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After skimming through past WV OW Award Winners, I was honored to see that since my summer camp started in 1989,16 of the 18 OW Winners have attended my camp. Of those 16, 13 were "REGULARS" of my camp system, attending multiple times throughout their careers.I want no credit for the success of these dedicated young men. Most were very good before I ever met them. What I want you to understand is that wrestlers who want to be successful must make a commitment to year around training. The sooner you recognize this, the better off you will do in the future.
Lastly, it has been good to see a recent influx of WV applicants to my camp. If you have not made plans yet, now is the time to. Most of my June camps have already filled, but there are some places left the week of July 6-9. Camp fee of $269 includes hotel and meals, as well as lots of instruction and training. Coaches are welcome to come and go as they please or stay overnight for fee of R&B. Don't miss out on this UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY right here in your state that draws wrestlers from well over 20 different states.
May 30, 1997
from
Jason Ward
email: wreslfreak@aol.com
I would like to praise the WV wrestlers who are furthering
their wrestling seasons into the spring. Recently, I saw a handful of WV wrestlers at The
Tournament of Champions in Columbus.
Two that stuck out in my mind are Stone and Craddock of Roane Co.
It appears as if these two are wanting to excel next season.
There are plenty of opportunities for WV wrestlers to train during the summer. I'd strongly recommend to go to at least one summer camp this year. Also, there are many opportunities for competition as well. Many freestyle/greco tournaments are still going on. The Asics Junior/Cadet Nationals are coming up in July. If anyone wants to make a name for themselves and have shots at college scholarships at large schools, then this is the tournament to attend. It is probably too late this year, but WV should shoot for a national team to participate in the Nationals. Almost every other state in the U.S. has an organized national team, even KY. It would be beneficial to the state and to the athletes as well. The Cadet/Junior Nationals are for high school athletes.
If anyone is interested, we need to get the ball rolling now, if there is to be one for next year.
May 27, 1997
from
Cross Face
It's great to see that talented West Virginia wrestlers are
furthering both their educations and their wrestling careers.
Understand that Josh Waugh will attend West Liberty - glad
that West Virginia still has college programs left -- even if it
is only two.
May 24, 1997
from
Ken Chertow
email: chertow@ianet.net
Ryan Muldrew has earned a scholarship and signed with Kent State. They are one of the
stronger teams in the MAC and have a tradition of tough lightweights.
Next season's NCAA Championships at Cleveland State are sold out already. That means the
various universities have bought up blocks of tickets. I bought some tickets before they sold out
and will be able to get more by next March. My extra ticket will be available at face value.
Look me up next winter if you are looking for tickets. It would great to see a bunch of WV
people in attendance to support Mike Mason. He will have a chance to win NCAA
Championship at 150 next year. He placed this season. Another WV native to look for will be
Edinboro's Mark Samples. WVU should also have others qualify for NCAA's in addition to
Mason.
Supporting WV boys aside, watching this level of competition is an opportunity you should take advantage of. During high school I traveled to watch NCAA Tournaments in Oklahoma, Iowa and New Jersey. Watching these events helped me better understand what it takes to excel in our sport and proved to be very inspirational. I have been to every NCAA tournament except two since 1982, either as a wrestler, coach or spectator. You really should go see this level of competition if you are interested in being a great wrestler or coach. They are entertaining and exciting spectator events as well.
If you cannot get tickets to NCAA Tournament at Cleveland State, the Big Ten Tourney is at my alma mater, Penn State. The arena holds 18,000 plus, so tickets will be easier to get. Did you know 1999 NCAA Tourney was being held at Penn State?? Where is the 2000 NCAA Tourney going to be held? Hint- it is not as far away as Iowa or Oklahoma. I have a free instructional highlight video for who ever e mails me the answer first... chertow@ianet.net
May 15, 1997
from
Bob Hoag (Bethel Park Wrestling)
rhoagcpa@aol.com
Allow me to make note of a tragic loss we experienced recently in the sudden and unexpected
death of the father of Drew Gates from Bethel Park Wrestling (located just
outside of Pittsburgh). On Tuesday afternoon (5/13/97) Ted died suddenly at
his home from an unknown cause. His son (Drew) placed third at the Middle
Atlantic Eastern Nationals (70lb. Midget) this year. Many of the Parkersburg
and Clarksburg wrestlers saw his son, Drew, compete with Chance Litton and
Codie Norman (among other good West Virginia wrestlers). Ted will be sorely
missed by family and friends alike. Hopefully, Drew will continue to compete
next year and his family (six sibblings) can recover from this terrible loss.
