What I learned at NCAAs this weekend
- Thread starter vhsalum
- Start date
What does the NLWC have to do with the college team? Yes, there is an indirect connection between lower scholly money and post-collegiate reward at NLWC but it isn't absolutely promised. You have to earn it on the mat. My perception is that Cael has created an environment where there is open and fair competition in the room where everyone is given the chance to excel. It's then up to the wrestler to excel with the tools at hand. We need to look at it from a high end wrestler's POV. They are supreme competitors. They all think they have what it takes to become national and olympic champions. Cael gives them that opportunity. It's not some magic secret sauce. Cael was ultra elite in an era of wrestling that started becoming more offensive minded, and understands the mindset of these kids and his message is tailored to that. The truth doesn't have to be complicated. DT is the same mold as Cael, and very likely believes the same things.
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What if the forum crowdfunded some sort of Tom Brands voice AI program we could use to trick recruits into thinking Tom bothered to call?
I am not making an excuse. I am all for DT coming in it if he’s available but let’s not pretend money won’t be an issue even if he gets hired. These days recruited top end athletes need to get paid after they are done competing in college. Workout partners for the college guys need to be payed while they pursue gold medals. It’s all tied together. Money is definitely another mountain we need to climb to consistently catch PSU.
So you are telling me that when making a college decision, a high school recruit with Olympic aspirations doesn’t put value on the athletes at your RTC? Please.
Or maybe he didn't want to come here because he wasn't being recruited.
I largely agree with this, and would just say that if a coach laid out the "plan" for the future, the money issue would take care of itself. Money always follows success, so it's one of those, "if you build it they will come" things. Cael did it that way. Laid out his plan. Built it. The money came in bunches.
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see previous post. We are largely in agreement
would never work. The PSU billionaires own Skynet and would send multiple cyborg Carl's to do perpetual in home visits.
The only way to win is to send Bobby Telford back in time to fix the future.
I didn't say they weren't. I asked why, if they were, are they the minority on PSU's roster? I could go on at great length about the best wrestling states, but I don't have the time or energy today.
The money came WHEN Bael came (largely to get him there), not after. Maybe Ira waited until he was there(I don't know the exact timeline) , but the plan was in place before Bael had a plan,
You all are intent on hurting my feelings today… butthole.
I think you just won the internet with this post. I literally LOL.
There are 37 wrestlers on the current roster. 15 are from PA and 7 more are from a bordering state. Half (19) of the 38 national champs Cael has coached at PSU are from PA and 8 more are from a bordering state. There are 11 D1 wrestling programs in PA. If you don’t think PA is in the middle of the best wrestling recruiting base, then I can’t help you.
I don't have it in front of me, but if memory serves, a $5M infusion into the NLWC occurred sometime around 2014/2015. That is when the NLWC took off because it gave them a ton more flexibility in bringing more guys and higher quality into the program..
Thank you Tom. Your way of thinking is going quite well.
The donation was in 2014. This article from 2017 is worth reading. I'm sure it's been posted before but the point is that the NLWC was primarily funded AFTER Cael built a winner at PSU. It didn't all come at the same time.
Tax Forms Reveal Stunning Finances At Nittany Lion Wrestling Club - FloWrestling
FloWrestling has been able to obtain tax information for a number of wrestling clubs and organizations. The most fascinating find is the incredible financial situation of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.
Both Welsh and Kilkeary (RS this year at 125 that should’ve beat Davis in dual) were heavily in on Iowa then.. poof
I see your point and I felt the same way about the 2021 finals. I was thinking if the 2020 tournament wasn’t canceled Kem would have been done in 2021, I was wrong. It was gut wrenching to watch Eireman’s finals match. It was downright embarrassing and when Kem lost it was more than I could take.
My other points stand as I believe results could have been different had Covid not hit.
Why do we think we would have made everything go our way if not for Covid? Is that the reality of this program under TnT? Do they always make all things go in our favor? And why are we idolizing a building as the/an answer to our struggles? I honestly think the wrestling facilities at CHA are excellent and this played ABSOLUTELY ZERO roll in my decision to go to Iowa. Neither did any of my teammates ever have discussions with me about the quality of the facilities of the teams we traveled to wrestle against.
they are and it does seem to work. a little
Once again, PSU is playing chess on this one. A couple years down the road, there could be a wrestle-off between #1 overall recruits Joe Sealey and PJ Duke for one spot.
