Coach McCormick

While visiting the Johnson County area this past week-end, I was glancing through a local newspaper (Daily Journal) when something familiar caught my eye in the sports section. Reporter, Rick Morwick, had done a feature article on Pro Industries of Franklin, IN! It was an interesting article that shared the companies' mission and gave some history about Pro Industries. Congrats on the publicity Chris, and I enjoyed reading about your successes. It's good to see "Business is Strong" (title of article)! www.dailyjournal.net/main.asp?SectionID=240&subsectionID=849&articleID=96471

I apologize for taking so long to make a post regarding this year's Prime Time camp. Coach Dulaney and I are on the road right now in Georgia with the YHS wrestling team on our way to the Disney Duals. I would like to thank the Lowell parents for their kind words, and your kids did indeed do an outstanding job at camp! Overall, this year's camp could arguably be described as our best camp in its 10 year history. It was a success in my opinion due to the chemistry of kids that were at camp this year. On numerous occasions I observed "older" campers helping "younger" campers with tasks such as moving through the lunch line, getting their gear on for the morning run, and so on. This year's group of kids were very genuine, hard working and kind in nature. There were a number of young men who were indeed homesick at some point in the camp, but they pushed through it gracefully as I had challenged them to do at our firt night's meeting. Also at this meeting, I asked the campers to always be honest and turn in any lost items during camp -- including money. On three occasions, three different campers turned in money they had found on the floor in the lockerroom. This is another example of what a special group of kids we had at camp this year. As I mentioned at the close of camp to the parents, I am usually ready for a break after the Prime Time camp, but we had so few issues this year and the wrestlers were so incredible that I was actually disappointed when camp ended! This group of 114 wrestlers was very special and I know some of these young men will be standing atop the award podium at Conseco someday, because that's just the type of kids they are. Kids don't turn out good by accident. In closing I want to thank the parents for allowing us to be part of your children's lives for a few days. Phenomenal kids usually have phenomenal parents. I want to thank you parents for a job well done in raising your children. Words that come to mind in describing this year's campers are kind, caring, responsible, persistent, interesting, motivated and honest to name a few. More than any wrestling technique, these are the qualities and characteristics that I believe we strive to instill in our children. I am pleased that my own son was able to hang out and get to know these type of kids at camp this year. Again, thank you for a great camp, and I hope all of the campers were able to catch up on their sleep after returning home. They definitely earned the right to sleep in on Monday morning! Coach McCormick

Final practice begins at 2:30pm and will last about an hour and a half. Parents are encouraged to come and watch their sons practice during this session. Wrestlers will drill a variety of the techniques shown at camp. Practice will end with a brief live wrestling session. Parents should pick up their kids by 4:30pm. Coach McCormick

Prime Time roster surpasses the 100 mark. Anyone still interested in attending should contact Coach McCormick to make arrangements for sending application. Do not mail application past Saturday, June 6, as I may not get it before camp begins. After June 6, I will operate via e-mail to sign campers up. Please call me at 765-282-9136. Thank you, Coach McCormick

We are approaching the 90 camper mark for this camp. There are still spots available if you would like to attend. Coach McCormick 765-282-9136

