Archive for 'Coaches'
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Tripping using a Key-Lock
January 9, 2007 by Oliver SaludAll-American Erik Duus trips California state champion Greg Crane using a key-lock.
Video & Editing: MCast Productions and Oliver Salud
Throwing with a Key-Lock
January 9, 2007 by Oliver SaludAll-American Erik Duus trips California state champion Greg Crane using a key-lock.
Video & Editing: MCast Productions and Oliver Salud
Learning Zalesky’s Way
November 6, 2006 by Wrestling BlogIf you want to be a winner it is imperative you surround yourself with people of that like mind. The OSU Beavers look to have added a big foundation piece to their structure in Zalesky:
“Five months is to soon for a total makeover. But the 45 year old Zalesky is already putting his stamp on the Beavers,”
No one left the team during the coaching transition, and the large alumni group has been supportive”
GO BEAVERS!
Read the article at:
Learning Zalesky’s Way
Derek DelPorto, Slippery Rock Head Coach
May 23, 2006 by My Wrestling Room
Biography:
Derek DelPorto, a former All-America performer and assistant coach at Slippery Rock University and a 1999 SRU graduate, was recently named as The Rock’s interim head wrestling coach.
DelPorto returns to The Rock after a four-year absence, during which time he served two seasons each as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma and Cornell University.
DelPorto finished his Rock career with a 116-38 record in four seasons of competition, which ranks as the third-best win total in Rock history. He earned NCAA Division I All-America honors in 1999 after garnering an eighth-place national finish as a heavyweight competitor.
The latest addition to a list of eight Rock wrestlers who have earned Division I All-America honors, DelPorto was a three-time East Regional champion. He won the heavyweight title in 1998 and 1999 after claiming the 177-pound title as a freshman in 1996.
DelPorto also captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference heavyweight individual championship as a junior in 1998.
Coaching Tip: “The Pancake”
The pancake is a move that has been around for a long time. I like to teach it as a hip-toss from the mat. This particular pancake position is initiated from your opponent?s offense and hit successfully with precise timing and position as a counter to your opponent?s shot.
To understand how you hit a pancake defending a shot, you must first realize the position you are looking to start the move from. As your opponent takes a shot, you are actually going to catch your opponent in a ?50/50? or ?over and under? position. This position is mostly seen while both men are in the neutral position and are chest to chest.(lateral drop position)
When your opponent takes a shot, you should get your hips and feet back so your legs are out of reach and your chest and arms are the first thing your opponent hits. Remember, keep your head up and chest out. Once contact is made and you have caught your opponent in the over-under position, you will explode your hips and body into your opponent and in the same direction your head is on. Using the momentum of your opponent?s shot, turn your head and chest 180 degrees keeping your ?under? arm tight to your opponent?s body and secure enough to guide his body to a chest on chest position toward the mat. You may find it easier to go to one knee(inside knee) so that you lower your level and are closer to the mat. This is NOT a throw. This is a guided hip toss from the mat. Good luck!
Rob Koll, Cornell Coach
May 23, 2006 by My Wrestling Room
Biography:
The David Dunlop ‘59 Head Coach of Wrestling
Rob Koll begins his 12th season as the head coach of wrestling at Cornell and the former NCAA champion has been the driving force behind the Big Red’s return to prominence on the national stage.
Koll, who served as an assistant coach for the Big Red from 1989-93, has enjoyed great success since arriving in Ithaca, helping the Big Red claim nine Ivy titles, two EIWA titles and seven top-20 NCAA finishes during his 15 seasons on the coaching staff. In 1999, Koll became the first David R. Dunlop `59 Head Coach of Wrestling after the position was endowed by a gift from anonymous donors.
With three wins in last season’s final duals at the Virginia Quad Meet, Koll surpassed the legendary Walter O’Connell for the second- most head coaching wins at Cornell with 132. His overall record of 132-49-4 results in a winning percentage of .724, the second highest in Cornell wrestling history.
