Askren just retired - where should he coach?

[russelscout 1,573]

3 minutes ago, Gantry said:

I could also be wrong not being a parent but I'm going to completely disagree and say that these elite wrestling clubs can be very lucrative. 

Only for a handful.

[hammerlockthree 2,084]

They absolutely are not.

[Billyhoyle 2,028]

Of course they are lucrative.  Each individual one isn't making THAT much money, but there's a reason Stieber, Askren, and Taylor are getting into this business.  As long as they make money at all, they can just franchise them out across the country.  Right now AWA has 3 location..What's stopping them from continuing to expand? 

[hammerlockthree 2,084]

Coaches.

[Plasmodium 1,698]

1 hour ago, Billyhoyle said:

Of course they are lucrative.  Each individual one isn't making THAT much money, but there's a reason Stieber, Askren, and Taylor are getting into this business.  As long as they make money at all, they can just franchise them out across the country.  Right now AWA has 3 location..What's stopping them from continuing to expand? 

Do you think parents are inclined to pay if the main draw isnt a regular at practice?

[Sheerstress 117]

I couldn't say exactly how much he made, but Sean Bormet was doing very well financially with Overtime when he left to coach again at Michigan.  The school, however, did not survive that long after he left.

Ben Askren is much more famous than Sean, and is already pretty well known as a coach, but started his academies with Max Askren or John Mesenbrink, two of his closest confidants.  If Ben were to leave his academies for a collegiate position, would  they be able to continue to hold down the fort?  

[tigerfan 178]

Sure Ben is an excellent tactician, but imo his greatest coaching asset is his ability to communicate his mentality.  So many D1 wrestlers are within a hair's breadth of each other technically, the biggest difference in performance is mental.  Askren took Mark Ellis from R12 to Champ in one year, and then left for ASU; Ellis dropped to 6th.  Ellis gives full credit to Askren's mentality for his success.  All D1 coaches know technique, but how many can provide the "winning mentality"? Not many.  

Askren married into a very successful nutrition network marketing business and was making very good money before ever starting his academies, not to mention his MMA winnings.  He's set for life as far as that goes. 

Askren has said he'd only be interested in head coaching at Wisconsin or Missouri. I believe him. I doubt he has any interest in well-established, powerhouse programs.  He may want to give a program their first title, under the right circumstances, but that's probably it.

[JBluegill133 277]

Curveball....Ben is the reason Willie was forced out at FLO.   He will be joining the FRL crew next week.

[Lurker 1,506]

6 hours ago, JBluegill133 said:

Curveball....Ben is the reason Willie was forced out at FLO.   He will be joining the FRL crew next week.

I was actually thinking, wouldn't it be interesting if he joined up with Willie.

[jon 158]

24 minutes ago, Lurker said:

I was actually thinking, wouldn't it be interesting if he joined up with Willie.

Yes I too have thought about that one.

No way Askren goes to Flo. I'd say 'not in a million years' but that's a misleading way to frame it. One reason why Askren-to-Flo ain't never gonna happen is that current Flo personnel can't even hold Askren's jock, and I'm talking about wrestling media not about wrestling itself.

Edited November 19, 2019 by jon

[Witherman 368]

17 minutes ago, jon said:

Yes I too have thought about that one.

No way Askren goes to Flo. I'd say 'not in a million years' but that's a misleading way to frame it. One reason why Askren-to-Flo ain't never gonna happen is that current Flo personnel can't even hold Askren's jock, and I'm talking about wrestling media not about wrestling itself.

I know you have a personal vendetta against FLO, but Askren and FLO have worked together in the past and I'm sure there is some financial investment as well.  So - your entire statement is false.

[jon 158]

1 hour ago, Witherman said:

I know you have a personal vendetta against FLO, but Askren and FLO have worked together in the past and I'm sure there is some financial investment as well.  So - your entire statement is false.

I think you mean to say 'I think' not 'I know'. [I've got no such vendetta.] And, again, I think you mean to say 'I think' not 'I'm sure'. [Do you or don't you have evidence of there being a financial investment?] And, sorry, your final sentence needs work but I see no easy edit to suggest.