UPDATED - 6-8-09 - 8:13pm We now have 112 wrestlers signed up for camp. There are still spots available for anyone still wanting to sign up. ******If you would still like for your son to participate in this camp, please do not mail in his application after Saturday, June 6. Please call me at the number below to make arrangements for the paperwork. ****** For more information on the camp and an application, you can go to www.primetimewrestlingcamp.com. For specific questions about the camp, please call Coach McCormick at 765-282-9136. * campers received since 5/26 indicated with (*) Wrestlers who are signed up so far: Nathan Adams Indianapolis 8th 152 Tyler Antal Greenwood 7th 70 Brandon Arena Lowell 7th 82 * Logan Barnard Middletown 9th 119 Andrew Bassett Carmel 8th 100 Michael Bates South Bend 8th 152 DeShawn Bayless Peru 6th 75 Dalton Baysinger Frankton 9th 130 * James Beck Mishawaka 8th 70 * Cody Bellis Portland 9th 165 Corey Bellis Portland 9th 112 Bailey Blackburn Stilesville 8th 112 Tyler Brand New Castle 9th 140 Joshua Brandt Logansport 8th 85 Jason Bravard Elwood 5th 100 Brad Broyles New Castle 8th 80 * Bodhi Bry Richmond 7th 160 Eric Campbell Centerville 9th 125 Chandler Carroll Yorktown 8th 92 Ben Cauffman Mishawaka 7th 70 Jose Champagne Griffith 7th 95 * Austin Clark Gaston 7th 93 Levi Cooley New Castle 8th 125 * Thomas Copeland Greenwood 6th 98 Nick Cress Peru 8th 140 Zane Crosby Cloverdale 7th 95 Colton Cummings Lowell 6th 65 * Chase Deal Mishawaka 7th 105 Johnathan Eickleberry Greenwood 7th 93 * Samuel Fair Indianapolis 4th 50 * Sam Ferdig South Bend 9th 98 Jesse Finnerty Dunkirk 8th 110 Casey Fox Cartersburg 8th 125 Kyle Garringer Ridgeville 9th 175 Connor Gaskill Pendleton 6th 80 Jacob Geiger Churubusco 7th 135 * Adrian Graham Middletown 9th 125 Noah Greer Peru 7th 100 Taylor Grim Cromwell 7th 90 Alexander Guerrero Portage 7th ?? Austin Hahn Greenwood 7th 105 Cody Handley Williamsburg 9th 115 Andrew Hayes Carmel 7th 70 CJ Hawkey Noblesville 6th 88 Drew Hildebrandt Granger 6th 60 Michael Holmes New Castle ?? ?? * Drew Hughes Lowell 7th 75 Kenny Hughes Lowell 8th 110 Elliott Jimenez Albion 7th 145 Brad Johns Elwood 9th 155 Nathan Kell Morristown 8th 120 * Kegan Kern Peru 8th 95 Kenneth King Columbus 8th 209 Cody Klettheimer Yorktown 3rd 75 Joe Lambert Greenwood 7th 105 Brad Laughlin Yorktown 5th 72 Cole Leininger Atlanta 8th 130 Johnny Loos Brookville 6th 70 Lukas Long Howe 8th 70 * Robert Long, Jr. Howe 8th 169 * Jacob Lumpkin Sulphur Springs 9th 180 * Garrett Marsh New Castle 6th 85 Jacob Marshall McCordsville 7th 80 Austin Mayhood Indianapolis 9th 104 Cael McCormick Yorktown 6th 75 Logan McCormick Elwood 5th 60 Barry McGinley Indianapolis 9th 91 Brandan McGrath Stroh 8th 117 * Levi McKee Macy 9th 125 Paul Mikesell Macy 9th 112 William Mikesell Macy 7th 78 Alan Mock Peru 9th 95 Ryan Morrow Yorktown 7th 80 Roy Myrick Frankton 7th 140 Cory O'Neal Lexington 9th 90 Neill Norris Peru ?? ?? * Harley Parke Anderson 3rd 63 Brandon Poore Portland 9th 120 Hunter Randolph Muncie 9th 97 Peyton Reese Franklin 8th 85 Trevor Reese Franklin 5th 75 Romeo Riley Kalamazoo, MI 7th 75 Andrew Roadruck Lowell 9th 112 * Mitch Roadruck Lowell 9th 115 * Levi Rose New Castle 8th 125 * Ryan Schrock Logansport 7th 98 Aaron Sikorski Markleville 6th 70 * Braxton Simpson Peru 9th 103 Jake Sinkovics Mishawaka 8th 72 Luke Sinkovics Mishawaka 6th 82 Austin Slates Osceola 6th 67 Ethan Smiley Beech Grove 4th 75 Evan Smiley Beech Grove 7th 125 Damon Smith Middletown 9th 165 Nathan Smith Union City 8th 187 Nolan Snyder New Castle 9th 110 Garrett Sparks Peru 8th 95 * Cody Steele Connersville 8th 98 Cody Stewart Muncie 7th 70 Joshua Stewart Ft. Wayne 6th 95 Alec Taylor Muncie 9th 150 Keaton Taylor Ligonier 7th 105 Ben Thompson New Castle 9th 135 Michael Tobolski South Bend 9th 126 * Jake Tucker Lowell 7th 79 Burk Van Horn Franklin 5th 95 Zach Vetor Middletown 9th 125 James Wales Yorktown 6th 105 John Wales Yorktown 9th 152 Kyle Webster Shirley 9th 127 Brandon Wormcastle Churubusco 9th 135 * Brian Yahne Ft. Wayne 8th 161

