2014 College Coaching

[Jaroslav Hasek 1,749]

Yep, we are talking about college sports which are a business not foster parents. Do you think some of these ego driven actions would succeed in the business environment. We heard from many that this is about them keeping their jobs and it is a business. Not sure if you are a business man, manger, foreman or leader ( based on your comments I could guess), but if you were a leader of the business what would you hire.

 

if i were a leader of the business i would just off shore the job to some foreign contractor for pennies on the dollar, duh.

[Abovetheline1 1]

Great post and we wonder why we were fighting to save wrestling in the Olympics. Your comments prove you make a great foreman

[Jaroslav Hasek 1,749]

Great post and we wonder why we were fighting to save wrestling in the Olympics. Your comments prove you make a great foreman

 

i know its because of foreman like me that the IOC voted to remove wrestling. thats exactly right.

[Abovetheline1 1]

I am out on this, just go to Big 10 Network and watch

[FreeThinker 1]

We aren't evolving. As the 21st century rolls around we have to have wrestlers mentally prepared and specialize everything. These wrestling coaches might be good at coaching wrestling but they also try to cover strength and conditioning. When most of the time it consists of go until you die. Dumb and outdated. This goes out to our international coaching too. Freestyle is more competitive because of all the different places to train. Greco has 2. All the guys just want the top spot so they can get on the Army team. Now just stay top 3 and you will get that paycheck. Not trying to be Champs anymore and it doesnt help they get babied once they make the team by the coach. We have to keep innovating and not think that someone who was successful before has all the answers. CRAP. Look at the nfl/NBA/college football/basketball why is there so many coaches that weren't successful themselves but great coaches? The sport is so ego filled and instead of all working to become better as a whole,we would rather try to be selfish and better only our camp. Or the favorites. If you dont better your competition then you arent getting better either. I dont know. Just some random thoughts and I could be very wrong. Just my opinion and would love to hear peoples opinions as well.

[BigApple 84]

I've been around college wrestling for much of my life. I've seen those who sat in the corner who didn't seem to show much emotion, and those who were constantly yelling.

I've been extremely pleased with the staff Mark Cody put together at OU. Michael Lightner is someone who've become very impressed with. He has an intensity about him and ability to connect with athletes that is rare. It has become obvious the OU wrestlers he works with do not want to disappoint him. The guys he's coached primarily Jared Patterson, Cody Brewer, and Kendric Maple have all improved under his tutelage.

Jared Frayer is excellent technically. Mark Cody has been exactly as I hoped he'd be, the kids respond to him, but there is a definite line they know not to cross.

In do watch the demeanor of coaching staffs, you can see when the entire staff is in harmony and when it isn't. I think you can see that at PSU, that the coaches and wrestlers are enjoying the experience.

[olddirty 259]

My college coach had a different approach. As a wrestler, he was always on my nerves. He made my life way more difficult than I thought it should have been. He always kind of came off as a bit of a dick. That being said, we won alot and he got me to wrestle my best when it mattered the most.

 

After I had graduated, I became a grad assistant, then the head assistant. He explained to me that as an assistant, it was my job to be the guy that the wrestlers looked to for emotional support; to help them through the times when wrestling and life were tough. It was at no point in time my duty to crack the whip or do any kind of discipline. That was his job, and it was to be done in private, man to man. If it came down to someone to get pissed at, that was his job. He explained that he was the organizer and the guy who was going to set things up to win, and us as assistants were there to carry out that plan.

 

It made so much sense I was surprised I could not see through all of that when I was wrestling. I get dissapointed when I see assistant coaches yelling at guys in practice. Even moreso when the assistant yells at a guy for poor performance. My coach taught me that you dont b1tch at a guy in front of his peers or family for any reason. It is a sure fire way to get him to perform worse. I agree 100% with the thread starter. Good read.

[VQLSWAIN 2]

My college coach had a different approach. As a wrestler, he was always on my nerves. He made my life way more difficult than I thought it should have been. He always kind of came off as a bit of a dick. That being said, we won alot and he got me to wrestle my best when it mattered the most.

 

After I had graduated, I became a grad assistant, then the head assistant. He explained to me that as an assistant, it was my job to be the guy that the wrestlers looked to for emotional support; to help them through the times when wrestling and life were tough. It was at no point in time my duty to crack the whip or do any kind of discipline. That was his job, and it was to be done in private, man to man. If it came down to someone to get pissed at, that was his job. He explained that he was the organizer and the guy who was going to set things up to win, and us as assistants were there to carry out that plan.

 

It made so much sense I was surprised I could not see through all of that when I was wrestling. I get dissapointed when I see assistant coaches yelling at guys in practice. Even moreso when the assistant yells at a guy for poor performance. My coach taught me that you dont b1tch at a guy in front of his peers or family for any reason. It is a sure fire way to get him to perform worse. I agree 100% with the thread starter. Good read.

 

Sounds like he had a pretty good game plan. I wish more high school coaches had a consistent manner like this and a reason behind their actions. It would promote more kids to wrestle. I remember my high school coach after a match I wrestled as a freshman, I believe in the first home dual of the year. I was wrestling a junior, who was a defending 2X conference champion. I tossed him to his back in the first 30 seconds. He eventually worked off his back and wore me down and beat me in the end. I thought I wrestled well, probably should have stuck him, certainly should have won the match. As I came off the mat, he said loud enough for the entire team to hear, "well, you might as well have went out there and laid down for him." The affected me my entire HS career, as he was the head coach all 4 years. I never forgot how that made me feel. For the next 3 years, no matter how I wrestled, I never felt like it was good enough. I should have been able to see past it and wrestle for myself and my team, but it did affect me. I was just a kid.