LMAO. It's tough to decide between you and madden who is actually the best poster on here.
Slow play is probably the perfect term for the recruiting history of the staff.
Welsh looks like he could be a 184 with few issues. He is certainly bigger now than the guy we ended up getting to target 184. Assuming we get him.
It's not playing chess as much as it is a difference in philosophy. That said, Cael doesn't sugar coat it. You earn your spot in the lineup. Hell, Mike Beard became an AA his freshman year and got replaced. Some think that's terrible. Others think that's life. I never heard Michael Beard ever complain.
Our fanbase is trying to talk themselves into a kid dropping two weight classes to fit in the line up because "he put in the work"
Slow play as in barely speaking to hi and telling him he is their second option (rumor)
Backups do get paid here actually. Just can't match the level of Penn State.
As someone who used to drop from 135 in summer to wrestle 112 (in the 1970s mindset), I'm a big believer that the best results come from being nearer your natural weight. If you are not able to get past the guy ahead of you, then you have to accept that. It's up to the coach to have recruited someone ready to fit into the slot two weights lower without sacrificing a body from two weights up.
a great many backups get book money at PSU. I respect those guys whatever singlet they wear. Toiling all year doing what we all know is a tough position to be in, and not for a lot of "pay". No team can excel without them.
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Then I suggest you help the cause instead of constant bitching. Brad at The Swarm will gladly take your donation to the Iowa wrestling NIL.
Yes. And word on the street was that while the coaches told him they limited contact with him to let him concentrate on hs wrestling, an insider told me they may have backed off from attempting to woo him because Cory Clark committed.
I think it's more helpful to 'the cause' to discuss and figure out the correct direction to travel in rather than gathering boatloads of money to keep going in the wrong direction.
You are missing my point. I am saying we would have had more success had Covid not canceled 2020 and the building would have been completed on the original timeline and cost. Again, I am saying it would have helped, as it turned out I believe it hurt.
When you wrestled at Iowa did you take other recruiting visits to universities where facilities were not upgraded as they are today? I am just curious and not trying to make a point or change your mind.
I'll just add one thing. ATT is already the premier MMA gym in the world. Google it. They are all over the place and have been forever. Marcel and Moose are awesome and Marcel has been in Coconut Creek and then Dallas prior to Pleasant Gap, but Bo has all of ATT at his fingertips if he needs it. No one else has anywhere close to their stable. You could.make the argument that the single best coach is at Couture but they don't have the stable or locales that ATT does.
I've been a member of the Swarm since its inception and a member of the Inner Circle since 2018.
Who is responsible for distributing the NIL dollars for the wrestling team? If the figures I've heard with Franek's transfer are accurate, he would be one of the highest-paid individuals in the current PSU lineup.
If you're asking people to contribute their hard-earned money, you need to have a well-defined plan for how it will be spent. And while I'm certainly happy Jared was a Hawk this year, investing that amount of money in a one-year transfer on a team with no chance of winning a title seems incredibly irresponsible and short-sighted.
As others have pointed out, if fans sensed there was a clear vision or overarching strategy in place for recruiting and witnessed tangible changes and progress, financial support would naturally follow.
I took one other recruiting visit (B1G school). Facility was somewhat comparable to, but not as nice as, CHA wrestling facilities. But again, that literally did not factor in to my decision at all.
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My sophomore year, we had a guy who did basically that. We had solid kids at 98 and 105 and a state qualifier at 119, but no one for 112, so one of the better kids on the team (but not good enough to beat our star wrestler for 119) sucked down from about 135 walking around to wrestle 112 so we'd have a full lineup. I was 126. That ended when he passed out from dehydration at practice and had to go to the ER. He was immediately recertified at 119 and challenged me for 126. After rag-dolling him all season when he was 112, he kicked my ass all over the mat two days after getting out of the ER and took my spot at 126. It's astounding how much of a detriment that sort of cut really is. This was in the 80s, though, so the mentality was totally different (and today the doc who certified him at 112 would be in big trouble...). We had to forfeit 112 for the rest of the season, but were probably better off for it anyway (he definitely was...).