The Yorktown WC will be hosting a Greco tournament this Friday evening at Yorktown High School (Yorktown, IN). The freestyle tournament will be held on Saturday. This Greco event will be a nice tune-up for the upcoming Greco State Tournament. Any high school age wrestlers interested in officiating on Friday and/or Saturday are certainly welcome to attend these events. Competing athletes who officiate will have their tournament entry fee refunded to them. For further tournament information including registration times, awards, etc., please go to www.iswa.com. Thank you, Coach McCormick

Thank you wcs145 for these statistics - very impressive! As others have already mentioned on this thread, statistics and data are handy to look at in an effort to analyze general trends to strive for improvement, but there are always exceptions to the rule. I sympethize with TripleB in the fact that 10-15 years ago there were a few years that I quite honestly forgot to join our coaches' association; time slipped by with a busy schedule and then the next wrestling season was on the horizon. There are certainly many hard working coaches in our state that for one reason or another do not join our association. With that being said I would agree that the statistics presented at the top of this thread indicate a general trend that successful programs tend to have coaches who are detail oriented (i.e. - give attention to wrestling tasks of all varieties - on and off the mat). I would be very curious to see data on numbers of "lay" coaches vs "teaching" coaches in our state who are or aren't members. I would also like to see data with regard to age groupings of head coaches and assistant coaches across our state. This type of data could be helpful in making sure "lay" coaches and "younger" coaches across our state are receiving support (mentoring) from our state coaches' association. As a lay coach myself for 18 years, I had to work extra hard to be sure I stayed abreast of paperwork, procedures and other small details that go along with being a coach. As mentioned in TripleB's thread, for whatever reason he did not feel compelled (or see the worth) in belonging to the IHSWCA during certain years. I appreciate feedback of this nature on various topics. As a member of the IHSWCA myself, I hope we can begin to analyze data and feedback such as this in an attempt to make sure that coaches of all types feel it is worth joining their state coaches' association, so they may grow themselves as a coach for their wrestling program. I hope our association continues to improve, so more coaches see a benefit to joining which in the end will benefit everyone across the board. Trent McCormick

I do believe you can compare wrestling to football in the aspect of "team". The individual tournament allows for a young man from a small school to overcome the odds by seeking out additional resources towards being successful. There are certainly shining examples of this in our history books. But when you talk about first, filling 14 weight classes, and then secondly, filling them competitively year-in and year-out, well that makes the team concept a different story. Although they don't have weight classes in football, there are general designations on the field (i.e.- larger guys play the line, quicker guys handle the ball, etc.) It isn't just about the players on the field. It goes much deeper than this when a team is striving to be top in the state or even their region. 1. The wrestling season is long and grueling. You need more than just 14 solid wrestlers to be highly competitive. Taking into consideration injuries, illness and the need for good drill partners to make your starters better, it is not just about filling 14 slots in the team competition. A small school may have one 135 pounder whereas a large school may have 3 135 pounders. When the small school's 135 pounder goes down, they don't have the luxury of sticking in one of their 2 extra back-ups in the team competition. 2. Inherently, larger schools typically have more resources based on tax bases, community dynamics and sheer numbers. It really does many times come down to "genetics" with regard to the team component. A school with 2600 students (1300 boys) has a marked advantage in competitively filling their weight classes, than a school with 600 students (300 boys). 3. Specialization ------- many times your smaller schools rely on all of their boys to play multiple sports (this is a good thing) which does not allow these young men to specialize in one sport like their counterpart in a larger school. Although this is not completely true across the board, I do believe this is a factor when addressing the issue of building a strong team in wrestling. 4. Scheduling -- Most would agree that to be competitive as a team, you need to have a competitive schedule in the regular season. There are certainly small school wrestling teams that are competitive, but it is unrealistic to expect them to maintain a state caliber season schedule year-in and year-out. Because after that one competitive team moves through, your "typical" team is now left to face a meat grinder of a schedule which is not a good thing for the health of your athletes or your program. These are just a few factors that should be considered when discussing true team competitions. Coach McCormick

