Make girls wrestling great

CoachA

Member
Every other actual women's wrestling team (not club), that I know of wrestles freestyle. I don't see men's folkstyle ever being done away with because of tradition, but since women's wrestling in college is relatively new, they adopted freestyle. Your club offered some people I know scholarships and were turned down because it isn't a real team, just a club, and because you don't do freestyle. They can go to ASU and wrestle at Sunkist for 1/3 the cost of attending Ottawa, so it didn't make sense to go there and wrestle for a club in a style that isn't applicable to being competivie nationally.

I am not sure you understand how the NCWA works, we are a governing body of all types of programs. Athletic department, Nonathletic department programs. If you could define what you mean as "actual women's team" I may better understand what you are saying. So you do know that are several ladies programs run by their athletic department in the NCWA and we are growing as word gets out that the NCAA is going folkstyle not freestyle when it is added as a sport. As far as pricing is concerned you are semi-correct, the full cost to go to ASU including everything is not 1/3 of our cost after our scholarships are added in. Also at asu you will not be able to wrestle for a conference championship, national title and for academic All-American awards that someone will be able to wrestle for in our "club" group.
 

FamousLie

Well-Known Member
I am not sure you understand how the NCWA works, we are a governing body of all types of programs. Athletic department, Nonathletic department programs. If you could define what you mean as "actual women's team" I may better understand what you are saying. So you do know that are several ladies programs run by their athletic department in the NCWA and we are growing as word gets out that the NCAA is going folkstyle not freestyle when it is added as a sport. As far as pricing is concerned you are semi-correct, the full cost to go to ASU including everything is not 1/3 of our cost after our scholarships are added in. Also at asu you will not be able to wrestle for a conference championship, national title and for academic All-American awards that someone will be able to wrestle for in our "club" group.

Wrestling for a "conference" or "national" title that has a limited field isn't something people are interested in spending money to do. Especially if it's in folkstyle which women do not compete in collegiately. Maybe in the NWCA where there are no actual teams that actually compete as a part of the university's athletic programs. It's nice that there is an alternative for women who don't take wrestling seriously, and you'll probably find those kinds of girls who aren't interested in real competition or don't aspire to try to compete nationally.

Also Ottawa is still NAIA. The NAIA has their own separate championships for women which is contested in....Freestyle. The same way the WCWA does it. The NAIA supplements the WCWA championships, which anyone in wrestling knows is the real deal, not some club tournament that is contested in folkstyle.

As far as going to wrestle at Sunkist while attending ASU, ASU has several girls who do that from back east. You really think they're going to reach their goals in wrestling while going to Ottawa, wrestling folkstyle and being coached by coaches who nobody has heard of? Or would they rather spend less on tuition, and be coached by guys like Jamill Kelly, Chris Pendleton and Zeke Jones? I think that makes it pretty clear what level your team is at. Ditch folkstyle, maybe start competing where the best are and then try and sell your program as something. Until then it's just a club team that anyone could start.
 

CoachA

Member
Wrestling for a "conference" or "national" title that has a limited field isn't something people are interested in spending money to do. Especially if it's in folkstyle which women do not compete in collegiately. Maybe in the NWCA where there are no actual teams that actually compete as a part of the university's athletic programs. It's nice that there is an alternative for women who don't take wrestling seriously, and you'll probably find those kinds of girls who aren't interested in real competition or don't aspire to try to compete nationally.

Also Ottawa is still NAIA. The NAIA has their own separate championships for women which is contested in....Freestyle. The same way the WCWA does it. The NAIA supplements the WCWA championships, which anyone in wrestling knows is the real deal, not some club tournament that is contested in folkstyle.

As far as going to wrestle at Sunkist while attending ASU, ASU has several girls who do that from back east. You really think they're going to reach their goals in wrestling while going to Ottawa, wrestling folkstyle and being coached by coaches who nobody has heard of? Or would they rather spend less on tuition, and be coached by guys like Jamill Kelly, Chris Pendleton and Zeke Jones? I think that makes it pretty clear what level your team is at. Ditch folkstyle, maybe start competing where the best are and then try and sell your program as something. Until then it's just a club team that anyone could start.



Again, you seem confused; the NCWA, not NWCA, has athletic programs in it. It is a governing body of all different type of teams. Also, let me ask you this what is going to happen when NCAA goes folkstyle for the ladies? That will only leave the NAIA 20+ teams wrestling freestyle and everyone else wrestling folkstyle. I know where our team is at and we are competing at the National level in folkstyle. It is not for everyone I understand that and statistically, that is what every other state on the high school level is wrestling. So I would rather go with the numbers and the future of ladies college wrestling.
 

