4 new video shorts from Beyond the Ultimate

Beyond the Ultimate has a new series of videos featuring a number of wrestlers

 Tom Brands

   

 

 http://vimeo.com/31560387

Brent Metcalf










http://vimeo.com/31559968


Jayson Ness

http://vimeo.com/31560270



J. Robinson

 http://vimeo.com/31560137

Living their faith at every moment

An opening prayer at a fund raiser in Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio Regional Training Center(RTC). Recently 2 of our 7 world team members are training at the Ohio RTC, as well as Olympic Champion Henry Cejudo, national team members Logan Stieber, JD Bergman, and Shawn Bunch. We are excited to be moving to Ohio soon and the opportunity to form relationships with some of these guys. Great to see wrestlers living out their faith in every part of life.


http://www.flowrestling.org/coverage/240301-Ohio-RTC-GOhioCasts/video/508981-Quick-Prayer

AIA featured in College Sports TV

Clip from College Sports TV on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota had won 2 out of the last 3 NCAA tournaments when this documentary aired. This clip features Olympic Champion John Peterson and his discipleship of wrestlers at the university. Just another example how God is using the sport of wrestling to draw people into a relationship with Him!

Univ. of Oklahoma Coach retires to pursue full time ministry

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma Head Wrestling Coach Jack Spates, who is in his 18th season with the Sooners, announced today that he plans to retire from the position at the end of the current season.

“This is something that I had planned for quite a while,” Spates said. “Our wrestlers, recruits and my friends and colleagues are aware that this is the direction I plan to take.

“I’ve been blessed by my tenure at OU. I’ve worked with the greatest kids, athletic director and president. I will leave with a smile on my face. It’s a young man’s game and a sport that requires tremendous passion and energy and I feel God is leading me in another direction at this time.”

That direction may involve ministerial work. Spates received a master’s degree in theology and education from Baptist Bible Seminary in 1980.

“About eight years ago, God brought me back to faith and I’m very excited about the plans that He has for me,” Spates said. “I anticipate that those plans are in the ministry and probably campus ministry.”

OU President David L. Boren said Spates impact reached outside of wrestling.

“Coach Spates has made a great contribution to the University of Oklahoma, not only as a coach but also as a mentor and role model,” Boren said. “The entire university community is grateful for his many years of service. We wish him well in the future.”

Joe Castiglione, OU’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Program and Athletics Director, said Spates was inspirational with his enthusiasm.

“I congratulate Jack on a wonderful career and on all his notable accomplishments within the sport of wrestling,” he said. “He has been a successful and passionate advocate for the Sooners and the sport for many years. His daily enthusiasm for the job has not only been refreshing, it has been inspiring.

“He has led our program to national prominence and further secured Oklahoma’s name among the top wrestling programs. We are and will always be grateful for Jack’s leadership and know that he will continue to be a positive influence on those he mentors in the future.”

Spates’ start in wrestling was the result of a high school prank. Spates was 15 years old and just 90 pounds when some of his friends signed his name to a wrestling team form without his knowledge.

“I could never have envisioned the career I’ve had in the sport,” he reflected. “Wrestling has been so special to me and has impacted by whole life.

“And I am so proud to have been associated with the University of Oklahoma. I will always be a Sooner.”

Spates’ OU mark currently stands at 235-96-12, including a 5-1 mark this season. Including his time as head coach at Cornell, he is 309-110-13.

He has been honored three times as Big 12 Coach of the Year and was the 2006 National Coach of the Year. He has coached two Big 12 conference team titles, 53 All-Americans and six national champions at OU. He has also led 30 Oklahoma wrestlers to individual Big 12 titles.

Under Spates’ direction, the Sooners have accepted six team trophies over the last nine seasons as a top-four finisher at the NCAA Tournament. He is also third among active head coaches for most All-Americans produced during his tenure with 53.

