pound class.
     
    The Raider success story is one of heartache, determination and a coach that refuses to give up on his kids.
     
    The Heartache
     
    Coach Black’s younger brother Levi was perhaps the most talented grappler on the Raider team. He had an insane dedication to the sport and a work ethic that was unrivaled. Levi was well liked by everyone he came in contact with. But, despite all the positives he had going for him, Levi struggled with a mental illness that eventually led him to take his own life, at the high school, in November of 2015.
     
    The death rocked the tiny Shenandoah community, as well as much of the surrounding area. Levi’s funeral brought together wrestlers from around the state. Many wrestlers, such as Bane at Richmond, have shown support of the Black family and helped raised awareness of mental illness by having a green streak (symbolic of Levi’s fight with the disease) dyed in his hair.
     
    The Shenandoah team needed strength during this time. They needed someone to help them cope with the emotional gravity of the situation. The Black family was there to provide it.
     
    “Both coaches (Gary Jr. and Sr.) are my heroes,” Gee said. “After all they went through, they still took care of us – even over themselves. Through their pain they never let us down. They helped us cope and really turned us into a wrestling brotherhood. We are a family.”
     
    For Gary Jr., he knew he needed to find a way to honor Levi, yet move forward.
     
    “The last 16 months have been a huge learning curve for a lot of us,” Black said. “Not only are you dealing with the daily grind of being a wrestler at a high level, but these kids already battle a lot of things daily. That was one more added struggle for all of us. There are days for me, my dad and I‘m sure the kids – being at that exact same place where everything happened – that make it very difficult. All of our lives have been changed.”
     
    The Determination
     
    Last year A.J. Black, Levi and Gary Jr’s youngest brother, tried doing everything he could to honor Levi. At times, the pressure got to him. He didn’t want to let his family down. When he lost in the ticket round to go to state, you could see that built up emotion boil over as tears streamed down his face.
     
    “The weight of trying to accomplish a goal for the memory of his brother took its toll on A.J. and just mentally wore him down,” coach Black said. “We talked about it. He had to make a shift in how he honors his brother. He needs to start doing things for himself.
     
    “I ask him before every match, who he is wrestling for. He now will say ‘Me’ and then give me a hug and go wrestle. He still honors Levi, but by working his hardest and doing his best. That’s all Levi would have wanted.”
     
    The hard work mantra extends past A.J. To a man, the Raiders pride themselves on outworking other teams. The guys have bought into the system and have dedicated their summers to the sport.
     
    “Levi was the hardest worker in the room,” A.J. said. “Everyone wants to make him proud by working as hard as they can, every day.”
     
    Take Allred for example. He is a 14-year old freshman that won’t turn 15 until May 28. He’s wrestling in one of the most physically demanding classes (170). Yet he’s undefeated.
     
    “We believe success is a mindset,” Allred said. “I constantly train and constantly push myself to get better. If you want to be the best, you have to work to be the best. You can get better, or worse every single day.”
     
    Surguy and Gee are two examples of the dividends of that work ethic.
     
    As a sophomore Gee was pinned by Bane in the sectional final in 36 seconds. Last year he lost 5-1 to Bane in the sectional final. This year, Gee has dropped two matches to Bane, but both were by the score of 1-0.
     
    Surguy is another senior that struggled early, but has blossomed due to the work he puts in. This year Surguy is 42-2 with a sectional and regional title.
     
    The Coach
     
    Gary has built the Raider program to be one of the state’s best. The Raiders finished No. 2 in the Class A team state, and have higher aspirations down the road.
     
    For Gary, the key to success has been making the wrestlers buy into the fact that the only way to improve, is to outwork the opposition. He also makes sure the wrestlers feel like a family.
     
    “We see each other at our worst, and we see each other at our best,” said Allred, who has a 4.0 GPA and is ranked third in his class. “When one of us has a down day, the rest of us try and pick him up. This is more than a wrestling team. We’re all friends. We’re all brothers.”
     
    The leader of the Raider family is undoubtedly the young coach Black. His passion for the team is evident in every match he coaches.
     
    “On Sundays I’m exhausted,” Black said “It’s hard for me to be on the sideline when I just want to go to war with them. I don’t want to be the general just telling them to go into battle. I want to battle with them. I’ll be the intense guy on the sideline.
     
    “I want these kids to win as bad as they do. I get extremely emotionally involved in their success. I’d like to think they appreciate it, even though I look ridiculous. I love wrestling and I love watching those kids compete.”
     
    Last year only Lohrey punched his ticket to the state meet for the Raiders. This year Shenandoah has high hopes to have more than one kid represented. They know how hard the road is to get to state, but they’ve prepared themselves to complete the journey – just like a young coach interviewing for his first head coaching job seven years ago said they would.
     
    Click here to view the article
  6. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to JakeandBreighton in Ref Shout Out, Troyer   
    Just wanted to give an attaboy to James Troyer @ the Peru regional. I didn't care for him when i wrestled on the 80's, but have to give him props fir being one of the few refs that always puts himself between the kids and hitting tables, walks, gym floors and such. He did it today and I've seen him do it repeatedly more than any other ref in our area. Keeping the kids safe is what they're there for, good job Troyer!
  7. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to Y2CJ41 in 6 State Championships   
    I'd say close to never as you can get.
     
    We'll get
     
    Class wrestling
    Amended travel rule
    wrestle-backs
    hair on my head
     
    before they let middle schoolers wrestle.
  8. Like
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from BrodyHardcastle in Team Rankings: IndianaMat 1A Dual Ranking   
    Oak Hill will be a player
  9. Like
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from McWrastlePants in Notable results for 12-12   
    Cam is on a mission and has put in his time. He wrestled #1 in country at Super 32 very well. Great young man with a great attitude
  10. Like
    Fishingbasket reacted to Y2CJ41 in Open Letter to the ISWA   
    Dear ISWA Board Members,
    The flyer for the Freestyle State Finals states, “All participants must compete in a minimum of 2 Local level Freestyle tournaments in order to compete at the State event.”
     
    In looking at the current entries it appears as if some kids who didn’t participate in two local freestyle tournaments are now being allowed to wrestle at state. You are opening a can of worms that will leave a big black eye on your organization if these kids are allowed to wrestle. You told people that, jobs WERE NOT an excuse, national events WERE NOT an excuse, Grandma Betty’s birthday WAS NOT an excuse, spring break WAS NOT an excuse, participating in baseball or track WAS NOT an excuse, and so on. The only viable reason that should be allowed is an injury that is accompanied by a doctor’s note.
     
    Now it is time to step up and follow the rules you set forth for your membership. How the organization responds to this will affect the future more than you can imagine. If you set rules and allow people to get around them you will create a chaotic atmosphere that will not look good upon the organization.
     
     
    Thank you
  11. Like
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from JakeandBreighton in Classes for the 2014-15 Season   
    Oak Hill is definitely one of the best teams in state at 1A
  12. Like
    Fishingbasket got a reaction from Y2CJ41 in Coaches/Administrator Only Group   
    Rodney Ellis - Assistant Coach
    Eastern (Greentown) High School
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.