By Stuart Mahler Best 2012-13 Teams and Wrestlers in Florida Brandon HS BRANDON FLORIDA SOUTH DADE H.S
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By Stuart Mahler Best 2012-13 Teams and Wrestlers in Florida Brandon HS BRANDON FLORIDA SOUTH DADE H.S. HOMESTEAD FLORIDA Osceola HS KISSIMMEE FLORIDA Springstead HS SPRINGHILL FLORIDA BEST IN STATE Kevin Norstrem Brandon HS 138 SR Taylor Jackson Villages HS 182 JR James Flint Brandon HS 126 Soph Fox Baldwin Osceola HS 145 Fr. Kyle Norstrem Brandon HS 113 Justin Raminez South Dade HS 126 Dillon Lucas Brandon HS 132 Jared Prince Palm Harbor HS 120 Conner Prince Palm Harbor HS 126 FLORIDA AMATEUR WRESTLING Perspective is how you see things from where you are. Obviously there are always going to be differences of opinion because individuals are not seeing the same things from the same place. The preceding statement is not an apology for my years as an official. Many years ago, I was very active in the affairs of the amateur wrestling community, especially in the state of Florida and I wrote a "White Paper" to inform the leadership of where and how progress could be made. Fret not! It isn't my intention to rehash those views. I would like to offer some observations and suggestions from a new perspective. Three years ago, I retired. No more wrestling for me. I couldn't completely quit. My connection to amateur wrestling is serving on the Executive Board of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Florida Chapter. I have found great satisfaction in that role. I do miss seeing the wrestlers, my fellow coaches and officials each weekend at tournaments. I will always miss the joys and frustrations of coaching youngsters in one of the toughest sports. Amateur wrestling is the sport where character building is the necessary by-product of drilling technique, conditioning, making and maintaining one's weight and going out on a mat to face an opponent alone. Most coaches can relate tales of wrestlers who have overcome personal problems to accomplish great things on the mat. Everyone involved with amateur wrestling can relate tales of how one's involvement in wrestling leads to success in life. We all love this tough sport (though we know it takes determined individuals who have the tenacity to stick with it) and want to see it grow in numbers and quality. What follows are my observations and suggestions: The mission of USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling, is to promote Olympic style wrestling. While high school wrestling is still the most popular style of amateur wrestling and while the packed stands (always a sell out) at the NCAA Division I colligate wrestling championships attests to the popularity of that style, the Olympic styles need serious promotion to get increased participation. Part of the problem results from the failure of FILA, the international governing body for amateur wrestling, to settle on rules that would be compatible with our scholastic and colligate styles. FILA seems determined to tailor wrestling to television to gain increased exposure. Maybe our Scholastic and colligate styles could use a little rule altering to make it more appealing to television audiences, too? In any case the Olympic styles need more attention. You may well ask why I bring this up. The answer is that USA Wrestling can and does influence FILA and that your active participation in the organization that governs amateur wrestling is one way to bring about changes to improve the sport and enhance its popular exposure. Competing with the rest of the world is a worthy goal. Our wrestlers benefit when they visit other nations and learn about history, language, culture and experience international travel. Our wrestlers also serve as ambassadors, they demonstrate our values and culture at international events. Being able to represent one's nation is a great honor at any level from the cultural exchange to the Olympic Games. While it is the case that, at the NCAA level, wrestling hasn't regained the participation it had prior to the 1980s, the phenomenal growth of the National Coaches Wrestling Association(NCWA) program has resulted in more college programs at the club level. These programs have the backing of the students and administration at each college or university and their national tournament is an excellent event. In open tournaments wrestlers from the NCWA have beaten competitors from the various NCAA division programs. Supporting colligate programs, both the NCAA and the NCWA is good for amateur wrestling. The Florida Amateur Wrestling Association (FAWA) under the leadership of William Grant is the largest and best run amateur wrestling organization in Florida. That is a fact that cannot be in dispute. As in any organization, especially a large one, there is room for improvement. Viewing other amateur wrestling organizations as competitors isn't in the best interest of FAWA. While it isn't the responsibility of FAWA to reach out to other amateur wrestling