Spates became the University of Oklahoma’s 12th head wrestling coach in 1993. At that time, OU’s average finish at the NCAA Championships was 23rd over the previous three seasons. Recently, his Sooner teams have placed in the nation’s top four in six of the past nine seasons, including third-place finishes in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Not only has Spates built programs into regional and national powers, he has also served as a mentor to several Division I head coaches. Among those are Rob Koll, head coach at Cornell, and Brian Smith, head coach at Missouri, both of whom were assistants to Spates.

As a wrestler, Spates won the New York State Championship and placed third in the nation, becoming a high school All-American. As a collegiate wrestler at Slippery Rock, he claimed the collegiate national championship in 1973 and was NCAA runner-up the following year at 118 pounds. He compiled a 118-8 career record, the second-best win total in school history.

Subsequently, Spates was inducted into the Slippery Rock Athletic Hall of Fame.
Spates began coaching as the head assistant at Baptist Bible College in 1975. He quickly earned a reputation as a builder of programs when he helped lead the small private school to six conference championships.

After leaving Baptist Bible College in 1981, Spates entered the business world before returning for one year as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh where he helped direct the Panthers to their first winning season in five years.

From there, Spates served as head assistant coach at the U.S. Military Academy. While Spates was West Point, the Black Knights attained their highest ever NCAA finish (13th) and were ranked as high as No. 11 during the 1987 season. Spates helped recruit Army’s highest-rated class, which was judged No. 7 in the nation. He was also named runner-up for national assistant-coach-of-the-year honors.

Spates became the head coach at Cornell in 1988. During his five years with the Big Red, he became Cornell’s all-time winningest coach by percentage. S pates compiled a 74-14-1 record and developed a program that offered no scholarships into an Eastern and national power. His last two Cornell teams dominated the Eastern Championships, crowning nine individual champions.

Cornell also steadily improved at the NCAA Championships, rising from no national placing to finishes of 20th, 15th and 10th place. Spates was named New York Collegiate Coach of the Year, Eastern Coach of the Year and New York State Wrestling Man of the Year.

Spates also wears many hats outside the world of wrestling. He graduated magna cum laude from graduate school and was awarded the Greek Award for Proficiency in the Koine Greek Language as well as the Literacy Award for Dissertation of Publishable Quality. Spates’ dedication to education is still evident today as his program regularly produces Academic All-Big 12 and Academic All-America selections.

Author of the highly-acclaimed wrestling book Mat Snacks: Wrestling Stories to Feed the Spirit and Tickle the Funny Bone, Spates has developed a reputation as a motivational speaker for businesses, schools and civic clubs. Spates is also a songwriter who has written ballads for all six of his national champions.

Spates, a native of Smithtown, NY, and his wife, Barby, reside in Norman. He is the proud father of four children: Jessica, Jeremy, Justin and Jenilyn.

Castiglione said that a national search will be conducted to identify Spates’ successor.

Unfading Glory on your smart phone

Want to watch Unfading Glory on your smart phone, or show it to your friends? Now you can just use your smart phone and scan the QR code

Wrestling fastest growing sport in the U.S.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has released its 2010-11 High School Athletics Participation Survey, and the sport of wrestling has grown in all five categories identified.

The statistics for boys and girls wrestling grew during the 2010-11 season concerning the number of athletes participating.

In 2010-11, there were 273,732 boys competing in wrestling, an increase of 842 wrestlers from the previous year (a 0.3 percent increase)

The number of girl wrestlers in high schools grew to 7,351 athletes, an increase of 1,217 wrestlers from the previous year (an impressive 19.8 percent increase). This made girls wrestling the fastest growing sport for high school girls in terms of percentage increase.

The number of girl high school wrestlers has gained every year since 1990, a streak of 22 straight years of growth in participation

Wrestling remained the No. 6 most popular boys sport in terms of number of participants and the No. 8 most popular sport in terms of number of teams.

When combining the number of boys and girls involved in wrestling in 2010-11, the total number grew to 281,083, which increased 2,059 for the year. This amounts to a 0.7 percent increase in total wrestlers for the year.

There was an increase in the number of high schools which fielded boys wrestling teams. In the 2010-11 season, there were 10,407 boys wrestling teams, an increase of 44 teams, for a percentage gain of 0.4 percent.

