Greco-Roman World Team Trials and Summer update

Although I could only watch on the internet, I enjoyed watching Jake Kettler compete at the Greco-Roman World Team trials. He did well. He finished in 4th place in the challenge tournament – 5th overall. I especially enjoyed watching his demeanor in the 2 matches he won over tough opponents. Jake is getting better.

It is camp season for college coaches. I have been able to work a few camps already. We start our own camps on Monday. We will have the following camps this summer at George Mason University: day technique camps June 23-27, July 7-11, July 14-18 and July 28-August 1; evening technique camp July 14-18; and a father/son camp July 11-12. For more information on the camps go to http://www.joerussellwrestling.com

I will be at the first day of camp on June 23, but will spend the rest of the week in Toronto, Canada coaching the USA JR Pan Am team. I am excited to coach the athletes as they represent the USA at the JR Pan Am Championships.

We are also nearing the end of our Alumni Giving Challenge at George Mason University. We are currently losing. My hope is we will have a last minute push from alums, so we can win the challenge. I do believe it would not only help us financially to win, but also boost our program image. If anyone is interested in donating, please do so before June 30. You can donate online, over the phone or via mail. For more information go to: http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205073218&DB_OEM_ID=25200

Jr World Team Trials

Although we had 6 guys qualified for the final Junior World Team trials, we only had 2 guys compete. Sahid Kargbo and Ibrahim Bunduka were courageous enough to get in a car with me and drive 14 hours to Madison, WI. Dale Oliver, who is going to coach the Junior World Team this summer, joined in the fun. Both wrestlers represented our program well.

Sahid competed in the Freestyle tournament. He finished 2-2. His 2 wins were over opponents who had beaten him at the FILA JR Nationals in Las Vegas. I was pleased to see his progress.

Ibrahim was an eyelash away from making the Greco-Roman team. The finals are a best of 3 format. He upset the #1 seed defending national champion in the first match 4-3. In the second bout he lost 3-2. 2 of the points his opponent received were given after a video review protest. Originally the call went Ibrahim’s way. In the rubber match, Ibrahim came up short. He was extremely disappointed. His disappointment showed me how important it was to him. I was sad he did not reach his goal, but proud of his effort and desire to win.

I was blessed to receive a coaching award over the weekend as well. Because of the efforts of many others, I was given the award. Thank you for making it possible. I have attached an interview I gave upon receiving the award. In it, I thank a few. Please know I owe a thank you to many more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HauRSXi3-7A

We had an interesting trip home, which included a few failed attempts at getting ice cream, a tour of downtown Chicago at 1am, and a cool dip at Buttermilk Falls, PA as part of a cold water challenge. Fortunately, we made it home safely.

On Monday, I was able to attend the Patriot Club Alumni Golf outing. It was a great event on a beautiful day. Sadly, the baseball team won the award for the most participating alumni. The recent A10 Champs are on a roll. We are going to have to stop their momentum and beat them in the Alumni Giving Challenge. Currently, baseball is in the lead. I have copied and pasted the current standings and ways in which you can donate: http://www.gomason.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205073218&DB_OEM_ID=25200
It was announced on Monday that our new Athletic Director will be Brad Edwards. I would love for him to see us win the Alumni Athlete Giving Challenge. It would certainly be a good first impression for our program.