Minutemen Youth Wrestling

The Match is on at Avon High School for Saturday. Arrive at 9:30 start at 10 AM. Richie Schlichting Andrew Mals Sean Sullivan Eric Labieniec Todd Koops Anthony Sisti Sheri Sylvia Anthony Zovich Nathan Giaccone Kyle Zuk Jacob Eliades Tim Norton Andrew Zovich Sam Vreeland Dan Hackett

By Ted Witulski/USA Wrestling It was fairly obvious from the outset of the conversation that the coaches and wrestlers involved had a limited knowledge of the international styles of wrestling. The group was standing in the shade of the Reunion Arena in Dallas, waiting to head inside for the first session of the 2000 Olympic Trials. "Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is pretty different from high school wrestling," the high school coach explained. "You're going to see a lot of throws and moves that won't exactly work in a high school match." The coach did his best to capture the kids' attention with how important the Olympic Trials were while trying to sum up the rules and action of the two styles. His last parting comments to the wrestlers of his team left a deep impression as he headed into the meet. "In this wrestling, on bottom all you have to do is stall, you don't wrestle from bottom in Freestyle or Greco-Roman. All you do is lay there," he said. Most athletes' first exposure to the sport of wrestling in the United States is to the traditional style of known as scholastic wrestling. Also called folkstyle or collegiate wrestling, it has a few differences from the international styles of wrestling of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. Probably the biggest myth cited by coaches and wrestlers who know more about folkstyle wrestling than they do about freestyle or Greco-Roman is, "you don't have to do anything on bottom." Unfortunately, a prevailing and false opinion from the folkstyle community has been attached to freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. Once people take a serious look at the international styles, they'll see that a lot more is going on in par-terre than the bottom man just laying there until the ref returns the wrestlers to their feet. In the rules for the two international styles, one point is awarded to wrestlers who escape or successfully reverse the top wrestler. The first objective when a wrestler is on bottom competing in an international styled match is to not get turned; in fact that is very similar to scholastic wrestling. Wrestlers on bottom, actively resist turns and when they see an opportunity to score an escape or reversal, they pursue it. Current college wrestler, Garrett Lowney of the University of Minnesota, didn't just lay there to earn his bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics. Instead, his solid bottom work paid dividends when he was wrestling on the Olympic stage. There is one match from Sydney still talked about and probably will be for years to come. With the pressure on in overtime, the first point scored would award the victory to either competitor. Lowney, just a 20-year-old kid from Freedom, Wis., was in a tremendous battle with one of the world's most successful Greco-Roman wrestlers, Russia's Gogui Koguouachvili. A five-time World Champion, Koguouachvili was an experienced competitor looking to win his first Gold Medal in the Olympics. After a scramble, the young American slipped past the Russian's guard and unleashed an enormous throw. The spectacular belly-to-back high arching throw was a spectacle that is rarely seen in a match of such extraordinary importance. The throw for five points was a magnificent attack that propelled the aspiring American wrestler to the bronze medal. (See a picture of the throw.) However, Lowney, would have never had the chance to sail the Russian World Champ through the air if it wasn't for his skill of wrestling from the bottom. His mastery from the bottom position was demonstrated throughout the Olympics. During the tournament, he scored escapes and a reversal. Also, during his match with Koguouachvili, Lowney was put down in par-terre. The Russian, known for his powerful lift, was able to get the American off the mat and start his arching throw. Lowney's bottom skills enabled him to "front" his opponent and come out on top without giving up big points. (See the fronting maneuver of Lowney.) In a nod to politics, amazingly, Lowney was not given a reversal point; instead, the referees viewed the move as a slip throw. Regardless of the ruling, Lowney's bottom skills kept him from giving up exposure points that would have cost him the match. After Lowney had won the Olympic spot at his weight class, he spent much of his summer's training to wrestle from bottom. Olympic Coach Dan Chandler said, "We knew Garrett would get put down in matches, with this being his first Senior-level world competition, so we planned for that and helped him look for opportunities to score from the bottom position." USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser notes that scoring from bottom is a key element of successful Greco-Roman wrestling. "Scoring from the bottom is by design," he said. "There are not too many accidents for the good in wrestling. It takes a lot of hard work and focus on the bottom to get good there." Scoring from the bottom in Greco-Roman wrestling takes a good deal of courage. Without the fail-safe of grabbing an opponent's leg or at the very least grapevining a leg when an opponent starts a lift, a Greco-Roman wrestler can put himself in a lot of danger. To score successfully, wrestlers