Gilmore's Take: Klited Klassic

Kilted Klassic 2nd Place Finish

As a coach you are always hoping for improvements from week to week.  I feel we did make improvements from week 1 to week 2. I am very please with our performace this past weekend.  We were intense, kept alot of pressure, and we were working to score all the time.  You could see our confidence for the most part. There were a couple times when we squared off against some tougher competition that we lost our confidence and went back to old habits.  We train to beat the wrestler who is better than us, not to just dominate the wrestlers we should beat.  We have to have confidence in our style and stick with it in all matches not just the easy matches.  The level of competition can not change our mindset, we need to approach every match the same way and live in the moment.  Don't get caught up in the situation, stay focused on what you can control.

Wrestler of the Week: Jeremy Amons Kilted Klassic

Alex Sadowski 170lb Champion

Austin Peak 182 lb Champion

Freshman Alex Sadowski and Senior Austin Peak both earned Wrestler of the Week honors for their performances at the Jeremy Amons Kilted Klassic held at Sparta Highland High School.   Alex was crowned champion at the 170 pound weight class where he earned 3 pins and a 5-1 decision.  Austin stood on top of the 182 pound class earning 3 pins, 1 tech fall, and 1 decision.

Wrestler of the week: Beachwood

Michael Urban- 195

Michael Urban 195 Runner-Up

Michael went 3-1 this weekend with 3 pins, earning him a second place finish at the Beachwood Kick-off classic. 

Gilmore's Take: Beachwood Kick-Off Classic

We kicked off the 2013-2014 season off this past Saturday at Beachwood High School.  With only bringing 9 wrestlers we knew we were not going for any team title, but we were going for individual accomplishments.  I was not really worried about how many people we placed.  Of course I would have liked to have everyone bring home hardware, but I was more worried about seeing our guys wrestle with our style against all opponents.  Every wrestler showed glimpse of our new philosophy, but as the competition became greater our confidence in our abilities became less and we reverted back to old habits.  We have to get to a point where we wrestle every opponent the same way.  It doesn't matter if you are better than your opponent or if they are better than you.  We need to have the same approach for every match we wrestle.  I have seen a lot of progress since the 1st day of season, but old habits are hard to break.  We need to get to the point where we are so confident in what we do in the practice room that their is no room for doubt.  We doubt our selves in the big matches, and those are the ones that we need the most confidence.  We can't let situations determine how we are going to wrestle.  We need to live in the moment, and only worry about what we can control.   We can control our focus and our attitude toward the match.  If we are focused on how tough our opponent is then we our not focused on what we can do, we our focused on what he can do. To be successful we need to have an offensive mindset not a defense and protect mindset.  

2013-2014 Wrestling Calendar

Season Starts Nov. 8th

2013-2014 spirit wear

Gilmore's Take: Disney Duals

Now that we have been back for a couple days, and I have had some time to reflect on our Disney trip I can not describe how proud I am of these guys. This group was made up of 4 middle schoolers, 8 freshman, 1 sophomore and 3 juniors. This group of guys have worked out since March with a goal of competing at this national tournament. In our preparation for the duals we lifted 4 days a week and wrestled twice a week. We also competed in 3 different dual meet tournaments and attended a couple camps. By the time we loaded the bus we were physically prepared to Wrestle. The only question was how mentally ready they were for a national tournament. After our 1st day of competition it was clear that most of our guys were a little over whelmed, we just were not competing like we are capable of. After a very persuasive speech from all the coaches and a very fun night at Old Town the guys started to relax. From that point on we started wrestling better, and as the days grew so did our intensity. By the end of the tournament we were beating teams that would have best us earlier in the tournament.   

   On the last day of the tournament we were all beat up and tired, and our last team forfeited to us. We had the opportunity to walk away and leave on an easy finish. We didn't travel almost 900 miles to get a free ride, so I found us an extra match. This in my opinion was the most important match of the tournament. This match would truly test our mental toughness. The big question was could we mentally compete against a very tough team after we were already told we were done and after being sore from 4 days of competition. To my surprise we stepped up to the challenge and wrestled our best match of the year. That one match summed up everything we have be teaching these guys all season. We learned how to fight when we were beat up. We learned to fight when we were tired. We learned to fight when things weren't going our way. And we learned that we can break our opponents when we have the will to fight and they don't. We became a better team right there and then.  Champions do what they don't want to do when they don't want to do it. On that day we became champions. I am very proud of everyone. We left Disney a better team than we entered.

