Wrestling Blogs - Jim H. & Riot Staff

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/12/5-ways-to-empower-your-athletes-to-succeed/

As coaches, we often want our athletes to be self-motivated, driven and to hold themselves accountable for their own actions. We want this because we know that it will not only help us win more but also make our lives easier with fewer headaches and hand-holding. Rarely, however, do we set them up for success in the ways that we should. We train our athletes at practice and send them off to deal with the world and all if it’s temptations and time-wasters without the skills to overcome and succeed despite them. This may be the… more »

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/12/interview-with-zach-even-esh-of-underground-strength-coach/

I caught up with the always interesting Zach Even-Esh to talk strength and conditioning- we talk a lot about wrestling specifically but this is relevant to any coach. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nt_AeONyUOg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vQJZlU8ujZk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_gpGNJkLK0w

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/12/interview-with-zach-even-esh-of-underground-strength-coach/


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http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/12/how-to-create-a-facebook-page/ more »

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/12/the-coaches-role-in-long-term-success/

My wife is a licensed child therapist who works with children from troubled backgrounds. Recently she was talking about a particular child that just was not responding to counseling, no matter the strategies or techniques used. Sage advice was offered to her from a highly respected therapist with whom she works.
“Our job is to give them the tools to cope with life and hope that they sink in.”
The importance of athletics extends far beyond the playing field. As coaches, we often fail to see our athletes as the people that they will… more »

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/11/three-ways-to-teach-life-lessons-through-sport/

I’ve written on the value of athletics on this blog before. As a coach, you certainly have an understanding of why athletics is important in the life of a young person. I’ve been a college , high school and even a elementary coach. Today, however, I am undertaking a whole new reality. I have volunteered to start a PeeWee (5-7 year old) wrestling program for our team. It’s got me thinking deeper about coaching than I have for years. Mostly about how I can
communicate a dynamic sport like wrestling to such… more »

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/11/how-to-develop-better-team-captains/

About 10 years ago when I was coaching full-time at the Univ of Virginia, two of my colleagues in the dept recommended a book to me written by a guy named Jeff Janssen called the Team Captain’s Leadership Manual. It was an amazing book and when I became a D1 head coach, I implemented the program with my team leaders. The results were immediately noticable and made a tremendous impact on my team’s success. And the captains became an integral part of the success that we had both academically and athletically. They became an extension of… more »

Google+ for Sports Teams
http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/11/google-plus-for-sports-teams/

Google Plus is a social network just like Facebook or Twitter… in fact it has many similarities with those two services that we’ll talk about in a minute. But know this going in…. best practices still apply the same as they do on Facebook, Twitter, email or even in personal interaction with your fans. Share fresh, relevant, engaging, interesting content and then respond and interact with your community to build your relationship with them. That’s the goal here. Build relationships to get people to support your team. If you’re a business… more »

http://riotsportsmarketing.com/2011/11/preparing-for-life-after-sport/

Guest Post by Annette Lynch

When it comes to thinking about preparing for life after sport, most athletes and their support people, are focusing on what they will DO. What new career can they pursue when they are no longer active in sport? How can they earn money?

Unfortunately, less time is spent is spent on thinking about who they will BE once they are no longer an athlete, and this can be where the greatest difficulty may arise.. “Who am I” is the question they might ask as they… more »

So, you take over your new position, move into your new office and notice that you need a new printer cartridge. You call your predecessor and he tells you, "Just stop by the front office and Joe will give you a new one." You introduce yourself to Joe and ask for a new printer cartridge. Joe hands you a form and requires it being filled out in triplicate and submitted a week prior to your needing the order fulfilled.

Joe and your predecessor worked together for 8 years. Their kids went to school together and spend… more »

I talk with coaches everyday. I visit the websites of high school and college sports teams and athletic departments. Unfortunately, I see so many team websites that are absolutely worthless. Is your website worthless? Here are a few characteristics of a worthless website.



Out-of-date: If your website has no new information, it is worse than having no website at all. Think about when you go to a team website and see three month old information! I recommend starting a blog and linking it to your website (or, if your site has a blog… more »

Dr. David Hoch, CMAA, recently retired as the Athletic Director at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore County, Md. One of the nation's most highly respected athletic directors, he has published 360 articles in professional magazines and publications as well as presented dozens of times at various national and state conferences. He wrote a book titled "Blueprint for Better Coaching", a sort of coaching guidebook. I recently asked him a few questions about both the book as well as his views on the profession of coaching. Enjoy!

Jim: I recently hosted a webinar with David… more »

What do fans want to know? What would they love to know? When you educate and inform your fans you will have a fan base that is ready to take action to support you (hence start a Riot!), buy tickets, and support your team fundraisers. Pull back the curtain and let them see the inner-workings of your team. Give them a sense that they are a community of fans who belong together by uniting them around a common cause- your team. Twitter is a great way to do this. I hear lots of coaches and administrators ask what they could… more »

I recently wrote about how coaches can use networking skills to advance their program and securing sports sponsorships through social media. One of the things that helps when networking and selling is a little psychology. I recently read Small Message, Big Impact by Terry Sjodin.

