Bonney Lake Wrestling : Team News
BENDON AND DORSEY PLACE AT PAC-COAST
Nick Bendon (140) and Jared Dorsey (Hwt) placed 5th and 6th at the Pac-Coast Championships tournament January 1-2, 2010 in Vancouver, Washington. The Panthers competed with up to 32 wrestlers in their bracket for a chance to stand on the podium. Congratulations, Nick and Jared!
CUNNINGHAM AND DORSEY PLACE AT TRI-STATES
Andrew Cunningham (112) and Jared Dorsey (Hwt) placed 7th and 8th respectively in a very tough Tri-States tournament December 18-19, 2009. Many of the top wrestlers from Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon converged on Coeur D'Alene, ID to compete for a medal in the tournament. Congratulations, Andrew and Jared!
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOUR WRESTLER MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
- Have to have good grades and SAT/ACT scores. With ARP, college coaches can't make the mistake of recruiting kids that won't make it academically.
- Be aggressive; don't wait for coaches to come to you. You need to call, email, and write the coaches of the programs you are interested in. Colleges are very busy. Unless you are the #1 guy in the nation you have to go after the coach. State champions are a dime a dozen.
- Not many kids make it to the Div. 1 level. 275,000 HS wrestlers, 2,500 D1, 850 starters. That's .003%. To make it at the D-1 level you have to be VERY good. Good academically and very good athletically.
- $$$. Don't expect a full ride. Don't make the mistake of going where you get the most money (unless the offer is too good to turn down.) Need-based financial aid may be the best offer. All athletes need to fill out the FAFSA and CSS forms. Most schools only have one or two scholarships a year so there is not a lot of money to go around.
- Don't forget to do the NCAA clearinghouse. Check out the NCAA Clearing House website: https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/
- Research. Check out the academics the school offers, graduation rates, national academic ranking, etc. Find out what kind of jobs former wrestlers land and find out what they think about the program they wrestle for. How important is wrestling to the school? How secure is the program?
- Get on it early Sophomore/Junior year. Most kids are deciding before their senior year.
- Attend big national-level tournaments. Go to Fargo, wrestle at Jr. Nationals. Encourage your coach to go to big tournaments. In many ways these tournaments help more than any state placing.
- The recruiting process. For the student athlete and the parents being recruited it can lead to major ego inflation. The famous college coach is telling the kid he is the best thing in the world since sliced bread. But the weekly phone calls get old fast. The coach may be making promises he can't deliver and the kids/parents may be inflating strengths and hiding faults. Are the parents preparing the kid for the PATH or are they preparing the PATH for the kid?
To be continued...
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WASHINGTON STATE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
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