It’s time to come clean. I’ve lied in this blog for two and a half years. I’ve always claimed that I never wrestled and that isn’t entirely true. I did win an 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L. Smart Junior High School. In 1963 every boy in Davenport, IA (it was a sexist world) was introduced to wrestling in some way. There were instructional units in our PE classes where we were taught the basics of the single leg takedown, the sitout and the half nelson. At the end of the unit the teacher would organize an intramural tournament and we were encouraged to enter.

At about the same time that I reached the apex of my wrestling glory, 130 miles to the northwest, in Waterloo, a kid named Gable was launching his career. It’s a story of 2 choices. I opted for being a really bad basketball player and he chose to become one of America’s greatest wrestlers. A few years later, in Del City, OK, some brothers named Smith were exposed to wrestling and chose to pursue their dreams – with John going on to win two Olympic Gold medals and four World Championships.

Hello Wrestling Fans,

I am currently working with the NWCA to improve the sustainability of college wrestling and its programs. We are in the process of assessing the college wrestling schedule and we would love to get your opinion on a variety of related issues. In order to do this, we hope that you will take 5 minutes of your time to fill out our online survey (link below). Thanks so much for your time!

Coyte Cooper

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=U2BF295PU2XY

[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania] The highly anticipated wrestling movie “VERITAS” will screen during the South Side Film Festival at the Lehigh University Campus in the Packard Lab Auditorium on Thursday, June 21st, at 7pm and on Saturday, June 23rd at 2pm. (200 W. Packer Ave. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

VERITAS means Righteousness, Truth and Integrity… For three time NCAA All American Wrestler, Jon Trenge, it’s a reminder for him to do the right thing. Veritas is a feature-length film documenting Lehigh University’s 2004-2005 wrestling team and the story of Jon Trenge, who strives to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a National Wrestling Champion for his hometown school. Jon’s freshman season is cut short when doctors discover an eye condition so serious that he is told he should never wrestle again or risk losing his eyesight permanently. Jon refuses to accept his doctor’s warning and is determined to find a way to wrestle. After undergoing five eye surgeries, he wears homemade protective goggles designed by his father and nearly achieves his goal his sophomore and junior seasons losing in the National Finals.

The Indiana wrestling team reported for its first round of meetings for the 2005-06 season today, while its official season does not begin until November. The Hoosiers will kickoff the year traveling to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Open on Nov. 20.

IU’s first day of practice this year will be on Sept. 12, while the Hoosiers also will be training and practicing two hours prior to every home football game for the duration of the preseason.

“We are anxious for the season to begin,” head coach Duane Goldman said. “We are coming off a great year at both the NCAA and Big Ten Championships, and look to build on that success.”

Goldman and the IU coaching staff welcomes six newcomers in Matt Coughlin (Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei), Angel Escobedo (Griffith, Ind./Griffith), Maurice Gunn (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North), Scott Kelley (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), Seth Parker (Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) and Trevor Perry (Davison, Mich.) to an already seasoned Hoosier roster. Goldman’s 2005-06 recruiting class comes in highly regarded, ranking in the top 10 by InterMat Wrestling’s Top-25 recruiting class rankings.