Reaction to the shoes (and Snyder as a brand ambassador) seemed to be positive as RUDIS' website seemed to crash in response to the demand.
The release reminded me of Jordan Burroughs' first pair of gold-colored boots and the interest his brand created within the wrestling community. However, there are some notable and sharp differences between his 2013 release and Snyder's 2018 release. Notably in just five years online purchasing has moved from desktops to mobile and become much easier, safer and convenient. That means more clicks when well-targeted promotional and marketing efforts reach fans.
While Snyder is no doubt blowing out his servers, it's interesting to think what Burroughs would have been able to accomplish on his first release should there have been more reliable online purchasing methods and marketing. We will never know, but it's reassuring that the wrestling community has enough breadth and is interested in enough talent to support more than one pair of signature shoe.
All the best to Snyder in his newest endeavor.
To your questions …
Sarah Hildebrandt after winning the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Do you think Sarah Hildebrandt could earn a medal at this year's World Championships?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Oh, absolutely. She's currently the top-ranked woman in the world with only the Poland Open left to compete. That will be in September, but as it stands she has a four-point lead over Yu Miyahara who did not make the team for Japan. Instead that will be Haruna Okuno, who coincidentally beat Hildebrandt in a tight 7-6 match at the Women's World Cup in March.
Okuno will be prepared, but it's worth noting that, were her progression a chart, Hildebrandt would be in the middle of her hockey stick phase -- improvement is visible each time she steps on the mat to compete. She has an intensity and confidence that was missing in previous years that I think will continue to grow over the next few months as she prepares for Budapest.
Hildebrandt has some losses, notably to Erdenechimeg (Mongolia), but I think that having faced her style she can adapt and avoid the over-under situations and poor shot selection that cost her points in their match at the World Cup. With an ever-improving women's program she'll find ways to improve and I fully expect her to earn a medal and would go so far as to predict she makes the finals.
Q: Where do you stand with the new headgear? Feels like early football helmets.
-- @ShogunOfSonoma
Foley: I commend those responsible for creating the headgear as I'm certain it's doing what they think is best for the sport. However, the widespread adoption of the headgear will only increase the use of the head in competition and drive away parents based on price and the image that the sport is one in which competitors use their head as a battering device.
The best way to limit head-to-head contact is to enforce head-slapping penalties and automatically disqualify anything that resembles an intentional head butt. Padding will only worsen the existing problems.
Q: With Daton Fix back on the Junior World Team, do you like Team USA's chances to repeat?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I love Daton's chances to repeat, but I think Team USA is facing a tough time against the Iranians and Russians. Over the last month Iran has been absolutely destroying the competition at the Cadet and Junior levels and I suspect we will see them continue that trend at Junior Worlds. Also, I'm hearing that the Georgians are going to bring a knockout squad to Slovakia.
Team USA has a bucket load of studs, but I'll need to see how they compete in Brazil before assigning them a percentage chance for repeat gold.
Q: Is high crotch an outdated term? With new families into the sport and the continued growth of women's wrestling, is it an awkward term? "Checking the oil" faded away. I always felt like Hi-C was for wrist-flicking coaches who didn't tie their shoes. Head outside and head inside.
-- @r12video
Foley: We can all agree that "checking the oil" is best left on the roadside of history. Definitely no need to bring that terminology back into the sport.
Hi-crotch really isn't that problematic, but I agree that "head inside" and "head outside" are much better descriptors, if not only for the athletes who are being directed on what to attempt. A few years ago I watched a top-ranked high school program go through practice and was shocked by how effectively they named positions, transitions, and holds. Whereas I grew up with basic names, the coaches used names that related to the athletes. I'm struggling to find an example of what was relevant (and being used) at that time, but imagine someone using a Fortnite or Pokemon reference today and you get the point.
Coaching club and high school athletes is about relating to them and understanding how they learn. Overall, I think that our generation's nomenclature will simply be replaced by the terms of today and we won't need to regulate any speech, or feel that it was problematic.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Haruna Okuno
Daton Fix's 2017 Junior World final
Team USA (Gilman almost cracking a smile!)
