grecoref

Get well Brandon...my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Very cool

Some trivia....

While working the 96 Olympic Trials in Spokane-home of Louden Swain-I met the guy who played Shoot's coach and the referee for the Louden vs. Shoot match.

Both are local wrestling legends in Washington state. They were not "real" actors.

Whenever I watch this movie two things stand out....how much I'd like to whup on that Otto guy.....how hot Carla is!!!!

Indyt,

This sounds alot like a system. The Russians have been using something similar to this for decades.  Based on their performance in the 08 Olympic Games, 3 golds, 1 silver, 2 bronze 1 guy got 7th (and he hasn't been seen or heard from since ) and the 07 World Championships  6 golds 1 bronze (yep, they lost one match). You just might be on to something here.

Seriously, we need a system.  This is a huge task as it requires many people to work together. The end result would be better performances at national competitions and our athletes getting more recognition and offers to compete after high school.

I, for one, hope your plan is implemented.

Clarification....he was DQ'd from the match only and not the event.

I thought I would share some random memories as I recalled it was on year ago today that I attended the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The flight... Gustavo Velez from Indy. representing Columbia and I were on the same flight...at the Indy Airport I met Tracy Stoelting from Avon who was selected to umpire the women's Softball competition...13 1/2 hours or so from Chicago direct to Beijing. I had an exit row so I was very comfortable. I only slept a little on the flight. Even old guys get excited I guess. I sat beside an agent of one of the Dream Team players...I can't recall which one at the moment.

Arrival...I was in the Beijing Airport no more than 45 minutes. That included customs, baggage claim and getting my credential autorized. The credential or ID card served as our entry visa into China, entrance to the venues and our hotel. If you wathced any of the Games on TV you saw these.

Hotel...the hotel for the wrestling referees was the same hotel used for the Jr Worlds in '07, so I was familiar with it. It was down short street off a main street. Along the short street were small stores that sold water, snacks, etc... and a few restaurants. The hotel was very large. It had several buildings including one that had a fitnees center, sauna, indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, pool tables and a small bar.

Humidity...I cannot describe how humid it was. Believe me it was worse than anything I have experienced here in Indiana. Rick Tucci was the other referee from the US and he complained about it also...and he lives in Ft. Lauderdale.

Opening Ceremonies...We went by bus about 3 hours prior to the start...we had to get thru tons of traffic and security...there was a special lane on the expressway for Olympic vehicles so we made good time as I recall. We went thru a couple of security checkpoints along the way. The Olympic Stadium and the Water Cube where the swimming events were held were side by side.

The feeling inside and out of the Stadium was electric...this was the real thing...something I had waited for, for a very long time. Again, I can't describe the humidity it took your breath away it was that bad.

The Ceremony itself was awesome. I will never forget the look on the athlete's faces as they entered the stadium. Some knowing they would win..other's hoping..others knowing they would come up short yet this was their moment in the sun.

We had special seating and I could shake hands with the athletes as they entered the stadium...I saw some of the wrestlers and the Dream Team.

The Great Wall...it was only about 45 minutes by bus and it was awesome. It spans about 4000 miles and the part we saw was still in good shape. There was even a Starbucks.

The venue...same venue as the '07 Jr Worlds. Capacity about 7500 or so...air conditioned and about 10 minutes by bus from the hotel. We had a special security entrance and we were even subject to search and metal detectors...just like airport security.

The referees marched in every session to a standing ovation. I'm not jokng...even the US photographers couldn't believe it.

Our performance...Greco...in '07 we were World Champions, in Bejing, one bronze medal by Adam Wheeler. Lots of factors here...Harry Lester gets beat at the Trials by a high school kid....not so good draws and not so good wrestling...I felt really bad for Brad Vering...he trained so hard for so long and he earned a silver medal in '07..and came up short here. I remember when he lost, as he was walking out of the arena, he looked back at the mat with the most regretful look I have ever seen...lesson learned guys, don't leave anythng behind.

Women's team...some new faces and again only one medal. Randi Miller did what she had to do when she needed to do it. It wold have been special to have Pendleton's Katie Downing on the team but it wasn't meant to be

Freestyle...One medal and it was Gold. Henry Cejudo's performance was inspiring. He had a plan and he followed up on it. I recall referees from other countries being impressed by him...while I'm on that subject...it is customary for the referees to congratulate a referee if their country won a medal. Tucci and I only got congratulated 3 times....I grew weary of congratulating the Russians. Overall, in freestyle we underperformed. Mocco was close to a medal and didn't get it done. Some of the other's wrestled poorly...Zadick and Schwab for example...Hrovat and Askren were too inexperienced and Cormier couldn't compete because his kidneys shut down from cutting too much weight...he was 18 pounds over the day before weigh-ins...there is no excuse for this. In my opinion he shold have to return all his gear and equipment and pay for the plane ticket...his actions, along with the poor performance of a few of the others resulted in Kevin Jackson's removal of his coaching duties. A word about KJ....I think the world of him and I wish him great success at Iowa State.

Random merories....

I attended a dinner at the US Olympic house in Bejing where I met the US Ambassador to China

Tucci and I had a US Olympic cell phone so we could stay in contact with USA Wrestling coaches and team leaders in case there were any changes to the rules or if anything else came up....We hit contacts once and found that we had numbers for EVERYONE who had a US Olympic phone...including Coach "K" of the Dream Team. Tucci and I joked about calling him for tickets....we did not call.

I bought a handmade, cut off the bolt, measured twice, cashmere suit for $150.