must counter an opponent's motion and position without breaking the rules of contact below the waist. Quincey Clark in the 2001 U.S. Nationals successfully countered Matt Lindland's gut wrench. (Click here to see the counter.) In the international styles, wrestlers can lock around the trunk of the body. The locks established by elite athletes are bone crushing. Coach Fraser often speaks to his wrestlers about developing iron-like rib cages while they train to reach the top of the national ladder. In freestyle wrestling. National Coach Kevin Jackson tells his wrestlers, "wrestle in par-terre; don't just defend." Like in Greco-Roman, a point scored from bottom can turn a tight match in a freestyle wrestler's favor. Chris Horpel, Head Coach for the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club, states that, in his later years, Dave Schultz became an expert at scoring from bottom. Horpel encourages people to buy the video of Schultz scoring from bottom against four time National Champion Pat Smith, in Schultz' final U.S. Nationals appearance in 1995. Horpel says that the collegiate style of wrestling in the United States has really taught American wrestlers a great deal about wrestling from bottom. "The problem is, we are afraid to use this stuff," he said. "But, as long as we have good hand control, which is legal as long as you score or almost score soon after getting hand control, all our collegiate wrestling works." Switches, standups, and ankle-picks are all available for wrestlers in Freestyle wrestling. Some of America's best wrestlers like Brad Penrith, Kenny Monday, Cary Kolat (1, 2), Charles Burton, and Brandon Slayadded to their wrestling repertoire by using bottom scoring moves in international matches. Kendall Cross, 1996 Olympic Champion, was able to perfect a variety of ways to score from bottom. His unusual style was something that made his opponent's wary when they were forced to wrestle the American nicknamed 'Gumby'. According to Cross, "a top wrestler can be caught completely off guard because his/her focus is geared toward his/her own offense." In Cross's last international match, at the 1997 World Cup in Stillwater, Okla. he fell behind early. Battling from a tripod position, he used a rear leg-elevator in conjunction with an arm throw to score points from bottom. (Click here to see the move.) Kendall Cross encourages young competitors to spend more time thinking about scoring from bottom. "All wrestlers are inevitably going to find themselves on the bottom. I think it's wise to spend time, at the very least, countering your opponent's attempts to expose your back. And taking it to another level, a wrestler should spend some time looking to score from bottom," he said. Mike Van Arsdale, a former World Cup champion, was also very proficient at moving and scoring from the bottom position. "Once a wrestler has a grasp on how to counter from being turned in freestyle or Greco-Roman, it may be a good idea to stress to him or her the importance of escapes and reversals. In order to escape or reverse an opponent, one must master two things: hand control, and creating distance," he said. In a dual against his Russian opponent, Van Arsdale fell behind in the match and was on the bottom with time running out. Just waiting and bellying out on the mat would have meant a certain loss. Instead Van Arsdale, who claims that he's scored more points from bottom then any American wrestler in the history of the World Trials, stood up gained hand control and used a back trip to score three points, for the come-from-behind victory. (Click here to see the throw from bottom.) Scoring from the bottom position in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is a major part of the strategy of international matches. In some cases, it has even decided an importan international dual. Kerry McCoy, America's World Team heavyweight for the past two years, used a reversal to put his Iranian opponent down for the fall in the 1999 World Cup in Baltimore. Team USA needed McCoy to score the win to salvage the dual victory. With Ebrahim Mehrban attempting a gut wrench, McCoy stepped over his opponent. Quickly, McCoy took advantage of the situation and pinned the Iranian. (Click here to see the stepover.) Many Americans learn about wrestling through the scholastic style. Often, in philosophical discussions of the three major American styles of wrestling, fans of scholastic wrestling will state that their style is harder. Often they'll say that in freestyle or Greco-Roman, wrestlers just have to lay on bottom and don't have to wrestle. This common 'American' myth of international wrestling doesn't stand up against the numerous examples of Americans scoring from the bottom position in important international matches. The battle to score and beat an opponent comes from every position in all three American styles of wrestling. When members of the wrestling community take a closer look at the international styles of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, they'll be pleased to see the strategy and tenacity needed to score from bottom in scholastic wrestling is also rewarded in international matches.

Provided by the National Coaches Education Program (NCEP)

Since it is still snowing and I'm not sure if the driveway has been plowed, practice tonight is canceled. Everyone must come Friday to get your fundraiser orders. See you on Friday. Thanks, Coach Moss

Our pictures are in! They came out really good and I will be handing them out at practice.