Dillon Hill, a 9-year-old with Down syndrome, started wrestling at St. Croix Valley Athletic Association a year ago.

Hill started working with the Coach Chris Bahl’s to learn the ins and outs of the sport.

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By Tom Rinaldi
ESPN

“Leroy, touch your toes.”
Leroy reaches his arms out in front of him in mock effort, and says, “They’re at home.”
And then, the boys laugh.

He didn’t know they were gone.

Staring down at the sheets of his bed, the morphine starting to fade, Leroy Sutton was still numb, but he had a feeling something was wrong.

“It was when I tried to sit up,” Leroy said, remembering that day nearly eight years ago. “I pulled the covers up, and that’s when I figured everything out.”

It was Dec. 7, 2001, the day that shaped Leroy’s body, and his life.

He was 11 years old at the time, walking to school with his brother along the Wheeling and Lake Erie railroad tracks near his home in East Akron, Ohio. A freight train approached, and Leroy got too close. His backpack got caught on one of the passing cars, and he was pulled beneath the wheels.

“I didn’t even look down,” said Leroy, now 19, recalling the first moments afterward. “I was just staring at the sun the whole time. I wasn’t trying to look down because that’s when I would have panicked.”

The paramedics who arrived within minutes saved Leroy’s life, but the doctors could not save his entire body. At Children’s Hospital in Akron, his left leg was amputated below the knee, his right leg below the hip. He knew what had happened, but didn’t understand what he’d lost until a day later, when he lifted the sheets, and looked down.

As the memory came back to him, his voice dropped and his head dipped.

“The whole time I was in the hospital, I just asked, ‘Why? Why?’” he said. “Every night I could not go to sleep … because when I tried, I’d end up hearing the sound of a train.”

Leroy left the hospital a month and a half later. He endured long, difficult hours of rehabilitation. He accepted that a wheelchair would be part of his life but was determined to make it a small part.

“I did not want to be in my chair,” he said. “I had to build my arm muscles up so I could move around. … I move around on my arms a lot.”

That ability to move — to lift and flip and twist his body — led him to a place few expected, and into a friendship few could have foreseen.

“Leroy, don’t forget your shoes. …”
Others look down, duped. Leroy just smiles.
“You just can’t see them. …”

In January 2008, midway through his junior year in high school, Leroy transferred to Lincoln-West High in Cleveland. By the time he was a senior, he was a familiar sight (his wheelchair flying down the hallways) with a familiar refrain (his laughter booming off the lockers). When he decided to join the wrestling team, just as he’d done at his previous school, the coaches welcomed him. They knew his story and were eager to tap his strength.

“I told him, ‘You’ve been hit by a train. What else, what kid, what wrestler, what can stop you?’” said Lincoln-West coach Torrance Robinson.

At Leroy’s first practice, his first partner was the only other wrestler on the team powerful enough to handle him. Dartanyon Crockett was Lincoln’s best and strongest talent. He was 5-foot-10 with muscles bunched like walnuts, and already a winner in multiple weight classes. But when Leroy hopped off his chair and onto the wrestling mat, the competition was more than Dartanyon expected.

“He was a complete powerhouse,” Dartanyon said, recalling their first drills together. “I never wrestled anyone as strong as him. We pushed each other to our limits, and we didn’t let each other give up.”

Hour after hour, month after month, practices connected them in ways that went beyond the gym. They went everywhere together: between classes, on team bus rides, at each other’s houses — both dialed in to a wavelength few others could hear. They spontaneously broke into songs only they knew. They performed imaginary superhero moves they invented. They laughed at jokes and words only they understood.

Yet, their simplest connection was the one everyone saw and no one anticipated. Not even Leroy and Dartanyon know exactly when, or how, it first happened.

“One day I’m coming out of my office,” said Kyro Taylor, the school’s power lifting coach. “I look over to the corner of the gym where the mats were at, and right up the steps I see Dartanyon with something on his back, and the closer I get, I’m like, ‘Is that Leroy?’ And it was Leroy on his back. Dartanyon’s carrying him.”

It was not a onetime ride.

Dartanyon lifted Leroy onto his back and carried him to and from every match, on and off every bus, into and out of every gym, all season long. At more than 170 pounds, Leroy was not a light load. Dartanyon never cared, and the carrying never stopped.

