Training Camp is over

Training camp finished up today. I thought it went really well. We were able to get some decent guys in here to work out with along with the ones that we already had. I have to hand it to him, DiSalvo did a great job with organizing and running the practices. I was able to focus on a lot of freestyle technique that you don't normally get during the college season. After you get through the first couple of days and the soreness wares off you actually feel pretty good.

My weight has been coming down, I've been able to train at or around scratch weight and I feel really good about going into the US Open. Along with my weight coming down, my speed and sharpness has really increased. I've been able to take more shots and really improve on the areas that I've needed work on.

I spent a large portion of the time drilling and live wrestling with Clint and the Moore brothers. Its good to have the variety and quality guys in the room to be able to work on different things. You can't leave out Koll and his European style (over-hooks) that's really weird/hard to wrestle.

On a different note, we had one down day that was filled with shooting clay pigeons with Fleeger and Gene at Gene's house. I must say I'm a sharp-shooter. Fleeger did impress me by shooting a couple pigeons from the hip. I couldn't seem to get one. He was just really lucky I guess. Oh yeah, and a couple of games of chess that I lost every one. Not to happy about that. REMATCH. Or should I say REMATCHES.

I don't know what else to say except that I'm ready to go. I need to rest the body a little and get focused for next weekend. Lets get the job done.

Not So Good

Well, the trip didn't start off too well. I missed my flight out to Detroit for starters. So I was put on a shuttle up to the Syracuse airport to catch another flight. When I got to Detroit, I had no ride to get to our hotel. We were staying 45 minutes away and the rest of the coaches needed to be with the team at the time so I decided to take a lovely $90 cab ride to my hotel. So far, a great way to start off a trip.

The Big Red had a rough weekend to say the least. Things just didn't seem to go our way but you have to expect that at this tournament. We had some great matches and our fair share of bad ones. In all, we ended up with 4 All-Americans. I know it sounds good but when you finish in 12th place, it hurts. On a good note, Cornell wrestling has really raised the bar. It is expected to go to the National tournament and to become an All-American. It's not a hope anymore. Out of the 4 All-Americans that we had only one is leaving. Senior Jerry Rinaldi became a 2-time All-American this weekend. I wish I had more time with him. He was great to work with and will be missed by everyone. Out of the other three AA, two are sophomores and one is a freshman. Retaining this talent is great for us for next year, so expect great things.

I was able to get on the mat a couple of times at the tournament to drill and warm up the CU guys. I did have a good work out with one of my former coaches from MN, now assistant coach at Iowa St., Tim Hartung. It was nice to get on the mat with him because he is such a competitor and a great work out partner. We drilled for 15-20 minutes and then went a long live go. Tim eventually had to get back to his team so Lawrence and I play wrestled for another 10 or so minutes before leaving.

It was nice to see the boys and the fans from MN this weekend. It brings back those good ol' memories. In all, it was a bitter sweet weekend for me. If Cornell couldn't win the National Title then I wanted Minnesota to do it. Big Daddy Cole Konrad and I wrestled on the same team, so it was nice to see him finish out his career as the most decorated wrestler in Minnesota's history.

Training camp is coming up and preparing for the US open is the most important thing right now. I will keep you informed on training and how things are going.

Leaving for NCAA's

After countless games of Skip-Bo with Terry, I'm ready to leave for the NCAA's. I'm really excited to head to Detroit for a couple of reasons. This is what the Big Red have been preparing for all year and its time to show the country our goods. Some people might be a little worried after seeing the seeds but I have a great feeling about this weekend.

As coaches, we know that we've done our best in preparing our guys for this tournament. Some of the guys are sitting in great situations and others have a little tougher road, but that's what the NCAA tournament is all about. There is going to be some exciting matches and the guys are up for the challenge. If the Big Red is confident in their training, nothing less than a top 5 finish should be expected this weekend.

Also this weekend, USA wrestling is having a training camp (like they always do) at the Palace. We will be having practice after each morning session. They say its going to be a small practice area so space is going to be very limited, not only for wrestlers but spectators as well. That sucks for the people that want to watch like they do every year. I'm going to try and get to all the practices but I'm sure it will be hard with coaching. I will try my best. These practices are good because you'll be able to mix it up with other top wrestlers in the country that you don't normally see that often. Plus, they will be structured freestyle practices. This is always nice to have.

Last but not least, I'll be able to see some of my boys from MN. Its nice to see their ugly mugs. (B-dog) Just playing buddy. Hopefully I'll have some time to spend with them and catch up on things.

Well, I need to go pack and get ready to leave. I have a early direct flight out of Ithaca at 6 a.m which is really good because you usually have to connect everywhere else we fly to. Lets wrestle well and bring home some hardware.

GO BIG RED!!!!!!!

Until next time.

The New Blog

Finally the new blog is up. I will keep you informed on how my training and competitions are going and also some of my daily excursions. Whether they're good or bad I hope you will find it interesting. I don't have much to say at this point in time other than I just finished beating my wife in Skip-Bo. It is a very competitive and intense card game. Yes, we're big losers.