 

Disney Duals

Wednesday June 19th- Disney money is due
Saturday June 22nd - training camp featuring Brandon Gambucci 9-2
                                 - Indians Game $10
Sunday June 23rd- training camp featuring Greg Gilmore & Jake Piatt 9-2
Monday June 24th -training camp 9-2
Tuesday June 25th-training camp 9-2
Wednesday June 26th - carpool to Fitch high school  10:00am
                                - practice with Fitch 12:00-1:30
                                - load bus from Fitch at 3:00
Thursday June 27th- arrive at Disney 11:00am
                                - weigh in 12:00
                                - check into hotel and relax the rest of the day
Friday June 28th -compete
Saturday June 29th- compete
Sunday June 30th- compete
Monday July 1st- check out of hotel
                           - final round of competition
                           - load bus for Ohio
Tuesday July 2nd - arrive back at Fitch high school 8:00 am
                             - carpool back to Medina
What to bring
Wrestling singlets, wrestling shoes, bag to bring to the arena, swim suit, clothes, shower supplies, money for food and souvenirs ( breakfast is included at the hotel, we will go to downtown Disney one night) movies for the bus ride

Ohio Duals

Where: New Albany High School

              7600 Fodor Rd.   New Albany, Oh  43054

Cost: $25

Schedule:

       6:00 am- Meet at the Wrestling Room

          6:15 am – Leave for New Albany

          8:00 am – Arrive at New Albany- Check in, Warm-up

          9:00 am- 1^st round match

          10:15 am- 2^nd round match

          11:30 am- 3^rd round match

          1:00 pm- 4^th round match

          2:15 pm- 5^th round match

         3:30 pm- Leave for home

          5:15 pm- Arrive back in Medina

What to Bring:

       $25 Entry Fee

          Waiver Form

          Wrestling Shoes

          Singlet

          Change of Clothes

          Shower Supplies

          Food or money to eat throughout the day

Jordan's Camp

Jordan’s Camp Itinerary

What to Bring

ü     Work out gear for 5 workouts

ü     Dirty Clothes Bag

ü     Shower Supplies

ü     Running Shoes

ü     Air mattress, bedding, pillow

ü     Lounging clothes (shorts, t-shirts, sweats etc.)

ü     Extra food and drinks for snacks (meals are provided)

ü     Money for souvenirs

ü     Football, corn hole, Frisbee ( something to do during free time)

Schedule

Friday

ü     3:30- Meet at the wrestling room

ü     3:45- Leave for camp

ü     6:30- arrive at camp and team registration

ü     7:00-9:00 Technique

ü     10:00 Movie

ü     11:30 Lights out

Saturday

ü     7:15- Wake up

ü     7:30- Daily Run

ü     8:00- Breakfast

ü     9:00-11:00  Technique

ü     12:00 Lunch

ü     2:00-4:00 Technique and Drilling

ü     5:00 Supper

ü     7:00-9:00 Technique, Drilling, Live Wrestling

ü     10:00 Movie

ü     11:30- Lights Out

Sunday

ü     7:15- Wake up

ü     7:30- Daily Run

ü     8:00- Breakfast

ü     9:00-10:45  Technique

ü     11:00 Check Out

ü     2:00 arrive back in Medina

2012-2013 Banquet

It Takes a Little More to be a Champion

     As we enter into the week of districts I find it very difficult to make the transition from a competitive coach to a spectator.   As I have had a couple days to reflect on the events that happened during sectionals and the rest of the season it became clear to me that it is not what we did during the season, but rather what we did not do during the off-season that  left us wanting more.  Not that we deserved more, but left us wanting more.  Now, this lack of off-season work was not due to the lack of opportunity, but rather a lack of participation.  There were open mat opportunities 2-3 days a week, lifting 4 days a week, with tournaments and camps throughout.  Unfortunately, these opportunities were not taken advantage of.  I would see the the same 2-3 people at open mats, lifting, or tournaments and get the same excuses from everyone else. 
     If you look at the Wadsworth's and the Brecksville's, where everyone on there team is competitive, it  is no secret how they got that way.  They put in a lot of dedication and time.  I would see them at the camps I worked and at the tournaments, along with the various open mats I would attend.  They are out there as a team getting better.  You can not expect to beat the competition that is working 11 months a year to get better when you are only working during the season.  It takes a little more to be a champion.  Not only does working in the off-season prepare you technically for the next wrestling season, it prepares you physically and mentally.  The wrestling season is a long hard grind.  If you have not prepared your body physically through weight training and wrestling it will not hold up through the season.  This is part of the reason why we had so many injuries this year.  Our bodies were not prepared to make it through the grind of the season. 
     This is where the excuses have to stop.  If you want to get to that next level and be successful at this great sport, you have to make a commitment to reach your goals.  Being a champion does not happen by chance, it happens by sacrifice and hard work. This off-season will determine what kind of team we will have next season.  I need to see a commitment from now to next November.  This is the time to be self motivated to evolve into the best competitor you can be.  There is no secret to success.  Success is earned it is never given.  To have success you must have Desire, Dedication and Determination.  Most people have the desire, they lack the dedication and determination.  Don't be like most people.  Your success story starts now!

Wrestler of the Week: Danny Gannon

Danny went 6-0 this week with 5 pins and did not have a point scored on him.  Danny started his week off with a pin at the Hudson dual and continued his winning ways throught he Bedford Pool Tournament where he pinned his way into the finals.  Danny then took the Title with a 7-0 victory.  Danny's record is now 17-5 on the season. 

