If you’ve landed here on the blog, you may know a little about my background, but just in case, here’s a quick re-cap: After a 15 year competitive career, I spent five years coaching at the Division 1 level. For the past three years, I have been directing a year-round youth program in Maryland & Pennsylvania: FITS Wrestling Academy.
As a scholastic wrestler in PA, I fell just short of becoming my high school’s first state champion, finishing 2nd & 5th at the PIAA State Championships. At Shippensburg University, I was the 141lb National Runner-up two years in a row before transferring to Division 1, American University. Thanks to great coaching, tough partners, and an extremely disciplined life-style, I was able to cap my career as a 4x All-American with a 3rd and 5th place finish at the D1 National Championships. To put the cherry on top, Coach Mark Cody’s American Eagles’ team finished in 5th place in 2011, for the highest placement in school history!
The feeling of college wrestling success was something I wanted to pass on. After 5 years of coaching at American, Maryland, and Lock Haven, I was able to be a part of 6 athletes achieving their dream of becoming Division 1 All-Americans. What I’m most proud of in my coaching career is this: seven athletes I formerly coached are currently coaching at the Division I level!
When I’m not running my practices, I am following the sport’s latest news and updates. The only problem? I routinely run out of interesting content to read or listen to every week. So I’ve decided to write my own! This space is to discuss anything from season and tournament predictions, to technique and parenting challenges, interviews with wrestlers and other experts, to just plain random thoughts/stories about the best sport in the world.
If you are a current or former wrestler, wrestling fan, wrestling parent, someone just learning about the sport or someone who eats and breathes wrestling – this blog is for you.
First up, I'll be doing a quick series on my favorite story lines for the 2019 - 2020 Division I College Wrestling season. Later this week I will be taking you guys on a deep dive into my predictions and expectations on some 2017 All-Americans who couldn't wrestle last year due to injuries (I'm looking at you Seth Gross!). These guys are proven All Americans, but are entering a completely new competitive landscape from the last time we saw them. Next week, I'll be taking you through some thoughts on red-shirt or true freshman that I think we will see do well in the NCAA tournament (Sammy Sasso anyone??). I'll be expecting feedback from you guys on how right I am, or how far into la-la land I've driven.
Please leave a comment on our
page to jump in the discussion or email me at fitswrestlingacademy@gmail.com with any questions or topics you want to suggest. Positive feedback appreciated too! I may be adding a podcast in the near future as well, so be on the look-out for that soon. Thanks being in my corner! #GiveEmFits