“Most of the time we wouldn’t get a wheelchair lift, so I would have to carry him on the bus, take his wheelchair apart, put it on the bus, then carry him off the bus,” he said. “And then, into the building and up the stairs.”

Dartanyon lifted Leroy onto his back for the playing of every national anthem, and carried him down the bleachers before each match. Yet as inseparable as they were, a team unto themselves in a way, they also shared something greater than their sport.

That’s because the teammate who carried Leroy on his back all season long knows about challenges himself.

Dartanyon Crockett knows, because he’s legally blind.

Dartanyon sings.
“I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.”
Leroy listens, then corrects him: “But you can’t see.”
“So? I can still sing.”
And they pick up the song together, twice as loud.

Born with Leber’s disease, a condition that causes acute visual loss, Dartanyon, 18, has been severely nearsighted his entire life. He can barely make out the facial features of a person sitting 5 feet away.

“I’m basically blind compared to someone with 20/20 vision,” he said.

As a boy, his father watched him bump into the same table corners and fumble for the same objects over and over again, uncertain what was wrong. He received the diagnosis just after his son started elementary school.

“I wanted to grab him and help him, but I wasn’t allowed to do that, because the world isn’t like that,” Arthur Harris said. “I never let him feel sorry for himself.”

“I did feel like something was wrong with me because I was completely different from everyone,” Dartanyon said. “Like I was … some type of freak.”

Yet as he grew older, he not only accepted the condition but also adjusted so well to his inability to see that those around him often were unaware of anything until he told them.

“I asked him, ‘Are you serious?’” said Lincoln-West teacher and assistant wrestling coach Justin Hons. “Nothing about him ever gives you the hint that he has a disability. The way he carries himself, he doesn’t ask for anything.”

Still, there are signs. At times, his eyes dart back and forth as if ricocheting between objects. Boarding the city bus for the ride to school, he asks the driver to tell him when his stop is near, unwilling to trust his glimpses of the passing landscape. In class, often he places text just inches from his face to read. On the wrestling mat, although his moves are quick and bold, he sees little more than rough shapes lunging toward him.

Yet his own view of his limits remains focused and clear.

“I’m just seeing it as a challenge God has given me and how I’m going to react to this challenge,” he said. “Let it make me the person I am, or let it break me.”

Other trials in his life could have broken him long ago.

After his mother died when he was 8, he moved in with his father, Harris, who struggled to take care of himself in the midst of an addiction to drugs and alcohol. There were times when Dartanyon scavenged the house for food, but found none. For most of his time in high school, he had no steady place to call home.

“I let him down,” Harris said. “It was terrible for him.”

Through it all — being evicted from their apartment in Lakewood, the nights Dartanyon covered his father with a blanket after he’d passed out — Dartanyon stayed in school, stayed on the mat and supported his dad’s effort to stay clean. Harris now has been sober, while working two full-time jobs, for more than a year.

That Dartanyon would pick someone else up was no surprise. He learned to carry a father before he ever carried a friend.

“He made a lot of mistakes in the past, and he’s learned from them,” Dartanyon said. “It’s made our bond stronger than I could fathom. He’s a great father.”

When the words were related to Harris, he dropped his head and began to cry.

“Above all, I’m glad the love never left,” he said. “I’m glad that stayed.”

Dartanyon and Leroy move down the hallway after class.
“I am Darth Cripple,” Leroy says.
“I am Blind Vader,” Dartanyon replies, and they turn a corner; their laughter is all that’s left behind.

Friends joke. They jab. They can be the least flattering of critics and the loudest of supporters. So it is with Dartanyon and Leroy. They mock each other and themselves, every chance they get, in ways others never would dare.

Keep Reading at ESPN.

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The film, which was inspired by actual events, is entitled CARTER-145. It is a Midwestern, sports drama that focuses on a high school wrestler who has just arrived to a small town obsessed with its wrestling team and the legendary coach that leads them. The wrestling program primed for its fourth state title in a row, begins to spiral out of control, when some devastating truths are uncovered about the coach’s winning ways.

Bob Hoskins will play the role of the coach.

Bob Hoskins’ first appearance to mainstream American audiences was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, for which he received a second Golden Globe nomination. Some of Hoskins’ other notable appearances include playing opposite Cher in Mermaids (1990), the foreign film Mona Lisa which won him an Oscar nomination as well as a Cannes Film Festival and Golden Globe Awards), boatswain Smee to Captain Hook in Hook (1991), and Uncle Bart, the violent “owner” of Jet Li in Unleashed.

