WrestlingGear.com - Real Pro Wrestling and "Wrestle Your Perfect Match"
February 5, 2003
In this newsletter we will give you some background about
Real Pro Wrestling. Real Pro Wrestling is an exciting
concept so if you get a chance to support it, check it out
and see what it is all about.
We continue to bring you more information from Beasey
Hendrix. If you are looking to improve your performance
or your wrestlers performance on match day, his two books
are must reads for the serious wrestler.
A Title IX update is included. Again this is brought to you
by a Northwestern Coach. I guess this months has a
Northwestern flavor to it. The co-founders of Real Pro
Wrestling, wrestled at Northwestern as well. I recently
started classes for my MBA at Northwestern. I promise
next months issues will not be just about Northwestern.
Finally, if you are in the Chicago Area or can be for an
exciting clinic, check out the information about a clinic
being hosted by the Black Kat Wrestling Club in
Evanston Illinois.
If you have any comments or you have written articles
about wrestling, please send them to us. If we publish them,
we will send you a free video, your choice of videos.
Take care and read on. It's the end of the year for high
school folkstyle season in Illinois...time to gear up for
that state tournament or start wrestling in the "off"
season. As if there is an off season any more...
It’s Not What You Think It’s the Real Thing, RealProWrestling Has Arrived
RealProWrestling and Epicenter Films Team Up to Create Reality-Based Sports
Program That Will Bring Wrestling Back to the Masses
Los Angeles (October 22, 2002) -- Fans of real wrestling have anxiously been
awaiting the arrival of a league of their own, just like the NFL, NBA and
MLB. Now RealProWrestling and Epicenter Films will deliver just that and more
when they tape the first-of-its-kind sports television pilot on Saturday, October
26th.
It’s been a long time coming, but now is the time to honor the sport of
wrestling, the athletes and its fans, said Toby Willis and Matt Case,
Cofounders. We believe that RealProWrestling will make its mark on the world
of sports and is here to stay, added the duo.
The event, being held at Los Angeles Center Studios, will take place inside
a 360-degree Roman coliseum inspired arena. The event will showcase our
country’s best in Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling surrounded by jumbo projection
screens and heart-pounding music. State-of-the-art lighting effects will
spotlight world class athletes as they compete for the admiration of true
wrestling fans.
Epicenter Films is thrilled to be a part of RealProWrestling and the
exciting revival of the real sport of wrestling that deserves to be recognized by the
masses. With our state-of-the-art equipment and production expertise,
professional wrestling is sure to make an indelible impression on the fans
and all the people who appreciate world class athletes, said Sean Entin,
Executive Producer at Epicenter.
With dozens of Olympic and world champion wrestlers set to appear,
RealProWrestling is poised to gain the attention that wrestling hasn’t seen
since the early 1920’s. The much anticipated return of Rulon Gardner, the
2000 Summer Olympic Champion, All-Star wrestlers such as Matt Lindland, Stephen
Abas, Ramico Blackmon, Dennis Hall,TC Dantzler along with Gardner plan to return
the sport to its roots when they lock up inside the arena.
RealProWrestling is the brainchild of Northwestern University wrestling
teammates Toby Willis and Matt Case. The two have taken the first step in
creating a new and exciting sports league that audiences young and old will
be able to embrace. Combining high intensity action with gripping background
stories of these sports heroes, the duo has come up with a product that is
sure to put wrestling "back on the mat".
In this excerpt Beasey covers how to deal with stress.
Beasey considers stress to be a friend and foe. Read on:
From my work with elite athletes I would have to say that
over-activation (too much stress) is the major problem
that athletes mention. That makes sense.. You are performing.
You see every match as a challenge. This offers many
opportunities for stress to develop, and often this stress
becomes too much.
Nothing in particular causes stress. Stress is caused by how
you perceive an idea, requirement or expectation. It is really
in how the individual interprets the events or situations.
Stress comes from your picture of how things should be,
and what you think needs to be. By placing such values
on an idea, you begin to produce tension, stress,anxiety,
or pressure.
What can a wrestler do if he feels to much stress?
1) Understand that you are making the stress.
2) Step back and identify what you are stressing over.
3) Look for the solution to that specific problem.
(What do I want to do about it?)
4) Get to work on the solution.
5) If there is not immediate solution, then tell
yourself to let go.
6) Refocus on an idea or thought that will help you.
By understanding that you are in control you are a step
closer to actually being in control. You have the
power, so use it.
