Anthony Snyder

14 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

The teams on those bubble spots are the "most likely" to make the final spot, however the new way adds in the opportunity for teams that see significant improvements and surprises early in the season to be considered.

That was my question. I knew it was open to everyone, but those teams would be near the top of the pecking order. Thanks!

Aren't the teams listed in the Vote In from last April the teams that the committee will be voting on for the final spots in 1A and 2A? @malignedcan you help me out here?

The suspense!!!!

Bremen goes to East Chicago whereas Northwood who is 10 minutes down the road goes to Fort Wayne. Warsaw goes to East Chicago as well. In order for them to get to Penn for the Regional they have to pass Northwood and Jimtown, who both go to Fort Wayne. It makes no sense. Both Bremen and Warsaw should be going through the Fort Wayne Semi-State.

5:30pm tomorrow! Be there!!

Today at 5:30pm! Enter door 16

Tomorrow at 5:30pm! Enter Door 16

Today @ 5:30pm! Enter Door 16 and get ready to scrap.

Back to the grind on Tuesday, April 13th! Enter Door 16 and the Lions Den is to your left.

Today at 5:30pm!! Enter Door 16

Tomorrow at 5:30pm, enter Door 16!

No HYWAY State this year.

Tomorrow at 5:30pm! Enter Door 16 and wear a mask!

It's GO TIME!

Next Tuesday, March 23rd @ 5:30pm!

Enter Door 16 and wear a mask until practice.

If symptomatic, don't come.

Already have coaches bringing in groups of kids!

Gregg was an outstanding man. Very tough day for this community. He was one of my all time favorite coaches.

Starting March 23rd

Tuesdays 5:30-7pm!

Enter Door 16 at Bremen High School.

Wear a mask until practice starts.

Please stay home if symptomatic.

Thank you for the opportunity to be in the Vote!

On 2/25/2021 at 2:35 PM, maligned said:

Vote-in candidates at 1A now updated to include Bremen according to our special covid-year provisions. They had 13 starters out due to quarantine. We found they had good evidence that their score would have most likely been between 154 and 166 (other vote-in candidates are at 153 to 169.5). They return 13 starters--all .500 records or better--and their lone senior starter had multiple wins over semi-state and state qualifiers.

 

Several other teams had me help them figure out the effects of covid on their score as well. No others were very close to justifying inclusion in the vote.

D, thank you for the kind words! Can't wait to get a group together to come down to the burg.

On 2/25/2021 at 9:05 PM, Darrick Snyder said:

Maligned,

 

Great job dealing with a chaotic situation.  So often I hear “well it sucks but it is what it is and we can’t do anything about it”.  This situation sucks and I’m so happy for the way it’s being handled.  These programs shouldn’t be punished for a chance at dual state next year because COVID ended their seasons early this year.   
 

To be transparent, my little bro is the Head Coach at Bremen.  I’ve seen what he’s doing there.  13 returning starters.  Multiple sport athletes, but he still finds ways to get them on the mat in the off-season.  Anytime we host a camp or clinic Bremen is there with a group.  That’s a long freaking drive.  See him and his staff at everything.  It’s been fun watching him build that program.  I think they will make some noise next year and are well deserving of a spot at team state.  

22 hours ago, bomber_bob said:

Correct me if I'm wrong Matt, but what I think he's suggesting, and I agree, is that the numbers are not decreasing in New Jersey, who has a single-class system, and a comparable number of schools to IN. I think you have now rephrased what we are saying to "numbers are not growing" in these two states. The fact that NJ's numbers are holding steady could show that the sport is in a healthy spot, right now. 

 

But if our numbers are decreasing, and Jersey is holding steady, and both states have a comparable system, what is causing our numbers to decrease? Would classing it simply, increase numbers? 

 

I think @Antknee wrote something up last week that really resonated with me. We are also a 1A program that has seen a lot of growth in our numbers in the last 4-5 years. Team State has been HUGE for our program, but we have also put an emphasis on offseason wrestling, wrestling at out-of-season tournaments such as Frosh/Soph, ISWA, and I think will be making our first trip out to VA Beach with a few kids in April this spring. Our kids have bought-in to wrestling in the offseason. We do not have an academy in or near Rensselaer, we just open up our room for our kids and work. The closest Academies are RWA and Elite Academy (50-60 minutes), Midwest RTC (1.25 hours) and Contenders (1.5 hours). None of them are convenient, nor feasible options, yet we have seen growth in our small-school program. 

 

 

It is cool to see programs like yours work toward being successful. Proof is in the pudding. Put the work in to build it, the athletes will come. My program has come a long way from nothing and we fully expect to be a contender because of the work we are putting in to make our program fun, interesting, and competitive by utilizing the offseason with as much mat time as possible. 