The filmmaker, Joshua J. Smith, was a former coach and wrestler in the Midwest.

We are currently seeking investors for the film. Our website http://www.enzofilms.com has all the information about the film and the investment potential.

If you have received this email and are not interested in investing financially please feel free to forward this information to persons that may fit this demographic. If we all pull together we can see our beloved sport (wrestling) on the big screen again.

Any support or help is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Joshua J. Smith

For more information contact:

Email: JOSH@ENZOFILMS.COM

Website: WWW.ENZOFILMS.COM

Become a fan on FACEBOOK

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CARTER-145-A-Wrestling-Movie/7859374951

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School Wrestling Match Broken Up by an Angry Father

Hmm, this seems pretty unnecessary. I’d hate to see what he’d do if you insulted his wife’s cooking.

Get humor videos at NothingToxic

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Then he became a long-time high school coach in Detroit, molding Michigan high school state champions.

Now there’s a neat video tribute to Mike Rodriguez as wrestler and coach, including black-and-white footage of some of his most thrilling college matches on YouTube.

Part 1:

Part 2:

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By Alan Goldenbach
Washington Post Staff Writer

Michael Spriggs grabbed on to a teammate’s shoulder and headed for the gymnasium wall, where William Ngakoue, a 215-pound junior on the C.H. Flowers High School wrestling team, rested after winning his first match. Leaning in closely, Spriggs peppered Ngakoue with questions about whether the advice he had given him before the match had helped.

“I wanted to know what he was thinking out there, what kind of moves he was using,” said Spriggs, a 189-pound senior. “I’m glad he used the techniques I taught him.”

Ngakoue carefully chose his words to describe the match to Spriggs, including the reversal that led to the eventual pin. He had to be very specific, because Spriggs couldn’t see the match.

Spriggs, who is nearing the end of his final season as a high school wrestler, has been blind for more than five years. For two of those years, he also has been one of the most valuable members of the Flowers team.

“He shows me how to do things instead of telling me,” Ngakoue said. “He knows what he’s talking about.”

Though Spriggs had limited wrestling experience prior to enrolling at Flowers in August 2006, he proved a quick study, primarily because he yearned to play a contact sport. After going 13-12 last season, he is 17-9 this season and is the third-seeded 189-pounder in this weekend’s Prince George’s County championships.

He has accomplished this despite being visually impaired his entire life. Spriggs was born with cataracts in both eyes and underwent surgery at 3 months to have them removed. Before he turned 6, doctors diagnosed glaucoma in both eyes. And a freak accident at 13 triggered a rapid descent into total blindness.

“Everything that could go wrong for him with his vision has,” said his father, also named Michael Spriggs.

Spriggs is able to compete because of a simple rule modification by the National Federation of State High School Associations that allows blind wrestlers to face sighted opponents: Both wrestlers must begin the match with their hands touching and always must remain in contact. If contact is broken at any point, the referee blows his whistle and the two reconvene at the center to “touch up.”

Because he relies on contact to wrestle, Spriggs often is the aggressor in his matches, lunging at his opponents with his strong upper body and anticipating their defense. Flowers team captain Zane McBride said the way Spriggs wrestles is “like taking a leap of faith.”

Parkdale junior Emmanuel Omolola, who lost to Spriggs in their first meeting earlier this month, said Spriggs’s blindness got in his head. “I got scared, thinking maybe he’s not really that good, but he’s amazing,” Omolola said. “He’s really strong. He has this amazing stamina.”

Spriggs is one of the approximately 93,600 blind or visually impaired school-age children in the United States, according to the National Federation of the Blind. What separates him from many others, however, is his ability to have assimilated almost seamlessly with the sighted student population at Flowers.

Continue

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This is something you have to see to believe.

Agile Wrestler Kicks Ass

Add to My Profile | More Videos

WOW!

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Like the lead character in a drama, Henry Priest declares, “Wrestling saved my life.”

The camera then pans a series of scenes: the premiere at the May 2007 Cannes Film Festival of a Priest-produced film, “American Identity,” a story of two soldiers affected by Sept. 11; the 37-year-old Californian developing sports-related films as executive producer of productions for the National High School Coaches Association; audiences intent on Priest’s inspiring tale at leadership and motivational workshops.