Gilmore's Take: Bedford Tournament

With 5 starters out of the line-up this weekend for the Bedford Pool Tournament, we knew that this tournament was going to be about individual accomplishments and not so much about where we end up as a team.  As individuals we wrestled pretty well.  6 of our 9 wrestlers placed, and we had 3 finalist with 2 champions.   The bright spot for me was us winning the close matches.  As inexperienced wrestlers many times the match is pin or be pinned.  This weekend we won several 1 point matches, a couple come from behind matches, and 2 over time matches.  Those are the matches you want to win, and the ones that are fun to watch.  The more tough matches you win, the greater confidence you have.  This sport is a very mental sport.  A wrestler with confidence is a hard wrestler to beat.  On the other hand a wrestler that doubts himself is easy to beat.  As soon as 1 thing doesn't go their way, they have mentally been beat.  Then it is only a matter of time until they are beat on the mat as well.  A few wrestlers took losses or did not finish where they wanted to finish.  The key to improving from this experience is remembering that feeling and bringing it into the room to motivate you improve on your weaknesses.  Sometimes wrestlers have too short of a memory.  You don't want to focus on that loss and have it bring you down, but you need to remember that feeling and truly not want to feel that way again.  That is motivation to bring yourself to a new level.  When you hate losing more that you like winning, then huge changes can be made.

     We know have 10 days until our next competition.  We are going to take these 10 days and focus on improving our technique and improving on our mental toughness.  We have made huge improvement from day 1 this season.  We are now looking to polish everything up and mentally prepare for the last part of our season. 

Gilmore's Take: Hudson

It is hard to have an inexperienced team and not get caught up in the whole picture.  If you do get caught up in the whole picture and you just look at our record it might look as though we are not doing very well.  We have been stressing to our guys that they need to wrestle in the moment, we need to focus on individual performances.  If we succeed in the individual performances then the whole picture will be a little more pleasant to look at.  We have also stressed that they need to expect to win, not just hope that it happens.  I felt that we did a pretty good job of this last night at Hudson.  If you look at the score 49-22, it looks like we did not perform very well.  On the other hand, if you look at the individual performances we went out and fought for 6 straight minutes.  For the most part, I saw our wrestlers fighting hard for positions, and trying to attack.  Yes we made mistakes and our technique was not perfect, but we had attacked for the whole match.  Now that we have the mentality of not backing down, technique will start to fall into place.  We have come a long way this year.  We have a long way still to go, but there is a lot of progress being made.  We now get back into the practice room and continue the grind, and continue moving forward.  To be a champion it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down.  It matters how many times you get back up and step onto the line.

Gilmore's Take: Mid-Season Review

     Over the winter break I fell off a little bit with updating our web page and writing my blog.  Therefore, I am going to evaluate the 1st half of our season, and talk about what we need to improve on for the 2nd half. 
     As I look back over the 1st month of competition we have had our ups and downs.  The beginning of December our young team saw some success, and felt a sense of satisfaction for the hard work that they have put in.  As winter break came and our competition was increase our lack of experience really began to show.  As it became more difficult to to accomplish the little things like heavy hands, moving our feet and hand control our frustration level began to rise.  Just like everything in life, when things begin to get tough old habits come out.  We saw this throughout our competitions these last two weeks.  Many of our wrestlers started looking at matches and hoping they could win, or hoping their opponent would make a mistake.  We turned into a team that started using bad technique in hopes that it would work, instead of using our constant pressure philosophy and making things happen.  With that being said, this is expected with a young team.  We have pointed out our mistakes and we are working on improving them.
      I think Rocky said it best: "It ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.  It's how much you can take, and keep moving forward.  That's how winning is done."  For us to be successful the remainder of the season we need to keep this quote in mind.  We are not going to win every match, but we need to be hard nosed and stick to our game plan in every match.  If you are willing to wrestle the full 6 minutes of a match, and your opponent is not, you will have opportunities to score and take control of the match.  By doing the little things, and competing for 6 full minutes, you give yourself a chance to win.  Our goal is to be "in" every match.  If you are "in" the match, and you are the more aggressive wrestler your chances to win increase dramatically.  As the season wears on you will start to see wrestlers looking for excuses not to compete, or just wanting their season to be over.  By being the wrestler who is willing to "keep moving forward" you will start beating those wrestlers who are suppose to be better than you.  Mental toughness is a very important part of this sport.  We have to win the mental game.  When we can start winning the mental game, we will see our potential turn into success. 

Wrestler of the Week- Austin Peak

Austin earned a very hard fought victory against Stow this past Thursday.  Trailing the match going into the 3rd period, Austin scored an escape and a takedown with back points to win 6-3.  Austin increased his record to 7-11

Wrestler of the week- Brandon Gandolf

Brandon earned 8th place at the M.I.T. over break.  On his route to the podium he had a very exciting pin in his placement match.  Brandon has increased his record to 6-4