Stress affects wrestlers in different ways. Some sense
a nervousness in their body. They feel "uptight," "tense",
or "frozen." Others notice negative talk floating into their
thinking. They can't shake these ideas of worry or dread.
Somatic (body) stress is when you react physically
to a situation. Your body becomes tense. A diagram
of this type of stress shows the body reacting first,
triggering anxiety, and poor performances.
With cognitive stress (negative thinking) the wrestler
builds anxiety by thinking negatively about an event or
task. These thoughts then cause physical symptoms that
may interfere with an athelete's performance. The goal to
stopping this type of nervousness is to stop the negative
thoughts, and then move on to positive or neutral thinking.
To read more on stress and how to handle it stop by
WrestlingGear.com and order your very own copy of
"Wrestle Your Perfect Match"
We have barely been able to keep up with the demand for
Tornado Headgear by Cliff Keen. They are flying off the
shelves. Visit WrestlingGear.com today and get yours
while we still have some left! We keep the site inventory
up to date so you know we will have the merchandise you
order in stock ready to ship to you.
BLACK CAT WRESTLING CLUB PRESENTS: SPRING CLINIC
Featuring KEN CHERTOW
March 10, 2003
The BKWC will be holding a Spring Clinic for wrestlers,
coaches, & parents. At our clinic, wrestling fundamentals
will be reinforced while you learn many of Ken Chertow’s
and Shannyn Gillespie’s favorite unique techniques. We will
show moves that will help you excel in folkstyle, freestyle,
and Greco-Roman. Wrestlers must bring own wrestling
shoes, workout gear. Camp site: Evanston Township High
School WRESTLING ROOM (North West corner of ETHS)
--1600 DODGE, EVANSTON, IL 60204
(Located at Church and Dodge intersection)
March 10, 2003
TRAINING DAY
5:00-5:30 pm Registration
5:35-6:55 pm Shan- NCAA All-American, IL State Champion,
Junior National Runner-up, Black Kats Coach and Director
7:00-9:00 pm Ken- U.S.A. Olympian, 2X Jr. World Champion,
3x NCAA All-American, 3x Academic All-American
This clinic is for the wrestler who wants to increase his/her
ability by working hard and adhering to sound wrestling
principles and instruction.
COST OF CAMP
$40 Make check payable to Black Kats Wrestling Club
or BKWC
Apply by March 6, 2003 and receive a Free Ken
Chertow Video ($35 value)
For more info on the BKWC SUMMER CAMPS call
Shannyn J. Gillespie at 773-784-0615, email at nappyshann@msn.com,
check out our website at www.eteamz.com/bkwc
5633 North Kenmore #41 Chicago IL 60660
www.eteamz.com/bkwc 773-784-0615
KEN CHERTOW
> USA OLYMPIAN
> 3X ALL-AMERICAN
> 3X ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
> MIDLANDS CHAMP
> MIDLANDS OW AWARD & HALL OF FAMER
> 2X JR. WORLD CHAMP
> JR. NATIONAL CHAMP
> WEST VIRGINA STATE CHAMP
> AUTHOR
Shannyn J. Gillespie
> OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER ATHLETE
> NCAA ALL-AMERICAN
> JR. NATIONAL RUNNER-UP
> ILLINOIS STATE CHAMP
> 2X FREESTYLE STATE CHAMP
> GRECO-ROMAN STATE CHAMP
Guest Columns
Guest Column, by Robert Groseth: Title IX Panel recommendations
will not hurt women’s sports
2/10/2003
Robert Groseth/Northwestern University
I am writing this in response to a spate of recent articles written
in major publications on the impact of the recommendations of
the U.S. Department of Education's Equality in Athletic Opportunity
Commission. It is clear that many of the authors of these articles
have acquired their information from the same sources. It is also
clear that it is incomplete and, in some cases, just plain wrong.
I am a member of the swimming community. As a college coach
of a men's program, I am sensitive to what Title IX has done. We
have lost 77 Division 1 programs in the past 20 years.
Recently, an exhaustive study was conducted to determine the
cause and/or causes of these losses. Coaches and Athletic
Directors of the affected programs were interviewed. The findings
were as follows: 43% of the programs were dropped because of
Title IX regulations alone; 57% of the programs were dropped
because of funding, facilities and Title IX considerations.
All of the programs that were dropped had as all or part of the
reason, Title IX regulations. All of them.
As a sport that represents both women and men, swimming couldn't
be against Title IX. It has advanced the opportunities for our collegiate
women to the point that there are now 185 Div 1 women's teams,
versus 145 for men.