Turn your attention now to the flashback.

Along with an older sister and two younger brothers, Priest was born and reared in East Los Angeles, an area, he says, “pretty much known to have a large population of gang members.” In fact, for three generations, his family members and friends had succumbed to the pressure to join local gangs.

Though Priest resisted, he recalls, “I had all this negative energy piled up. I was this angry kid.”

Then during Priest’s junior year at Schurr High School in Montebello, the wrestling coach sought him out. “I was recruited because I was this tiny, tough kid,” Priest says. “I competed at 98 pounds my senior year.”

Still, gang life was always within arm’s reach. “While I was at practice, focusing on setting goals and being part of a team, my cousins were in a gang, getting shot and shooting people,” he says. “There were even times when after practice, I would go visit my cousins in the hospital.

“Wrestling kept me off the streets and in the gym and among mentors pointing me in the right direction, and there was structure in the wrestling team, the same as in a gang.”

He also found success. Ranked eighth in the state, he finished just one match away from placing in the master’s tournament, the qualifier for the one-division California state tournament, one of the toughest state meets in the nation.

Priest hadn’t aspired to go beyond high school, but his coaches got together and presented him with a $300 scholarship to the local community college. It paid for his first semester.

One coach told him, “If you can succeed in wrestling, you can succeed in anything else in life. Until now, you haven’t been pointed in the right direction.”

That gift also planted a seed in Priest. After attending Rio Hondo Community College and earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Whittier College to become the only college graduate in his family, Priest created the Schurr Wrestling Alumni Team or SWAT.

“Former wrestlers would come back and help me coach,” he says. “I’d calculate their hours and (on that basis) they would get scholarships through AmeriCorps. In 1999, we gave away $30,000.”

Approximately 40 alums from East Los Angeles returned to aid the wrestling program, Priest says. Numbered among that group are men who have become teachers, an accountant, a police office and the owner of a million-dollar business.

“Not all of them were interested in college but in the momentum (of the program),” Priest says. “It created this beautiful synergy within the neighborhood.”

He also coached at El Monte High School and taught skill development courses. “I was brought in to curb the dropout rate,” he says. “Basically, I’m great about working with at-risk kids because I was an at-risk kid.”

While he was still in college, however, filmmaking entered Priest’s life when his coach sent several guys to audition for “Spooner,” a wrestling story staring Robert Ulrich. Priest gained a supporting role and thought that was it.

“I walked away from Hollywood because I wasn’t trying to be an actor,” he says. “Then one day I got a call from Nike for an audition. I didn’t get the role, but I became their technical adviser.”

Next he scored a commercial for Adidas and several other companies, and a role in “Underdog,” a wrestling film by Disney that was showcased around the world.

“This film thing was happening on weekends and on the side, and I never respected it,” Priest says.
Then in 2002, the grants supporting his teaching program ran out. “I realized I had Nike, Adidas and Disney on my resume,” Priest says, “and I figured I should be doing something else.”

Friends in film school helped him learn how to produce. “They paid for school, and I got a free education,” he says. “Now I have more than five big budget feature films in development, and I’m attached to many about our sport that are racing to be the next ‘Vision Quest’”

He produced “Veritas,” the story of Lehigh wrestler Jon Trenge, which was screened at this year’s NHSCA senior finals. “We’re talking to distribution companies, hoping to do a theatrical and DVS release this summer,” Priest says.

A script in development for “Beyond the Mat” deals with two high school best friends who find themselves in the same weight class. “The script was selected out of 300 in competition for a presentation in New York, which means there’s a buzz about the script,” Priest says.

He is also working on a script about his own life, including a time when a family member was murdered. Without his knowledge, Priest’s relatives who were gang member made arrangements for him to avenge the loss. They called him into a meeting and said, “You have to be ‘down’ for the family.”
“I’m so ‘down,’ I’m going to change this family,” he replied.

Living in downtown Los Angeles, Priest is now training and coaching two of his nephews, as well as two sons of a cousin who had been involved with a gang.

Voicing appreciation to his mentors and to the wrestling community for their support, Priest says, “Once I was in wrestling, it’s what kept me and held on to me. It’s pretty evident my family saw wrestling help me and wanted it in the next generation.”

In other words, watch for the sequel.

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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.