There were 1,215 girls wrestling teams this season, an increase of 206 teams, for a percentage gain of 20.4 percent.

For the 22nd consecutive year, the number of student participants in high school athletics increased overall.

There was a total of 7,667,955 participants in 2010-11 in all sports, an increase of 39,578 for the year.

The top 10 states for boys wrestling participation were: 1. California (27,833); 2. Illinois (17,133); 3. New York (14,367); 4. Ohio (11,693); 5. Michigan (11,195); 6. North Carolina (10,724); 7. Pennsylvania (9,900); 8. New Jersey (9,718); 9. Georgia (8,490); 10. Florida (8,412)

Having trouble getting motivated...this should help

Watch more video of Terry Brands on flowrestling.org

Check out the post below for more information on Iowa's Terry Brands...

God is using wrestling around the world!

Radek Swaidetwo Poland

I was born into a broken family. My parents were separated. Their priority was to make money and they didn’t even have time to show love to me or my siblings. As a young boy I was looking for a hero, a person that I could look up to. I admired people from the Silver Screen like Sylvester Stallone. But during that period it was my brother who became a real idol to me. He was involved in martial arts. When I was 12 years old I began to practice wrestling in an attempt to seek his acceptance. After several wins I felt like I was finally someone in his eyes.

My brother went to fight in a war in Yugoslavia. When he went off to war he became even more of a hero to me. When he came back I admired the fact that he was using his strength in bars and night clubs. I even began to take after his actions. However, the hidden truth was that we both felt empty in our hearts and were searching for something more significant in life. I asked myself questions such as, “What happens to me when I die?” Not having an answer I was filled with fear and afraid of dying.
One day when my sister came home she was different, she was full of joy. At first I thought that this was unreal, but I soon realized that my anxiety came from lacking the joy she had. After I came back to the house from a party one night I didn’t know what to do with my life anymore. So I went to my sister and asked her to pray for me. I felt the presence of Christ. I asked Him to come into my heart and then my life began to change.

Three months later my brother also committed his life to Jesus. I admired him more than ever, because he was telling everyone about Christ and what He has done in his life.

I believe that God puts us in specific places. He has a plan for each one of us. I was filled with love for kids who live in orphanages. I knew that God was calling me to proclaim Christ’s love among children and youth. Together with my wife we have been serving youth for seven years so far. I continued to practice wrestling even though it wasn’t very easy. I attempted to finish my sports career, but there were always many obstacles to overcome. I went to the Olympic Games in Athens. The fact that I even qualified was a miracle.

Through reading the Scripture Jesus has changed my way of thinking. The Lord Jesus says, “Come to Me all of you who are burdened and weary and I will give you rest.” I was competing in a very demanding sport and many times I felt that I had had enough. But when I recalled the words of Jesus, they helped me on the mat. Now however, His words help me in a different match: the match called life!

From one of the legends of the sport...

From Beyond the Ultimate


 http://www.beyondtheultimate.com/athletes/Terry-Brands.aspx

As a sophomore in high school my [church] youth group spent a week in Colorado skiing. It was during that time that I understood what Christ could REALLY do and had already done for me. I accepted [Jesus Christ into my life as Savior] and realized that real power is through Christ.
I grew up in a broken family caused by alcohol abuse. We had little money, little material. But I did not allow that to destroy my structure of integrity formed from will, determination and guts. Christ has taught me that He is the real power and authority over all things great and otherwise.
I have heard it said that it is lonely at the top. Not true; it is lonely getting there. In society many times emphasis is placed on sex, alcohol, drugs and attending the big party. Kids are told to question authority. Values of winning and working hard are eroded in favor of mediocrity. Integrity and high moral standards are traded for worldly pleasure and quick fixes.
I gave up worldly views and “feasted on” things moral. While the temptations were there I was trained to defeat them…I am not a victim of the environment I grew up in; I am the champion of the environment God tested me in—through [the strength and power given to me by] Christ.
To win every moment we must be equipped with strong minds possessing integrity and high moral standards needed to conquer and destroy the temptations brought on by “feel good” reflexes. Christ supplies all we need to wage that war and fight those battles.