Over his past four seasons at the Big Red helm, Koll has led the Big Red to unprecedented stretch of success, highlighted by nine All-Americans, three Ivy League titles and some of the top-ranked recruiting classes in the country. In each of the past two seasons, the Big Red has sent eight wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, finishing 10th in the country in 2003, followed by an 11th-place finish in 2004. In the 2002-03 campaign, Cornell was ranked as high as fourth in the nation during the regular season.
Koll has been named the New York State Coach of the Year twice in his career, including in 1994-95 after guiding the Big Red to a 15-5 record and the Ivy League championship.
In his first season as head coach on the East Hill, Koll was named the Wrestling USA Rookie Coach of the Year after leading the Big Red to a 14-6 record. Koll was instrumental in helping David Hirsch win the 1994 NCAA championship at 126 pounds. Hirsch was the first Cornellian since Dave Auble (1960) to win an NCAA title. Koll, 39, helped guide the Big Red to a 74-14-1 slate as an assistant to Jack Spates, now the head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma. During that time, Cornell won two EIWA titles, five Ivy League crowns and its first-ever New York state championship.
Cornell, which has had 16 All-Americans the past 15 years, including three in 1993, 2003 and 2004, finished 17th at the 1994 NCAA championships after placing 10th in 1993, 15th in 1992, 39th in 1991 and 20th in 1990. The Red was ranked as high as eighth in the Amateur Wrestling News Division I poll during the 1992-93 season, the first time Cornell was ranked among the top 10.
In addition to serving as a member of the wrestling staff, Koll has been the coordinator of the Cornell wrestling camp and has been a member of the physical education staff.
A 1989 graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in communications, Koll set the wrestling standard of excellence at Chapel Hill. In 1988, he became the national champion at 158 pounds after beating Joe Pantaleo of Michigan for the title. The winningest grappler in the school’s and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s history with a 150-20-1 record, he was UNC’s first four-time All-American and is the second wrestler to win an NCAA title. He was the 1988 recipient of the Patterson Medal, the highest honor UNC gives to its most outstanding senior athlete.
A three-time ACC champion, Koll helped his team to the same status for three years as well. He was twice picked to participate in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, a match that showcases the top collegiate talent in the nation, and was victorious on both occasions. Prior to his graduation from North Carolina, Koll travelled to Italy as part of the NWCA All-Star team.
Koll served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater during the 1988-89 season prior to joining the Cornell staff.
He was the 1990 and 1993 World Cup champion and was a 1992 U.S. Olympic alternate. A 1992 World Grand Prix champ, Koll placed fifth at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo and was the 1989 Pan-American Games champion. He was the 1990 and 1991 national freestyle champion and was runner-up at the 1989 Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City.
A native of State College, Pa., Koll was a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association champion at State College Area High School. His father, Bill, who passed away in September 2003, was a three-time NCAA champion at 145 pounds and was twice voted the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
Koll and his wife, Rachel, live in Lansing and have two sons, William and Daniel.
Coaching Tip:
The best advice coaching advice that I ever received came from my father, who happened to be a 3X National Champion and Olympic team member. He told me to find out what my kids hate to do and then make them do it over and over again. This makes sense because you will find that wrestlers enjoy doing what they are good at doing. Of course this does nothing for their weaknesses which is what they should be working on.
Steve Garland, Virginia Coach
May 23, 2006 by My Wrestling Room
Biography:
Steve Garland, a former All-American at the University of Virginia, begins his fifth season as an assistant coach at Cornell and his third season as the top assistant for Rob Koll.
In Garland’s first four seasons with the Big Red, he has played a crucial role in the team’s impressive accomplishments, helping Cornell to three Ivy titles and three top-20 NCAA finishes through building one of the best lightweight wrestling corps in the country. Garland has been instrumental in the progress of three-time All-American and 2003 national champion Travis Lee, along with the development of two-time All-American Dustin Manotti.
Garland has played a critical role in the recent success of the team’s recruiting classes, including the 2002-03 group, which included five high school All-Americans and was the fifth-ranked incoming class in the nation.