Jon defeats a former National Champion to earn the most wins in Lehigh’s storied wrestling history, but many of his opponents intentionally attack his protective goggles injuring and frustrating him. Jon retaliates and gets disqualified from two matches. However, Jon overcomes this setback by using it as an opportunity to learn about himself and grow as a person. He returns to competition invigorated, and the pursuit of his childhood dream ultimately helps him become the man he wants to be.

VERITAS has taken the wrestling community by storm as it was recently showcased during the 2007 NCAA Division 1 National Wrestling Championships were it received a standing ovation. Then the film screened at the National High School Wrestling Championships in Virginai Beach, Virginia where it was well received by wrestlers, parents and fans. The screening in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania will be the films homecoming as the film will showcase in the Lehigh Valley, the valley where the inspiring story of a local hero Jon Trenge is known by many. Present at the film festival screenings will be the films director and producer Howie Miller. Following the screening Miller will participate in a question and answer session where audience members can participate in a discussion of the film.

The South Side Film Festival (SSFF) premiered in June 2004, with great success, screening 50 films, by 35 filmmakers, from as far as India, the Netherlands, California, Utah, Texas, and all over the East Coast. Since then the festival has showcased films from almost every filmmaking corner of the world.

For tickets and more information about the South Side Film Festival please visit http://www.ssff.org. For information regarding the movie VERITAS, future screening dates, DVD sales and fundraising opportunities for wrestling teams please visit http://www.Veritas-Movie.com or http://www.MySpace.com/VeritastheMovie

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Little weird, but cool.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Running the pipe position.

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Veritas is a full-length movie documenting Lehigh University’s 2004-2005 wrestling team and the story of Jon Trenge, who strives to achieve his 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. But did he listen?

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By DAVE KANE
STAFF WRITER

Published Thursday, February 22, 2007

The wrestling season ended for Petersburg Porta High School by the slim margin of 31-29 in a Class A Dual Team Sectional loss to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley on Tuesday night at Eureka High School. It was the Bluejays’ only dual loss after 25 straight victories.

There always are “might-have-beens” for a team on the losing end of a narrow decision. But everyone in the Porta camp talked about just one thing on Wednesday: a controversial disqualification of Porta senior Adam Gurski in his 215-pound match against Josh Ingold of GCMS.

“The whole thing wreaks, to be honest,” said Porta principal Darren Hartry, who attended Tuesday’s match. “In my opinion, it was one of the most unethical things I’ve seen during my 23 years in education.”

GCMS led 25-14 going into the 215 match, which was the 11th of 14 bouts. Matches for 285-, 103- and 112-pounders still remained in the dual meet that sent the winning team to the Class A State Dual Team Tournament on Saturday in DeKalb.

Gurski, who had pinned Ingold earlier in the season, held an early 2-0 lead. Gurski then was assessed separate one-point penalties for illegal holds, tying the score 2-2 just 40 seconds into the bout. According to several individuals who were at the meet, Ingold returned to the center of the mat after the second one-point penalty and appeared ready to resume.

But GCMS coach Ryan Birt at that point asked referee Andy Warner of Savoy for 2 minutes of recovery time for Ingold.

“It was a full nelson, and I stopped the match and penalized (Gurski),” Warner said Wednesday. “Then (Ingold) gets back to the center and the (GCMS) coach says, ‘Whoa, I want recovery time to check my wrestler.’

“I’m like, ‘O-kaaay,’ but there was no pressure on the full nelson. It was funny, because (Ingold) looked like he was ready to wrestle. But I’m not a doctor. After about 45 seconds, the Gibson City coach says his wrestler’s unable to continue.

“He (Birt) never called a trainer over. But it goes down as an injury by illegal hold, and (Ingold) is the winner by default. That’s six points for Gibson City. I’ve been officiating 33 years, and I’d bet 90 percent of the kids don’t know that rule.”
It gave GCMS a 31-14 lead at that point. Porta earned a total of 15 points in winning the final three matches – one by pin, one by forfeit and one by decision – to account for the final two-point margin.
Warner said he has no authority as an official to rule whether a wrestler is able to continue. But he knew the significance of Birt’s decision.

“That’s a maximum of a 12-point turnaround,” Warner said of the 215 match, “or a minimum of nine points. Do I agree with what happened? You hate to say. But I’m not a doctor.”

Porta coach Jeff Hill was not present Tuesday night because his wife, Beth, was hospitalized. But several others from the Porta coaching staff who were present, including assistant Rick Thomas, questioned the ethics of Birt’s move.

