Post by tannermoon on Feb 10, 2016 11:29:29 GMT -6
I am opening this thread to discuss how we can get the community involved in PRODUCTIVE conversation about the sport, using a CIVILIZED forum where member can interactively engage in the best sport on the planet. The goal here is to see more D1 athletes emerge from our state, and build the sport up to what I know it can be,and what I hope others believe it can be. We used to have D1 college wrestling in this state, and I don't see why we cannot see it come back.
Here's a small history lesson. A guy by the name of Arnold "Swede" Umbach was a coach at Auburn University who basically introduced the sport down here. He was the coach at Auburn for 27 years, and was highly successful. He founded the Southeastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and led his team to a 249-28-5 dual meet record. He coached FOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Also, Auburn hosted the 1971 D1 National Wrestling Championships! He is in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for a reason. There's a really good Article on Tom Milkovich and what he did for the Auburn wrestling program after the Umbach era. Scroll down to the section on him where you see his picture. It is some pretty cool stuff if you ask me.
I think it is important for people who are actually interested in the sport to have a place where they can share good news related to the active development of the sport in this state. I am sick of kids taking a backseat to kids from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, etc. just because of the history behind those states. The way to get over this hump is by building the competition level inside the state and hosting big, well run tournaments that people want to come back to every year. A two hour lunch break, sitting indoors til late at night, and tournaments not starting on time is no fun for anyone, and lying on the mat getting sleepy is not fun or productive for our wrestlers. So with that being said, I want to open this up as a pool of ideas as to how we can BUILD THE SPORT UP, NOT BREAK IT DOWN.
Here's a small history lesson. A guy by the name of Arnold "Swede" Umbach was a coach at Auburn University who basically introduced the sport down here. He was the coach at Auburn for 27 years, and was highly successful. He founded the Southeastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, and led his team to a 249-28-5 dual meet record. He coached FOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Also, Auburn hosted the 1971 D1 National Wrestling Championships! He is in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for a reason. There's a really good Article on Tom Milkovich and what he did for the Auburn wrestling program after the Umbach era. Scroll down to the section on him where you see his picture. It is some pretty cool stuff if you ask me.
I think it is important for people who are actually interested in the sport to have a place where they can share good news related to the active development of the sport in this state. I am sick of kids taking a backseat to kids from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Illinois, etc. just because of the history behind those states. The way to get over this hump is by building the competition level inside the state and hosting big, well run tournaments that people want to come back to every year. A two hour lunch break, sitting indoors til late at night, and tournaments not starting on time is no fun for anyone, and lying on the mat getting sleepy is not fun or productive for our wrestlers. So with that being said, I want to open this up as a pool of ideas as to how we can BUILD THE SPORT UP, NOT BREAK IT DOWN.