FamousLie

Well-Known Member
Again, you seem confused; the NCWA, not NWCA, has athletic programs in it. It is a governing body of all different type of teams. Also, let me ask you this what is going to happen when NCAA goes folkstyle for the ladies? That will only leave the NAIA 20+ teams wrestling freestyle and everyone else wrestling folkstyle. I know where our team is at and we are competing at the National level in folkstyle. It is not for everyone I understand that and statistically, that is what every other state on the high school level is wrestling. So I would rather go with the numbers and the future of ladies college wrestling.

I haven't heard anything from anybody with USA Wrestling about the NCAA going to folkstyle for women. That would practically un-do what women's college wrestling has built up over the last 15-20 years. I get that there are meetings and proposals, but if that happens I know they're going to have a fight on their hands. But even if that happens that's years away. Also you never addressed the fact Ottawa is not a part of the NCAA and from talking to the AD they don't have any plans to do so.

Add to the fact that if the NCAA does in fact add women's wrestling, what is that going to do to a place like Ottawa? The national powers for women's wrestling now are places few people outside of wrestling know about, mainly NAIA and D2/D3 schools. They aren't going to be able to compete with places like ASU or Oklahoma State when they get things going.

Even now though if somebody wants to actually get good at wrestling and you give them a choice between a partial scholarship to Ottawa (tuition is about 22k a year, so if it's a 1/2 that means you're paying 11k) or go to ASU and pay the same and wrestle national level competition and have a former Olympic coach working with you every day? There are several girls who attend ASU and wrestle at the RTC and turned down other schools to come here and do just that. I know one girl who was offered more than a 1/2 to Ottawa and told me that it would have been nice but she wouldn't have advanced her wrestling or gotten any better due to the limited talent pool and a lack of elite coaching. She instead went to ASU and is at the RTC.

I also don't think you guys are competing at a national level. You're competing against club teams. There is a big difference between beating other club teams or individuals and competing against real teams. I could go over to a community college, enroll as a student and start a club team. That wouldn't mean we're competing at a national level. For example, when GCU had their first year of moving to D1, they competed at nationals for club and blew the field away. And they were a very good D2 team and had many guys who could compete at a high level. The talent pool at the club level is pretty limited, especially for women because any of the really good women who want to wrestle in college will go to schools that either actually have teams, or in the case of ASU are attached to very good RTCs that have excellent coaching. Ottawa has neither.
 

Ed Cruz

Member
Looks like I missed a lot while I was in Mexico. I don't see why there is a need to disparage the Coaches and the wrestlers who choose to wrestle in the NCWA. Just because one doesn't follow the NCWA doesn't mean the Coaches are not high level and knowledgeable.

As far as coaching at Ottawa, I was a 2x Senior Division Freestyle All-American, I have coached several State Champion HS teams, I have coached a number of female and male HS All-Americans (Folkstyle and Freestyle/Greco, USA, FILA Cadet, FILA Jr). One of my former wrestlers, last week, finished 4th at the Senior US Open at 82Kg Greco. His 4th Senior Level All-American Honor. He won his first international medal last year at a tournament in Russia. I was the the Head Coach, and was an Assistant Coach before that, for the North Carolina National Teams in Fargo. Personally, I think I am quite capable of helping someone reach their goal of competing on a National level. There are several HS Coaches in Arizona who have been Medalists at the Olympics and/or National Senior All-Americans. The NCWA has those same type of Coaches.

Not every wrestler can or wants to go to a WCWA or NAIA school. Almost every female wrestler will NEVER be a College National Champion or All-American at any level. They will NEVER be a US Open National Champion or All-American. No, we are not going to attract the same wrestlers that have been accepted to train at the RTC. No, we are not going to attract the same wrestlers who are being heavily recruited by top level WCWA or NAIA schools. However, why is there a need to knock every wrestler who wants to compete beyond HS who aren't multiple time State Champs or Placers? Why do some feel there is a need to say those who don't go to the RTC or a high level WCWA/NAIA program are not good. All this applies to most male wrestlers, also.

About 16,500 girls wrestle in HS. There are 37 Teams in the WCWA and there are 24 Women's Programs in the NAIA. If there are 40 women on each of those rosters that is about 2500 women nationwide. I guess the 14,000 others, who are left, should just quit because someone thinks none of them are any good. How about instead, they go to one of the 47 teams in the NCWA. Women's wrestling is on the rise. More programs will be added at every level.

We are a Club. Yes, anyone could go to a Community College and start a Club. How much funding would they get from the School? Our wrestlers don't pay anything for hotels, transportation (Bus and Flights), or entry fees.

We are a Club. Does that mean we will always be a Club? Our campus in Kansas is NAIA.

We are a Club. We can also compete in tournaments with NAIA teams and possibly WCWA teams. Our women's team will be trained in Freestyle as well.

Lastly, lest we forget, going to College is mainly about getting a degree.
 
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