Thomas said Birt was rubbing Ingold’s neck during the stoppage. But with Ingold originally appearing ready to wrestle, Thomas was skeptical about the injury.

“I don’t think coaches should have the authority to make a decision like that,” said Thomas, who did not take issue with Warner’s handling of the situation but said the Illinois High School Association should consider a rule change.

“Maybe the ref should talk to the kid first,” Thomas said. “I’d like to see something addressed with that. There’s nothing you can do the way it’s set up now.

“But if a kid is ready to wrestle and the coach steps in . . . I know if my kid might have a neck injury, I’d want a professional to look at him. There was a trainer there.”

When contacted Wednesday night, Birt declined to comment in detail about his decision in the 215 match.
“I respect Jeff Hill greatly,” Birt said of the Porta head coach and the Bluejays program. “To think that this was some type of attack against them . . . it’s just something that happened. Everyone will have to move forward from this.

“The way this came down, it’s not in any way how I wanted it to happen.”
Fred Kroner, a reporter for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette who covered the match Tuesday night, said he interviewed Birt immediately following the match.

“My decision came on the effort of these (GCMS) kids and what they deserve,” Birt was quoted by Kroner in a story published in Wednesday’s editions of the News-Gazette. “We’ve worked these kids like dogs. We had the opportunity to seize the match against a team that was undefeated.”

Birt said Wednesday that his comments in the News-Gazette story were taken out of context.
According to Kroner, Birt later was interviewed by Randy Sharer of The Pantagraph in Bloomington after Birt had talked to Ingold in the locker room.

“It was (Ingold’s) call, and we stuck with it,” Birt was quoted in Wednesday’s editions of The Pantagraph. “It was Josh Ingold’s call. I said ‘Josh, I want to know the truth. If you feel I made you make that call, we’ll turn it over to the other team.’ He goes, ‘Coach, you did not make me make that call.’

“Trust me. I won’t sleep tonight, but when it comes down to it, I did what I needed to do as a coach.”
Hartry said everyone in the Porta contingent predictably was upset in the aftermath.

“Our fans voiced a lot of displeasure when the forfeit was awarded, and our wrestlers were distraught,” Hartry said. “But I was proud of our coaches. They kept things under control. It could’ve gotten ugly.” Hartry also credited Gurski, whose high school career ended on a disappointing note. “I went down and talked to Adam during second hour today,” Hartry said Wednesday. “I was proud of him. He’s handled himself with class. If anyone should be upset, it should be him.”

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Danny Hodge Video Interview about WOW Events on YouTube

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Cael Sanderson Video Interview about WOW Events on YouTube

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EASTON, Pa. – The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) announces the
development of a NHSCA Productions, a film, television and marketing division.
The new division will develop projects with sports related stories as well as
assist companies with developing and marketing projects and products to the
high school age and sports community.

There are over 18,600 high schools in the United Sates. The NHSCA has a
well-respected and recognized brand in this community. Founded in 1989, the
National High School Coaches Association is a not-for-profit 501c3 service
organization that provides leadership and support programs for the nations
500,000 high school coaches and 10 million high school athletes. The NHSCA
produces over 30 national championship events and over 100 state championship
events in various sports across the country. The association currently manages
sporting events in wrestling, football, baseball, golf, soccer, tennis,
basketball, and weightlifting at major venues across the United States, such as
Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. In the past many of the championship
finals or highlights have been broadcast nationally on ESPN, FOX, live on the
internet and other outlets.

With many resources in place to reach the high school and sports community, the
organization has assisted production companies with casting, marketing and
various stages of development and looks to partner with companies to better
serve them. The NHSCA has named Henry K. Priest the Executive Producer of NHSCA
Productions. Mr. Priest has a track record of developing live events such as
the Young Latino Performers Conference for the Walt Disney Company and a film
festival for the Ricardo Montalban Foundation. He has won awards for film
projects and has also served the industry as a writer, producer, casting
director and technical advisor for sports related commercials.

NHSCA Productions is currently developing TV shows, web content and feature
films as well as assisting projects with marketing, funding and various stages
of development. This year there are plans to broadcast the Senior National
Wrestling Championships on national television. Currently in development is a
National High School Talent Search, a program that will seek out the next star
among our schools across the country. The NHSCA recently presented the project
nationally as a live event and is now developing it into a TV show. Also in
development is the National High School Film Festival. Feature film projects
include a film about the life story of former world heavy weight boxing
champion Larry Holmes. “He is a true example of a champion in and out of the
ring,” said Bob Ferraro, Executive Director of the NHSCA.

