Takedown Report

National Wrestling News – August # 3

TDR Editor’s Notes ; A look ahead with a new wrestling program in Division II to start in 2021. Statement of hopes and plans for wrestling next season by the NWCA, the EIWA, USA Wrestling and others. Congratulations to Bruce Baumgardner for his re-election as President of USA Wrestling. The first story is about Greg Hatcher and his efforts to grow and promote wrestling the state of Arkansas. It has been fantastic to see the growth of opportunities at high schools and colleges there. A true hero in wrestling that I would like to meet someday to thank him.
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1 } -Greg Hatcher’s wrestling influence is being felt in Arkansas and beyond
Greg Hatcher, a former wrestler at Division III Alma College, built the Hatcher Agency at the age of 28. Today, Hatcher can’t stop giving back. All sports — including wrestling — are the beneficiaries. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1597635255496&twSessionId=aqqlixoqzf&videoId=788546135&mc_cid=1321811b68&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – .Bluefield State to Add Wrestling and 11 Additional New Sports
Bluefield State College announced today the addition of 12 new sports to its athletics department for the 2021-2022 school year. These will join the ten existing sports to become a robust program for more than 400 student-athletes. Leading the way is the return of Division II football, for the first time since1980. Bluefield State President Robin Capehart said, “Fielding a football team after such a long absence is a huge step forward. To do this now is our way of saying there is life after COVID for this College and our community.” Interim Director of Athletics Derrick Price added, “We’re hiring for these new sports now. I’m prioritizing coaches with proven abilities to recruit. We will target good student athletes with the goal of being competitive immediately.” In addition to football, Bluefield State will compete in wrestling and other new sports: .. rest of story at _{https://portal.nwcaonline.com/articles/NWCA_News/Bluefield-State-to-Add-Wrestling-and-11-17-8-2020}

