Takedown Report

National Wrestling News – Nov. # 2

TDR Editor’s Notes ; An assortment of stories which span wrestling across the nation in this trying time of uncertainties.
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1 } – ‘First To Fight’ With All-Marine Head Coach Jason Loukides
All-Marine Wrestling head coach Jason Loukides — arguably the best Senior coach in the United States, not just in Greco-Roman but also including every available style — has done everything he can to keep his athletes engaged in what has become wrestling’s “new normal”.
Between workouts centering around physical distancing measures, virtual team meetings, and regular attempts to keep wrestlers engaged in their own individual objectives, the process has been a new one over the past six months for Loukides and he has taken it in stride, even as the country prepares for a Senior National tournament that will unfold without his unit’s participation. You would have to dial it back all the way to the winter to find the last time a First to Fight was released. … rest of story at _{http://www.fivepointmove.com/all-marine-wrestling/jason-loukides-october-20/?mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – Schenectady wrestling legend Joe DeMeo dies
Joe DeMeo, who excelled on the wrestling mat and went on to help so many others do the same in a decorated and decades-long coaching career, died early Friday morning at the age of 79. DeMeo wrestled at Mont Pleasant High School and made one of his coaching stops at the University at Albany. In 2005, he was inducted into the Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame.
“He was a big figure in the wrestling community and a no-brainer to get into the Schenectady City School District Hall of Fame,” said Bob Pezzano, the hall of fame’s chairman. “He was recognized by everybody.”
That included U.S. Wrestling, which tabbed the Niskayuna resident as the 2005 Developmental Coach of the Year and three times selected him the National Coach of the Year. “He impressed people no matter where he was doing his thing,” Pezzano said.
“The Mont Pleasant community has lost a great one,” said John Conway, a 1975 Mont Pleasant graduate who coached wrestling for years at Duanesburg and also earned numerous accolades as an official of the sport. “He was very bright, first of all. He was a Cornell graduate. He comes from a very competitive family. He just had it.”
DeMeo was a member of the U.S. Olympic coaching staff in 1976, 1980, 1988 and 1992, and mentored 1984 Olympic champions Jeff Blatnick and Dave Schultz. He also worked with Olympians Shawn Sheldon, Andy Seras, Ike Anderson, Frank Famiano and Chris Catalfo, as well as two-time women’s world champion Kristie Davis. … rest of story at _{https://dailygazette.com/2020/10/03/wrestling-legend-joe-demeo-dies/?mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – It’s all about the love of wrestling for Nick Spatola of Spatola Wrestling
Nick Spatola of Spatola Wrestling created his own wrestling club in the Cincinnati area. Spatola talks about youth wrestling, Japanese wrestling culture, and making the sport fun.
Dan Gable grants final dream for stage 4 cancer patient .. rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1601763098441&twSessionId=aekusswpcs&videoId=868201135&mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – NCWA Sea­son Begins Jan­u­ary 1^st Pend­ing 50 Team Registration
Based upon Board recommendations The NCWA will proceed with the nationals date as published and may make change decisions as we get closer to January 1st, the expected opening of the season. If By January 8th we have a MINIMUM of 50 men’s programs committed through administratively signed team applications and paid dues we will proceed with an NCWA 2020-21 Wrestling season.
On Sept 6th 2020 the NCWA Executive board made the following decisions concerning the 2020-21 Season:
1) For the NCWA to Sponsor a wrestling season in 2021 a Minimum Team member threshold of 50 (fifty) Men’s TEAMS must be approved for membership. The Deadline for this threshold is January 8th 2021. ( It will be very important for teams to register sooner than the deadline to insure the season moving forward)
2) Team Registration may begin on November 1st – all applications and team dues will be processed, but all approvals will be held until Jan 1, 2021 pending the 50 Team minimum season threshold being met.  … rest of story at _{https://ncwa.net/news/2020/ncwa-season-begins-january-1st-2021-pending-50-team-registration?mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – SUNSHINE PRESEASON NATIONAL DUALS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS SET FOR ORLANDO, FLA., NOV. 20-22
Looking for a great competition, while enjoying a vacation in a sunny destination at a four-diamond resort? The 2020 Sunshine Preseason National Duals sounds like the perfect way to mix great wrestling with a fun activity for your team. The 2020 Sunshine Preseason National Duals will be held at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla., November 20-22. The field has been capped at 48 boys’ teams and 16 girls’ teams, competing on 100,000 square feet of wrestling surface featuring 20 different mats. The boy’s competition will be for athletes in Grades 6-12, and will feature Folkstyle wrestling. The plan is to allow some elementary and middle school wrestlers to join … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/October/05/Sunshine-Preseason-Duals-set-for-Orlando-FL?mc_cid=bbb5286d21&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – No Tax On Faith: Matt Lindland Cancer Journal #1
In the previous edition of the Coach Lindland’s Report, US National Team head coach Matt Lindland detailed the discovery that he had developed prostate cancer just prior to the New Year. The initial treatment plan called for, in fact, no treatment. As outlined in the report and below, Lindland’s PSA numbers and Gleason Score allowed for a temporary wait-and-see approach. Treatment was only to become availed once Lindland’s numbers increased to a level necessitating further intervention. That time has now arrived. 
Given Lindland’s strong Christian perspective, this journal entry and others to potentially follow will be located here under 5PM’s ‘Christian Faith’ category. For those interested in prostate cancer and where/how to inquire about symptoms and screening, please refer to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.  Communication has been an area that we have wanted to improve in the Greco-Roman program. In the spirit of that effort, I wanted to share something that I have been going through, and how I am handling the situation.  … rest of story at _{http://www.fivepointmove.com/christian-faith/lindland-no-tax-faith/?mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