@JBluegill133 pitches the idea that Askren 'will be joining the Flo crew next week', which I read to mean 'permanent addition' not one-off collaboration. Almost every thing Askren touches turns to gold. He's got big experience of sports media. And he's got good judgement. I say it's no coincidence that Askren has not yet joined Flo full-time. And I for one think his involvement will not deepen just because of retirement. Again: Askren's no stranger to sports media. If ever he's wanted to join the Flo crew then, simply, he would have joined the Flo crew. Instead of one his numerous podcasts roles etc etc.

Askren's no stranger to retirement either. Nov 2017. And back then Flo roster stronger than it is now.

Askren's no stranger to social media either. He's got more followers than does Flo, both on Instagram and on Twitter.

Maybe @Witherman thinking of some Askren other than Ben? lol.

[I don't mean to bash the post made by @JBluegill133. It's a sensible idea, possible but in my opinion improbable. Good food for thought!]

Edited November 19, 2019 by jon

[JBluegill133 277]

1 hour ago, jon said:

I think you mean to say 'I think' not 'I know'. [I've got no such vendetta.] And, again, I think you mean to say 'I think' not 'I'm sure'. [Do you or don't you have evidence of there being a financial investment?] And, sorry, your final sentence needs work but I see no easy edit to suggest.

@JBluegill133 pitches the idea that Askren 'will be joining the Flo crew next week', which I read to mean 'permanent addition' not one-off collaboration. Almost every thing Askren touches turns to gold. He's got big experience of sports media. And he's got good judgement. I say it's no coincidence that Askren has not yet joined Flo full-time. And I for one think his involvement will not deepen just because of retirement. Again: Askren's no stranger to sports media. If ever he's wanted to join the Flo crew then, simply, he would have joined the Flo crew. Instead of one his numerous podcasts roles etc etc.

Askren's no stranger to retirement either. Nov 2017. And back then Flo roster stronger than it is now.

Askren's no stranger to social media either. He's got more followers than does Flo, both on Instagram and on Twitter.

Maybe @Witherman thinking of some Askren other than Ben? lol.

[I don't mean to bash the post made by @JBluegill133. It's a sensible idea, possible but in my opinion improbable. Good food for thought!]

I meant this more tongue in cheek because of the correlating time between willies departure and ben's retirement and i remember them having a few disagreements in the past.

[jeffrideal 132]

How about Ohio University for Ben?  With his name he could do some damage recruiting. 

 

I think the reality is that Ben will stay in Wisconsin and run his academy.  I would also bet his academy becomes a top MMA gym with MMA fighters seeking out Ben.   

 

[npope 164]

While the Badger RTC isn't anything to write home about just yet, the combination of Bono at the UW helm and Askren in charge of the RTC, there are the makings of a PR and marketing machine that could possibly ignite the RTC. Granted, haven't seen it yet, and I am not sure as to how deeply Askren is actually involved in the RTC (despite him being the "coach"), but if the UW team were to "pop" this year or next with an unexpectedly high finish at the NCAA, the fire might feed itself - Bono has done a remarkable job in recruiting marque names thus far.

[jchapman 1,148]

7 minutes ago, npope said:

While the Badger RTC isn't anything to write home about just yet, the combination of Bono at the UW helm and Askren in charge of the RTC, there are the makings of a PR and marketing machine that could possibly ignite the RTC. Granted, haven't seen it yet, and I am not sure as to how deeply Askren is actually involved in the RTC (despite him being the "coach"), but if the UW team were to "pop" this year or next with an unexpectedly high finish at the NCAA, the fire might feed itself - Bono has done a remarkable job in recruiting marque names thus far.

Amos stated that having Askren at the WRTC was a major draw for him to come to Wisconsin.

[killdozer 41]

Hopefully Ben takes over his alma mater once Brian Smith retires. I think Ben would be great for fundraising and recruiting. Also, I would love to see his press conferences as a coach. 

[TobusRex 2,016]

How long since Askren actually coached anybody? Has he ever been an assistant coach anywhere?

Would be interesting to see if he could teach his unorthodox style to other wrestlers.

[jchapman 1,148]

5 minutes ago, TobusRex said:

How long since Askren actually coached anybody? Has he ever been an assistant coach anywhere?

Would be interesting to see if he could teach his unorthodox style to other wrestlers.

 As previously stated, he was an assistant at Missouri and ASU.