Anyone wishing to help the family may make a (non-tax deductible)
contibution to:
Bethel Park Wrestling Boosters
Attn: Ted Gates Family Fund
c/o Dan Bredl
5749 Glen Hill Dr.
Bethel Park, PA. 15102
May 12, 1997
from
rookie@mountain.net
If anyone is interested in a 10 by 10 foot mat, please contact me
by my e-mail address above.
May 9, 1997
from
Ken Chertow
email: chertow@ianet.net
My Gold Medal Training Camps and Junior Olympian Camps are nearing capacity. Enrollment
is limited so that there is plenty of mat space and a 12:1 camper to coach ratio.
There are still openings in the Olympian Technique Camps and Specialty Technique Camps.
These camps cost $269 or $309, and these fees include you Holiday Inn room and their great
catered meals, as well as the instruction and training.
There are already wrestlers enrolled from 22 different states.They have heard this camp is well
worth the trip. I would welcome more WV boys. Do not miss this great opportunity!
Call (304) 736-0973 for help making your summer camp plans.
May 1, 1997
from
RANDY EDRINGTON
I AM RESPONDING TO A COMMENT BY THE JEFFERSON FAN ON MARCH 5TH 1997
ON THE FORUM: AS PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW I'VE TAPED THE FINALS OF THE STATE
TOURNAMENT IN 1996 & 1997, AND WAS TALKING WITH A PERSON WHO
PURCHASED AND VIEWED THE 97 FINALS BETWEEN COURTNEY (FAIR-SR.) AND
CAREY (JEFFERSON). I CAPTURED ON TAPE AND HAVE WATCHED IT IN SLOW
MOTION AND FRAME BY FRAME AND THE PIN WAS CALLED WAY TOO EARLY. I
DEFENTLY THINK COURTNEY (LIKE THE PERSON I WAS TALKING WITH), WOULD
HAVE FINISHED THE PIN, AS IT WAS CALLED TO EARLY! WELL I STILL HAVE
COPIES OF THE 1997 AND 1996 FINALS. 1996 FINALS-ARE $15.00 AND 1997 FINALS
ARE $ 20.00. I PAY ALL POSTAGE AND HANDLING CALL 1-352-628-4267 FOR MORE
DETAILS.
(NO COLLECT CALLS) JENNY SULLIVAN WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE TAPES! I
HOPE THIS ANSWERS THE JEFFERSON FAN'S CONCERN ABOUT THE CALL MADE
AGAINST CAREY?
April 30, 1997
from
Jenny Sullivan
email: jennifer.gilchrist@gep.ge.com
Congratulations to Tim McCartney, who has just been named Head Wrestling Coach at
Parkersburg South High School! (McCartney served as Paul Jackson's assistant for the past eight
years.)
April 28, 1997
from
cougar4ever
email: berry@citynet.net
Go Cougars:
The Parkersburg Cougars, coached by Mike Litton, crowned 3 champions at the Eastern
Nationals in Millersville, Pa. Jake Hayes, Matt Stevens, and Brandon Radar. Chance Litton
placed 4th for Parkersburg. Congratulations to Mike, and his assistant coaches Jeff Stevens,
Tom Hayes, and Richie Tuttle on a great year!!!
April 27, 1997
from
Ken Chertow
email: chertow@ianet.net
Congratulations to all the wrestlers who made the Academic All State Team and the Academic
Honor Roll!!