 

I vowed as a coach, I would NEVER make a kid feel the way I felt in that moment.

[GoNotQuietly 719]

Carl Fronhofer and co. are doing a fantastic job at Columbia U.

[Brutus81 4]

I've been around college wrestling for much of my life. I've seen those who sat in the corner who didn't seem to show much emotion, and those who were constantly yelling.

I've been extremely pleased with the staff Mark Cody put together at OU. Michael Lightner is someone who've become very impressed with. He has an intensity about him and ability to connect with athletes that is rare. It has become obvious the OU wrestlers he works with do not want to disappoint him. The guys he's coached primarily Jared Patterson, Cody Brewer, and Kendric Maple have all improved under his tutelage.

Jared Frayer is excellent technically. Mark Cody has been exactly as I hoped he'd be, the kids respond to him, but there is a definite line they know not to cross.

In do watch the demeanor of coaching staffs, you can see when the entire staff is in harmony and when it isn't. I think you can see that at PSU, that the coaches and wrestlers are enjoying the experience.

 

Mark Cody just happened to be sitting behind me at the Worlds in '02 held in Madison Square Garden.

 

I remember it still for 2 reasons:

 

All the kids -- I specifically recall Mark Perry, Jon Trenge, and Steve Mocco, but there were many others -- were coming up to him and just hanging out with him, talking. He seemed very, very popular.

 

He never talked about wrestling with them. Just values. As in, are you keeping your grades up? Are you staying out of trouble? How's your mom, etc.?

 

He reminded me a lot of a Police Athletic League counselor or a Big Brother.

 

Actually impressed the heck out of me.

[Abovetheline1 1]

Ok, I know I said I would step out of this conversation when all the coaches started calling me a momma boy.

 

So if one would do an analysis of assistant coaches who bank on their success in the past and these guys are still mentioned by all of the old time announces, who has really has developed wrestlers. Not jumping on the coat tails of someone right on the verge, but truly having someone turn the corner.

 

Their seems to be a large void in this and then look at the programs where these assistants came from. Do they really know how to develop a wrestler. You look at assistants in NCAA football and most of them came from programs where they learned.

 

I know I am comparing wrestling t football but we have huge void in assistant coaches who can develop kids to the next level.

 

A lot has to due with pay variance, but we can not ignore the fact. Just because you succeed as a wrestler does not make you a coach, ie bring in Randy Moss, PAC man jones and so on

 

I know, tell the boys to,suck it up

[BigApple 84]

Michael Lightner took Kendric Maple who wasn't ranked as a true bluechipper coming out of high school to 4, and 1, with the possibility of him winning another title. Cody Brewer has also developed nicely. Recruits have told me that his involvement in their recruiting visit was a major factor. As a Sooner I wouldn't want to lose him, but if I was trying to find a head coach in the midwest or southwest he'd be on my short list.

 

Look at which weight classes are doing well on a team. Look at the assistant coach who works with those weights. Mark Cody's impact on upper weight wrestlers at Nebraska, OSU, and American was a major reason he was recommended by several alumni wrestlers and coaches six years ago. It looks like it was a pretty good recommendation.

 

Damian Hahn at Cornell has had some pretty good upper weights. Who coaches Minnesota's upper weights.

[ocho 0]

Eggum and Joe Nord(backup to Berhow and Yohn throughout his career) are the current big guy coaches at the U

 

Ben Berhow was last season, but has since moved onto Iowa.

[lightweight 22]

Ok, I know I said I would step out of this conversation when all the coaches started calling me a momma boy.

 

So if one would do an analysis of assistant coaches who bank on their success in the past and these guys are still mentioned by all of the old time announces, who has really has developed wrestlers. Not jumping on the coat tails of someone right on the verge, but truly having someone turn the corner.

 

Their seems to be a large void in this and then look at the programs where these assistants came from. Do they really know how to develop a wrestler. You look at assistants in NCAA football and most of them came from programs where they learned.

 

I know I am comparing wrestling t football but we have huge void in assistant coaches who can develop kids to the next level.

 

A lot has to due with pay variance, but we can not ignore the fact. Just because you succeed as a wrestler does not make you a coach, ie bring in Randy Moss, PAC man jones and so on

 

I know, tell the boys to,suck it up

 

If you are going to start a thread you can't be so sensitive. You put your opinion out on this board and it is almost a sure thing that some people will disagree. (I'm sure someone will find a way to even disagree with that sentence!)

[OldGrappler 45]

My college coach used to observe that he thought wrestling was 70% recruiting (he was a 3xEIWA, 2X all american, with one championship). I think he was probably about right on that.

 

But, you don't get to pick your wrestlers, you have to recruit them, and get them to pick you.

 

One of the things that I've learned over the years of watching and being around college and hs athletics is that you need to watch out for the "oh poor me" syndrome. That's the feeling of "how can I show what a great coach I am if I have these inferior guys out there screwing up in front of everybody".

 

Without fail, the best coaches persuade/inspire their athletes that there is potential champion inside each of them, and that if they do the right things over time, with enough commitment, they can achieve something important. It's that belief that allows people to do the work that is required to be competitive for the podium at high level events. Part of this is making sure that the kids get the right technical instruction, and part if it is nurturing that belief that the goal is achievable. Its not easy to do, and not everyone is equally good at it.

 

In Bill Parcells NFL HOF induction speech, he thanked the Hastings College AD who gave him his first head coaching job by remembering what the AD said to him: "Bill....our boys are good, hardworking kids who deserve a chance to win. Your job is to make sure they have that chance." The best coaches see that as their job, and they see their wrestlers' shortcomings as their own.

[Abovetheline1 1]

It was a great show in Ok. What assistants stepped up or partied out