Garland, a 2000 University of Virginia graduate, was a three-time ACC finalist and a winner of the ACC tournament at 125 pounds in 1997. He qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of his three years of competition. At the 2000 NCAA tournament, Garland earned All-America honors, falling in the national title match after he upset the top seed, Jody Strittmatter of Iowa, 9-7 in overtime. That same year, he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Year. In his career, he compiled 93 wins, including a 30-5 mark during his senior season, when he competed in the NWCA All-Star meet
Coaching Tip:
Drilling: Drilling should be done in 3 stages:
- When drilling make sure to start off slow, focusing on using perfect technique.
Use slow, controlled movements to really emphasize the set-up, shot and finish as close to perfect as possible. - In the second stage you should now start to “pick up the pace” and start to drill fast and smooth. This is not live or resistance drilling yet but you do want to have a good hard and fast pace. This will develop the “muscle memory” you will need to be able to hit your moves the same way in a match situation.
- The last stage is the hardest. At this point you want to be drilling as hard as you can. You want your drill partner to provide plenty of resistance…meaning the partner should fight your shots and make you work two, three or maybe even four different moves/finishes to get the takedown. This stage is great for conditioning and mental toughness.
Tod Giles, Olympic Alternate
May 23, 2006 by My Wrestling Room
Biography:
Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee - 1999
Rockland County Hall of Fame Inductee - 2000
SILVER CERTIFIED - USAW Wrestling National Coaches Education Program
Coaching Experience
Varsity Coach Clarkstown South HS - 2002 - 2004
Head Coach USMA ? West Point 1998 -2000
Assistant Coach USMA ? West Point 1996 -1998
Volunteer Assistant Coach Georgia State University ? 1994 -1995
Assistant Boston University ? 1984 - 1985, 1991 - 1994
8 years experience coaching youth clubs
23 year instructor for Carl Adams World Class Wrestling School
International Wrestling Experience
National Team Member 1989, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96 & 97
Two Time Olympic Team Alternate, 1988 & 1996
Freestyle Military World Champion - 1988
Collegiate Wrestling Experience - Boston University
All-American (1st Ever at BU) - 105-13?1 Record
4 time New England Conference Champion - 4 time NCAA Qualifier
Coaching Tip:
You In Relation to your opponent… “Clock Work Wrestling”
For years I have always heard coaches tell the athletes to create angles and attack their opponent. In my own competitve years I thought… wow, I wonder what angle I need to be at?
Shortly into my career as a wrestler I moved into coaching by working at camps and clinics in the summer and year round. In juggling helping others while helping myself, I determined that time was of the essence in preparing athletes for competition. And if it was all about TIME, then so too must the attack angle be about TIME. I developed the concept of Clock Work Wrestling… which basically states that “wrestling exists in the face of a clock,” and each athlete should view that face of the clock with your opponent always in the center and you always at 6 o’clock. This clock is dynamic and always moving.. so, inevitably, the opponent is trying to keep you at 6 as he is strong and balanced when he has you there.
Attacking straight on, while it is a tough and admirable trait, will ultimately tire us out and leave us with few points to speak of. Moving to our left or right and attacking almost immediately (if not sooner) with a powerful attack, on the other hand, will show its benefits almost immediately.
What has become increasingly easier for me to convey is the fact that, after I examined countless hours of video of both myself and my athletes while coaching at West Point years ago, I found that attacking between 5 and 7 o’clock garnered less than a 15% success rate. Not very efficient. Attacking from 4-5 o’clock and from 7-8 o’clock more than doubled the scoring proficiency to about 40%. As you would imagine the rate of effectiveness when attacking from 3-4 and 8-9 o’clock was markedly higher and exceeded 85%.
So, to this I say, the angles are the way to go… don’t try to get to any degrees…or break out your old dusty protractor… that’s way too complicated. Get yourself inside of 5 and outside of 7 for starters and when you get there… go for what you know! DO NOT HESITATE! For in the smallest fraction of a second, your opponent will have you back at 6 o’clock and unable to attack with the vigor of a champion.