CSU Summer Conference

“You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up & strengthen what remains!” Revelation 3:1-2.

Our Staff Conference was kicked off by Francis Chan who challenged us to “secure an undistracted devotion to the Lord.” He felt the Lord lead him to Rev 3:1-2 as he prayed over what to share with all of us. He said, “You cannot experience fruitfulness when there is sin in the camp.” We were given time & space to reflect, ask God to search our hearts, & confess our sins both personally & corporately. What an honor it is to serve with an organization that takes seriously the call to examine themselves, repent, and rise up strengthened by God’s power within them! As the conference went on our national leadership team announced that around Feb 2012 Campus Crusade for Christ will be changing its name to “Cru.”

If you are interested in seeing the official statement here is a link:
http://www.ccci.org/about-us/donor-relations/our-new-name/index.htm
The name may be changing, but the mission remains the same: to be passionate in sharing the heart of Jesus with everyone who has not yet had the chance to hear about Him! During our time in Ft.Collins we also had the chance to meet with our ministry branches. It was so encouraging to gather with those who are serving with Athletes in Action! We have renewed excitement & passion to serve God alongside these families! These few days were only a taste of what is to come, and it was delicious! We are more confident than ever that God has led us to this exact place and so we continue to trust Him to get us there in His perfect timing! The time for moving is now on the horizon, we can see it getting closer!

Thank you for praying, sacrificing, believing, hoping, & dreaming with us! We are getting some responses from our last letter! Thank you for asking the Lord to bring to mind people in your life to share in this ministry with us!

Statistic given at Athletes in Action Ministry Days

for every NICKEL given... ONE person hears the Gospel

Worth Watching

Had to post this just because it is worth watching!

Campus Crusade changes name!

Many of you have probably heard that Campus Crusade for Christ has decided to change its name. Here is the official release!

CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST TO BECOME: Cru

5,000 Staff Renew Commitment to Mission: Proclaiming Jesus Christ

New Logo Points to the Cross

ORLANDO, Fla., July 22, 2011 – Staff members gathered in Ft. Collins, Colorado, this week for the biennial U.S. Staff Conference of Campus Crusade for Christ were introduced to a new name for the U.S. – Cru – and at the same time reaffirmed their commitment to proclaiming the name and love of Jesus Christ around the world. Since the mid-1990s Cru has been used as the organization’s name for many of our U.S. campus ministries, and is now used on the majority of our campuses.
The ministry also introduced a new logo, dominated by a cross above the name Cru. Steve Sellers, vice president for the U.S. explained that the inclusion of the symbol of the cross was critical to accepting the new name. “Just as our new name, Cru, visually points to the cross, everything we do as a ministry is intended to point others to the cross of Jesus Christ.”
“Anyone who knows anything about Campus Crusade for Christ knows we are passionate about one thing – connecting people to Jesus Christ,” noted president Steve Douglass. “In fact, we only exist for the purpose of helping people everywhere experience the transforming grace and forgiveness of the gospel through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.”
Steve Sellers, responding to a few media reports suggesting the ministry had changed its mission in the process of changing its name said “it is not our name that makes us a Christian organization – after all, a majority of well-known Christian organizations have nothing in their name identifying them as Christian. It is our mission which makes us Christian and our mission is a bold one, namely the fulfillment of Jesus Christ’s command to 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.’”
“Whether our ministry to Athletes, Athletes in Action, our ministry to families, FamilyLife, our JESUS film ministry or any of our 29 ministries, everything we do is intentionally designed to introduce people to the person of Jesus Christ. Consistent with Christ’s command, the JESUS film is the most translated film in history, resulting in well over 6 billion exposures to the gospel in 1,129 languages.”
The decision to expand the use of the name Cru from the campus ministries to the entire U.S. ministry is the result of a two-year study and process involving hundreds of staff members, thousands of interviews, and a list of 1,600 potential names. Sellers emphasized that the objective of the name is to “accomplish a greater level of effectiveness in ministry, and we believe Cru achieves that.” The transition to the new name will take place over the next year.
Campus Crusade for Christ is a worldwide, interdenominational Christian evangelism and discipleship organization, founded by Bill and Vonette Bright in 1951. Since its founding, Campus Crusade has become one of the largest Christian organizations in the world, served by more than 25,000 full and part-time team members in 191 countries around the world through 29 different ministries.
For more information, visit ccci.org

The Field is ripe for the harvest!

