RTCs and Recruiting

[Tofurky 622]

We all know that the traditional route to an RTC is through the collegiate style of wrestling and then take one on come graduation. Does anyone foresee RTCs making a greater push to not only raise funds to recruit student-athletes to compete in Freestyle (Penn State has somewhat opened the door to college graduates), but are they recruiting Fargo and the UWW trials for talent? Are there any high schoolers out there currently who are more likely to explore such the route of skipping past college and focusing their full-time competitive careers on Free?

[Yellow_Medal 214]

Interesting questions. Would you think some sort of scholarship would be available for those athletes so they could attend classes while training like their folkstyle counterparts? If so, I could see more wrestlers considering it. 

[Housebuye 2,438]

I don’t quite see the point unless it’s for sponsorships

 

Snyder demonstrated the path. Wrestle in events coach says he wants you and do very little folkstyle specific work. This would only apply to the best guys, but I’m sure if Fix, Lee, Gable, Hall etc has insisted upon that, they could’ve arranged it with a school.

[Tofurky 622]

I don’t quite see the point unless it’s for sponsorships

 

Snyder demonstrated the path. Wrestle in events coach says he wants you and do very little folkstyle specific work. This would only apply to the best guys, but I’m sure if Fix, Lee, Gable, Hall etc has insisted upon that, they could’ve arranged it with a school.

 

That's the point: most guys are not the guys you mentioned.

 

This model I am suggesting would be one that takes very good high school wrestlers who might need some opportunities to grow, but the student-athlete doesn't necessarily want the physical and mental grind of college wrestling, and makes them contenders on the world level. They can choose to or not to earn their degrees at that point. The better the partners, the deeper the pool, the more fans the sport pulls in...

[steamboat_charlie 727]

The RTC's are designed to have a symbiotic relationship with the college program(s) that they're associated with.  Taking a recent high school grad and paying him a full-time salary when he could otherwise be on scholarship and wrestling for the college team seems like it might get a little dicey.  The OTC route is more established and probably a better option, and there are very few guys out there that even qualify for that in the first place.  

 

I see what you're getting at though.  If Pico had gone to Cael, Ryan, etc. in 2015 and said he wanted to train full-time at the RTC while attending classes, think they turn him down?

[Tofurky 622]

Interesting questions. Would you think some sort of scholarship would be available for those athletes so they could attend classes while training like their folkstyle counterparts? If so, I could see more wrestlers considering it. 

 

Yes, sir. 

[Tofurky 622]

The RTC's are designed to have a symbiotic relationship with the college program(s) that they're associated with.  Taking a recent high school grad and paying him a full-time salary when he could otherwise be on scholarship and wrestling for the college team seems like it might get a little dicey.  The OTC route is more established and probably a better option, and there are very few guys out there that even qualify for that in the first place.  

 

I see what you're getting at though.  If Pico had gone to Cael, Ryan, etc. in 2015 and said he wanted to train full-time at the RTC while attending classes, think they turn him down?

 

I agree with you on the OTC. I think there's definitely a very good reason why you see some of the best Junior wrestlers in the country staying for one year (or less) and then heading to college. That may be a sign to other wrestlers, not to mention that these guys talk to one another at tournaments, camps, clinics, etc.

 

With that, not everyone wants to live in Colorado Springs. PA and Ohio kids are well-regarded for wanting to stay home. Might Carl make such a bold move in the not-too-distant future?

 

Pico, Cejudo and even Snyder. I think the Snyder thing was very much a case of "you do right be me, I'll do right by you," with Tom Ryan. I do have to imagine that if Ryan told Kyle that they'd raise the money for him via the RTC to continue his education at no cost, while focusing on Freestyle 100% of the time, Snyder would have said, "where do I sign?" You could probably go back as far as Dave Schultz, John Smith, Cary Kolat and many others to see the same thing taking place, had it been available, and even further than that.

It's pretty rare to find a top end guy who chooses the early finality of American Folk and the grind associated with it as opposed to that Freestyle. If the model was a bit more open, I have to believe we very well might see more fellas joining those ranks... not to mention it could bring in more international students.

[steamboat_charlie 727]

With that, not everyone wants to live in Colorado Springs. PA and Ohio kids are well-regarded for wanting to stay home. Might Carl make such a bold move in the not-too-distant future?

 

 

While it's an interesting idea, I just don't see it happening.  Cael's job, first and foremost, is as head coach of Penn State, not the NLWC.  The same goes for Ryan, Brands, etc.  

 

How much value do they add to their programs by bringing in a high school grad to pursue an alternative to NCAA athletics?  If it were me and it was someone truly exceptional (i.e. Snyder, Cejudo), I would pitch hard for the Snyder path (come in and wrestle right out of the gate, let's see where you are after a year and evaluate whether wrestling a full folkstyle schedule still makes sense).  

Edited June 12, 2018 by steamboat_charlie

[smcfee 76]

Greco does it with Northern Michigan-not a college team, just an RTC-type arrangement.