Wrestling Blogs - Martin Floreani

Everyone talks about wrestling and how to improve it. Everyone has their two cents. Wether it is rules, promotion or the system, everybody has an opinion. One thing really rings true...we need to support our wrestlers financially. I have to say that Mike Novogratz and Dave Barry are trying to create that support structure. They have created a fund that directly goes to our wrestlers. Everyone agrees that our wrestlers shouldnt be monieless. Everybody agrees that if they were supported more financially we may be able to retain more of them. This is our chance to do what is right.… more »

Part of our problem with Wrestling in this country is our leadership doesn't have to answer to anybody. So where is the critical independent media? It is either owned by our governing body or they arent willing to ask the hard questions. Questions of our governing body are good, especially when no one is asking them. Over the past year, I have been approached by several different people in regards to All American Wrestling supply's relationship with USA Wrestling. Dave Miller the former CEO at USA Wrestling now owns All American Wrestling Supply. All American Wrestling Supply has an exclusive… more »

If this weekend taught us anything it is that wrestling is the greatest sport in the world and it is the most exciting sport in the world hands down. I wanted to say thanks to Matguard for talking a chance on Flowrestling and Mineful.com (business intelligence) for performing in the clutch. Here is my summary of this weekend before we move on deeper into the 2009 wrestling season (we go year round!!!). Iowa showed vulnerability. Brent Metcalf in his interview said that Iowa "we were duped" coming in. I think 99% of people in the nation didnt give anyone else… more »

So taking a look at the high school qualifiers from California this year I noticed California was 6th place with 19 qualifiers. You might think not bad, but you have to look at it from a different angle. California's population has 34 million people in it! If you analyze how they rank qualifier per population you will see they are 34th with one qualifier per 1.9 million people. NOTE: California also has a rich history of wrestling unlike some states like Texas or Florida which are both still developing. They are just below Florida (33rd) which does not have one… more »

Noel Thompson and Mike Novogratz will be our ears and eyes out in IRAN. Noel Thompson was captain of Hofstra during Tom Ryans tenure and is now a big whig at NYAC. Mike Novogratz was captain of Princeton way back in the day and now is one of the main guys behind Beat the Streets. Both guys were really solid wrestlers making it to the round of 12 at NCAAs and both have gone on to be successful outside of wrestling. They are going to show us what the streets and people look like. They are going to tell us… more »

If you have ever flown Jet Blue they do a pretty good job, and have a sick terminal at JFK, (an airport that usually is a nightmare.) Furthermore they have satellite TV free for every passenger. Pretty cool, except that plane trips are my most effecient way to get work done without any phone calls interrupting me.So Im ready to get to work on a real productive flight when I see someone flip through their tv out of the corner of my eye and I see two wrestlers. It was lightning quick and I dont think a normal person could… more »

The fresno area is full of wrestling nuts. More dense per capita than Jersey. I really havent seen it that crazy in any place. I love the passion they have for wrestling even if it has taken a steady turn into fanaticism. The rivalry between Selma and Clovis is at another level. These teams really hate each other. And yes, "hate" is a strong word. I hear, maybe to the delight of some Selma fans, that the Tirapelle's got suspended from coaching their arch rivals and the defending State Champions, Clovis HS. Selma fans shouldnt be happy but probably are… more »

With the upcoming election politics is around us to the point where it is insane. Just like everybody else Im pretty sick of it. I was sitting with Mark Disalvo from Central Michigan and watching the third and final debate and I marvel at how the media makes two dudes talking over dry complex issues a Superbowl event. In the post-game analysis they had like 10 analysts lined up giving their perspective. The media is pretty darn good at making whatever they want into an event and then making it exciting. The thing I like about wrestling and sports in… more »

So it is official, Terry brands, Henry Cejudo and Steve Mocco are off to Iowa. Those two along with Mike Zadick and Doug Schwab make four 2008 olympians training at one school. Don't forget about the slew of other contenders starting with Jared Frayer. NCAA wrestling is again facing the black clowd of Iowa hawkeyes that seem to hang in the background of everyone's conciousness. This black clowd leads to tenative 18 year old boys hesitating to the wrestlers in the black and gold with a determined Brands coach in their corner, check that, two determined brands coaches. Both will… more »

