A few interesting points about the World Cup, Team USA and some of the competition:
Group stages are Friday, with the finals starting Saturday morning. You can watch online at Unitedworldwrestling.org.
To your questions …
Richie Lewis (Photo/Ben Solomon)Q: How surprised were you that Richie Lewis won gold at the U23 World Championships?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I honestly didn't know much about him and dismissed his chances when I read the draws. So in that respect I was stunned. However, I think that our college athletes tend to be very aggressive from their feet when they head overseas and if they are fortunate to get a nice win and a head of steam they are tough to slow down.
Also, while many of the performances were underwhelming, I don't think that U.S. fans should be too concerned. This is a very difficult age category where most of the eastern European countries still have stockpiles of eligible athletes. The team we sent was certainly very talented, but I wouldn't see their failure as anything more than a couple of close calls and tough draws.
Q: What has been the response to the newly approved high school uniforms (compression top, fight shorts)? Will we see it on the mats this season en force?
-- Brad A.
Foley: I hear a lot of complaints about a lot of things, but I have yet to field one about the new high school uniforms. We'll have to wait to see if the NWCA collected any hard data on uniforms in 2017-2018 to make any solid conclusions, but in my experience this will be the wave of the future. There are simply too many benefits to a two-piece uniform and the opposition will start to convert when they see programs with larger, better dressed rosters.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Victoria Anthony's YouTube Match
Cool highlights from the U23 Championships
And more ...
Q: Is Logan Storley as good an MMA fighter as Ben Askren? In your opinion, will he also have an undefeated career?
-- Gregg Y.
Foley: When looking at physicality, versatility and pure aggression, Logan Storley is a more compelling MMA fighter than Ben Askren. Also, given his bloodthirsty desire to finish fights he's a marketable star that could make a huge impact in the sport. I'm happy for Askren in retirement.
I'm as pumped to see Storley develop over the nest 18-24 months as I am Aaron Pico.
Q: If you could subscribe to one wrestling print publication what would it be? WIN Magazine, Wrestling USA, Amateur Wrestling News or another publication not mentioned?
-- Frank S.
Foley: They're all superb! They have lot of content at-hand that many fans would enjoy reading. A bunch of great options. For online content, I'd also check out Five Point Move for the very best information about the Greco-Roman wrestling scene in the United States.
Q: I'm all on board for the #duals movement that is going on in the high school wrestling world, can you articulate the argument for duals vs. 8 weekends of individual/team tournaments for those that are hesitant to take a "less is more" approach?
-- Brad A.
Foley: From a fan perspective it's much easier to follow team results at a dual team event than it would be to follow that of a tournament. Also, if you assume that tournaments only allow for one starter to enter, there is a higher likelihood of your wrestler receiving a full slate of bouts. For the less experienced wrestlers this access to a larger number of matches could prove beneficial.
Like with the singlets and all changes in wrestling there is a period of time where fans, coaches and athletes don't all agree on the best course of action. However, given enough time to consider any successes of the #duals movement they will gradually change their thinking.
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