She discusses how to serve the needs of decision-makers to get them to do what you want them to do. Here are a few pointers from the chapter on building a persuasive case.

 


Time: How will what you want save this person… more »

I was talking with the director of a large national organization recently. "We're doing the social media thing," he explained. "The challenge is keeping it up-to-date."
I will be working with him on a paradigm shift before we even begin to talk about strategy. Social media is not something that you have to keep up-to-date like a website or brochure. Social media is where you engage and where you offer value. What do I mean? Here are some examples:

* Respond to questions posted on Facebook or Twitter: like a handshake or a handwritten note, these… more »

Coaches are technicians. They are the engineers of the sports world. They enjoy putting their heads down and plowing forward by training their team, teaching techniques and ensconcing themselves into the daily routine of athlete development. Unfortunately, that is a small part of preparing for overall program success.

I regularly preach the value of CEO skills for coaches. Networking is one of the most overlooked of them. Whether novice or experienced, every coach can improve his/her networking skills.

Contrary to popular belief, networking does not just mean getting to know someone. Just… more »

I'm not talking about selling cookies or coupon books.  I'm talking about raising real cash to make real progress.


Get emotional: The frustrating part about raising money is that logic doesn't work.  Appeal to donors' emotional side and they'll open their wallets.

Say Thank you: If you want them back and to donate more next time, you had better say thank you.

Communicate: Make it easy for your donor base to receive communication from you.  Let them know the human interest stories from within your program.

… more »

Facebook Ads is a great way to buy fans. Actually, I shouldn't call it "buying fans". You are really just buying awareness. The fans (or prospective fans) decide if they want to "like" you. If you are doing any sort of marketing, you are already buying awareness by using the expensive currency that is your time. Facebook Ads just changes the currency.

If you are unfamiliar with Facebook Ads, they are the ads that appear on the right side of Facebook. They have four parts: a title, an image, the body and a destination URL. You… more »

Until recent years, amateur sports, more specifically "Olympic" sports (wrestling, swimming, volleyball, etc), had good reason to complain that the revenue sports (football and basketball) got all of the attention. The media gave them more press, athletic departments spent more on marketing, and they had more fans.

Now the playing field is level.

We know so much about revenue sports because they are marketed and promoted, fans are cultivated and we know the programs from the inside out. This In his book Social Nation Mzinga founder Barry Libert talks about open and… more »

There is no question that mobile is changing everything. From the way we communicate with friends to the way we get our information, smart phones and even regular cell phones have, are and will continue to be a major influence in how we conduct our lives.




86% of Americans own a mobile phone

There were over 5 billion mobile subscribers in 2010 (there are 6.8 billion people in the world)

Over the next five years, more people will connect to the internet via mobile than… more »

When I was a young NCAA Division I head coach, I thought I knew how build  a successful program and successful athletes. I worked hard, built bridges, burned others and generally moved forward with the vigor that we all do with youth. ("Youth is wasted on the young," they say.) Unfortunately, much of what I was doing was not founded upon a solid why- why I was doing what I was doing.  Luckily I had good mentors who knew why and guided my how. Still, I worked more inefficently and ineffectively than I would have if I were coaching full-time… more »

If you look at high profile teams, both professional and amateur, you notice that they work hard at cultivating fans. They develop multiple channels of communication with their fans and then fill those channels with quality content- videos, interviews, updates, personal interest stories and promotions.


Watch more video of Riot Vblog on riotsportsmarketing.com
And they do this for good reason. They understand the value of building this community of supporters because they are the reason that the team is able to exist. Running a team, whether professional or amateur, requires money. Even the… more »

I was listening to the local public news radio last night and heard a commercial about the Elizabeth River, a very polluted river in Virginia.  The commercial was about a project to get people to experience the river and learn more about it.  The narrator said this:

(paraphrased) "To get people to care about the river they have to learn about it and experience it." 

The idea here is that if you educate people about the river they will become stewards of it.  They will help to revitalize the river, make it healthier… more »

Why Positive Coaching is Good Business:
How to Benefit from Building a Positive Organizational Culture

sponsored by Positive Coaching Alliance, Worldwide Sports Supply
& Riot Sports Marketing

Charlottesville, VA - April, 25 2011 - Businesses and community members want to be associated with positive organizations. This webinar is for youth and high school coaches and team leaders who want to build a positive organizational culture and learn how to reap the rewards for their team, financially and otherwise. The positive coaching movement, spearheaded by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), has coaches building their… more »

I have been asked "why the hell would you name your company Riot?" Riot has a bad connotation of flipping over cars and burning buildings after your team loses the championship (or wins- never could figure this out). However, to start a riot, someone has to be passionate enough about something to stand up and take action. How do you start a riot through social media marketing? Well, it takes the right mix of quality content and engagement.
What does your team's community want to read about? What will make them stop in their… more »

Hey Guys, Jim again with Riotsportsmarketing.com. It's a beautiful day outside so I'm working from my back porch. You may hear some lawn mowers in the background of the video.


Watch more video of Riot Vblog on riotsportsmarketing.com
When you do your job, you learn how to do it well. Facebook should be no different. I see so many teams that create Facebook Pages but let them languish. I've discussed several ways to get more likes on Facebook. I want to show you a great way to use Facebook to grow the awareness… more »

 

Ever wonder what makes a fan a fan? I mean, why would someone support a team of people that, often times, does not even know that you the fan are there? Maslow's hierarchy of needs tells us all that we need to know. People need to belong and they need to have love and companionship. "Misery loves company," they say and that's true of happiness and every emotion in between.

So think of that when you are wondering how to grow your fan base (yes, businesses have fans… more »

In the 1960's there was a sport marketing revolution. A man named Roone Arledge from ABC Sports took a chance. ABC would broadcast college football games nationwide that were previously only broadcast regionally due to the regional nature of fan bases, particularly college fan bases. How would they make a game between Penn State and Florida interesting to viewers in California?



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"Heretofore, television has done a remarkable job of bringing the game to the viewer—now we are going to take… more »

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal last week about the Cornell University Wrestling team. The title was "What Makes Cornell So Good?"


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There are a lot of things that coaches spend their time on. Most of them will not make you good. It is the same when you are an athlete, a business owner or a parent. There is a difference between working hard, and working smart. Working smart does not often payoff today. Bummer. We like to build now and… more »

 

There's a buzz word in the marketing world called a "Call to Action." That means, just because you are offering something, that does not mean that people will buy it, register for it, click it, or otherwise take action. You must have a call to action. So, if you have a "Donate Now" button on your website or a "Become a Member" link and nobody is clicking on it, it's likely that you have either no call to action or a poor one.

If you want people to act,… more »

It’s easy to go about your day doing the things that you did yesterday which are the same things that you’ll do tomorrow. It’s comfortable. It’s easy… even if it’s hard, it’s easy. Returning emails, filling out forms, running practices. It’s what coaches do. But what is it that’s in the back of your brain that you want to do. That thing that you know that, if you do it, it will make you better, your program better. But it’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. It’s outside of your routine. Maybe it’s a meeting that you know you should schedule… more »

What would happen if you had NO fans? None. Scary thought, isn't it? Here are 9 reasons why you should show you them that you care.


Fans donate money. You didn't think that those donations came from your opponents' fans did you?

Fans pay the bills. They buy tickets, gear and that crap you sell for fundraisers.

It gives your administration a reason to care. No fans? No administrative support.

More fans equals more fun. It's fun to be recognized for our efforts, even if it… more »

The most limited resource for any coach is time. You always have practices to plan, budgeting to do, schedules to make, travel to plan, money to raise, athletes issues to deal with, meetings with athletic administrators... and don't even get me started on dealing with parents. Unfortunately, none of the tasks above includes anything about the most precious asset to your team: your fans.


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Coaches work hard to get their program to the next level. When working with our athletes, we often say… more »

Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Pat Summitt, John Calipari, Jay Paterno,  are all high profile coaches in high profile sports with high-paying, high-stress jobs. They are all excellent leaders as evidenced by their having reached a high level of excellence within their respective sport. Every coach could all learn a lot by observing their actions and taking a few notes.



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These coaches work insane hours and, in order to be successful, they must spend their time wisely. The last thing they need to do… more »

Coaches and administrators often ask me about the ROI of social media. The easy response is to ask them the ROI of their tv, radio, schedule card, and team poster campaigns. These can be tracked but rarely are. So many like to sell cookies and "stuff" because they can see the return on their investment with no effort (even it if is not significant per the energy spent) ROI of social media and communication (fan-raising) is rarely tracked, unfortunately. However, you can immediately see the size of your fans, followers and subscribers where as you don't know how many people… more »

Social media is flat out the most powerful way for college, high school and even youth sports teams to grow their fan base, increase awareness and increase fundraising. When you have lots of people who like your Facebook page, subscribe to your newsletter, and follow you on Twitter then you have more people to whom you can directly communicate, spread your message, promote events and get things done.



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There are lots of actions that you can take to grow your team's Facebook… more »

Innovation...is scary is fun takes time and energy and commitment takes guts is exciting is risky is rewarding is dangerous takes collaboration requires an open mind What is possible for you? Where can you go? How high can your organization reach? Through innovation, it may just be possible. more »

Like it or not, as a coach or administrator, you are selling something. You are selling yourself, your plan, your vision and your next course of action. You want people to "buy in". Keep this important fact in mind; people love to buy but they hate to be sold. First, listen. Listen to learn about what your people want. Then, you can provide what they want to buy and you can do so in the manner in which you choose to present it. How will what you are selling help me get what I want, coach? more »

Remember when you got your website? You built it yourself or you had "a guy" who built it for you. It was gong to be great! You added pages for your roster, schedule, team info, fundraising, alumni, links, results, fun facts, contact us, about us, news, coaches, history, pics, video, rankings, JV, site map... Unfortunately, you haven't updated most of this since last December so when visitors land on your site, they think it, and your organization, is dead. They never return. No website is better than a dead website. All you really need, most likely, is a news blog… more »

I have been asked "why the hell would you name your company Riot?" Riot has a bad connotation of flipping over cars and burning buildings after your team loses the championship (or wins- never could figure this out). However, to start a riot, someone has to be passionate enough about something to stand up and take action. How do you start a riot through social media marketing? Well, it takes the right mix of quality content and engagement. What does your team's community want to read about? What will make them stop in their tracks on this busy day to… more »

Having been in athletics my entire bipedal life, I've been exposed to lots of different fund raisers. Selling stuff, hosting events, phone-a-thons, direct mailings, and more. Some work better than others. They all work great for some. Google "top fund raisers" and you'll find nearly 3.5 million results (3,470,000 to be exact). Here's one more to help you run your next fund raising event or activity. Decide. Do it. Document it. Delegate it. Develop it. more »

Ever wonder how successful people seem to get so much done? Take Donald Trump, for example. We know he is a busy man. He has meetings to attend, interviews to do, and phone calls to make. He's probably so busy that he doesn't do his own laundry. No surprise there right? We understand that The Don would not do things that would take up his valuable time when it could be spent doing more meaningful things. Now, place a value on one hour of your time. (If you're paid salary, cut off the zeros then cut the number in half… more »

Had a client ask me a question today regarding a strategy to increase awareness and community involvement in his program. The interesting twist was, his question was generated from his reading of the E-Myth (from my Summer Reading List). My answer was that it is not so much in determining the strategy-- that's easily done with a few people sitting in a room over some adult beverages. More importantly is documenting what works so that it can be replicated by someone other than you. That way you experience the success of the system while working on more strategic tasks... such… more »

I want you to start a blog. Forget about the preconceived notions that you have about a blog being for political junkies, small businesses or sports marketing consultants that provide an awesome service. Blogs are for everyone nowadays. Granted, most are full of the kind of people who like to hear themselves talk. The good ones are written by people with something to say. And, if you have a vision for your sports team, club or athletics department, then you have something to say. And we, your fans, alumni, community and prospective supporters, want to listen. What would you post?Your… more »

We have to realize that society is changing. People no longer interact with the world around them in the same way that they used to. Their wants are the same, but they are satisfied much differently than they were as recently as a decade ago. We want to do what we want to do, see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear. Today, we can filter out messages that we do not want to hear through Tivo, caller ID, spam filters, and friending/following those that we choose on Facebook and Twitter. Bad news for traditional marketers.… more »

Everyone is talking about the death of traditional media and the rise of social media. (Especially us consultants... I'm aware of the irony). Their are 100 ways to leverage social media but what is right for your team, department or organization? Too many, and you spread yourself thin. Not enough, and you are practically non-existent. Things to consider:Outcomes- what are the outcomes that you want? Stronger donor relationships, better attendance, more media coverage, a closer knit community of supporters? ("Who is Your Target Market")Budget- do you have someone who can dedicate themselves to this full-time? Part-time? Can you outsource this?… more »

I can get your schedule on your website. I can read the results in the paper. I can overhear that you made a new hire to your staff. But you need to tell me more... if you want me to join you, that is. Marketing a sports team is more than just putting out some schedule cards and getting the tv station to cover your "meet the team" event. Pull back the curtain and let me inside. When I know your struggles and your fears and your aces and your strengths then I'm an insider. When I'm an insider, I'm… more »

What's your story? You say that you are the underdog. Or maybe the veteran, the favorite or the new kid on the block. That's your status. Every team and organization has a story behind their status. If your supporters and prospective supporters know your status, big deal. (By "supporters" I don't just mean your team and their parents). Your story is everything that makes up your status. It is a story woven of the fabric of many, many stories within your program that happen over time. If I know your story- or, I should say, stories - then you're more… more »

Marketers talk about defining your "target" or your "target market".  This helps us determine the means through which we will communicate with them.  If it is 18-26 year olds living in California who have no plans to attend college then we will design a strategy much differently than if the target market were 50-62 year olds living in Pennsylvania who plan to retire.  Pretty basic stuff... not splitting the atom here.  As a coach, to reach your goals, you must identify your target market.  First, you must determine what you are trying to achieve.  Are you trying to grow your… more »

I attended the National Wresting Coaches Association Convention over the weekend. A great event as usual. Mike Moyer is as passionate a wrestling person as you will meet. Out-going NWCA president Jim Beichner was right when he talked about how Pat Tocci and Tammy Tedesco have become nearly as driven as Mike. They work hard at what they do and they run a nice event. This year it was at Delray Beach, FL. The Marriott was immediately across the street from the beach, had a large and beautiful outdoor pool/patio area and, for the family types, was just around the… more »

Even if you have not, masses and masses of people have flocked to Twitter to communicate, share, connect and converse. Contrary to popular belief it's not all posts about what people had for dinner or how they got poison ivy from wiping with the wrong leaves on last weekend's camping trip.Here's an example- I recently had an issue with an online printing company that I have used for a long time. They partnered with an outside company that somehow got my credit card information and made me a "subscriber"- to what, I don't know. But I was paying for it.… more »

More and more, I see the relationship between good business practice and good coaching. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh's new book, Delivering Happiness, came out this week. In it he talks about how doing good business is good for business. John Wooden's passing reminded me that Hsieh's business philosophy can apply to athletics too. Coach Wooden was the epitomy of this. He never talked about winning. He only talked about process, preparation, character and moral condition. Similarly, I read an interview in Entrepreneur Magazine recently with Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. His radically "good" business practices have brought him untold… more »

Riot is, no doubt, a unique business. People often ask me how I came up with the idea. The answer is through educating myself in the best practices of successful businesses and learning how they are implemented in sport and other such organizations. The ideas flow through my head daily and I absolutely love it! There are 3 books that I suggest every business owner, coach or non-profit leader read. Remember, your organization is a small business. The E-Myth: This will teach you first, why it is important to implement replicable and profitable systems("profit" is success to you- however you… more »

I recently talked about the C-Myth as it relates to the popular book called The E-Myth. The "E" in E-Myth stands for entrepreneurial. The entrepreneurial myth is the idea that just because you can install a hardwood floor doesn't mean you can run a successful flooring business. Similarly, just because you can teach a single-leg takedown or 1-3-1 basketball defense does not mean that you can run a successful program or summer camp. This is the C-Myth- the coaching myth. Coaches can take a simple page out of the business playbook. Successful businesses are run by replicable and profitable systems.… more »

The NCAA seems to be more about money than opportunity. I'm well aware that opportunity comes from money but I feel that the business model is broken. There is waste is some sports and dire need in others. If it is about opportunity then change needs to happen. Why We Play: It's not about getting a scholarship, getting drafted, or making SportsCenter. It's a deep need in us that comes from the heart. We need to practice, to play, to lift, to hustle, to sweat. We do it all for our teammates and for the student in our calculus class… more »

I was talking to a good friend of mine who is a Division I head coach.? He is close to getting his Masters degree in Sport Management.? I often wonder what people learn in those types of courses and how it might apply to their day-to-day work as a coach or administrator.? He and I talked about some of the high level classes he has taken and the theory he learned. It turns out that, similar to the MBA's lack of preparation of an entrepreneur, much of what he learned does not help him become the CEO of his entrepreneurial,… more »

Mike Novogratz, Al Bevilacqua and Co. pulled off a wrestling event the likes of which have never happened before. They are both action-oriented, "get things done" people to whom the wrestling community owes a debt of gratitude. The Beat the Streets Gala was a truly unbelievable event. Riot Sports Marketing supported their efforts to reach the wrestling community, grow attendance and raise money. Here is what Al Bevilacqua had to say... "I am convinced and I think our Board is convinced that Riot Sports Marketing allowed us in our most recent Gala & Benefit to double our attendance and total… more »

No one talks about a boring organization- whether it is a team, school, non-profit or business. What are people saying about your organization?Are you breaking the mold? Are you making noise? Are you applying thinking that is different than status quo?What can you do to make an uninterested onlooker stop?Is it possible that no one outside of your organization knows about your mission?Is it possible that no one outside of your organization knows cares?How can you make something worth looking at happen today?And what about tomorrow?Can you outsource this?Have you tried? more »

Everyone wants a website. "You need a website," everyone says. "If you don't have a website," everyone says, "you're non-existent.""Everyone" is wrong. Websites are cumbersome. Even the simplest website is technically intimidating not to mention time consuming to maintain. Consider the fact that if I don't set aside time to come to see it then I'll never know what is on it! If you don't have a website already, spare yourself the headache. The widely used but oft misused Facebook Fan Page is the solution for the organization with limited resources (both time and human):They have more functionality than any… more »

Half-Nelson Report By Joe Baranik Thoughts from Omaha: Once again, if you haven’t experienced the 3-day Div. I NCAA Wrestling Championships, make plans to attend next year in Pennsylvania Proud Philadelphia at the Wachovia Center. It really is one of the premiere events in sports. The Quest Center in Omaha is one of the nicest arenas I have ever been in. It had an indoor walk-way over the street below connecting the Hilton Hotel where the WIN Memorabilia Show took place and access to the arena. It also had a huge convention center connecting the building which was great for… more »

I'm not talking about selling cookies or coupon books. I'm talking about raising real cash to make real progress.Get emotional: The frustrating part about raising money is that logic doesn't work. Appeal to donors' emotional side and they'll open their wallets. Say Thank you: If you want them back and to donate more next time, you had better say thank you. Communicate: Make it easy for your donor base to receive communication from you. Let them know the human interest stories from within your program. Build personal relationships: In addition to #3, contact large donors and prospects personally to build… more »