Tucci ate scorpion and beetles...I did not. We did have some great food and the Chinese food is not like it is here...it's good just different. We did find a Friday's,  did Subway and McDonald's once each for a quick lunch. The Chinese Wrestling Federation took us out for Peking Duck. That was  very good as well...we went to one place that grilled the fish with the head still on and some places served chicken that way too.

That's all for now

I heard they decided not to assign anyone as a coach for future trips who annonces on message boards that they give crappy medals.

Lost to the Russian in the semi's 2-0,1-0

Minnesota USAW is funded in part by the sale of "tip books" to local bars and clubs. I am not sure this is legal in Indiana. Part of the funding in Minnesota is used for full-time coaches in freestyle and Greco-Roman.  Part of the paid coaches responsibility is to sell the tip books.

I would also like the ISWA to consider reestablishing the requirement for the clubs to provide mat and pairing officials. Years ago, when this requirement was in place (and properly administered) we had multiple referees per mat at the State Finals and one year we had 1 referee per mat from Indiana at the Jr/Cadet Nationals on 22 mats.

I would be willing to volunteer even more time to help with training, clinics, evaluations, etc... if the clubs were willing to make the commitment of providing volunteers.

Although, we do seem to have plenty of rules experts out there...just not many are actually officiating  ;D

* To improve the numbers in freestyle and greco you need to: 1.  cut down on ISWA Folkstyle.  2. Quit changing the rules and making them so complicated you have to have a reference book with you.

 

*Can anyone produce any stats on how we did nationally before we added so much Folkstyle in the ISWA and how we do now that we have it?? Would be interesting to see, could also provide some insight into our situation of raising the numbers.

 

*You CANNOT handpick the team, all sorts of politics will ensue and it will cause far more problems than we need. Certain parents or coaches with extra pull will get their guys on the teams; will be totally unfair. Let the competition decide it. (We do not 'hand pick' our olympic team. *To bring back honor to Team Indiana, establish one 'traditional' singlet and gear, and only have it for the fargo greco and freestyle juniors and cadets. Only produce exactly enough for each member of the team. Then it will be an honor to be in posession of this, and to wear it, as it will be tough to come by, and more recognizable if you stick with one design. (ie: everyone knows when they see a MD singlet)

We do pick our World Cup team which is a dual meet competition

Chaos,

In THIS situation the attacking wrestler fell on the defensive wrestler, with no back arch by the offensive wrestler. This is the Junior division and safety is paramount.

If the offensive wrestler back arches then this technique could be legal with no problem.

Zach Errett is one of the referees representing the USA at the Jr Worlds.

This is action is considered brutality.  The referees made the correct call.  This is the Junior level and safety of the ahtletes is paramount. At the Senior level this would be legal. I have confrirmed this opinion with Rick Tucci and Dave Errett-so with my 2 cents that makes the top 3 FS/GR referees in this country calling it illegal. If you wan to call it legal then you have that right....we live in a free country, however you would be incorrect.

Regarding JMT....I know him and I believe his comments were taken out of context.  I do not think that he trains his athletes to  purposely injure another.  He was never trained that way by any of his coaches.

There seems to be a ton of rules experts on here. We should have plenty of referees next year at FS and GR state.

Cashe wins the National Championship and the Big Ten Network is replaying the 2008 Ohio State-Meatchicken game....Buckeyes thrash the Wolverines 42-7 and still no call from Pendoski

Great match!

Let's get a "stop sign" Jason

Happy 30th and thanks for all you do for Indiana wrestling

Matt,

Junior Nationals on 8 mats would take about 2 to 3 weeks to run. We run 20 mats to start in both Greco and freestyle. The Cadets and Juniors rarely wrestle during the same session.

Cool story, I still think he's a disrespectful prick though.

I would say intense and focused....maybe even single-minded

This is classic Tom Brands.....you want to really see him get heated up... ask him about the video review in the Zadick-Bunch match at the Team Trials this year.

What did you see this time that made them illegal Tom?

This is the Junior division and the offensive wrestler "spiked" or brought the defensive guy straight down. The action must be either a throw or a sweeping motion and not straight down.

I have discussed this with Rick Tucci , 7 time Olympic referee and Fila Instructor and we are in agreement.

after further review...and a second look....all three are illegal.

The only one I have a real problem with is the last action...and probably because of the camera angle.

This competition was a Junior event and safety is paramount. The kid doing the lifting does appear to have my old body.

 

ISWA Folkstyle State Finals are staffed by IHSAA Certified officials that are paid. ISWA Freestyle and Greco State Final officials are volunteers. There has been discussion regarding paying these officials as well but last year at Freestyle state we had someone complain about a bad official and it just happened to be the same Indiana Official that represented the USA at the Olympics.

 

 

Infolady,

 

Thank you for the responses to concerns voiced in this topic.  If folks don't like some of the answers, so be it, at least you are willing to communicate.

 

However, regarding officiating, I do think there are legitimate concerns from what I saw last weekend at Freestyle state.  Just because one of the complaints was directed at an eminantly qualified official is not a very good reason to not address the situation.  In fact, I would guess that official is more qualified to handle complaints than anyone else.  I also find no fault with those that do volunteer their time to officiate.  The responsibility falls on the ISWA leadership.  I am hoping that they also see the need for a more professional approach to the officiating situation.

Although I am not an ISWA Board Member, I can assure you this is a "hot topic"  with the board. They recognize the issue and I am confident that they will do their best to remedy the situation.

With that being said, it is very frustrating to hear what some people say to and about referees. Our society has the "kill the umpire" mentality. Yelling, berating, showing displeasure, etc... towards referees has become an acceptable practice. This is the major factor why there are so few referees.  Wrestling is such an emotional sport-which is one of the things that draws me to it. It's also the thing that causes us the most problems.