Upon further investigation, we found another curious thing. Women's
swimming teams are no longer being added by colleges. The growth
stopped in the late 1990's.
Why? In short, universities adopted a policy of cutting men's teams
to achieve proportionality. A little research showed that the universities
were responding to a regulation written in 1996 by the then- head of
the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), Norma Cantu. This "Letter of
Clarification" stated that Prong 1 of the Three Prong Test was the only
safe harbor. It further went on to say, in Cantu's own words: "The rules
here are straightforward. An institution can choose to eliminate or cap
teams as a way of complying with part one (the only safe haven) of
the three part test."
Because this "Clarification" was written to provide guidance for how
Title IX should be applied, and because the Courts deferred to the
Office of Civil Rights' regulations, this declaration carried the weight
of law.
The Government and the court system were telling universities it was
okay to drop men's teams to achieve proportionality. They need not
continue to expand women's teams -- just drop the men's.
Along with swimming, gymnastics, track and field and wrestling were
losing teams at an alarming rate. Men's and women's swimming
coaches were scratching their heads. Is this what we wanted? Trading
one opportunity to lose another?
When the 1997 NCAA study came out that showed that over a
five-year period, four men's opportunities were lost for every one
gained by women, it was clear that the intention of this law had been
subverted -- quite literally, turned on its head.
To make a long story short, swimming along with gymnastics and
track and field joined the lawsuit filed by the National Wrestling
Coaches Association. Why? Because the suit did not attack Title IX.
It attacked the aforementioned 1996 "Letter of Clarification" and the
1979 " Interpretation" written by the Department of Education.
The lawsuit used the original language and intention of Title IX to ask
that these regulations be either modified or removed. In another part
of the suit it showed that these Title IX regulations have not been
properly authorized by the Attorney General or Congress, as is required
by the Administrative Procedure Act. All other civil rights legislation
has conformed with these legally-mandated procedures; only Title IX
has been exempt.
All this led to the creation of the Commission on Opportunity in Athletics.
I have attended three of the five meetings. I have read every transcript
from every the meetings. No one -- not one single person --advocated
doing away with Title IX.
Wrestlers, gymnasts and swimmers from dropped programs, while
lamenting their losses, applauded what Title IX had done for women.
They did not want women to lose opportunities and neither does the
Commission.
Although the Commission was formed in response to the NWCA lawsuit,
not one representative from any of the sports involved in the lawsuit was
represented. The Women's Sport Foundation has its current president,
Julie Foudy, and a founding member, Donna DeVarona, on the Commission.
Neither they, nor any other member of the Commission, has even mentioned
doing away with Title IX.
The focus was on the regulations:
Make them clearer.
Make them fairer.
Restore confidence in Title IX and then it can be enforced rigorously.
There are people with a political agenda that are invested in keeping the
Title IX agenda contentious. It feeds their coffers and inspires their troops.
For a person who deals with athletes every day, it saddens me to see them
dominate the dialogue on this issue.
Read the original statute. Read the testimonies from the meetings. Read the
1979 "Interpretation" and the 1996 "Clarification". Read the recommendations
in that context. Dispel these myths:
1. Wrestlers and other men's programs want to do away with Title IX. - Not True
2. The NWCA Lawsuit advocates eliminating Title IX. - Not True
3. Women will lose thousands of opportunities and millions of dollars if the
Commission's recommendations are implemented. - Not True. This will
never happen and anyone involved in this process would fight to the death
to see that it doesn't. No one wants this.
4. The Commission was rigged. No representatives from men's cut sports
and two representatives from the Women's Sport's Foundation. Are you
kidding me! Not True.
5. The Commission is against Title IX. Not True. The focus was on the
regulations. Title IX is and will remain intact.
Women will continue to gain opportunities with the Commission's
recommendations. Men's programs will get protection from further erosion.
Neither will happen fast enough to satisfy everyone. But, both can happen
if the public trusts Title IX. The media can play a big part in building that
trust or they can side with those who want to see the controversy continue.
I wouldn't presume to tell you what to think, but I will ask you to check
the facts and contribute to the solution of this important problem.
Bob Groseth is the Head Men's Swimming Coach at Northwestern
University and the Vice-President of the College Sports Council.
The College Sports Council is devoted to advancing the student athlete
ideal through the cooperative efforts of coaching associations, alumni
and parent groups, and educational institutions to support broad-based
intercollegiate athletic programs for men and women.
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