Fall Fundraiser – Tennis Bubbles – Rescheduled
 
The setting up of the Tennis Bubbles has be rescheduled again for this Thursday, October 1. We will begin promptly at the end of the school day at 3:15 PM. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative over the weekend. We appreciate everyone who made time to be available.
 
We ask, once again, that you please make every effort to have your wrestler available after school on Thursday. We could also use the assistance of a few mom’s and dad’s if your schedule permits. Thanks everyone for your patience and understanding and we look forward to getting the bubbles set up.
 
Coach Lewis

Just a reminder that we will be participating in our most important fall fundraiser this Saturday, September 26. We have been asked, once again, to assist the recreation center in setting up the Tennis Bubbles for the winter season. Please mark your calendars and make every effort to have your wrestler available to assist their teammates this weekend. The more people we have the more efficient and faster it goes. This is a great opportunity to get all the kids together… working together as a team to help the program! We ask that all wrestlers report to the Tennis Center before 8:00 AM. Pizza and drinks will be provided by the tennis center around noon. Please see the attached flyer which would look very nice on your refrigerator.

Also, we desparately need some additional adults to assist. The Tennis Center would like us to have 8-10 adults to help supervise the kids and keep them on track. We have only had one parent volunteer so far We need both Mom’s & Dad’s. There is plenty to do and not every job involves moving the bubbles (thats the fun stuff for the kids). If you are willing to help out please email Coach Allemang at Mallemang@mtlsd.net. Again, we would very much appreciate any parental support. Bonus – free pizza for you

Bill Lewis

Varsity Head Coach

For the fifth straight year, high school boys wrestling participation numbers have increased while girls’ participation hit an all-time high as The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) released their 2008-09 participation numbers. High School boys’ wrestling remains the sixth most popular sport with 267,378 participants.

The total number of participants in 2009 is the highest number that wrestling has seen since 1980, when participation statistics were listed at 273,326 by the NFHS. As a whole, wrestling participation at the high school level has been seeing substantial growth in numbers over the past decade.

The number of schools sponsoring boys wrestling is also at an all-time high with 10,311 schools.

In 2008-09, Arkansas became the 49th state to sanction high school wrestling. The state recorded 1,975 participants in its inaugural year. Arkansas can credit much of the their growth and success to businessman Greg Hatcher, Agency Owner of the Hatcher Agency, in Little Rock, who was instrumental in getting the Arkansas Activities Association to sponsor wrestling.

Mississippi remains the lone state which does not sponsor wrestling.

Girls’ wrestling also continues to grow each year. Girls’ wrestling is at an all-time high with 6,025 participants. Texas and California continue to have the strongest girls wrestling presence on the high school level.

"These high school participation numbers are great for the sport of wrestling, as the overall youth numbers throughout the country are also on a steady uphill climb," said Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. "We attribute a lot of this growth to the incredible generosity (funding and otherwise) of wrestling alumni, business professionals, and wrestling organizations/clubs throughout the country."

"It is also important to note that a growing number of wrestling coaches are dedicating more time to improving the recruitment and retention of wrestlers at all levels," said Moyer. "While growing the overall participation numbers across America is very important (i.e. increasing the number of teams), we must also make sure we are growing the average roster size of each individual team.  What is important to remember with these growing numbers is the importance of ongoing coaching education as it relates to the retention of the student-athlete once they start participating in the sport."

Blue Devil Wrestling Parent(s),
 
The high school coaching staff would like to welcome everyone back to the new school year. It was nice to see some of you at open house and also catching up with some of the kids the past two weeks.
 
I wanted to give you a fall update on some important upcoming events and hopefully provide a little food for thought for you and your wrestler.
 