So I'm sitting in s Tokyo airport watching USA vs Brazil gold medal match in volleyball with only a blackberry in hand and I thought I would do the impossible of writing this whole blog with my thumbs..... Overall china did OK with the Olympics, their wrestling logistics and organization was outstanding, getting into some of the other venues like the birds nest was a nightmare.....like 40 minute waits to just get inside the green, not even the stadium, and although security was the reason they had these delays I wasn't impressed with it. Taxis could be an absolute nightmare… more »

So we have 3 weight classes left. 84,96 and 120kg will be going today. I have a jammed packed day and it starts right now. Yesterday Ben Askren and Doug Schwab didnt have the days they wanted. Ben won his first match with a pin which was awesome but lost handily to the cuban in his second match. I think it was a really bad clash of styles. I was disappointed that Ben lost but also excited to be able to watch Saitiev wrestle in that weight class. Saitiev was a really awesome to watch. He came out there and… more »

And so it begins. In about 12 hours we will begin to start Freestyle. These guys have waited a long time for this and Mike Zadick has got to feel like he has the world in front of him with his birth at the Olympics. It is interesting to see how these wrestlers perfrom under the "pressure". I have been doing a lot of thinking about these guys and how they will perform. Do wrestlers perform at their ultimate or do they crumble or just tighten up? Why and how? Can you imagine when you workout in intense conditions and… more »

Mike Zadick should make the olympics. He is first in line as an alternate and the Bulgarian wrestler will not participate. Apparently the Bulgarian alternate got into a car accident. This is not official until the IOC signs off on it. more »

Alright so there are tons of crazy stuff going on here in China. Not to state the obvious but The chinese people and government got so into these games. I feel like they filtered the cab drivers to be the best in China. They are super honest and seem like they are out for our best interest. Not what I was expecting. After hand picking the best cab drivers in the nation they went on to put a radius around all Olympic stadiums and not let anyone get close to any facility without tickets to events. this allows China to… more »

So here we are on another side of the world and things are really different! Yesterday we got in around 11pm. I came in with Nick Feckete and right off the bat wanted to go to Beijing Normal but I decicded to first go my hotel and meet up with him later. When we got to my hotel with my brother and my friend Garrett we decided that "heck we are only in China once" so we hit the town. It was pretty strange going around the city. When you get right down and think about it is totally crazy… more »

Alright, Im sitting here in my hotel room getting ready to head off to China. Should be interesting to see how things take place over there. From what I hear they got the city on lockdown, millions of cameras sureveling the street...pretty nuts. Although a lot of preparation has taken place for these games, probably way more than any other Olympics, there is some tension I feel going over there...if there are protests how will the government react, will the polution be too much for the athletes? Im kinda of an optimist though and I think everything will go off… more »

Here we are winding down the days left in July and we have the Stanford head coaching job and Cleveland State Job still up for hire. Cleveland State could be a hidden treasure with the surroundings of the Ohio and Pennsylvania community right in their back yard. Stanford....well, its stanford.... with a tough academic admissions, but is one of the best schools in the country with tons of opportunity. It is no easy task to overhaul a program. Kerry McCoy leaves Stanford better than when it started but both programs have a lot of work to do. It takes more… more »

Not many people can say that "Coming back from Vegas I have a clear and focused mind" I have been grounded and learned from the feats that I saw. After watching the Olympic Trials I try and take a little bit from the best performances. I have never seen a wrestler with as unique mental perspective as Ben Askren. Ben isnt an amazing athlete in the physical realm, but has a real unique mental side that propels him to the top and makes him as a whole one of the best American Athletes in years. I take from Ben that… more »

Its been about 62 hours since we began the transfer and finally we completed it. I have already begun a list of things to iron out but this new platform is way better! Im excited about the coverages, the embed features, and the "My Videos". People want to store their technique in some kind of orderly fashion and the "My Videos" page will really help out. Note: You have to be logged in to start creating it. Like I said in that crazy video I made in front of the HQ, the most important thing about this platform is that… more »

Why are we rushing to raise money for an athletic department who just cut wrestling? Asu was never upfront to the wrestling community about the programs situation. How academic of them. Furthermore what about the duty to provide oppurtunity to all the highschool kids that wrestle in that state. As an academic institution they should reevaluate their role to the Arizona community. So why are we trying to raise money for this type of leadership? Think about the example we are giving to ADs all across the country:.....the message is: if you drop wrestling we will come and raise money… more »

Im not surprised by the events at ASU. Disappointed beyond consolation? yes, but surprised?...no. You reap what you sow. The wrestling leadership, the NWCA (not to be confused with the NCWA) has lead wrestling down a path where this will happen time and time again. So Dont be surprised by Arizona State dropping their wrestling program and dont be surprised if it happens again this year to another program. Im an optimist but Im also a realist.

Wrestling is the greatest and most exciting sport in the world. I have no doubt about this. I have no… more »

Its funny how tough it is to deal with wrestling after your career is over. There almost always is some level of disappointment with your performances. If you are extremely competitive there is really very little peace until you can address Post Traumatic Wrestling Disorder (PTWD) . Wrestling is unique because there is no genetic bias in the sport. Leaving one variable....your mental state.

Your mental state, which is built brick by brick* over a course of years sets the tone for everything you do. Do you clam up when you step on the mat? Are… more »

This week in Fresno and the central valley was awesome. Its like a little New Jersey without the accents and pizanos but with agriculture and mexicans. Wrestling is intense there. They have about half of the top ten teams in California in that Valley. Remember there are over 27,000 wrestlers with 800 teams in one division in California. The next highest state is Illinois which has just over 17k participants and is moving to 3 divisions next year.

Stan Greene a former wrestler from Fresno State was my sponsor, he let me and Joe crash at his… more »

Matt Azevedo had the audacity to do what he wanted. Who did he think he was? He was a good to mediocre Big XII wrestler who never even became a Division 1 All-American. What was he thinking trying to wrestle at the next level? Really all he was doing was taking up space and others people's time in a sport where it just wasnt meant to be.

He still was just hanging on to that habit of competition. (He never was a state champ either but placing in the state of California meant he could at least… more »

It is a beautiful thing when coaches get fired and new ones get hired. I like when things get shaken up because anyway you cut it there are some 80 odd teams in D1 wrestling and there are 40 head coaches whose teams finished in the bottom half. Furthermore there are at least 20 head coaches whose teams finished in the bottom half in consecutive years. This means their are plenty of head coaches who arent up to par and need to be replaced. This is a sign of a healthy sport. What isnt a sign of a healthy sport… more »

I got Ideas, you got Ideas...Everyone has ideas. Some Ideas are great....they are thought out, have an simple element to them, some are long term, and have many layers of success going for them. Some are faddy and ridiculous and thought out by people who are too smart for their own good or not educated enough.

Most ideas are hard to implement but easy to talk about. And some ideas are stolen like this one....so this is MY idea.

I was sitting at Reno World Championship Tournament booth this past weekend and I… more »

In St. Louis when I was covering the NCAAs I received an email that I found interesting to me. It was from the NWMA (National Wrestling Media Association). It was a press release on giving the media awards for 2007-8 year. I opened it eagerly knowing that it was going to be pretty tough to snub flowrestling again this year on every single award including web site of the year. But sure enough the powers at be found a way.

This act is significant because it shows how the powers at be are trying to "rig… more »

What an awesome year! This college year was great in so many ways. I think that some how I developed a new appreciation of wrestling. The NCAA tournament capped it off. And when I sat on the sidelines of the Quarters and Semis and All-American Round I just loved watching the tension and emotion. Even the 1-1 matches were stacked with pressure and excitement. Sometimes even more exciting than the high scoring matches.

How bout that Metcalf vs Palmer, that was awesome especially when Palmer got in deep at the end of the third and Metcalf… more »

Im back in Texas! It feels good. New Jersey or Dirty Jersey is a bit of a culture shock for me. I almost got in a fight with a camera man, was on thin ice with the tournament director (I have no idea why) and was constantly being berraded when I was in the stands getting the word out about Flo. Its all part of the Jersey experience though, and I guess its one of those deals that if they dont give you a hard time and you dont come to blows, then they dont like you....or something like that. more »

I have a lot of fans and friends from Ohio. It seemed like everywhere I went I was meeting new people and shaking hands with them and even taking pictures. Zeb Miller might be one of my biggest fans right along side Zach Smart. Zeb Miller hooked me up with a hotel room and rides from everywhere. He also found two extra cameras to shoot matches with. I did the majority of my work in his hotel room before I would crash hard. A state meet like Ohio you are running around 100 mph and your sleep intervals are pretty… more »

America doesnt need wrestling.

Why do some in the wrestling community plead like a 5 year old kid saying "America needs wrestling."

What?

I find that the equivalent of someone saying "America needs Football"

Hate to break it to people but America is bigger than any sport.

Try telling "America needs Wrestling" to a professor or an AD at a school who really isnt a wrestling fan and see what his response is. Probably come out thinking people in wrestling are arrogant.
… more »

Im on a plane from Memphis to Austin. I just was in Milwaukee and from there I was at Kaukauna High School. I got to drive for about 2 hours or so with Lee Meyerhofer from Kaukauna to Milwaukee. I liked Lee alot and he is a pretty smart cat. He is the president of Kaukauna city. He got me thinking more about wrestling, how we have to market it. He reminded me why I started flowrestling....to get people to know, like and learn the wrestlers and coaches of our sport.

Fast forward to me right… more »

I woke up today and am getting ready to travel to the opposite end of the country to the Cheesehead tournament in Kuakuana Wisconsin. It is the second time in a week that Im going up North. Last week I wen to the Clash and it was a really well run tournament with outstanding organization. I was impressed with the venue to. The clash was great but also brutal...The tournament was really intense and took a toll on the wrestlers. 6 duals for 32 teams in a course of 2 days is pretty intense. But if you win, or even… more »

Happy New Year from a very snowy Chicago in a small apartment,

The world is getting better for 2008, because the wrestling world is taking off. Flowrestling has made some leaps and bounds from an obscure site where we cover a couple events a year to a couple of events a weekend and get tens of thousands of people a day coming to flo. I get more focused and exciting about flowrestling and wrestling every day.

Wrestling is the best sport in the world. It is as simple as that. Because it is the… more »

Im excited to do my first Youth Tournament. It is called the Midwest Open and is going to take place in Evanston IL. It will be a K-8th grade tournament on December 29th. It is also a qualifier tournament for the top 3 placers to go to the National Youth Tournament. It will be cool to go from Kindergartners wrestling at the Midwest Open to Olympic hopefuls wrestling at the Midlands. That is the full spectrum of athletes. This should be interesting. I hope a lot of the kids come out to see the finals for Midlands after the Midwest… more »

Reno Tournament of Champions is coming next week and Im gearing up for another huge national tournament. We will have wrestlers from the east coast matching up against wrestlers from California Utah and Oregon. This will be incredible.
But before I get too excited I need to snap back to reality.

It is about 2:31 AM and Im getting ready for my trip out to Cleveland for the Super 8s at St. Edds. Im gathering all my equipment for my early morning flight out of Austin. On Monday I kinda relaxed for the first time since… more »

The standard of how it should be done is coming. The Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament constantly improves on itself. This year they will have live streaming videos of the gym covering four mats at a time. Furthermore their live text coverage of each mat in progress is unreal....How do I know? Well I have never been but coaches, photographers, tournament directors, athletes and press people...all who i trust have told me so. You can get the coverage at home as well: http://www.walshironman.com/rscoreboard.php . I cant wait to cover the tournament for the first time and talk to all the top… more »

So it is this time of year again. Every great wrestler has a goal to win an NCAA Title and this tournament is the first major bench mark of the young 2008 season: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. I would say this is the first meet of the season where multiple top 10 and 20 teams bring their best squad to compete. It means something to win this tournament. It means your legit.

Im excited because we will get to see Hofstra go at it with Missouri and Michigan. Right now I would say these teams are… more »

When I traveled half way across the country to wrestle for Cal Poly I was taking a huge leap of faith, but I really didnt think twice about it or look back. It was something I was meant to do. I got there and would get beat up every day in the practice room, (except against Dave Serwitz and one or two other wrestlers :). There is one thing that I am pretty good at, sticking with something and finding a way to get better. Im not a fast learner, just ask Eric Guerrero as he tried to teach me… more »

Last night i was in Dirty Jersey. I have a love hate relationship with Dirty Jersey. I love the wrestling and the energy that state has for wrestling but I dont like the dirty part so much:) But its the people like Damion Logan, Ernie Monaco and their wrestlers that are the most important part though. I was staying with Damion Logan from Premier and he is a funny and cool dude.

Anyways we decided to kick back, get a pizza and watch some movies, we ended up only watching TV though. I dont get much… more »

About a week ago I was coming back from one of my long road trips I stopped by Okie State. I was just in time to catch the end of practice.

After the Cowboy practice Coach John Smith came up to me and said 'your site is something else'. I told him "you havent seen nothing yet". For me Im tired of the site as it was 2 months ago. We have been working night and day getting ready for Flowrestlr. I know Coach Smith was talking about the site as he saw it because he hadnt… more »

For years and years wrestlers have been subject to deprived conditions where they receive little to no video coverage. We have been scrounging around begging here and begging there for just a little coverage. We repeatedly have been taught that our rewards will be given to us after we die. We have been suppressed and abused because we have had no choice. This is all changing.

There is a New Revolution, one where teams can login from anywhere in the country and watch their film. Where they can open up matches by choice to parents, alumni, college… more »

I have been traveling non stop since about well since it seems like a decade now. But really its been a year and a half. This latest trip started me in Austin took me through Norman and up to Stillwater. After that I went up to Mizzou and then back to Kansas City, Iowa City and then over to Chicago and up to University of Wisconsin and to Minnesota. That is when I did a clean 180 turn and went back to Chicago and then back up to Central Michigan and down to Ann Arbor. Now Im at Ohio State.… more »

At the super 32 this weekend I saw some great matches and some really solid wrestling. It was so much fun to see all these great wrestlers go at it. There was one in particular that made me laugh and cheer more than any of them. That was with the senior Tony Jameson. You cant call it funk cause it aint. It something that is totally different. His flips turns that reminds me of a circus more than a wrestling match. Is it cocky maybe but it is still fun.

Click To Play more »

Im on the road again and Im excited about the week ahead. Ive already had a great time at Team Monday in Dallas, Oklahoma, OSU and now Missouri. I cant wait to hit up Iowa and hopefully the Illini before I get to Chicago and Northwestern and then fly out to the best preseason tournament in the nation: Super 32s.

It will be our first tournament of the year and I know we are going to take flowrestling to another level this year. It all starts with you and the community. You guys are the judge… more »

When I was entering my final year at Cal Poly I heard we were getting this National Champion from Iowa State to be our coach. Ironically I was always pretty ignorant who was who in the wrestling world so I really didnt know what to expect from this 165lber Joe Heskett.

So Joe came in and I got to know him what struck me about him was his ability to face failure in the face until he succeeded. He would do this playing cards or playing a game or on the mat. At Iowa State Joe… more »

Hey everybody if you liked last wrestling season you havent seen anything yet. We have a lot planned. If you would like to contribute and keep me company on my travels, help with video, help with writing articles for the wrestling community, or even something that we havent thought of yet, then give a shout out to support@flocasts.org. If your doing it for school credit or just doing it to help with the wrestling community, your contributions are appreciated! more »

It feels real good to be back to be back in the USA. All the things you take for granted, i get to do now...like drink water from the fountain or sleeping without a ton of bed bugs biting me. You know the little things. Anyways now Im passing through Pennsylvania, New Jesey, and New York. When you think about the East Coast you think about city after city after city but a ton of these states here are a ton of country.

The scenery is great with all the mountains and the fall colors. Anyways… more »

If Baku has one weakness it would be its food selection. Everyday in the Press little room they bring in the same parsley sandwiches. The first day they were kinda strange but good by the 8th day I cant even look at those wretched things.

The Greco and Freestyle teams have left and Im sitting here following the women's team. The problem is that the women are in a totally different hotel way across the city. So im alone in Baku for my last full night in town. What should I do? I think Im going… more »

That beat was in my head as I went to sleep last night. It wouldnt stop as all day all we heard from the crowd was this: "doo ta hooot -IRAN." Guys dancing and waving the flags and beating on the drums and tooting their horns. It was incredible and loud and brain draining.
It was cool when Heskett faced the Iranian right next to the Iranian section. He quieted them nicely when he beat him though...which was cool.

Anyways up until this point it has been all Russians and Im going to try and… more »

We and some of the guys were sitting down in the hotel lobby this morning as we were watching the beginning rounds of the greco tournament. Some little iranian kids came in and one popped his chair about two inches to the TV and began cheering the Iranian wrestler on. With every takedown the kid made expressions and gestures that I have never seen come from an American. His excitement was laughable as we all began to laugh just watching this kid.

I have rarely if ever seen an American kid show such passion and excitement… more »

Its been about a week since my last blog and I feel like im on another planet. I just arrived this morning to Baku Azerbaijan. It has all the feelings of a foreign place. The food just tastes just a lil different and the people act different to.

It is nothing too spectacular here. I was expecting women to be all bundled up in their muslim clothes and for spys to be following me around (that is my ego talkin). It is not really like that...or is it:). I watched Bourne Ultimatium on the plane and… more »

Im sitting here in the KC airport at 7 am and Im so excited about the upcoming year and upcoming world championship, but I am already a little tired. I cant wait to get back to Austin to relax for a couple of days before all hell breaks loose.

Sometimes I may think Im a little too focused on making this the most life changing product. The thought succumbs my mind often in my sleep. It can be overwhelming...so I will be looking forward to take a step back and relax for a little bit with… more »

The Springs has been absolutely amazing. I was suppose to be here 9 months ago, something Terry Brands wont let me forget. Better late than never.

The USA team looks strong and ready. The keyword is team. Kevin Jackson (ISU) and Terry Brands (Iowa) are running a system where their guys are beginning to gel. Can they grow as a team more? I think so but these coaches are on the right track.

America is great because great people have an opportunity to be around other great people who think different. But when… more »

Well Flowrestling will be heading out to a country I have never heard of before. Am I a little nervous about going to a place that is a couple of miles from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq? Yeah but Im excited too. I cant wait to see wrestlers from all different nationalities. I want to know what wrestling means to these other countries. Why are the Eastern block countries so good? What is a trip like this for our American wrestlers. Where do they go eat, do they go out, or is it just hanging out in the hotel lobby. What… more »

It is 7 am on a Sunday and the roosters are crowing outside our new world headquarters in Austin, Texas. Our neighbors have roosters and our other neighbors have bunnies. IT is kinda cool for a guy like me who grew up and went to high school in Chicago, to have a bit of the country life even in Austin. Im really excited about the new office we have. It is a two story building that is a house converted to an office. I believe here we can continue to work day and night to make dramatic and creative changes… more »

One of the things I learned traveling up I35 from John Smith, Brian Smith, & J Robinson is that the little things matter.

I learned from John Smith how important the technical and mental perspective in your given expertise. He focuses on crossing all the t s and dotting all the i s with his wrestlers on the mat and studies their weaknesses and strengths constantly. It is intense experience being around John Smith in the wrestling room because you can feel his mind turning and analyzing and gaging everything going on.

From Brian… more »

"Do the Right Thing"

We all have heard these four words. Maybe it was from a coach or a parent. Its simplicity cut through any kind of BS we might be ready to spew. A coach would say it and it stuck out like a sore thumb in my mind. Years later if I was trying to take the easy way out in something, those words would come to me and make me say to myself..."cut the BS and do the right thing."

Sometimes it would be hard...One summer I painted houses to make… more »

The last two programs that have been dropped in Division I wrestling had nothing to do with Title IX. Hmmm. What is the wrestling community going to blame this one on? Let us think hard on this one. Who or what can we blame? The damn evil feminists had nothing to do with it, so who is at fault?

The problem is the wrestling community has been pointing the finger at Title IX for way to long. Really their own faults are to blame for the demise of wrestling. God hasnt cursed wrestling, our country hasnt cursed… more »