Burroughs responds to Snyder's truck pull video
Q: When is the media going to pull its head(s) out of their collective butts and figure out how to do interviews? Too many times during post-tournament win interviews, the interview takes place in earshot of the gym and often times the interview is overpowered by either the crowd or the on-site PA announcer. Many times the person conducting the interview fails to assure that the question being asked is picked up by the mic. This same thing happens at press conferences where the host fails to provide mics to the media member asking questions. We want to promote the sport, but we fail in the simplest of things.
-- Jefferson T.
Foley: As I'm sure you know, we The Fake News Media will never stop being enemies of the state, so good luck stopping our conspiracy to ruin the post-match interview!
Kidding.
Post-match interviews are almost always going on during the tournament and it's often difficult to manage the in-house audio with that of the video production. The highest-level events have staff members who ensure that cooperation and orchestration is done well, but for most events there simply aren't enough paid bodies to ensure that level of quality control.
I don't know which tournament you're referring to, but for some post-match interviews I know that there could be a small upgrade in equipment that would better isolate the audio. I'll keep an eye (and ear) out for these mistakes at the UWW events, too.
Q: If you could go back to when you started wrestling and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? This question was inspired by a video I saw recently on social media.
-- Mike C.
Foley: Very fun video and I love that Joe is on board with GroWrestling. Wish him the best of luck with the site.
As for a piece of advice, I'd spend more offseason time on the mats in a bid to develop a love and appreciation for the chess-like aspects of the sport. There is a lot to learn and there was more I should have done in the early years to develop as an athlete. I was young so to have that perspective would've been a major leg up on the competition and I think would have also led to more fulfillment on and off the mat.
Maybe secondary, but I'd also encourage myself to not cut weight. Just grow, train hard and wrestle wherever I landed in the lineup. Wrestling careers are too short to spend most of that time on the bike or in the sauna.
Q: It sounds like Mike Duroe was an outstanding man who was loved by many. Did you get to know him on a personal level? If so, any stories you can share about Mike Duroe?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I didn't know Coach Duroe, but as I'm sure you've read he was well-respected by much of the wrestling community and played an integral role in developing the college wrestling landscape in Iowa the past 30 years. One thing I found attractive about Coach Duroe was his coaching style seemed to value a commitment to the athlete first and that translated to less unbridled anger when matside.
InterMat's Craig Sesker wrote a great tribute ... and I think FloWrestling did a nice job with a series of video interviews with Coach Duroe and those who wanted to celebrate his life.
Q: I find it curious that there has been ZERO mention on Flo about the lawsuit/sex abuse allegations by Ohio State wrestlers. It's a wrestling story.
-- Matt Z.
Foley: At the moment, I don't see a ton of upside for them getting involved in commenting on the case. They run a pretty vibrant streaming business that includes a lot of Midwestern eyeballs. While I think it's ludicrous that anyone at Ohio State didn't know about Dr. Strauss at the time, I also think it'll be difficult to know who disregarded their responsibilities at the time by not acting on first-hand complaints.
That said, I don't care for many of the actors in the storyline and broadly it's another terrible headline for wrestling, a sport that has already suffered through the murder of Dave Schultz and the pedophilia of Speaker Denny Hastert.
On a more positive note USA Wrestling has been an early and fierce adopter of Safe Sport, which will lead to wrestling seeing far fewer of these types of predators on the mats.
Dingbat of the Week
Cal Poly recruit makes slur on video, school pulls scholarship https://t.co/Nd7J3tPLwO pic.twitter.com/brSXQMkEGU
�" InterMat (@InterMat) July 19, 2018
Wrestling needs positive ambassadors. This kid isn't one. Nobody to blame but himself (and maybe his father). Looking into this story please note there are a few other articles in the Modesto Bee related to his behavior and/or falling out with current figures of authority. Dismiss and ignore this type of wrestler. Too many in our community want what is best for each other and aren't filled with this type of hatred and stupidity.
COOL TRIVIA
... or sisters ...
�" Jason Bryant 🎙 (@jasonmbryant) July 19, 2018
1985, 1987 - Tony & Nick Purler
2002 - Trent & Travis Paulson
2010 - Mindy & Chrissy Chow
2013, 2014 - Regina & Marina Doi#Fargo2018
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