There is no doubt that the student-athletes who excel in the classroom are usually the ones who
find the most success later in life. Young people who commit themselves to being both
outstanding students and successful athletes develop the work ethic, discipline and time
management skills that will lead to continued success in all their future endeavors. It is
unfortunate that too many athletes do not recognize this until it is too late. Once again,
congratulations to all the recently recognized outstanding scholar-athletes.
Now back to wrestling...I will be conducting a clinic in State College, Pennsylvania on Saturday, May 10. I will be assisted by 1997 NCAA Champion Kerry McCoy and other Penn State student athletes. There will be an open tournament for wrestlers of all ages the day after the clinic, Sunday, May 11. Call me at (304) 736-0973 if you want more information.
My Olympian Wrestling School Students are still training regularly here in Huntington. We meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings through the end of the school year. Out of town guests are always welcome. There is no charge. Call or email me if you wish to come for a workout.
Finally, my summer training camps are nearing capacity. I would welcome more West Virginia kids. I could conduct my camp anywhere but I choose to do it right here in my home state. I encourage you to take advantage of this unique opportunity! If you have never attended you are missing an awesome learning and training situation. I bring many of the greatest wrestlers in the world right here to our state. Kids from all over the country take advantage of this opportunity annually. The competition is great! This season 27 wrestlers who were in attendance at last summers Gold Medal Training Camp won 1997 High School State Championships. If you want to test yourself against some outstanding competition and learn from a variety of World Class Clinicians, make your plans to attend soon.
More info is available on the WV Mat Bulletin Board or call me at (304) 736-0973 to ask
questions or get an application. I look forward to helping you!
Ken Chertow
April 23, 1997
Jenny Sullivan
email: jennifer.gilchrist@gep.ge.com
The Patriot Junior Wrestling Club crowned two champions at the Eastern Nationals this past
weekend - Codi Norman and Shane Grogg. Aaron Kelley was a champion at the Tournament of
Champions. Other results will be posted at a later date.
April 23, 1997
from
Dean DeVore <dao121@email.psu.edu>
Subject: KEYSTONE WRESTLING CAMP
Summer camp season is coming just around the corner. I strongly
suggest you check out Keystone Camp. Keystone's motto is "Building
Champions On and Off the Mat." We believe in teaching a winning
philosophy, combining outstanding technique, good conditioning habits,
and positive mental approach. Our camp is located in the beautiful, and
accessible Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania at Muhlenberg College in
Allentown, PA.
If you would like more information, you can check out our website: There you'll find information, plus a ready-to-print application
If you would like a brochure, please email:
dao121@email.psu.edu
Any other questions, please call our camp line:
814-466-2012
April 22, 1997
From Jenny Sullivan
email: jennifer.gilchrist@gep.ge.com
I just wanted to mention that I purchased tapes of the 1997 and 1996 state tournaments from
Randy Edrington and they are great! I got as nervous watching them as if it were happening all
over again! I'm especially pleased with the 1997 tape, which covers the introduction of past
champions, the parade of finalists, the championship matches, and awards presentations. If you
are considering buying a video, I'd recommend it! My only question now is, did anyone do the
same for the A/AA matches? I'd love to purchase a copy of those matches if they're available.
This is off the subject, but I wanted to let Tom Brooks know that Matt George was defeated at
the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament. In fact, Dean Moore, coach of the Patriots said the
competition was VERY tough. The results were supposed to have been in Sunday's paper, but I
have yet to see them. If I find out anything, I'll be sure to post it!
April 18, 1997
J. LeMaster (aka MATMAN)
Well said, Jason! Without a doubt the best seek out the best competition (as I mentioned
earlier.) I think that the best run and organized tournaments that my son wrestled in when he
was in youth wrestling were mainly in Ohio. The Ohio AAU tourney at Pickerington is a
fantastic set up with ample mat space, knowledgeable refs, etc. Anyone who has not wrestled
there is really missing a great tourney. Another excellent place to go is the Connellsville PA
area. These are within a reasonable drive time for most of us in WV and are well worth the
effort. Also check out Superbrawl (don't blame me for the name) also in PA.