The authors on this thread have made some interesting points. I would like to add my viewpoint to several of these. College Wrestling/College AD's - I agree with GrecoCoach that college's are going to do what they want to do in the end. It really comes down to publicity and revenue. Our society has been lured into a love affair with football and basketball with clever marketing and publicity (i.e.-bowl games and the NCAA tournament). Although I have to give the powers-to-be credit for pulling this off, I don't agree with the amounts of money (millions of dollars) that are "spent and made" off of the efforts of amateur athletes in college. The proverbial "carrot" that is being dangled in front of society on TV is so powerful that football, and especially basketball, have become the all important focus of our society. Our local newspaper will hardly cover wrestling at all anymore. It's all basketball in the winter! How Hard Are IN Coaches Working? - I believe wrestling coaches in IN, in general, are a hard working group of individuals. I was a lay coach myself for 18 years, so I don't mean any disrespect with my comments. Many times, if your coach is a lay coach, there is some disconnect that occurs between your program, the school and the community. Many times lay coaches are not properly informed by their AD's, and it can be extremely difficult for lay coaches to grow their program if they aren't in the school everyday fighting the good fight. I commend schools who attempt to fill vacated wrestling coaching positions with teaching candidates, before hiring lay coach candidates. The problem is that this is all too often not happening. As mentioned earlier, I was a lay coach for nearly 2 decades. Getting kids out for the team was a constant struggle as I was not in the halls everyday interacting with all of the students in the school. This is my first year as a teacher at YHS and my numbers were higher this year than ever before! Class Wrestling - A three tiered team class wrestling system would add a much needed boost to Indiana wrestling. Simply look at the data. No small school (enrollment under 500) has even come close to winning a state title in our state. We have stripped all hope from most of our wrestling programs in this state. We don't expect a 1A football team to compete against a 5A football team in our state's playoff system. Most people would agree that this would be unreasonable to ask of those 1A and 2A schools, yet we turn right around and ask these same 1A and 2A schools to compete against those same 5A schools in wrestling. The differing levels of school resources coupled with the vast differences in community dynamics are what makes it impossible for small and even mid-sized schools to win wrestling team state titles in Indiana. It simply comes down to offering an equitable, fair opportunity for schools of all sizes. It works beautifully in other sports, and it seems to work well in the powerfuf wrestling states that surround us. Coach McCormick

Buscowrestling, I would first make every attempt to secure a "classed" team tournament and leave the individual tournament as it stands. I do believe that our single class individual tournament is something very special. To address your question of "all or nothing" if I were put in a corner, I am going to plead the 5th right now. I need to learn more about the negotiation process between the IHSWCA and the IHSAA. I also need to familiarize myself with how our members are surveyed and what is done with this information. To be blunt I need to learn more about the politics and bureaucracy that goes on behind closed doors before I would feel comfortable in speculating about changes to the system. I'm sure there would be hurdles to clear to even get a classed team tournament up and running, but for the life of me, I don't know why it cannot be accomplished (i.e. - don't know why the IHSAA resists this concept). Sure, it would take extra work by schools across the state to host additional competition sites, but I know it can be done. It is already done in many other sports, and it gets accomplished in many other states in the sport of wrestling. I don't like to dance around a question, but I hope I have given you some indication of my position and intentions. I would also reiterate that I think we need to refocus our own association's objectives and strengthen our membership. By accomplishing these items, I believe we may have a stronger voice in our proposals to the IHSAA. Coach McCormick