3 } – NWCA DI LEADERSHIP GROUP TAKES A POSITION ON THE 2020-2021 COMPETITION SEASON
Manheim, PA – The NWCA Division I Leadership Group (LG) sent a letter on Wednesday to all Division I Coaches, Athletic Directors, Senior Women’s Administrators and Conference Liaisons to recommend a shift to the 2020-21 season as a result of ongoing complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NWCA Division I Leadership Group COVID-19 Letter
The Division I wrestling membership had the opportunity to meet (virtually) twice during the NWCA Convention, and participate in a recent meeting with Anthony Holman, Managing Director of Championships and Alliances for the NCAA. In addition, the NWCA sent a survey to all Division I head coaches regarding a self-imposed delayed start to the 2020-21 season.  With 92% of the responses in favor of postponing the beginning of the upcoming season, the Division I membership largely supports this model. With this statistical support, the NWCA DI Leadership Group would like to proceed … rest of story at _{http://www.nwcaonline.com/nwca-di-leadership-group-takes-a-position-on-the-2020-2021-competition-season/?mc_cid=18ec0c1b30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – DIVISION II LEADERSHIP GROUP SUPPORTS ELIGIBILITY WAVERS DUE TO COVID-19
Manheim, PA – The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division II Leadership Group recently met, and as a result, the following message was sent out to all the ADs, FARs, SWAs, and Conference Commissioners in regard to the Blanket Eligibility Waivers. The two attachments that were included with the message have also been linked below.
To: NCAA Division II Directors of Athletics, Senior Women Administrators, Faculty Athletic Representatives, Conference Commissioners and Executive Directors of Coaches Associations
From: National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division II Leadership Group
RE: Individual student-athlete welfare and enrollment in respect to July 22 blanket waivers
I am reaching out today on behalf of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), in response to the NCAA Division II blanket eligibility waivers issued July 22 and how they apply to individual sports.  It is our concern that the waivers in their current state do not appropriately protect our student-athletes’ eligibility in light of the uncertainty around the coming season and the rapidly changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This uncertainty … rest of story at _{http://www.nwcaonline.com/division-ii-leadership-group-supports-eligibility-wavers-due-to-covid-19/?mc_cid=18ec0c1b30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – EIWA STATEMENT REGARDING 2020-21 SEASON: COMPETITIONS START JAN. 1, EIWAS HELD AS SCHEDULED
Villas, NJ, August 12 — The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association is a wrestling only association whose member schools are all affiliated with other conferences. As such, our member teams may be subject to restrictions imposed by their parent conferences and home states with respect to athletic practice and competition during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The Head Coaches are planning an EIWA-centric schedule designed to maximize the number of bouts for our wrestlers. There are currently eight weekends between the new year and the final weekend of the regular season. Dual meets will be the priority although a series of limited tournaments to offer competition may be explored. All activities are subject to the prime concern of ensuring the health and safety of our wrestlers, staffs, and campuses.
We intend to proceed with the understanding that:
– Practice during the fall semester is permitted … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/August/12/EIWA-statement-on-upcoming-season?mc_cid=adab565cde&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } -What’s next for NCAA wrestling? Anthony Holman of the NCAA goes On The Mat – OTM612
NCAA Managing Director of Championships Anthony Holman returns to go On The Mat
With wrestling’s start date looking more and more like January 1, the NCAA’s Director of Championships, Anthony Holman, rejoins the show to talk about what is going to happen with wrestling at the college level, specifically NCAA Division I amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Kyle Klingman and Andy Hamilton On The Mat, … rest of story at _{http://www.mattalkonline.com/podcast/trackwrestling/on-the-mat/whats-next-for-ncaa-wrestling-anthony-holman-of-the-ncaa-goes-on-the-mat-otm612/?mc_cid=1321811b68&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – Baumgartner re-elected as president of USA Wrestling
Olympic wrestling great recently retired from long career at Edinboro University
Bruce Baumgartner recently retired from Edinboro University, but he has not retired from the sport that made him famous. USA Wrestling’s board of directors re-elected Baumgartner as its president on Saturday. The two-time Olympic champion and four-time medalist has held that position since 2016. Baumgartner, 59, retired from Edinboro after 36 years. His three-plus decades of employment by the school included tenures as the Fighting Scots’ wrestling coach and athletic director. Baumgartner was assistant vice president of university advancement at the time of his retirement this past May. Although USA Wrestling is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Baumgartner said plans to remain in Edinboro, according to a May interview with Wrestling Insider magazine. … rest of story at _{https://www.goerie.com/sports/20200816/baumgartner-re-elected-as-president-of-usa-wrestling?mc_cid=1321811b68&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – TALENTED AND MOTIVATED INDIVIDUALS SOUGHT TO SERVE ON USA WRESTLING’S AD-HOC DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE
USA Wrestling President Bruce Baumgartner is reaching out to USA Wrestling’s membership in its effort to find talented and motivated individuals to serve on its expanded ad-hoc Diversity and Inclusion Committee during the next Olympic four-year cycle. According to USA Wrestling bylaws, USA Wrestling’s ad-hoc committees are created and appointed by the organization’s president and will serve as long as there is a need to be addressed. In the past, USA Wrestling has been led by a group of volunteer leaders on an ad-hoc Diversity Committee. With the start of the new four-year Olympic cycle, which begins in September 2020, USA Wrestling will put an expanded focus into this critical issue. The name of the ad-hoc committee will be changed to the “Diversity and Inclusion Committee,” with its scope widened and its mission expanded.
President Baumgartner is seeking to repopulate this committee with a wider spectrum of diverse leaders from our sport, as well as recruit some subject-experts in diversity and inclusion that have a desire to help wrestling grow in this area. He is seeking individuals with the abilities and passion to move USA Wrestling forward. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/August/11/USA-Wrestling-seeks-candidates-for-Diversity-and-Inclusion-ad-hoc-committee?mc_cid=44ca76fc30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – WRESTLER FOR LIFE STORY OF THE WEEK: BETWEEN ABDICATION AND ACCEPTANCE
USA Wrestling’s “Wrestler for Life” program has started accepting submissions for “The Story of the Week”. It can be about anything wrestling related, whether it’s a particular wrestling match you’ll never forget, or a life lesson that the sport taught you. If your story is chosen, it will be featured on TheMat.com, and winners will receive a USA Wrestling t-shirt.
Send your submissions to: Wrestlerforlife@usawrestling.org
This week’s submission is by Alessandro Vitello
Like a lot of young kids in the eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania region, I grew up wrestling. I idolized my two older brothers, and they wrestled. So naturally, I wanted to wrestle too. I remember hanging out with my brother’s high school teammates, and just knowing I was the coolest little guy in the gym. I don’t have any photographic proof, but I know my parents had to tie me to the stands to keep me from running onto the mat during actual matches. I like to tell my wife she was my first true love, but if I am being honest, my first love was wrestling. I was hooked at a young age, and couldn’t wait to try it for myself.
I started so young, I have a hard time recalling anything from the first season. I know I lost a lot. Other than that, all I really know about my beginnings in wrestling is that I loved it. Practices. The coaches. Everything. I even loved getting up at five in the morning, in the bitter winter cold, with inches of snow on the ground, and travelling an hour or more to make an 8:00 AM weigh in for some random tournament. There were so many great memories.
My oldest brother, who was one of my coaches, throwing me over his shoulder and running across the parking lot, in snow up to his shins, so I could make the scale in time. The cold locker room, and the even colder marker, as it touched my little arm. Marking my weight, and letting the entire world know I was a sixty pound wrestler. Putting on my singlet, lacing up my shoes, strapping my headgear, onto one of my down singlet straps, and jumping into my warm-ups. I was, in my own little mind, a warrior, and this was my preparation. My armor. The only place in the entire world I was in control. The outcome, good or bad, was based on my abilities. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/August/13/Wrestler-for-Life-Story-of-the-Week?mc_cid=18ec0c1b30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – .The Wrestler’s Credo
When my mind is filled with doubt that things will not work out, I put my head down and charge ahead. I learned from many years on a wrestling mat, that is all you can do. There will always be someone better or someone who works harder. That is life. A person with a unique talent that whatever you do, he wins. He figures out a way to defend your single leg despite your best efforts to score. The wrestler’s credo is that whatever happens, you get up and keep going. Like a wrestling match, life will hit funk rolls, and many times you won’t be able to score. Other times, you are paralyzed by fear and indecision and struggle to understand the reason. During those times, it is a constant reminder to get up and keep going.
I can’t say and will never know if I would have learned this mentality of perseverance, and constant forward movement if I never stepped on a wrestling mat. It has been wrestling’s greatest gift to me. A gift wrapped in blood, sweat, tears, and struggle. Inside the wrapping paper is mental fortitude — the wrestler’s credo.
The credo is committed and obligated to bring honor to the sport by never quitting and refusing to stay down. It is a sacred trust that is agreed upon in every wrestling room. When all is lost, a voice in our head tells you, “It’s OK. You can get up, keep working, keep giving your best, don’t give in to the pain.” Every person will fail more than they succeed. They will take beatings. Some will be pretty bad, leaving you with black eyes and bruising. It is the severe blows that test our resolve. It will test our willingness to fight. The other voice in your head says, “Stay down, find something easier, no one will even notice if you quit.” It is comforting and offers reassurance. It is the voice that gives up an easy go-behind instead of fighting for a stalemate. It is the voice that every wrestler tries to silence to a whisper. .. rest of story at _{https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/23810?mc_cid=18ec0c1b30&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

August 19, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized