Wrestling Blogs - Steve Costanzo

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Husky Voice – Volume 1, Issue 2

St. Cloud State University Wrestling

By Coach Steve Costanzo

The month of October is nearly completed and the team is starting to come along nicely. With nearly 11 weeks into the semester, enthusiasm for a new wrestling season is under three weeks away.

IN SESSION

We have officially been on the mat now for about three weeks. A lot of people have been asking - how are you guys going to be this year? I have to say – I really don’t know. Time will answer much more accurate than we can as a coaching staff right now. I will say – I believe there are high expectations here at SCSU and I think our men are thinking in the right direction with their thoughts.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Our coaching staff is holding our men to a high standard in the classroom. It is not just about “getting by” we really are expecting our men to go to class with a purpose. The purpose is – to get educated! The staff is working hard to promote academic excellence and responsibility within the program. Some of our men have a mandatory of 10 hours or more of supervised study hall per week. To the credit of our men, they have accepted the challenge and are doing well!

MENTAL AEROBICS

On October 14, Jim Richardson visited the wrestlers on campus and shared some of his important beliefs on life. He focused his attention on the following three things: 1. FOCUS ON THE GOOD – Have a positive mind set, no matter how the fight goes or the set-backs…keep the fighters mind set…THEE WARRIOR’s eye. 2. CRUSH THE BAD – Box the negative, don’t hide it, keep it close to remind you what it took to beat it. Visit it at different times to keep your tools sharp, but keep in crushed. See negative before it sees you. Keep God as your coach to keep your heart clean and pumping good. It is all mental…hand off-mind on trigger. 3. SPREAD THE LOVE – After battle…we need to celebrate, share and stay focused while spreading the message. Mr. Richardson is a cancer survivor who has been given a second chance with life. He hosts and sponsors the “Mental Aerobics” tournament each spring in Minnesota.

GETTING ENERGIZED

On October 26, Carl “The Energizer” Olson, 1968 Alumnus of SCSU, visited the wrestling team on the campus of SCSU. Since retiring as an educator for 36 years, Olson developed a speaking and training business. He claims that much of his successes in life had come from the lessons he learned in the sport of wrestling. He focused his presentation on team building, leadership, goal setting, self-esteem and much more. His enthusiasm and approach to life truly energized the room. In the end, we all realized why they call Carl the “Energizer”.

GETTING TO KNOW COACH JOHN PETERSON

John Peterson is entering his 2^nd year as a Volunteer Assistant Coach at SCSU. If you were thinking of the John Peterson who won the 1976 Olympic Gold medal in Montreal – you are correct! Coach Peterson works for an organization called Athletes in Action and has for the past 35 years. He takes time out of his busy schedule to meet with the Husky wrestlers each Thursday. He spends time talking with the SCSU wrestlers about what’s going on in their lives, but more importantly to him, spending time talking about their faith and the teachings of the Bible and how it applies to the sport they have chosen to participate in. The meetings with Peterson aren’t mandatory, but nearly 40 percent of the team has chosen to meet with him.

“One of my chief desires is to help them become secure as a person and not just from something they’re doing athletically,” stated Coach Peterson.

HALL OF FAMER

On October 24, SCSU Athletics honored some of their finest, past, student-athletes. Eight former student-athletes were honored including former Husky wrestling great Nate Toedter.

A two-time North Central Conference champion at 190-pounds in 1988 and 1989, Toedter gained NCAA Division II All-America honors three times during his collegiate wrestling career at St. Cloud State.

As a testimony to his prowess on the mat, Toedter was invited to the NCAA Division I championships in 1989 and earned All-America honors with an eighth place finish at the DI tournament that season.

A transfer from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Toedter charted a 30-10 record for the Huskies in 1986-87, and then followed with a 33-4 record in 1987-88 on the way to his first conference with a third place finish at the NCAA Division II championships.

Toedter served as a team captain for the Huskies in 1987-88 and 1988-89, and he also earned the Dean Weisman Award as the team's Wrestler of the Year in 1987, 1988 and 1989. In 1990, Toedter was a member of the Athletes in Action International Wrestling Team.

A graduate of Perham High School, Toedter was a two-time state place winner in 1983 and 1984. He also earned Academic All-State notice as a prep wrestler in 1983 and 1984.

FALL CLINIC

St. Cloud State University will offer its annual Husky Fall Wrestling Clinic on Saturday, Oct. 31. The clinic is open to all youth wrestlers in grades 1-12, and it will be held in the University's Halenbeck Hall Fieldhouse from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The day of wrestling will feature an appearance by guest clinician Jared Lawrence, a former NCAA Division I champion and member of Team USA Wrestling.

GEARING UP

The Huskies begin their 2009-2010 season with the annual Black/Red Classic on November 8 at 2:00 pm. Admission is free to the event!