I have a lot of respect for the people on both sides of these issues. I am very leary of sticking my nose in other people's disagreements without knowing the whole story. I do know that Coach Minch, and other IHSWCA officers, have always been open with regard to new coaches who want to get involved. I have never been made to feel unwelcome at a meeting or an event. With that being said though, I have not been asked to be an official regional rep. in recent years. I believe I was an official rep. about 12 years ago, but I have not been asked, nor have I volunteered, to be a regional rep. in recent years. A recent post said that I, "receive information regarding IHSWCA business." This is true. I receive meeting dates and other general information, but I have not been responsible for any of the reg. rep. responsibilities and duties that were listed in a prior post. These are the types of issues that I would like to address if I am fortunate to be elected to the VP position. I believe that there are good people running our coaches' association, but I also believe that some loose ends need to be dealt with and important topics/issues need to be addressed with a serious tone. I am going to be ticky tacky here, but it is just the way I am made up. I cannot stand to hold important business meetings in restaurants. The last IHSWCA meeting I attended was held at a popular restaurant, directly in front of 3 huge televisions with everyone in the restaurant staring over our shoulders. I couldn't hear what was said half the time because of the noisy atmosphere, the waitress disrupting the dialogue at hand and trying to listen to the 15 or so people in our party who were scattered across 2 long tables. We only have a few of these meetings a year, and I believe they should be heald in an atmosphere conducive to "getting down to business." Not to go on too much in this post, but I believe our coaches' association needs to look at meeting more than just a few times a year. If we are going to expect results with the IHSAA, then we are going to have to pour some extra time into building our membership. This is going to take more time and effort than what is currently taking place from my current observations. I am not saying everyone from across the state needs to drive to Indy once a month, but I believe we could revisit our by-laws and establish more frequent meetings and create some working committees. Whether by traditional meetings, via technology or convening at major wrestling events, I believe we could be creative in achieving better and more efficient man power in accomplishing our goals. This is where the voting membership will have to evaluate me with respect to the association's objectives. If the association wants to remain small and maintain the status quo, then I am probably not the man for the job. I am willing to work with anyone, and I understand how democracy plays itself out. I can agree to disagree with fellow officers and members but do know that if elected, I will work tirelessly for what I believe in, what is best for kids and for what the people who voted for me want to see accomplished. Know too, that whether I am satisfied or unsatisfied with the outcome of a survey or vote on an issue, I will be supportive of our organization and officers in the public eye. I have seen too many times where internal problems spill over into the public forum, and this is never good for the organization or the members it represents. Whether it is I, or one of the other two candidates, who is elected, I hope we can all agree to tackle our state's wrestling issues head on and with integrity. Coach McCormick

I would like to thank the Indiana wrestlers for their participation in today's IN/IL event. After a grueling four month season, these wrestlers travelled to Crawfordsville in the name of Indiana wrestling! All 28 Indiana wrestlers showed up for Saturday's practice from 3-5pm. All 28 Indiana wrestlers showed up today to compete, and they did an awesome job! Thank you to those parents, volunteers, coaches and wrestling fans for making the trip to Wabash College today in support of our Indiana wrestlers. We were treated to some great wrestling today whether in victory or defeat. Cashe's convincing win, Sandefur's cement mixer to come from behind, McGinley's last second heroics, Graber's all important win by decision, Eppert and Young's gutsy performances, Mosier's quick fall --- these were just a few of the fine performances our wrestlers gave today. In the end it was about pride and fellowship. These men didn't have to travel to C-ville this week-end other than for the sheer fact of, "loving to compete in the sport of wrestling!" Hopefully, some new friends were made, some college coaches shook some hands and some final memories were made. I again want to thank Wabash College for allowing us to hold this event on their campus. I will post detailed scores in the next couple of days. Thank you, Coach McCormick

As of yesterday evening, I was still waiting for Illinois' final roster. Illinois' coordinator's last e-mail to me said, "Trent - we are still trying to finalize our roster -- I will get back with you shortly." I have the event program complete minus the final Illinois roster. Most all of their wrestlers have faxed their bio sheets to me. Their sheets were not marked 1st team or 2nd team, so until I hear from their coordinator, I don't know what their line-up is. I hope to hear from him this morning, and I will quickly plug their competitors into the program and post it. Thank you, Coach McCormick

