Derrick Gray is currently living at Sather Air Base, otherwise know as Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. He is in a small Army unit that resides and works there.

The Air Base recently built a new “Gym” to house the weight equipment, and various cardio machines they have recently purchased. In this new facility they left a sizeable area for aerobics, spin classes, ab classes and various martial art/combatives training classes.

They currently have 4 different martial arts classes composed mainly of BJJ and Krav Maga type classes. The problem they have is that the area is only covered by a .25 inch hard rubber mat over concrete and in the purchase plan the failed to leave out floor mat material.

He is wanting to see if anyone has a remnant piece or pieces they would be willing to donate. The area they are trying to cover is 30 ft by 30 ft and they wouldn’t expect any one company/person to donate that much material. However, if they are able to get a few companies/people to donate a little, they could piece together a nice place to practice their skills.

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling

As promised, TheMat.com is updating its 2006 Beach Wrestling schedule, as new events are sanctioned with USA Wrestling.

Last weekend, the North American Beach Wrestling Championships were a major success in Virginia Beach, Va., June 10-11. Hosted by the Virginia Challenge, over 200 athletes of all ages attended. A successful individual tournament was hosted on Saturday, and an innovative and exciting dual meet event was hosted on Sunday.
Click here for results from the North American Beach Wrestling Championships

There will be two more events hosted within a week, both part of USA Wrestling Kids/Cadet Regional events.

The America’s Cup of Beach Wrestling will be at Carlsbad, N.M. on June 17 alongside the Southern Plains Regionals.

The West Coast Beach Wrestling Championships will be in Klamath Falls, Ore. on June 22, alongside the West Regionals.

A new event has been added to the preliminary Beach Wrestling Schedule, the New Hampshire Beach Wrestling at Hampton Beach in Hampton, N.H. on August 5.

PRELIMINARY BEACH WRESTLING SCHEDULE

May 13 – Oregon State Beach Wrestling Championships at Bullar’s Beach in Bandon, Ore. Divisions: Veterans, Junior, Cadet, Schoolboy/Girl, Novice. Contact Wayne Van Burger at 541-396-4835.

By Muneeza Naqvi
Special to The Washington Post

NEW DELHI At 5:15 a.m., when most little boys are still curled up in bed, 11-year-old Amit Kumar is already dressed in his workout uniform — a worn-out blue T-shirt and shorts. First he splashes his face with cold water and brushes his teeth. Then he gulps down a tumbler full of warm buffalo milk and a handful of almonds. It is a ritual he has followed for three years.

Half an hour later, with the sun beginning to peep out from behind the tall eucalyptus trees that edge his riverside tent, Amit tightens the laces on his knockoff Reeboks. He runs a damp hand through his curly hair, takes a quick look in a mirror, and he’s ready.

With just the slightest swagger, he walks onto a sandy field where several older boys toss a soccer ball around. He touches the ground with his right hand and then touches his chest, a mark of respect, much the way a traditional dancer would start a performance.

All of this is part of the regimen for a trainee in traditional Indian wrestling — a pehelwan .

By Jimmy Gillispie, Theworldco.info

For a total of four days, area wrestlers learn about their sport from some talented and experienced grapplers from Kansas. But the focus isn’t only on wrestling at this camp.

The Team Champions Wrestling Camp once again returned to Baldwin City, and once again it tried to teach wrestlers that there is more to life than their sport.

“We always try to throw a lot of things in that are more than wrestling,” Baldwin High School coach Kit Harris said. “That is kind of our camp focus. We have other things we are focusing on. My dad does a Champions of Character presentation about sportsmanship and leadership. We also teach the value of academics, along with weight training and nutrition sessions.”

Gonz Medina, co-creator of the camp with Harris, said the wrestling technique information is important, but the other information helps make a better person.

“We like to change it up a little each year,” Medina said. “We always work on the mat and we always work on our feet. But we also have a session where we teach them about building good character and being a good person. It’s more than wrestling, because we teach about life lessons.”

Mark Scott USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling Job Opportunity

Position Title:Manager of Grass-Roots Development

Division/Department:Department of State Services

Position:Full-time

Job Responsibility: USA Wrestling is seeking a self-motivated, highly energetic, qualified individual who seeks to make a difference in youth wrestling, and is committed to develop, promote and implement strategies that will enhance USA Wrestling programs at the Grass-Roots level. The qualified individual will be responsible to assist with increasing membership opportunities with a focus on folkstyle wrestling, inner city programs, leagues, international exchanges, and club programming at the junior high, high school, and colleges levels. In addition, the individual shall institute marketing strategies in order to encourage non-USA Wrestling affiliated organizations and event promoters to sanction their activities with USA Wrestling. The qualified individual shall also manage and assist with various volunteer training and recognition programs, training and resource materials for club leaders and state leadership positions. The successful applicant will also assist with various regional and National event duties as determined by USA Wrestling’s Director of National Events. This dynamic individual must also demonstrate the ability to work with diverse groups of individuals, volunteers and business professionals, and exhibit the ability to work as a team player, communicate effectively and interject new ideas and concepts.