Here we go again with the band-aid solution. Step 1: Program gets cut Step 2: Raise mountains of cash Step 3: Pray for reinstatement This temporary solution lasts only as long as it takes for the administration to find another way to cut the program or until the cash runs out. It is unfortunately a necessary short-term solution but it fails to address the real problem. It has happened before, it's happening now and will happen again. How do you make your program relevant? To be relevant you have to have to have:media that caresfans who carestudent-body who caresdonors who… more »

If you don't love your fans you had better learn to. As one major university marketing campaign recently put it, "Ultimately, a successful program is sustained by unwavering and passionate fans." At the recent NCAA Wrestling Championships I made it easy for fans to follow my alma mater's wrestling team. They could follow updates and inside news on Twitter, Facebook, via text message alerts and on our website with behind the scenes video footage of our team and the championships. Show your fans this kind of love and they'll love you back. You have to love them when they love… more »

As I pack my bags for the NCAA Division I National Championships (the most electrifying event in all of sports), I look forward to hearing the Oklahoma State, Iowa, Iowa State, Penn State, Lehigh and Cornell contingents roar for their warriors as they fight for supremecy on the mats. These progams all have strong followings and good attendance at their home competitions. Why? Because they're good. Everyone loves a winner. However, to have good attendance you don't have to be a winner. You just have to know how to get your fan base excited. Ohio University had a huge turnout… more »

This is going to be short and simple because you don't have time to worry about this kind of stuff right? You're putting out other, more important fires today, right ? I ask you this... what is more important than building a community of supporters around your program? So, here's the quick list:Start a Facebook Fan Page (not Group). Thousands of your fans are already on Facebook and getting their news there (and yes, you have thousands of fans). Pages have tons of funtionality that you really don't need to worry about until you get over 100 fans. At that… more »

1) Assuming you're safe. In these lean times budgets are being slashed and programs are being cut. Don't think you're insulated. Take action to minimize your risk (raise money, strengthen your fan base, create multiple means of communicating with thousands of fans) 2) DIY Approach. You don't have to be the Bob Villa of your program and fix everything yourself. Learn to delegate. Choose three simple tasks that you can outsource to a student, parent or supporter. 3) Believing that better technique will strengthen your program. Head wrestling coach at the University of Minesota J Robinson said it best (paraphrased)… more »

There are some great writers in our sport. Joe Baranik, of www.pawrestling.net/ writes one of the best. HALF-NELSON REPORT By Joe Baranik When? 2010-Collegiate Wrestling Back Again: From the early 70’s, to the mid-80’s college wrestling was at its peak. There were nearly 750 college teams that had programs. Teams in the South East Conference such as Auburn, Tennessee were in the top 10 in the country. Kentucky was tough along with Florida and LSU. Yale had some tough guys, UCLA was a decent team and Notre Dame was coming on. Syracuse with “Mean Gene the Pinning Machine Mills” was… more »

The most hated man in wrestling spends a lot of money. There are plenty of wrestling people who bitch about getting his marketing materials constantly but... his vendors love him. They depend on him. The more he buys from them the more they love him... and the more they love wrestling. They become fans of wrestling... or at least the business of wrestling... and have a vested interest in seeing the sport thrive. This man buys paper for brochures. He spends money on postage, on email marketing services and on graphics design. He buys lots of hotel rooms and so… more »

Seneca Valley High School Wrestling parent Tom Cully puts together an informative and often funny event program for matches. Here's an excerpt from the most recent one. "Rules We want to thank the students who have come tonight to cheer on the team. As this may be your first wrestling match, we will go over the basic rules. If you know the team by heart and even know how much weight they cut for tonight, skip ahead to page six. The rules of wrestling are basic as the sport was invented by caveman who were either fighting over a mate,… more »

When I was talking to a client the other day he mentioned how coaches (of any sport) tend to "pee on the fire closest to their feet." Besides the fact that this is a funny analogy, its true. The problem is there is a forest fire raging up in front of us in wrestling land. As coaches we tend to plan practice, prepare for the upcoming trip, tie up loose ends from the last trip, order gear, watch Flo Wrestling, or scout next weeks opponent. If we ever actually had the chance to put out all of those isolated fires… more »

In the name of making it easy for wrestling fans to be wrestling fans, I have created the Riot Wrestling Report. This email newsletter will deliver the top wrestling headlines to you each week for free. Sign-up here. more »

Ok. So you've let go. Nice work. Before you grab on to mommy's leg again let's think.... What are the 3 tasks that I need to get done but rarely do. They're important but not urgent (hint: marketing?) Write them down.Write one hundred times: "They will get done but maybe not as good as if I had done them and that's ok"Ask people for help. (start with your parents and alumni then try getting a business teacher to ask for an intern to help you) When (not if) you are successful with this be sure to let me know how… more »

I almost missed a big wrestling event with 6 teams that was taking place about 4 miles from my home last weekend. And I'm a wrestling coach. No one told me! Don't complain about your lack of community support if you're not doing anything to earn it. What are you doing today to make it easy for me to be a fan of your program? Did you send an email newsletter? How about update your Facebook Page to let me know when your next wrestling match is? Did you call or email the media? more »