I "Rob" just got home from Iowa. I had the opportunity to talk with people about AIA Wrestling & our ministry with them! I had so many great conversations & God orchestrated experiences during my time there, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to share them with you!

I recently read an article where Iowa wrestler, Matt McDonough, talks about the wrestling culture in the state of Iowa. He says, “If you grow up in Iowa, you almost certainly know at least something about wrestling. !similar to" how you don't need to have farmed to be familiar with the crop cycles. Wrestling is just part of life around you.”    So as you can probably guess, I was eager to meet with coaches, wrestlers, & anyone who wanted to talk wrestling! What I didn’t know was how God would amaze me with all He had planned.

The University of Iowa is the county’s most storied program. The Iowa Hawkeyes, under Dan Gable’s tenure as coach, won an unprecedented 21 straight Big 10 titles and 15 out of 21 NCAA titles including 9 straight. One surprise God had for me was a ticket to Coach Gable’s retirement banquet !and to think I would have totally missed it had I gone the week earlier, as planned". The opening prayer was lead by former Hawkeye Brooks Simpson now a pastor in the Iowa City Area. I was once again reminded of the amazing number of wrestlers who have a relationship with Jesus & how God is at work in & through wrestling!

While in Iowa, I was also able to take in two practices at UI. The first day Head Coach Tom Brands started the practice telling the wrestlers about a famous old “best seller” !Bible" that he had been reading that day. He included a few of the lessons that he had been
learning from reading it. The second workout I was able to watch, he gathered his wrestlers around him before practice and asked if anyone knew what the “best seller” he was referring to was. One wrestler responded that it sounded like the Bible. “You’re Right!” Coach Brands said. He went on to explain how the Bible talks about “if you have faith as small as mustard seed you can move mountains! Now lets go have a dang good practice!”

After practice, I asked him if I could talk to a few wrestlers and he said, “Talk to all of them if you’d like!” What an open door! I went to dinner with Ryan Morningstar and his girlfriend Sarah. Ryan is currently ranked 4th on the USA Olympic Ladder. In 2010 he helped lead Iowa to the NCAA title. That year he su#ered a devastating knee injury & amazed many by wrestling on a torn MCL and PCL, finishing 7th in the country. Ryan didn’t let his injuries define him or discourage him. In talking with him, he said he knew his faith would carry him through. Not only his faith in his training but his faith in the Lord. Many people would be bitter about being injured & not being able to finish their career on top, but not Ryan. The next year a teammate of his also severely injured his knee. His teammate was given an 8 month recovery. Ryan saw this as a great chance to invite his teammate to church & Iowa’s AIA Bible study. During this time his teammate committed his life to Christ. His recovery time miraculously was cut in half & he openly gives God the credit!

It is exciting to see the next generation of wrestlers strong in their faith and competing for the Lord! Please pray for Ryan and the others as they compete to represent the United States at the World Championships.

On my way out of Iowa I had the chance to stop by WIN Magazine the ‘Sports Illustrated’ of wrestling, to talk with their editor. I found out he is also a believer! Through this trip God has a!rmed, inspired, encouraged, & energized me!

On coming home I have a renewed excitement for completing our support goal. I am so eager to give my full attention to bringing the Story of Christ to wrestlers & people everywhere! Just as Iowa’s welcome sign said, there are “fields of opportunities,” not only in Iowa, but around the World. The harvest is ripe!

World Team Trials

 Micah Burak of Athletes in Action went 2-2 at the world team trails. Micah was one of the youngest competitors in the tournament. Congrats and great job!

Also...