All of these events will welcome WV wrestlers as will the (Pseudo) Tournament of champions in Columbus. I could go on but it's easy to see the point. These events welcome the WV wrestlers for the competition and don't seek to ban them because they might beat one of the "home-boys." As I'm sure Jason can attest these tournament attract tough kids who wrestle 70+ matches per year and take their sport very seriously. If we here as a wrestling community in WV aspire to reach the level of skill and toughness of our neighbors in Ohio and Pennsylvania then we need to develop a strong AAU program and establish a state youth team in both freestyle and greco in addition to folkstyle at the ages when basic skills are ingrained. Our folks in WV overall do a great job with our youth programs and the talent is there among our youth. It is up to us as a state to ensure that this talent has the chance to mature and develop. Whew, someone help me down off my soapbox!!!
As a middle school wrestling coach, I can really get fired up about the need for a solid and low-cost youth program. It is usually the case that most of our wrestlers, particularly in the southwestern end of the state wrestle their very first competitive match in 7th grade and come to high school with limited experience at best. Perhaps if they did not need to travel so far for solid competition, WV would be up there amongst the wrestling hotbeds. Enough for now!! I'll let some one else take up the thread.
April 18, 1997
Intercepted Memo from Bob Koehn
Congratulations To The West Virginia Olympian Team For Winning The 1997 Challenge Cup
and The Title:
The Best Youth Wrestling Team in the Nation
Thank you to the teams from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, and Tennessee for wrestling a
great tournament!
To organize a 1998 Challenge Cup Qualifying Tournament in your state contact
Bob Koehn at 706-965-2714
Future Champions Inc.
April 18, 1997 -- from
Cross Face
EB -- You wrote an excellent summary on the state of affairs of
the West Virginia Youth tournament. With all this fuss -- maybe
we should not have any state championships in West Virginia -
but that is unrealistic and would be unfair to the kids. It is
unfortunate that all the proceeds from the Parkersburg version
of the state tourney remain with one county rec league. I must say
that it sounds reasonable to limit the West Virginia youth tourney
to residents of West Virginia but to me that is a minor issue compared
to sharing the benefits of hosting the tourney to the rest of the state.
April 18, 1997 -- from
Jason Ward
wreslfreak@aol.com
Some good ideas have been passed around about Jr. States. However I don't like the idea of
limiting the tournament to just in-state boys. Here is another reason why the state continues to
drag behind Ohio. Our boys need this good competition with the Ohio boys, and only a handfull
of West Virginia wrestlers go into Ohio to seek the competition. I believe that the best way to
organize the state's youth wrestling is by organizing an AAU program. I have participated in several AAU
tournaments across the nation and they are very well run. By purchasing an AAU card
participants can compete in hundreds of AAU sanctioned events. Ohio has a great AAU
program, and the organization runs their Jr. States. This leads to no confusion upon what is
actually "the real tournament", because they only run one a year. And since AAU is the
dominating organization in youth wrestling in Ohio, all of the young grapplers attend it. Ohio
does not limit it's Junior States to just Ohio!
boys, they accept wrestlers from any state with open arms. Perhaps this is why Ohio is heads
above the rest. Also by developing an AAU wrestling organization, the doors are open for
freestyle/greco, which greatly enhances folkstyle performance. While our open tournament
season closes in March, Ohio continues to run several AAU/USA tournaments well into May.
There are several tournaments every weekend, and all one has to do is seek them. I think that
developing an AAU program would be a great asset to West Virginia wrestling, and the rest of
the state should look into its possibilities if they want to excel.
April 18, 1997 -- from
eb
email: berry@citynet.net
Matman: interesting comments pertaining to the current status of the Jr. State Championship(s).