I started am offseason tournament when I was at Jimtown. We brought in teams like Brownsburg and others. I carried it over to Bremen, inviting teams like Brownsburg, Wawasee, FW Carroll, Franklin Central. We attend offseason tournaments, RWOs in our own room, other RTCs/RWOs. Midwest RTC recently opened up which is about 45 min from us. Midwest Xtreme opened not too long ago in the Mishawaka/South Bend area. There are opportunities out there, you just have to seize them. Again, it is not easy by any means. It takes passion, dedication, etc. Bremen is on the right path with parent and wrestler buy in. 

1 hour ago, base said:

Great real-life perspective here, thank you.

 

I do have a couple questions - because small schools have a limited number of potential wrestlers (assuming every school has some that are just never going to wrestle).... does the increase in numbers and dedication to wrestling come with an offset to any of the other programs at the school. Does Bremen have other programs that are flourishing or has wrestling become the primary culture among the male athletes in the school?

 

For example, maybe the new wrestlers had been doing offseason weights and conditioning for a successful football program, or maybe they were doing hitting/pitching drills for the baseball program that they no longer do.

 

I think we tend to look at wrestling in a vacuum - without relation to other programs in these schools.  I tend to believe that there is only so many willing bodies and time to go around and that is why I say embrace the qualities of a small school instead of hyperfocusing on just wrestling.  I'd love to know what you have seen at Bremen

Bremen is predominately Football, Basketball, and Soft Ball. Before I came to Bremen they had a decent wrestling program with not much emphasis on a wrestling off-season. When the former coach stepped down, things crumbled to literally nothing. There are kids that are 3 sport athletes. There are kids that are more focused on one sport than the other. My main focus when I took over was to build a youth program, get the word out that wrestling is available. I was at every home football game, youth football, etc handing out flyers and talking to kids. Myself and my staff do those type of things to this day. I've coached multiple 3 sport athletes. One in particular was an All -State Football player, 2x State Medalist in Wrestling, and a State Qualifier in Track. He dedicated time.

Obviously, Pre-Covid, we worked around the other sports during the off-season to dedicate time to wrestling. We preach off-season wrestling all season. We encourage our wrestlers to make time for wrestling. Clearly, not all are going to at once. It is a culture change. That is the biggest thing for me. We had to establish a culture. Something we can rely on as a tool for success. It wasn't done overnight. It has taken the better part of 4 years to do and we are still in the process of getting to where we want to be. This year was a huge step in the right direction. 

2 hours ago, Galagore said:

 

Thank you, coach I very much appreciate the insight. And believe me when I say my soul hurt when I found out you all had to sit out the state series. You guys looked poised for a nice run from what we could tell at our dual.

 

So do you feel that your situations could be reasonable duplicated, regardless of school size? Or do you feel there is/was something specific about the small schools you have been involved with that has led to that possibility?

I appreciate your sentiment. It absolutely sucked.

There is something clear as day to me.... Coaches dedication and determination to make their program legit. Wrestling is 1v1 but the team aspect is what creates something special. I know of several coaches around the state that can say they've never seen a Bremen coach at ISWA State, HYWAY State, GRR, etc until we took over. You show time and effort towards the athlete and they'll want to be great for you and the program. I truly believe my staff and I are creating something pretty cool at Bremen and it is because we are passionate about this sport and helping young men and women become successful on and off the mat.

53 minutes ago, Galagore said:

Has anyone been part of a program at a big school in a big town and a program at a small school in a small town and still think that single class is the best system? That's the next logic I would like to unpack...

Yes, I graduated from a "Big" school (Mishawaka) where wrestling was/is a top sport for that community. We won Team State back when we had an IHSAA Team State, multiple times.

I coached there for 2 years and then moved on to a "smaller" school (Jimtown). At Jimtown I had no inclination that anything was different. The same mindset and "Team" aspect was preached everyday. Individual successes came along with the success of the team. So, with the development of the classed team state tournament, it helped gain traction with younger kids at the middle school and elementary level. We went on to upset a forceful Yorktown team in the semi finals to earn a chance at the 2A team state title. Jimtown has been at the IHSWCA just about every year except for maybe 1-2 times, since its inception. Individually we had multiple kids that were contenders for State Titles, Placements.

Now, I am the Head Coach at Bremen, a 1A school. This program was in ruins. 3 total kids when my staff and I took over. We now have over 40 club kids, 30+ middle schoolers, and this past season a full varsity lineup that could've done great things in the state series and qualified for a team state berth, had it not been for Quarantine issues. We preach every day about our goals for the program. With Bremen being a smaller school, it is not easy to create a wrestling atmosphere from nothing, but we are and man is it worth it to see the payoff. 

Classed Individual State is a no for me. Realignment of Sectional to Regional to Semi-State, I'm down for.

6 minutes ago, nkraus said:

So, the points are not updated yet?

Correct.

Certainly is unfortunate to not have any Bremen Lions represented... 

Not a bad day with some solid wrestling! 

Very well deserved! Congrats my friend!!

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