For Immediate Release Jim Harshaw Riot Sports Marketing 434-409-0257 jim@riotsportsmarketing.com www.riotsportsmarketing.com Riot Claims Innocence in Assassination Charlottesville, VA - 1/12/10 - A "Riot group" has been accused of involvement in the assassination of an Iranian physics professor tied to the Iranian nuclear program. Senior Riot Executive and Chief Instigator Jim Harshaw denies any involvement. "We want to make this perfectly clear, we are not involved in this assassination," claimed Harshaw at a press conference this afternoon. (Watch Press Conference) "We believe this to be a media smear by the Iranian Wrestling Federation trying to discredit our efforts in growing the… more »

In these troubled economic times non-profits have been hit hard. However, more than 2/3 of churches reported donations equal to or higher than 2008. Why? Most churches likely increased the message of urgency of giving to the church. Churches have the opportunity to speak to their audience on a weekly basis. Many churches, like mine, send weekly emails as well. If they didn't have the ability to communicate to their donor base on such a frequency to communicate the message then the philanthropic success of churches would not be as strong. Do you have mechanisms with which to communicate your… more »

Ok. So you've let go. Nice work. Before you grab on to mommy's leg again let's think.... What are the 3 tasks that I need to get done but rarely do. They're important but not urgent (hint: marketing?) Write them down.Write one hundred times: "They will get done but maybe not as good as if I had done them and that's ok"Ask people for help. (start with your parents and alumni then try getting a business teacher to ask for an intern to help you) When (not if) you are successful with this be sure to let me know how… more »

Dear Coach, I hope you're doing well. I am doing fine. I'm married with 2 kids. Joe plays soccer and Ella is in the band. My wife does a lot of work with the band and I'm helping to run the youth soccer league. With my wife and I both working, we keep pretty busy. Not that this is a good excuse, but that's why I've been out of touch. I honestly don't get a chance to keep up with how the program is doing. It's hard to find that info anyway; the school website doesn't have much and the… more »

Email received from Al Bevilacqua of the Living the Dream Medal Fund.... Building the Dream Visualization, Motivation, Persistence, Preparation and Perspiration -Youth Through the Olympics more medals in Moscow 2010 National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones, while training at Oklahoma State University, began the Sunday morning session with video instruction in the Cliff Keen Theater Room. Following the video session, Coaches Brandon Slay and Bill Zadick divided National Team members into 6 groups of 5 and 6 wrestlers for the trivia challenge. Each group was given a 45-minute time limit to research and answer as many trivia questions as possible. Following… more »

I'm a wrestler. I competed successfully from six years old through college with some international experience. I coach. I've coached at the high school and D1 levels. I have the wrestling mentality. "No excuses." However, for some reason there is a pervasive segment of the wrestling community that is missing the "no excuses" mentality when it comes to the success of our sport. I'm frustrated by the answers I get when I hear wrestling people talk about why wrestling isn't more popular, is being dropped, isn't on tv more, doesn't have more participants, doesn't get more media coverage, doesn't have… more »

Wrestling makes us mentally strong and independent. When our coach asks us to run through a wall we simply ask "Head first or shoulder first?" However, we tend to believe that we don't need any help when it comes to running our program. We can do it all ourselves. We did it as competitors and we'll do it as coaches- or CEO's- of our program. I can do it all. I NEED to do it all.If you think of your program as a business executive thinks of his business then you will see that you shouldn't do it all. You… more »

I've always wondered why football and basketball became the most popular sports in America? Why soccer in most of the rest of the world? Why cricket in India and England? I haven't found the answer but would love to hear your opinion. Here is some food for thought. Roone Arledge is widely recognized at the genius behind taking NCAA Football's popularity to the next level. A brilliant man and innovator at ABC in the 1960's, his blueprint was to give the viewer enough background info to make him care about a game taking place thousands of miles away between teams… more »

As coaches we tell our athletes that the journey to success is a process that involves many things. For wrestlers it may mean proper diet, live wrestling, film study, flexibility, strength & conditioning, proper rest... etc. We know deep down that this is the same with any endeavor. So, coach, let's apply this thinking to program development. What can you do to develop your program? Off-season training, fundraising, film study with athletes, expose athletes to sport psychology, alumni development, hire more staff, event promotion... I can go on. To do all of these you need money and support. To get… more »

Riot quote of the Day: "The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell." Jay Abraham If you're a wrestling coach you're selling your system to your wrestlers (you have a system right?), your selling your program to your boosters, your sport to your prospective athletes, your viability to your administration. First, stop and think about how you'll sell. What are you really offering? What will make your audience want to buy what you're selling? Now Sell! more »