Tom Shifflet, UNC Coach
May 23, 2006 by My Wrestling Room
Biography:
Tom Shifflet enters his fourth season as head wrestling coach at UNC Greensboro. Shifflet was named the new head wrestling coach for Spartans on May 17, 2002, after five successful seasons as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Cornell University.
Last season, Shifflet guided UNCG to the most wins in school history as the Spartans recorded a 12-5 overall record, 4-1 in the Southern Conference. For the second consecutive year, Shifflet and UNCG produced the SoCon Freshman of the Year as Joe Kemmerer earned the award following a 31-7 season. Kemmerer, along with teammates Daren Burns and Joe Lowe, each won their respective weight class at the Southern Conference Mat Jam and qualified for the NCAA Tournament under Shifflet?s direction.
The 2003-04 season was a breakthrough year as the Spartans claimed their first winning season since the 1998-99 campaign. The nine dual wins, an improvement of eight from the previous season, ranks as the second most in the program?s 11-year history. Shifflet guided a young Spartan team to wins over ACC foes North Carolina, Duke and Maryland. Two of his recruits, Kevin Artis (141 lbs.) and Daren Burns (197 lbs.) were conference champions in their respective weight classes. Burns was also named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.
Shifflet?s first campaign at the helm of the Spartan wrestling team was marred by several close defeats translating into just one win in 2002-03. However, the team proved to be a formidable opponent nearly pulling out victories against Campbell, Old Dominion and Duke. The team?s lone victory came in a 32-9 pounding of Southern Conference rival Davidson.
In 2003, Shifflet managed to sign one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. The class, which included one High School All-American, four Honorable Mention High School All-Americans and seven state champions, received an honorable mention based on InterMat?s 2003 final rankings.
During his tenure with the Big Red, Shifflet coached 24 NCAA qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans and helped Cornell to a pair of Ivy League championships (1999 and 2001). The Big Red was also consistently ranked among the nation?s top-15 programs.
Shifflet was also instrumental with the success of their student-athletes off the mat as well. Cornell?s wrestling squad carried a 3.1 grade point average this past fall which ranked eighth nationally.
As a student-athlete, Shifflet was a four-time national qualifier, three-time All-American and registered 118 wins for national powerhouse Edinboro University from 1992-1995. Competing at 142 pounds, he finished seventh at nationals as a freshman, sixth as a sophomore and third as a senior.
A native of Amherst, NY, Shifflet graduated from Edinboro University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education.
Coaching Tip: Drill Match
Implementing drill matches into your workout is a great way to simulate a live match. These matches will keep you healthy, in peak condition while focusing on chain wrestling in all three positions (top, bottom, neutral). These matches are good anytime of the season, but especially when you are close to competition.
Example I: High school match (periods 2-2-2)
Period I Start in neutral position, wrestler A sets-up wrestler B takes him down with little resistance. Continue to wrestle with wrestler B improving on bottom and scoring an escape. The next takedown should be wrestler B scoring the takedown and wrestler A improving on bottom and escaping. They should continue without a break for the whole two minutes.
Period II Starts in referees position with one wrestler working to escape. Once he escapes you continue just like the first period with both wrestlers trading takedowns.
Period III Other wrestler starts on top.
Note: These matches should be intense with constant movement for the whole period. Focus on good position and only execute the moves you would use in live competition.
Example II: High school match (period 2-2-2) focusing on certain techniques
Period I Start in neutral position, wrestler A can only score on a re-shot. Once taken down wrestler B must execute a granby roll to escape. Continue for the whole period.
Period II Start in referees position, bottom wrestler must stand-up to escape. Once on your feet in order to score you must finish all takedowns on your feet. Continue for whole period.
Period III Other man starts on top, bottom man can execute anything to escape. Once on your feet the wrestler must hit a takedown into a turn without hesitation, then the bottom man escapes.
Note: This is a great way to work on team weaknesses, strengths and get a lot of repetition. Remember that you should have little resistance allowing the wrestler to execute their move hard with good technique. Be creative!!