7 } – Colonel Steve Banach is a true American success story
Colonel Steve Banach and his brothers, 1984 Olympic champions Ed and Lou, grew up poor and homeless before being adopted. Their path to finding wrestling is one of America’s great success stories.
Colonel Steve Banach: ‘Nobody had done what we did in the history of warfare … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPlayer.jsp?TIM=1601863208900&twSessionId=nfxikzfngw&videoId=868219135&mc_cid=9e55d26136&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – COMPLETE LIST OF USA WRESTLING SANCTIONED EVENTS FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS, AS OF OCTOBER 5
USA Wrestling will be regularly publishing a list of sanctioned events as our nation and our sport comes back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The list will be created in order to provide an easy reference for athletes, coaches and families, in order to make plans for competitions moving forward. Not only is USA Wrestling providing events on its national schedule, but many state associations and local clubs are also developing events for athletes of all ages to participate in.
Our list will include events by date, as well as events by state. This information is also available through USA Wrestling’s membership system, TheMat.com website and on usawrestlingevents.com by using the system’s sort capability, but this posting will be an easy-to-use format for you to use in your planning. In this article, there are 30 tournaments/clinics listed from 13 different states. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/October/05/USA-Wrestling-sanctioned-events-in-the-next-three-months?mc_cid=bbb5286d21&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – What can we learn from John Smith and Jordan Burroughs about a global pandemic?
John Smith and Jordan Burroughs are teaching us about how to deal with a global pandemic. They haven’t told us anything explicitly, but if you dig into the past, their actions are examples we can follow.  Smith is a six-time World and Olympic champion, winning gold medals from 1987-1992. Burroughs is a five-time World and Olympic champion (2011-13, 2015, and 2017) who has made nine consecutive World and Olympic teams. Both have something in common: they took a redshirt year during college that changed the trajectory of their careers. 
Smith took his after the 1985 collegiate season where he placed second to Wisconsin’s Jim Jordan in the NCAA championship finals. The entire 1986 season was spent growing. While Smith competed a few times, most of his efforts were poured into improvements. Burroughs was forced into redshirt but the result was similar. He won the 2009 NCAA Championships but sat out the entire 2010 collegiate season due to injury. Like Smith, this was his opportunity to develop. He came back for the 2011 collegiate season with a vengeance. He dominated his domestic competition then went on to win his first World title later that year. 
A global pandemic forced all sports to stop for several months. Every wrestler was given the same opportunity that John Smith and Jordan Burroughs had when they made breakthroughs. Any gains by Smith and Burroughs weren’t made through a listless and apathetic approach. … rest of story at _{https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1602125859895&twSessionId=fqvizjzbym&postId=868393135&mc_cid=2b31bc4749&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – When a college cuts a sports program, these are the lives upended
By Emily Giambalvo
Throughout the past six months, college athletes across the country have logged on to video calls and watched their athletic directors appear on the screen. Then they hear that the administration decided to cut their team. The explanation hardly matters, because their minds spin into a whirlwind wondering what comes next.
A freshman track and field athlete cried on the bed in his dorm room. He felt angry and screamed. A baseball coach tried to explain the situation to his two young children before focusing his efforts on finding his players a home. Months later, he scrolls through Instagram and struggles with mixed emotions as he sees his players in their new uniforms.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has financially strained athletic departments. Schools didn’t receive their usual distribution from the NCAA after the men’s basketball tournament was canceled. They have lost revenue from student fees and donations. Most conferences are playing a shortened football season, with limited or no fan attendance, hurting yet another revenue stream. Many smaller schools are no longer receiving the payouts from nonconference matchups against Power Five programs. … rest of story at _{https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/10/06/college-sports-program-cuts/?mc_cid=2b31bc4749&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

November 28, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized