Coach Dan Burgess
Pictures Courtesy of Dan Burgess
Wrestling Is…
I feel honored to be asked by NVSportsLocal to write a piece for the publication. I have not been involved with the sport since 2017 but am always watching from afar how our fine wrestlers continue to perform on both the national and international levels. I would like to share some of my unorganized ramblings here today. I have always felt wrestling in Nevada was a secret we did not want kept but somehow that is how it had remained for so many years. We are a state that has a wealth of talent both tapped and untapped.
I am excited to see so many Nevada kids sign to wrestle in college next year. I want to say 20 plus will be training in college wrestling this coming fall as freshman. We have numerous kids signing at all levels across the country and for the uneducated there is no such thing as an easy level of college wrestling. They are all hammer tough. I don’t know if anyone has ever tracked that number of Nevada college signings, but I’m thinking it has got to be close to a record haul for Nevada this year. It’s a generation like this that will clear up that little unkept secret.
Probably the biggest highlight of this group will be three Battle Born Wrestlers signing on the dotted line as the first recruiting class for the University of Iowa’s Women’s Wrestling program.
Many consider wrestling an individual sport but no wrestler goes it alone. A true champion must have that intense flame that burns from the inside. For that flame to burn bright there are three key components necessary. Think back to your fifth grade fire safety class with Ol’Smokey The Bear. Fire requires fuel, heat and oxygen. For wrestler to be successful they need the same things (euphemistically).
Fuel – Fuel is provided by those who surround the wrestler. Family, coaches, teammates, friends, clergy or those who care enough to push the wrestler to places they normally could not reach without an “inner circle” of support.
Heat – The intelligence it takes to be a wrestler. Wrestling is a “Thinking Persons” sport. It is a daily application of physics, math, philosophy, psychiatry and sometimes…Shop Class. Wrestling is a microcosm of life, wrestlers who apply themselves to this ancient art will win in life long after their wrestling careers have ended even if they were 0-50 on the mat.
Oxygen – I am addressing an educated crowd here. We all know who wins when a great athlete who does not train faces a marginal athlete who outworks them. An old but true tale. Oxygen is the application of techniques and physical effort to hone the most dangerous weapon there is, the human body. Great wrestlers are students of the sport and thrive on great repetition and pushing their bodies to their maximum limit and then add on another 20% for good margin.
I want to talk about the “untapped” potential our sport has in this state. Wrestling has for the most part always been and will most likely, always be, a “Blue Collar” sport. Many of the greatest wrestlers I have known grew up in poverty, near poverty or were next door neighbors to poverty. Sharing of shoes, singlets, sleeping in cars on wrestling trips, living off Kool Aid and bologna sandwiches was a norm for me growing up in Iowa.
Like other sports, wrestling has evolved into a “pay to play” sport. The number of volunteer coaches, seasonal clubs has dwindled since the start of the pandemic. Now, I don’t view this as a bad thing. This is direct evolution of our sport and will most definitely make us strong on the national and world stage. What I want to emphasize, we, as a wrestling community, must make concerted efforts to open our sport up to those whom otherwise could not afford it. We are not hockey, football or volleyball. Our sport is relatively inexpensive compared to those, and we need to make sure that we are are giving disadvantaged kids the opportunity to change the direction of their lives because that is what wrestling can do for them. Beat The Streets and other programs similar to it have opened open great opportunities for the “untapped”. We cannot overlook this.
I really think the state of wrestling here in Nevada is strong. With that said, it could be far much better. Strong is good but what get’s Nevada to that next level? What gets college coaches making trips to Nevada as a primary goal to recruit our kids? Some Food for thought:
1.NIAA Reform – Do not take this as criticism directed towards the NIAA, the NIAA functions as an association and has a responsibility to honor the wants and needs of its members. The membership’s current desire to have five different wrestling classes does not make our sport stronger. Quite the opposite, it has further reduced our ability to drive greater competition and promote our kids to the next level. The numbers in our state barely support two classes let alone five and truth be told, it should probably be a “Super State” format. The argument that the smaller schools will choose not to participate is just not valid. You should not sacrifice the wants of the few for the needs of the many.
2.Support USA Nevada Wrestling – Almost every single wrestler signing to wrestle in college next year came up through our state program. Great wrestlers develop both “in season and out” There is no taxpayer support for the SWA, SNWA, ENWA and the state board. For our association to create greater opportunities for our kids you must participate both on and off the mat. Attending association and state level events should be a priority over all others. It is with those funds we are able to build and support our national teams. Run a club, work a table, help set up/tear down, snack bar, it all contributes to the greater good for our wrestlers.
3.Support your local high school program – Funding is slim. High School coaches are constantly faced with finding creative ways to get the very best for our wrestlers. Money is best. If money is not an option, find a way to volunteer.
4.Become a Referee – This is not just a wrestling problem. This is hitting all sports extremely hard (I will address this shortly). We need referees, more so now than at anytime in our past. It has reached a critical situation. No Ref’s, no wrestling.
5.We are more powerful united than when we are divided –I am not a native Nevadan. I was born, raised and spent the first 23 years of my life wrestling in Iowa. I lived in Reno for 18 years and I have now been in Las Vegas for 12 years. My allegiance is to this state. Not the North, the South or the East. As I stated above we are too small in numbers to allow geography, ego and petty differences to keep us for giving the absolutely best we can to our wrestling youth. We must build strong bonds across the state so that our youth can get the very best opportunities.
6.Be Respectful, Humble and Thankful – Before you start screaming at your kid or someone else’s kid, before you run out on the mat swinging for the ref or decide to tell your youth coach how cruddy of a job they are doing, please take a few moments to assess the situation. Wrestling is an emotional sport. It has caught me up plenty of times, and to be honest, in hindsight, I have regret for every one of those times. We have a Ref shortage because we, as parents, spectators and coaches have somehow lost respect for what that job requires. We have to stop behaving like this or we will not have any wrestling. Be respectful.
I go a long way back with this sport. I am 57 and I started when I was 6. Growing up in Iowa, wrestling was a sport of great athletes that let their performance on the mat speak for them. I am not sure if it’s the UFC, WWE or maybe just a change in our society with social media, but we all need to be a little more humble in our actions. Win, lose or draw we are a subcultural that must stick together if we want to grow this sport for our youth. Show your fellow competitor, coach, parent or referee the humility that they deserve. The road they are travelling is not a whole lot different than the one you are on.
Be Thankful. We have been blessed to live in such a great state, in a great country, that we have the time, desire and financial fortitude to be part of such a great sport. I may no longer be involved, but I am thankful everyday that had the opportunity to do so at one time.
Wishing all who may read this the very best on your wrestling journey. Keep in mind “Wrestling is Life, Life is Wrestling”.