There is a great interview on The Wrestling Mall right now with Real Pro Wrestling founder Toby Willis. Besides the fact that it finally give insight on what happened to the apparently successful wrestling league a few years ago, Willis said something that makes a lot of sense. He said, "Who cares if you can bounce a basketball? Who cares if you can hit a baseball? But self defense resonates within the heart of every man. We have to tap into that well." To those who think that wrestling cannot be marketed, that it's not exciting enough, that your school… more »

"With great power comes great responsibility" Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman In practical terms what does that mean to you and I? Well, if you're the coach then you hold the reins to your program- not just teaching single legs and double legs. But being the leader of your alumni, your fan base, your athletes, your parents. How do you lead them? You lead best by serving. A few weeks ago our pastor talked about how the Roman soldiers used to be able to basically comandeer citizens to carry their heavy hear- sword, shield, etc. for one mile. During that… more »

Are you tired of wrestling programs not getting the exposure they deserve? Are you tired of youth, high school and college wrestling programs not making any money? Riot Sports Marketing, founded by former DI All-American and head coach Jim Harshaw, has created services to help grow the sport of wrestling and end the status quo. Read more to find out how. Interview by Matt Krumrie more »

I was listening to the local public news radio last night and heard a commercial about the Elizabeth River, a very polluted river in Virginia. The commercial was about a project to get people to experience the river and learn more about it. The narrator said this: (paraphrased) "To get people to care about the river they have to learn about it and experience it." The idea here is that if you educate people about the river they will become stewards of it. They will help to revitalize the river, make it healthier and more productive. I say this... to… more »

I just listened to a podcast interview with Cary Kolat, read a blog about Junior Nationals, watched a video of Joe Warren training. If you've been to any of the major wrestling websites in the past year you'd see that they are all now taking advantage of the social media and web 2.0 tools available. Maybe it was Flo Wrestling that nudged them along or maybe it was just that it was time for them to take the leap. Themat.com has long had popular message boards but they now have more video than before. Intermat.com, TheWrestlingMall.com, Wrestling 411.tv and the… more »

Ray Kroc has not been to all 28,000 McDonald's. Nor did he create the first McDonald's burger. What he did was discover a great idea, created a series of systems that enabled him to repeat what was being done on a vastly profitable scale. What about you? What's holding you back in your program? Where is your weakness? What do you know how to do but hate doing? Do it once and write down the steps. Now you have a system. Do it 3 more times and re-write your system as necessary. Then, pass it on to someone else. You… more »

Did you ever notice how a wrestler’s personality dictates his wrestling style? There is a clear link between behavioral disposition and sports performance. The Brand’s brothers – unmatched intensity; Ben Askren - funky and individualistic; Scott Moore – fun, aggressive, and a risk taker. I never watched J Robinson wrestle but I can imagine what kind of style he had as a competitor-innovative and tough. So this makes me wonder what kind of wrestling style some of the most popular personalities might have. Here are some guesses. Barrack Obama- A savvy and fundamentally sound wrestler. Has no big move. Prone… more »

So I read an interesting blog post (http://gg121and2.blogspot.com/2009/03/tom-brands-in-twilight-zone.html). It’s a hypothetical situation about Iowa dropping their program. As the author mentions, two more D1 programs have been dropped with little uproar from the wrestling community. It seems that we all are close to a program that has been dropped or have a good friend who is. My former assistant coach at UVA, Brendan Buckley (Columbia Univ Head Coach) wrestled at Clemson until the program was dropped then transferred to Fresno, which has since been dropped. I coached at Slippery Rock University which has been dropped. My former teammate, Steve Garland,… more »

Come on… 32 qualifiers? The ACC only had 2 All American’s last season? It’s been a long time since the ACC had more than 30 NCAA qualifiers. When I qualified for my first NCAA tournament the conference had 27 bids, but in those days the conference also produced NCAA champions and multiple All-Americans: TJ Jaworsky, Sam Henson, Dave Land, Justin Harty, et al. Soon, the conference stopped producing as many All-Americans and basically hit a wall. However, the conference still had the leftover effects of the golden years and some national qualifiers didn’t deserve to go due to flaws in… more »

There’s an experiment going on in wrestling. It’s going on quietly in a corner of the world not particularly known for it’s wrestling. The hypothesis was that an exceptional high school wrestling coach can be an exceptional Division I collegiate coach. The first experiment begun at Old Dominion University 5 years ago. Steve Martin, the offspring of the legendary wrestling family in the Virginia Beach area, was the don of Great Bridge High School and led the program to the nation’s elite. The second experiment began coincidentally in the same state. Three years ago Virginia Tech hired Kevin Dresser of… more »

Innovation in Wrestling Innovation. If our sport is to thrive we need to innovate. Sure, I can hear some saying “Why change? We’ve done it this way for a long time and there is nothing wrong with that.” Consider this. We innovate on the mat. In matches we find ways to win even if it’s not a textbook move. In the bigger picture we innovate technique. The sport evolves. New techniques are developed. Ever learned technique from Zeke Jones? He innovates, adapts, and moves the sport forward. We talk about the life lessons we learn from wrestling… discipline, toughness, hard… more »