I didn't know Dave Schultz and I've only seen him wrestle in films, but I do know that he's assumed a spot of reverence in our sport -- somewhat for his athletic talent, but mostly for his kindness, generosity and force of spirit.
That's a meaningful legacy and that his legacy -- a wrestler who was as much about humanity as he was sport -- is retained long after Foxcatcher slips out of focus.
To your questions ...
Q: The new Global Wrestling Championships has an event coming up and had a lot of rounds and adapted freestyle scoring. Big hit? Or dud?
-- J.D.
Foley: What I know of the Global Wrestling Championships I read in Mark Palmer's article. When done I felt disappointment in learning the organizers chose to borrow heavily from boxing and manipulate existing freestyle rules.
One change GWC hopes to offer is five "rounds" for their "bout," instead of two "periods" in their "match." The idea is to stick to freestyle rules, which is smart, but in offering five rounds it could be a massive disappointment if there is a technical fall. If there's not, it's equally disinteresting when a guy opens up a 14-point lead in the first period ... nay "round."
Maybe the GWC takes off and maybe it doesn't, but there is nothing in history to say it will last longer than a Joey Lawrence-led comedy on ABC. I've discussed the reasons why failure follows these ventures so I'll save the rant, but the point remains that an adapted style simply won't sell. Won't happen.
One glimmer of hope is that the organization is hoping to start a dual team format. Do that, and reorganize the matches to follow existing rules and this one might have a chance. Dual meets can be a winner as evidenced in Iran Pro League or Bundesliga.
If promoters stick to the rules and use their creative energies in other more meaningful ways we might see something as successful as the pop up in America. Until then we'll have continue to have a series of one-year-only organizations losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and disincentive future investment in our sport.
Investments that could include tangible results in terms of athlete pay and widespread popularity.
Zeke Jones gives instruction to Brent Metcalf at the World Cup in LA (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)-- Justin S.
Foley: Coach Jones has amassed an experienced staff with big name appeal, lined up donors, and in only four months has recruited arguably the top recruiting class in the country in one of the most competitive environments in the sport's history.
I'd say he's doing pretty OK.
Q: Joe Colon won the Bill Farrell International this weekend at 57 kilos where there was two-kilo weight allowance. What sort of impact do you think Joe could make on the freestyle scene this season at 57 kilos with no weight allowance?
-- Scott M.
Foley: Five pounds won't be any bigger issue for Joe than it is for any competitor. I can't say that with one-hundred percent certainty since I don't know how difficult of a weight cut Joe endured, but if it's within the margins, I don't see the impact.
I'm Team Joe Colon. He's got grit, but also has a style I think can be adapted well to the international scene.
If I could offer Joe one piece of advice it would be to leave the country early and often this season. Get in a ton of matches, work out in as many gyms as possible and not worry about the wins and losses. He's held back by nothing and though the World Team Trials in seven months seems important, it's a distant second to the Olympic Team Trials in 19 months.
Joe can surprise people, but he'll need more matches with more European and Asian wrestlers.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
You can learn a lot from watching the best. Here's a 30-minute documentary on Marcelo Garcia, who is arguably the greatest grappler of all time and fast becoming the sport's most important coach.
Turn down the volume on your phone or computer and then ENJOY!
Nothing to see here, just a famous Mongolian wrestling riding a jet ski.
Humans have landed a spacecraft on a comet. HUMANS LANDED A SPACECRAFT ON A COMET!
I might not have been as watched as the moon landing, but I'm getting the sniffles thinking about how much work went into this madness. The craft took ten years to arrive on the comet. TEN YEARS! This means that something like the following occurred.
Some awesome scientists dressed in Aloha T-shirts bedazzled with the solar system were sitting around their local European pub downing Carlsbergs and watching the Premier League, when one of the guys flipped on Star Trek. They watch in passing as they talk about engine thrust and if Pluto is a planet (astronomers AND science geeks) when suddenly the USS Enterprise lands on some comet.