organizations, FAWA is in the best position to do just that. The result could be greater cooperation, greater opportunity for struggling programs and for individual wrestlers. Every wrestling program in every state should work to increase opportunities for individuals at all levels by cooperating with each other. There is no question that the state high school programs are growing. The National High School Federation continues to report record numbers of participants. It isn't clear if it is due to the wars our nation is engaged in, the growing popularity of cage fighting or the President's wife calling for better diets and increased physical fitness but the participation in amateur wrestling continues to grow. If wrestling organizations work together, this growing popularity might just morph into greater public exposure and media interest. Seeing younger officials joining the experienced officials in greater number speaks well for the various officials organizations and their efforts to develop and train their members. The kids program seems to be as large as it ever was. It is my suggestion that greater emphasis and effort be made by the state organizations to promote wrestling at the kid level. Instruction on rules, protocol, sportsmanship must be stressed as much as technique at this level of participation. There seems to be increased interest and participation among females in the sport of amateur wrestling. State leaders, coaches and officials should do everything they can to encourage this segment of the population. Every effort should be made to find females with wrestling backgrounds to coach and officiate. From my prospective wrestling is bigger and better than ever. If all the organizations that sponsor amateur wrestling would work with each other, the sport could rival any other sport. FL- Marcie Van Dusen Wrestling Clinic Coming to Florida Olympic and World Champion Wrestler to Lead Clinic Sponsored by Arno P. Niemand BOULDER, CO - May 2, 2012 - <http://dreamteam47.com>Arno P. Niemand, longtime wrestling proponent, author, historian, and member of the <http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org>National Wrestling Hall of Fame, today announced that the popular Marcie Van Dusen Women's Wrestling Technique Tour will be in in Lakeland, Florida on May 12. Event Description: World Champion and Olympian Marcie Van Dusen will be holding a freestyle clinic. The event is primarily for girls and women who want to learn more about freestyle wrestling, a style of amateur wrestling that is practiced by women at the high school, college, open circuit, and Olympic level. The clinic is sponsored by USA Wrestling's Women's National Team sponsor Arno P. Niemand, a proud sponsor for nine years. The first 200 to sign up will receive a Limited Edition 2012 Clinic tee shirt. Event Open To: High school, middle school, and elementary school wrestlers and coaches are welcome to participate. A USA Wrestling athlete card is required. <http://www.usawmembership.com>www.usawmembership.com Date: May 12, 2012 Time: 8 am - 9 am Location: <http://www.thelakelandcenter.com/>The Lakeland Center, Lakeland, FL For More Information: Contact Stuart Mahler for more info about the clinic, and to learn how your club/school can host its own Marcie Van Dusen Women's Wrestling Technique clinic, 305-964-9805, <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] About Arno Niemand Mr. Niemand is a 1956 graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca NY, where he was on the wrestling team. He was later inducted into the Cornell Hall of Distinguished Wrestling Alumni. He went on to earn his MBA in 1958 from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. Throughout his life, Mr. Niemand has continued to support the sport of wrestling, and in 2008 received the FILA Gold Star, which is the highest award given to an individual by the world governing body of wrestling. In 2009, he was inducted into the National <http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org>Wrestling Hall of Fame, earning the Order of Merit. In 2011 he was named Honorary Cornell College Alumnus. Mr. Niemand's book, <http://dreamteam47.com>"The Dream Team of 1947" chronicles the extraordinary story of the <http://dreamteam47.com>1947 wrestling team of Cornell College. It is the true story of a dedicated and talented coach named Paul Scott, a nurturing small college and town, three young superstars fresh out of high school, and five service veterans who all bonded as a team to defeat all comers. The team was the first school outside the state of Oklahoma to win the NCAA team championship, and two weeks later went on to win the equally prestigious National AAU championship, winning the "grand slam" of amateur wrestling, something no other private school before or since has accomplished, The Great Depression, World War II, the GI Bill, struggles with scholastic achievement and a serious car crash all affect the team's future in this real-life drama.