The Cyclones have made sacrifices to keep wrestling alive and well.
By WRIGHT THOMPSON
The Kansas City Star

AMES, Iowa | - AMES, Iowa | Cael Sanderson’s desk is covered with receipts. Folded ones and crumpled ones. Some are for gas. Some are for food. Some are from state wrestling tournaments. His new life is here, strewn about office 2133, more rumpled than a bachelor’s shirt. Some are out of order. Some are almost certainly missing. He looks down, hoping at least that most are present and accounted for. He smiles.

“I lose a lot of money,” he says. “I’m learning that lesson.”

He’s officially been the Iowa State wrestling coach for two months, taking over when longtime leader Bobby Douglas resigned to make room for him, the 26-year-old former Olympic gold medalist. Sanderson’s hiring has generated buzz. With 90 years of history and eight national titles behind them, the Cyclones wrestling fans expect great things.

It’s something of an alternate universe here off U.S. 30. At a time when most colleges go without wrestling — only five Big 12 schools even compete — the sport isn’t merely surviving. Wrestling thrives here, and not by accident. They’ve chosen to be great. In big-time college athletics, smaller players face many impossible choices. What to leave in? What to leave out? What to emphasize? What to cut?

John Fuller, Real Pro Wrestling

Mixed martial arts (MMA) have become one of the most popular sports over the past decade –- not just in the American culture, but in the entire world. With worldwide exposure of MMA productions such as Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and Pride, the sport has blown up.

And with that exposure has come the popularity of its athletes. Names such as Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes are known worldwide. Before them, athletes such as Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman were controlling the ranks.

What is common among them? A wrestling background.

And while the martial arts have helped many MMA athletes to earn wins by submission or knock out, it is tough to get that end result without taking your opponent down. In other words, a wrestling background is becoming more and more important in MMA.

A case in point is the recent fight between UFC Hall Of Fame member Royce Gracie, the man who single-handedly popularized jiu-jitsu in the United States. Gracie, however, was no match for former Eastern Illinois All-American Matt Hughes, who dismantled Gracie in less than five minutes.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A trio of Penn wrestlers are competing this weekend at the FILA Junior World Team Trials. This year’s competition for freestyle and Greco-Roman will conclude June 9-10 at East Middle School in Colorado Springs, Colo. The winners in each weight class advance to represent the United States at the FILA Junior World Championships Aug. 29-Sept. 3 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Penn will be represented by Matt Dragon (74 kg), Brett McCurdy (66 kg) and Jack Sullivan (96 kg). Dragon won an EIWA title as a freshman at 149 lbs., compiling a 32-8 overall record. McCurdy put together a 4-2 record for the Quakers at 141 lbs., while Sullivan went 8-11 last year at 197 lbs.

The FILA Junior World Team Trials has provided a stage for future American stars to perform and excel on their way to earning spots on Team USA at the Senior level.

“This is an extremely important event and a big step toward developing our future Olympians,” said Dave Bennett, USA Wrestling’s National Developmental Freestyle Coach. “If you look at those wrestlers who have won at the FILA Junior World level in the past you will find some of our top people on it. Because the Junior World Tournament is in Guatemala this year it is particularly important that we get our best age level wrestlers to compete. We have as close to a home court advantage as we have had since 1998.”

Climbing new heights
By Shane Anthony
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Kyle Bradley faces a lot of firsts in the next two weeks as he leaves his St. Peters home for a mountain climbing trek in Peru, and he’ll experience them with an athlete who shares a lot in common with him.

Kyle, 15, is part of a group of students - three from the St. Louis area - who leave Friday for Peru with the Leading the Way Expedition. The expedition’s leader is Erik Weihenmayer, who, in 2001, became the first blind man to reach Mount Everest’s summit.

Weihenmayer and Kyle are both competitive. They both are or have been wrestlers, and Kyle has the same rare genetic eye disease that caused Weihenmayer’s blindness - X-linked retinoschisis. Kyle, who will be a sophomore at Francis Howell Central High School, met Weihenmayer a few years ago at a book signing.

“He’s a great role model,” Kyle said.

By Chad Konecky, Special to SI.com, SchoolSports.com

For Mike Grey this spring, every day is Sunday. Or at the very least, every day might as well be Sunday.

On any morning he wishes, Grey can interrupt his drive to the Delbarton School (Morristown, N.J.) by pulling into the Rockaway Bagel & Deli on Green Pond Road and ordering up a breakfast sandwich on an everything bagel. This baby is piled high with egg and cheese and Taylor ham, otherwise known as a pork roll.

Point is, the breakfast order is typically something Grey would only think about treating himself to on a Sunday. But in the offseason following his record-setting fourth state wrestling championship, Grey is cutting himself a little slack. He’s indulging just a smidge. He’s flirting with — gasp — 142 pounds.

The 5-foot-7 Delbarton senior can pilot his Jeep Cherokee into the deli parking lot any time he wants right now because right now it’s not time to wrestle. When it’s time to wrestle, Grey looks like he’s cut from a block of granite. And the only thing he indulges himself in is winning.