Neither of the geeky-but-awesome scientist dudes with wild hair and Aloha shirts has a cell phone because this was 20 years ago and thus they were forced to talk instead of Tweeting or Tindering (obviously they're single). So in letting his mind roam through the seas of Carlsberg, the first guy, we'll call him "Friedrich", says "Dude ... Sebastien ... I'm thinking we could totally land on a comet, man! Seriously, we could totally land on a comet!"
At this point I imagine Friedrich pulled out a coaster (spacecraft) and the ketchup bottle (comet) and flew them together at the bar in a simply stunning visual meant to ensure that Sebastien got the point.
Sebastien screams, "You're right, Friedrich, this is totally possible! Let's dedicate our lives to landing a spacecraft on a comet!"
Boom. Comet, meet Man.
Fast-forward a few decades and Friedrich and Sebastien have landed a spacecraft on a comet. God bless this beautiful world.
Link: Rosetta Mission's Historic Comet Landing: Full Coverage
Q: I saw Chance Marsteller won the OCU Open. He had some tight matches, though. Will he start for OSU at 157 pounds? If so, what are reasonable expectations for this season? NCAA qualifier, round of 12, All-American, NCAA finalist, NCAA champion?
-- Mike C.
Foley: A week after the OCU Open, Chance dropped a couple ranking matches. He fell 13-7 to Chris Koo and 5-1 to fellow true freshman Ryan Blees, so it remains to be seen if he starts for the Cowboys at 157 pounds. If he does start it's well within reason to expect Chance to make the NCAA tournament, but less probable that he's a freshman All-American. Though 157 doesn't have any David Taylor-like hammers there are a lot of dangerous talent lurking in the top 12. He may knock some of them off during the season, but I'm doubtful that he's going to cruise past that field all in one weekend. I'm giving him a 35 percent chance to be an All-American in 2015.
Q: I have a question about Liberty University. How have they managed to land top-level guys like Ryan Diehl and Joshua Llopez? I realize that not long ago they were a Division I program. But I believe that both of those wrestlers were committed to the University of Maryland. Is this a sign that Liberty shall return to the ranks of Division 1 soon, or is there something going on at the University of Maryland that is keeping these recruits from wanting to attend there?
-- Nate M.
Foley: There is no indication that Liberty is returning to the Division I level, so I imagine this is either a way for Diehl and Lopez to train while working on their academic eligibility.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
By Wade M.
Good morning or afternoon (dependent upon what time zone you might be in). I am writing to inquire further about the culture of youth athletics (mostly wrestling, but other sports you may have noticed or researched as well) in other countries. As a parent of three children under the age of 8, I am seeking information about how other countries may be running their youth programs. My oldest child is 8 and is now entering his third year of wrestling. In his first season I limited his participation in tournaments and yet we practiced three nights a week. Unfortunately the wheels came off the tracks when in his third tournament he did not finish in first place after winning the first two. Last year we practiced and made an attempt to wrestle a couple of tournaments, one ending with a bloody nose and the other just not wanting to go out onto the mat. He enjoys the practices and we finished the year just focusing on that and have no intent of wrestling a tournament this year as well. I enjoy our current wrestling club as there is a focus on fun and enjoying the environment while learning the basics. However, it seems that even with the intent to focus on fun, the "live" wrestling can dominate some practices and it is obvious that many kids do not have the technique they should. How do other countries potentially balance the learning of skills with having fun and maybe not doing so in a live environment or the need to wrestle tournaments? I would also add that my daughter, who is 6, has been actively involved in gymnastics for a couple of years and it appears thus far that the focus is on improving skill and strength. I believe this will change when she reaches a certain level and her training is year-round already at this point. I want my kids to have athletics in their life as I have personally found it to be a reason for my drive and desire to be successful in anything that I do in my life, but also want them to have some balance.
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