Russias republic of Dagestan and wrestling

Great video talking about how ingrained wrestling is in the culture of Russia's heavily Muslim republic of Dagestan. 3 million people and over 30,000 wrestlers in elementary school!

South Salem Coaching Staff

When someone takes their first head coaching position, the hardest thing can be building a coaching staff they can trust. When Stryder Davis took on the task of turning the South Salem High School wrestling team into a winner, he didn't look far for coaches.
The coaching staff he assembled is made up of Stryder's North Idaho College roommate and long-time friend, Jesse Davis (no relation), Stryder's brother, Keegan, brother-in-law and Montana State-Northern teammate Dale Seley, Stryder's father, Dan, and Rob Bronson, who coached Stryder and Keegan at Sprague.

They're all former college wrestlers who were successful on the mat.
"We're all either brothers or best friends or family," says Stryder, who wrestled at Sprague and formerly was an assistant at Oregon State and Sprague. "It makes your job fun. I do trust every single one of them with everything."
In Stryder's third year as head coach, the Saxons are making progress toward being competitive against the Central Valley Conference's top teams.
Teams such as Sprague and McNary place in the top 10 at the state tournament on a yearly basis.
Much of the challenge at South Salem is that other sports such as football, basketball and soccer are more closely identified with the school.
"It's not known (as) a wrestling school like McNary or like Sprague or even like McKay, that tradition they have," said Jesse Davis, who formerly spent five years on the staff at McNary.
To better develop the wrestlers before they get to high school, Stryder started Capitol Crew Wrestling, a club for children in eighth grade and under, last year.
The club already has grown to where some practices have 30 kids, and the club is what Seley and Dan Davis focus on.
"(Stryder and I) both have sons that are in the Capitol Crew wrestling program," said Seley, whose wife, Amber, is the twin of Stryder's wife, Kimmy.
"They're my nephew and his nephew. It's fun to watch them grow and learn what Stryder and I learned through this sport."
The hope is that by the time the kids reach high school they will be prepared to be successful.
"It's hard to make a state champion out of a kid who started when he was a junior," said Dan Davis, who wrestled at Boise State.
The tight-knit staff members have similar philosophies about what it takes to be a successful wrestler.
They preach that pushing the pace of the match is key and that each wrestler needs to believe he can win no matter the odds.
And if a South Salem wrestler wants to know what it takes to be a champion, he doesn't have to look far to see the faces of champions at multiple levels on their coaching staff.
"Sometimes I think I already know every single move out there, but sometimes they surprise me," says senior Jon Pena, who is ranked No. 8 in the state at 106. "They always bring new moves in. I don't think there's anything they don't know."
What many of the wrestlers speculate about is who among the coaching staff would win on the mat.
Dan Davis is the popular pick among the staff members.
"I would say in a wrestle- off against any other coaching staff we would crush," Stryder says.

A glimpse of an AIA Wrestling Summer Tour

2 min clip on a University of Minnesota wrestlers experience on an AIA summer tour to Moldova and Russia!

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.