We are pleased to announce the addition of Jeff Breese to our coaching staff this year. Coach Breese has helped out at the Iron Horse Wrestling Academy and will now be more directly involved with the high school program on a part-time basis. Jeff brings a tremendous amount of experience to our room… As a wrestler, he was two-time PIAA state champion in 1999 and 2001 at McGuffey and finished with a 104-7 record. He was a three-year letterman at N.C. State for coaches Bob Guzzo and Carter Jordan. In addition, he spent two years as an assistant wrestling coach at Seton Hill University and one year as the Director of Media Relations for Intermat and the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Welcome aboard Jeff!
 
Please read and share/ discuss the following pre-season opportunities with your wrestler.
 
Iron Horse Wrestling Academy
The Iron Horse Wrestling Academy will, once again, be offering a fall session to any interested wrestlers or all ages. Registration will be held this evening. Your son can sign up for either one or two sessions a week. This is a great opportunity for any of our wrestlers not currently participating in a fall sport. Iron Horse is run and directed by Bryan Stout (4x NCAA All-American) and he will be joined by Jeff Breese. This is an opportunity for your son to be exposed to some outstanding coaches and clinicians. Past instructors have been NCAA Champions, Olympians, and collegiate coaches and wrestlers. Please see the attached documents for more details and registration information. You can also visit http://www.ironhorseacademy.com/.
 
Fall Strength and Conditioning
Our fall session of the Blue Devil Iron Club (Strength and Conditioning) will begin this Wednesday, September 9 in the North Gym Weight Room. Conditioning sessions are available for all wrestlers grades 9-12. Sessions are held every Mon-Wed-Fri from 3:15 PM – 4:45 PM. Any wrestler not currently participating in a fall sport is expected to attend. If you should have any questions please contact Coach Allemang at MAllemang@mtlsd.net.
 
Free Fall Wrestling Clinic – University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh wrestling coaches and members of the team will be offering a FREE wrestling clinic this Saturday, September 12 at the Fitzgerald Field House. It will be held in their wrestling room from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM. No pre-registration required. For more information call Coach Kocher at(412) 383-8671. Also, please email Coach Lewis at Blewis@mtlsd.net if your son plans on attending. This is a great opportunity and we hope your son takes advantage of it. If there is enough interest we can carpool from the high school and maybe enjoy a lunch in Oakland after.
 
Fall Fundraiser – Tennis Bubbles
We have been asked, once again, by the recreation department to assist the Tennis Center in setting up their Tennis Bubbles. We will need everyone to help out. Please mark your calendar for Saturday, September 26 for your son to assist us. If they are playing a fall sport and could join us after their Saturday practice or game that would be great. We will also need 8-10 adults. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and support the program please contact Coach Allemang at MAllemang@mtlsd.net. We need both able bodied mom’s and dad’s. This is our most important fall fundraiser… please join us! Wrestlers should report to the Tennis Center before 8:00 AM.
 
Blue Devil Wrestling Needs You
If you are looking for ways to get more involved and/ or support the program please feel free to contact either of our booster reps – Cam Allen (camandgregallen@verizon.net) or Steve Patrick (smpatrick88@comcast.net). We encourage all our parents to join at least one commitee. We still have a need for a few people to chair events and plenty of room to assist or join a commitee. Please consider helping out! Blue Devil Wrestling needs you.
 

Important Dates
Tuesday, 9/8 Iron Horse Wrestling Academy Begins
Wednesday, 9/9 Blue Devil Iron Club – Fall Session Begins
Saturday, 9/12 Free Wrestling Clinic w/ Pitt Coaches & Wrestlers – University of Pittsburgh
Saturday, 9/26 Team Fundraiser (Tennis Bubbles)
Saturday, 10/24 Wrestling Picnic (Grades 9-12)
Thursday, 11/5 Pre-Season Parent Meeting
Wednesday, 11/18 Forms for Participation Due/ Equipment Distribution (Grades 10-12)
Thursday, 11/19 Forms for Participation Due/ Equipment Distribution (Grades 10-12)
Friday, 11/20 First Practice (yes – on Friday)
 
Yours in wrestling,

Coach Lewis