U.S. World Team Trials in Oklahoma City:
Friday’s first session: Ex-Hawkeye Mike Zadick’s bid for a fifth World Team Trials freestyle title came to an end in the challenge tournament 132-pound semifinals against Coleman Scott. The former national champion for Oklahoma State turned a low-level attack into a 3-point move in the third period to beat Zadick 2-0, 0-2, 3-0.
Zadick, a 2006 World silver medalist and 2008 Olympian, won trials titles four of the last five years at the weight class.
Scott beat former Cyclone Nick Fanthorpe in the quarterfinals. Zadick finished fourth.
At 163 pounds, Council Bluffs native and Iowa State 2007 NCAA champion Trent Paulson, a trials champion in 2009, fell to former Missouri all-American Nick Marable in the challenge tournament semifinals. Paulson came back to pin ex-Hawkeye Ryan Morningstar and beat veteran Kirk White for third.
After falling to 2011 NCAA runner-up Tyler Caldwell in the first round, Morningstar won three matches before running into Paulson.
Luke Lofthouse, who finished his Iowa career with an all-America season in 2011, came back to win three matches at 211 pounds after a first-round loss to Chad Hanke.
Saturday: The 2010 trials champion Brent Metcalf was set to compete Saturday. Metcalf, a two-time NCAA champion for the Hawkeyes, will participate in the challenge tournament at 1451/2 pounds. Metcalf lost to top-seeded Teyon Ware at the U.S. Open and finished third.

Catching up with Former Hawkeye Brooks Simpson

Brooks Simpson hears about his big moment in Iowa wrestling lore quite a bit. Take a recent Johnston County I-Club meeting, where the all-American-turned-preacher led a prayer.
Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz was there, too. “He turned and said, ‘I was at that wrestling match against Iowa State in 1988, and it was the single greatest sporting event I’ve seen in Iowa City,’” Simpson recalled.
In case you’re not familiar: Top-ranked Iowa State was visiting No. 4 Iowa on Jan. 16, 1988, and the Cyclones were threatening the Hawkeyes’ 43-match home winning streak. Iowa State had a big lead and defending NCAA champion Eric Voelker up against Simpson, a sophomore, at 190 pounds. Simpson fell behind 6-1 but pinned Voelker at 4:46 for a momentum-shifting win. Iowa took the match 22-15.
Simpson went on to win a Big Ten Conference title in 1990 and now is the preaching pastor at Grace Community Church in North Liberty, where he lives with his wife and two children.
How did you get into preaching?
I had never been to church in my life until my third year at Iowa. I started coming to church, the same one (three-time national champion Hawkeye wrestler) Barry Davis attended. I eventually became a Christian. Out of school, I was a teacher – taught science, chemistry and physics – and coach. ... I love to teach and coach, but the coaching I do now – I look at it this way: I teach people how to wrestle with real life issues.
Are you still involved with wrestling?
I still go to the meets when they’re in Iowa City. But this is a young man’s sport. I’d just end up getting hurt. My insurance doesn’t cover stupidity.
What do you think of current coach Tom Brands, who you went to school with?
I think Tom is doing a phenominal job. Tom has one speed, and it’s intense and it’s all the time. I’m proud of Tommy, I think he’s doing a great job. He’s a great ambassador for the sport
Do any of your parishioners remember or talk about your wrestling days?
I get that all the time. A lot of people that are my age or older, they remember back in the day. It’s a cult sport with a tight fanbase. The fans know the sport. We have wrestlers who attend the church, too. It’s a great wrestling town. They wrestle here, they stay here.

Wrestling and Iran

From themat.com

 

By Jason Bryant USA Wrestling
06/01/2011

It might be an understament to label relations between the U.S. and Iran as "tense." But one place the relationship is strong is in the sport of wrestling.

More evidence of the ties between the U.S. and Iran's relationship in wrestling comes from the Olympic Training Center this week, where several Iranian coaches and wrestlers are training in Colorado Springs along side the resident athletes.

Led by head coach and four-time World Medalist Gholam Mohammadi, several Iranians are making their first trip to the U.S.

Mohammadi, with Mo Kaveh as an interpreter, talks about the training in Colorado Springs while Zeke Jones adds his own personal touch.

Watch the interview below.

  An exciting opportunity wrestling has to reach the people of the world!