About 5 years ago a series of meetings were held to request some "enhancements" for the WV
State Tourney held in Parkersburg. The requests were made by a group of dad's from the North
Central part of West Virginia. They did a good job organizing and after they created a stir
statewide, a group of coaches from the Wood County Recreation League (who are the sole
benefactors of the state tourney) came to one of their meetings in Clarksburg. Included in their
wish list were the following:
1. that only wrestlers that live in WV be able to wrestle in the states.
2. that we rotate the tournament site
3. that regionals be held so that less skilled kids could qualify at a state event, and placers
could be seated at the state tourney.
4. that refs from the entire state be represented at the tourney.
Personally, I felt that all were fair except #1. What about a kid from Ohio that wrestled on a
WV team all year, and then couldn't compete for his team at state. There are several high
schools in WV that have enrolled students who reside in Pa and Ohio, and compete on WV high
school wrestling teams. Why not in youth wrestling...too much competition?
Anyway, the rec league threw the North Central guys a bone and kicked out the Ohio kids. After a few years, that wasn't enough, so they took their toys and went home. Kids got the shaft again! Let's face it, it's a turf war...the State Tournament in Pburg is a fundraiser for the Wood county Rec League (though competitively it is the second best tournament in WV), and the Clarksburg Tournament is ...well...it sure isn't a state tourney as long as the Ohio Valley is not represented.
What about a State Youth Association? Or, have a third state tournament in Huntington......
April 15, 1997 -- from
Mat Man
I guess that the debate over junior states is a lot like USA Wrestling or AAU or Tulsa
Nationals, etc. They are all just places to compete! I had sons involved in kid wrestling and
Parkersburg was the place to go and we also tried the Clarksburg tournament. There were
adavantages to both and vice versa. It's a shame that the adults can't get together and set up a
well run event for the kids 15 & under. It's a great sport but is starting to sound like the "power
play" atmosphere so common in Little League baseball and football. If a kid is serious about
wanting to improve he will seek out the toughest competition whether it is in PBurg or CBurg or
where ever and know that he isn't the real champ until he has beaten the best. It's not the size of
the trophies or the pretty T-shirts that define the champion. It's the opponents he defeated on his
way to the podium. End of story ...
April 14, 1997 -- from
Mick Lantz
email: mblantz@netbiz.net
I'm looking for teams to compete in a Frankfort High School Wrestling Tournament Dec. 13,
1997 and a JV Tournament Jan. 10, 1998. Anyone interested email me at mblantz@netbiz.net.
April 14, 1997 -- from
Cross Face
EB -- It would be nice to have one youth state championship.
I guess the question out for debate is whether it should
remain in one location ad infinitum or be rotated. The key question
-- is what is best for the kids. I for one, don't mind either
format as long as all of the kids benefit.
April 14, 1997 -- from
BUFFALO BILL CODY
I AGREE WITH EB BUT WAS NOT THE JR STATES UP IN PARKERSBURG AROUND
FIRST? AND JUST LIKE THE DEBATE IS IN HIGH SCHOOL, MAYBE THE CHAMPIONS
FROM THESE TWO JR STATE TOURNAMENTS CAN WRESTLE EACH OTHER. JUST A
THOUGHT AND OPIONION!
April 13, 1997 -- from
EB
BERRY@CITYNET.NET
CERTAINLY WOULD BE NICE TO SEE ONE JUNIOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP INSTEAD
OF TWO SELF PROCLAIMED EVENTS...WHAT IF WE LEFT ADULTS OUT OF THE
DECISION MAKING PROCESS?
April 11, 1997 -- from
Tom Brooks
The Mid Atlantic Regional tournament at Penn State was a high quality
competition. Most of the wrestlers looked in mid season form. The Pennslyvania
wrestlers seemed to have been peaking for this tournament. I agree that
spring wrestling and all year training make a better wrestler. Matt George (Parkersberg)
was still undefeated in the simifinals when we left. Any informatin on how he did?
The first two rounds were single elimination. Anyone looking for stiff competition should
check out the Mid-Atlantic tournament.
Updated April 6, 1997