Bump

1. Our practice on Saturday, March 14 will begin promptly at 3:00pm in Wabash College's wrestling room. (Same facility as Chadwick Court) Wrestlers should come ready to get a good work out in. We will weigh in after practice (7 lb. allowance), and shower facilities will be available also. 2. Our line-ups are listed on a separate thread on this forum. I believe I have received a bio sheet from all of our competitors. I have every reason to believe that all 28 of our seniors will report to practice ready to participate in this event. If for some reason an emergency arises that will prevent your participation, you should call Coach McCormick ASAP (765-282-9136), so that an alternate can be located to fill the position. If you are planning to wrestle on Sunday, but are unable to make the Saturday practice, please e-mail or call Coach McCormick. This way we will know that you will be coming on Sunday, and we don't need to find an alternate. (tmccormick@yorktown.k12.in.us) 3. At this time Illinois' 3 alternates do not match our 3 alternates' weight classes, so there will be no exhibition matches at this event. Alternate wrestlers who are listed on our roster do not have to report to Crawfordsville this week-end. If alternates would like to simply work-out with the team or simply come to watch, they are more than welcome to, but again, there are no plans to wrestle exhibition matches this Sunday. 4. Competitors are reminded to bring your high school warm-up gear and your high school singlet to compete in. 5. There will be a brunch for wrestlers, officials and volunteers at 10:00am on Sunday, March 15 in a room near Chadwick Court. We have ordered Subway sandwiches for this event. This is a chance for the Indiana wrestlers, Illinois wrestlers, mat officials and table help to meet one another at this event. 6. A reminder to coaches of participants --- you are welcome and encouraged to coach your wrestler during his match on Sunday. 7. Wrestlers are reminded to bring a team t-shirt or shorts from your school to trade with your Illinois counterpart. 8. If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact me at the phone number or e-mail address listed above. Thank you, Coach McCormick

Start time for this event is 1:00pm at Chadwick Court on Wabash College's campus. Illinois' wrestlers bio sheets are trickling in at this point. I will have a better idea of their line-up by the end of the work week. I can only work with what is sent to me. As explained to me, admission for the event will be around $3. Thank you, Coach McCormick

I have 6 volunteers lined up to work the score tables at the IN/IL event. Thank you to Chuck Barnett for taking charge in getting this accomplished. We are set for table workers at this point. Thank you, Trent McCormick

Those wrestlers listed in parentheses as alternates should wait to hear from me in the next few days. I am waiting to hear back from the Illinois coordinator with regard to their extra wrestlers they will be bringing. I will notify you one way or another if you do or do not have a match at the event. Thank you, Coach McCormick

Young and Sandefer contacted tonight and are a go for duals. Harper will be unavailable, so Egolf is in at 130.

I have either not heard from or haven't heard back from the wrestlers (and their coaches) listed below. Given the fact that Team State just occurred this past week-end, I want to give one last chance to those wrestlers who qualified to participate in the IN/IL All-Star Classic to come forward. If I do not hear from these wrestlers by midnight (tonight-March 2) by phone, fax or e-mail, I will begin filling these spots with the wrestlers also listed below. Have not heard from: 130 Harper (Mishawaka) 135 Richey (Brown County) 140 Sandefer (Mishawaka) 145 Young (Culver Academies) 152 Estrada (Munster) 215 Baker (Bellmont) Wrestlers who are next in line are: 130 Egolf (Columbia City) 135 Mascaro (Carmel) 140 Armand (Jennings Co.) 145 Jones (Merrillville) 152 Sullivan (Cathedral) 160 Myers (Crown Point) 215 Allen (Fort Wayne Northside) * I have heard from Egolf, Mascaro, Armand and Jones * Sullivan, Myers and Allen please contact me if you are interested in participating. I can e-mail you all of the paperwork Thank you, Coach McCormick tmccormick@yorktown.k12.in.us

Is this only high school age group that attends? Any younger wrestlers?

The deadline to secure a position is today, Friday, Feb. 27. Although we want our top contenders in the line-up against Illinois, I will not drag my feet in lining up our roster as the meet will take place in 16 days. I will begin Monday calling other seniors who placed at state to fill our team. To secure your position, you need to fax in your senior's information page that was included in your envelope. Thank you, Coach McCormick

The deadline to secure a position is today, Friday, Feb. 27. Although we want our top contenders in the line-up against Illinois, I will not drag my feet in lining up our roster as the meet will take place in 16 days. I will begin Monday calling other seniors who placed at state to fill our team. To secure your position, you need to fax in your senior's information page that was included in your envelope. Thank you, Coach McCormick

Competitors will wear their home high school singlet.