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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on January 13, 2009
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Reece was selected as Outstanding Wrestler at National Duals in D1. He beat 2nd ranked Andrew Hochstrasser, 2x All American Jayson Ness and Cornell returning AA Mike Grey. Check out Buckeyewrestling.com for more info.
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Brian Morrow added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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Nice job Hump! I think he has a very good chance this yr...
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Rex Holman added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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Outstanding job Hump. It was great to see so many of the Buckeye wrestlers compete at such a high level when all eyes were on them. Everything is important prior to the Big Tens and NCAAs but the National Duals are a telltale sign of who can perform when it matters most.
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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Rex: Kevin Schlosser made the point recently that Ohio State wrestling--when it has talent--has a history of coming up big when it matters. That seemed true with Russ Hellickson. And it appears to be the case with Tom Ryan--so far.
Any thoughts as to why this seems to be the case?
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Erik Nell added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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That statement might be correct, but THE Ohio State University has never come home with a TEAM NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. We as coaches and former wrestlers of Ohio brag about our wrestling, but our Flag ship University has not been to the top of the mountain yet. I think expectations have changed.
I would ask Rex what holes need to be filled, for Ohio State to win a national championship?
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Rex Holman added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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Hank-
A think a big part of it is mental conditioning and the emphasis that coaches put on events. During Hellickson's coaching career, he had a round sign on the wall that had NCAA on it. It was part of practice to touch it upon entering and leaving the room. A symbolic ritual, not so far removed from people saying a prayer as it is used to get your mind focused and is taken with commitment and sincerity.
The Buckeyes that wrestled at National Duals were the same people that competed against Kent the week before. However, the Bucks wrestled as a team at a different level at the National Duals. Why? Some might say the wrestlers are gamers, meaning they can turn it on for big meets in which I do agree. I think the coaching staff is hugely important in expressing the importance of the event and getting the most out of the athlete through support and emotion.
In order to have peak performances, you need to have the athletes and they have to be prepared to win. The athlete part is an easy explanation, however, the preparation to win is not so easy to explain as there are quite a few factors that play into performance and each individual is different.
I would breakdown preparation into mental and physical. Mental prep is composed of having the right mindset and toughness; whereas physical prep is being in peak physical shape, technical skills and strategy.
By using this information as a platform for understanding an athletes performance, you can objectively break down a performance.
Let's take Colt Sponseller v Lewnes. I have not see the match. But I know without watching that Colt is in great physical shape and does not mentally breakdown. Therefore, he has the right toughness, right mindset, and physical conditioning. The times I have seen him lose this year are due to technical and strategy based mistakes. He gave up a take down in OT, which means he wrestled evenly for three periods. To give up a takedown, you lose position. It comes down to a technical mistake or a strategic mistake. Either way, both can be corrected and by wrestling Lewnes multiple times, he identifies and eliminate the weaknesses in his strategy or technique. It is highly likely that Colt wins the next match as long as he continues to correct the area of weakness.
Some athletes may have a poor performance and understanding how they could compete in such form is mind boggling. However, by using the platform above you can see how Cody Gardner was lacking quite a few of the above mentioned variables involving mental and physical preparation. Bottom line, he needs to develop the right mindset, get tougher, get in better shape, gain better technical skills and gain an appreciation of strategy.
Also, of note is that these qualities are dynamic and the whole of preparation is greater than the sum of the parts. Witness Reece Humphrey.
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Rex Holman added to this discussion on January 14, 2009
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Erik-
You need bluechips that can perform right away. i.e. Mike Pucillo, Lance Palmer. You need 2-3 every year that can place as freshman and every year thereafter. There were quite a few guys that came through OSU when I was there as an athlete and a coach that were on a substantial amount of grant in aid that never scored a point at the NCAA tournament. That is not a very good ROI and people get fired for that kind of management.
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on January 15, 2009
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Quote from Rex Holman's post:
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"Erik-
You need bluechips that can perform right away. I.e. Mike Pucillo, Lance Palmer. You need 2-3 every year that can place as freshman and every year thereafter. There were quite a few guys that came through OSU when I was there as an athlete and a coach that were on a substantial amount of grant in aid that never scored a point at the NCAA tournament. That is not a very good ROI and people get fired for that kind of management."
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Rex: I don't think anyone can get 2-3 a year that can place as true frosh. I'd say you need a lot of Colt Sponseller's. Competitive right away and likely to place multiple times.
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Discussion Topic: Congrats Reece Humphrey
Rex Holman added to this discussion on January 15, 2009
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Hank-
I think it can be done. Every year there are 3-4 Freshman/RS Freshman AAs +/- a couple. Then there are at least 10 freshman given the right circumstance that could AA. Coaching the kid comes into play hugely. For instance, I remember a conversation with Duane Palmer who expressed that Lance's quick acclimation to college wrestling was due in large part to wrestling with Joe Heskett.
Let's put the number at 14 every year that have the abilty to become AA as freshman. tOSU could get 2 of those 14. That is 14% of the kids with the talent to do so. Yes, you are competing with every other university and there is the issue of identifying that talent. Just my thoughts.
Also, with regard to programming and conditioning athletes to focus on the NCAA tournament. I remember a t-shirt which was Tommy Rowlands inspired that was, "training for the third day". There is only one third day in all of collegiate competitions. Of note, is that the third day is a day when AAs have been determined and you are competing for a championship or personal pride. The third day is what an entire season of sacrifice and discipline is all about.
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