You know, if you live long enough you get to see changes youd never thought would happen. After competing in and following the US Nationals since the late 1970s, I admire and absolutely love the changes that have been made to this prestigious event. Who would have thought that following the schedule of the DI NCAA tournament would add such drama and anticipation to the final days events. The dimmed lights for the semi finals with the Broadway-like entrances adds some spice to the matches. Moreover, the scoring changes have helped the sport shake loose from the doldrums of 1-0, 0-0 criteria type matches. Kudos to FILA for making that change. Another great feature was the television coverage of the semi finals and tonights finals. In my neck of the woods, Bright House networks viewed this event on channel 834. Go to the NBC Universal Sports website and find the channel locator link to help you find the TV channel for tonights finals. What a joy to watch the event LIVE on my television as opposed to sitting in front of my computer. Media coverage and television time were sadly lacking in previous years and this change is a tremendous boost for our sport. The post match interviews with Jason Bryant were outstanding! Now lets talk about the action. Anyone who thinks that freestyle and Greco will not help you as a folk style wrestler is lost in space. The amount of action and scoring segments in the matches viewed yesterday is exactly the type of action you have to generate in you high school wrestling season. Scoring must occur in rapid fire succession. One move and stop is not the answer. By committing to a constant attack you are applying pressure and increasing your scoring opportunities. The wrestlers competing for medals throughout today and into the finals get it. You must be able to score from every position, not just a few positions. Thats what you learn when you wrestle the international styles. The Ed Ruth/Clayton Foster match was one of the best matches wrestled in any competition this year! Here are two athletes on the rise who will only grow and get better. In a very short period of time, both of the athletes may become number one and two in the world in their 189 lb. weight class. What will Ed Ruth look like with freestyle only training with Cael Sanderson? What a scary proposition. Clayton Foster defeated the defending World Champion and bronze medal winner a month ago at the World Cup. Now, we have two YOUNG athletes who are in position to dominate for the next two Olympiads. Plus, they will be pushing each other for that top spot. If you missed that match, go to youtube or whatever site has the match and watch it! Great stuff! Stay tuned... Tomorrows workout: 400 meter farmers walk with heavy dumbbells (1/2 to 2/3 bodyweight) in hand. Every time to put them down, do ten burpees. technique: hand fighting drills and shot five minutes each skill 1. crossover high crotch 2. double leg 3. snap down spin behind
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 12:11:40 +0000
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