The organization is also assisting with the development and marketing of three
wrestling films. These projects include “Beyond the Mat,” a film about a high
school wrestler’s journey to win a state title at the cost of losing a life
long friend; “All American,” a film about a street kid who transforms from a
would be street thug to an All American athlete; and “VERITAS,” a feature film
by Island Gateway Films documenting Lehigh University’s All American wrestler
Jon Trenge, who strives to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a National
Wrestling Champion. “The wrestling community in the US is 20 million strong but
the sport of wrestling has been under represented in the media. These films
tell stories that resonate in today’s athletic arena but also give insight to
the character of the sport, it’s coaches and tremendous athletes. We believe a
film about the great sport is long overdue.” said Henry K. Priest.  “Athletics
and the arts have a broad impact on our society. We are excited to create
projects that send a positive message and provide a voice to today’s youth and
sports enthusiasts,” said NHSCA associate executive director Joseph Boardwine.
The department is also developing sport related video games and looking to
partner with other companies on various ventures.

The NHSCA also specializes in managing and producing event properties and
creating targeted sponsorship opportunities for companies looking for effective
marketing. Its staff is more experienced and focused in event production in the
growing high school sports community than any organization in the country.  The
NHSCA manages major programs for the Army National Guard, United States Navy
and corporate America.

The company receives national marketing exposure through the NHSCA national
mailing and email campaigns, online radio campaigns and onsite at their many
live events. Large grass roots marketing campaigns are conducted year-round
through the NHSCA national network of coach facilitators, state chairpersons,
state representatives and members.

For a complete list of this year’s programs and events, investment and
sponsorship opportunities please visit the NHSCA’s web site at www.nhsca.com.

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Imperia Entertainment (Pink Sheets: IPEI) President James Hergott announces today that the Xyience Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada will host open auditions for a movie about the sport of mixed martial arts entitled Never Submit on December 16th and 17th beginning at noon each day.

The Xyience Training Center is owned and operated by John Wood and is home to a number of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Pride Fighting Championship and International Fight League (IFL) competitors, many of which are expected to audition for roles in Never Submit.

According to the movies producer, Cindy Ortiz, “The Xyience Training Center is one of the most popular MMA gyms in Sin City and came highly recommended as a place we should consider inviting to host one of the Never Submit open casting calls. There’s no denying the caliber of athletes associated with the XTC are some of the best in this sport and with Vegas being a hotbed for MMA talent, Imperia is making this stop a two day affair. John Wood runs a top-notch operation and I have no doubt we will be able to cast and fill a number of roles on our list.”

“Robert Roveta of Denaro Sports Marketing (www.denaroathletes.com headquartered in Las Vegas, NV) and I have been in contact since April about the movie” explains Ortiz. “He is the Jerry Maguire of this sport and works with an impressive list of rising fighters he plans to have on hand to audition including TUF/UFC fighters Alex Karalexis, Josh Burkman, Nate Quarry, Chris Leben and Tyson Griffin. Jervis Cole sent a group of fighter’s to the San Jose auditions managed by his firm, Zinkin Entertainment (www.zinkin.tv), and a handful should expect to receive callbacks. I encourage other managers and agents to follow their lead as we continue our cross country talent search over the next few months.”

“Also slated to audition are TUF season one contract winner and UFC fighter Forrest Griffin, TUF season three contract winner and UFC fighter Rashad Evans, former Octagon Girl and current WFA Ring Girl Amber Nicole Miller and a plethora of IFL, Pride FC and UFC fighters. Top Hollywood casting agents are submitting requests for private auditions for name talent having graced the silver screen in recent years and a multitude of additional requests to host casting calls have been pouring in over the past two months” comments James Hergott, writer and director of Never Submit. “Our staff is working overtime trying to keep up but these are great problems to have.”

“Competing in combat sports is something these athletes choose to do…but it’s not the only thing they can do” adds Hergott. “Our recent open casting call in San Jose at American Kickboxing Academy turned out some of the biggest and brightest stars representing the sport of MMA right now and we were very pleased with the acting talent and physical skills many of these athletes possess. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what this sport has to offer in Las Vegas at the Xyience Training Center in a few weeks. Pride Fighting Championships superstars Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have already been cast.”

Inquiries pertaining to fighters interested in auditioning for roles, potential sponsorship opportunities available to companies/vendors and MMA media requests should be made via e-mail to “Never Submit” Producer Cindy Ortiz at cindy@imperiaentertainment.com.

Character descriptions and scripted scenes intended for audition preparation purposes are now available for distribution and may be requested via e-mail @ cindy@imperiaentertainment.com or downloaded directly from the movies website @ www.neversubmit.com.

Director James Hergott comments, “As a former Judo competitor, I have closely followed this sport and have been a fan of MMA since its North American introduction in 1993. Only during the past two years has mixed martial arts finally started to gain true mainstream acceptance. Never Submit will appeal to the hardcore fans as well as expose movie goers to this emerging sport who may know very little, if anything, about MMA when they enter the theater. My goal is to turn as many viewers into MMA fans as possible by the closing credits.”

Hergott continues, “It is my intent as writer and director to portray the sport of MMA, the athletes competing in it and the fans supporting it in a positive light. MMA isn’t a barbaric underground blood sport like it has been depicted in the past by other filmmakers. It’s a very intellectual sport; a physical chess match between men. Never Submit will showcase the courage, integrity, commitment, athleticism and sportsmanship found in these modern day gladiators and I’m looking forward to telling their stories.”

“To most professional fighters in this sport, Never Submit is a metaphor describing the way they live their lives,” Hergott explains. “These athletes aren’t quitters. They have a discipline that runs deep that impacts most of what they do. They have something in their DNA that the rest of us do not. These athletes are competitive by nature and the will to succeed and be number one is always the goal.”

“Their appearance is typically their ‘secret weapon’ because they can be accountants, teachers, police officers, firemen and/or attorneys,” Hergott adds. “They don’t have to be tall like basketball players or massive and quick like football players in order to be champions. MMA offers one of, if not the most diverse and talented pools of athletes found in any sport, in any country, on any continent in the world and that’s one of the things that makes it so great.”

ABOUT NEVER SUBMIT

Never Submit is an inspirational tale similar to Rocky, but the lead character is an intelligent young man (as are most fighters competing in this sport) rather than a beaten-down punch-drunk fighter. An amazing cast of characters will round out this film; each from different walks of life; each with his own set of circumstances and motivating factors driving him to be the best. For some, their best won’t be good enough.

Different roads bring them all to the same intersection where the human spirit is put to the test. For these athletes, their hearts, physical skills and mental tenacity decides the victor… and there can only be one. Never Submit takes movie goers inside the methodical, fast paced, action packed, unpredictable and sometimes controversial world of mixed martial arts, deemed by many to be the most exciting sport on the planet.

Ms. Ortiz comments, “MMA is regulated and sanctioned by numerous state athletic commissions because they recognize it to be a legitimate sport just like baseball, football and basketball. These fighters are just as much professional athletes as the elite performers found in other sports. I feel that Never Submit will have widespread appeal because it doesn’t matter what language you speak or where you are from, competitive fighting is universal. The action in this film is going to keep movie goers on the edge of their seats just like it does millions of spectators flocking to live MMA events every year around the globe.”
Ortiz continues, “The script doesn’t present MMA as the hobby it is for some, nor does it focus on amateur level competitors. Never Submit showcases the intensity of professional fighting and I think it’s going to succeed in bringing long overdue recognition and respect to the sport as well as the athletes representing it. Typically we see films with great action scenes but not-so-great acting or storylines… or just the opposite. That’s not the case with Never Submit. The fight sequences are outstanding, the dramatic scenes are warm and convincing and the way Mr. Hergott has tied these two elements together makes for a great story. The roles are challenging and rewarding and the end result will be something everyone involved can be very proud of.”

Imperia Entertainment recently announced a partnership with TapouT Magazine (www.tapoutmagazine.com) as part of a cross-country tour to promote the publication as well as the movie. Stops at select dojos to hold auditions for Never Submit are being finalized. TapouT Magazine readers can expect to see the mixed martial arts movie prominently featured in the bi-monthly publication throughout the casting, filming and theatrical release stages, as well as enjoy behind the scenes details from Never Submit director James Hergott, one of TapouT Magazines newest contributors.

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