Agree with Dominate, need to attack more on their feet. I personally think the style of wrestling has changed because of what the refs let theses guys get away with. They allow for a more defensive style of wrestling.
Couldnt agree more. If we as a fan base or if a wrestler/coach are thinking about getting the stalling calls more than driving the pace of the match, then we are in trouble. The days of an official calling stalling calls for taking two steps backwards on the whistle are gone. It just doesnt happen like it should or certainly like it used to.
Dominate is right. But to me its more than attacking on our feet. The way these matches are wrestled these days, there are so many built in "breathers" that werent there 15 years ago. There are so many scramble situations(I call them the "Twister" positions) that allow for a lot of hanging on and no a whole lot of exertion. Usually in a low single position where ankles are held onto as both a defensive and offensive move. Sometimes there are actually points scored in these positions, but more often than not, there are no points, they end up in a stalemate, neither wreslter is worn out too much and there is certainly no time where one wrestler looks to "not be working".
Im not going to say that the low single cant be an effective offensive move, but our "style" that everyone keeps mentioning is the one where our feet are constantly moving and our conditioning is wearing on the opponent. The stalling calls then come, not as a result of our opponent moving backwards, but as result of US moving them backwards as we force the action. The high single that Telford was getting into a lot during the big tens is what I am talking about. Now, in the semis, he didnt move the opponent much in that position and it never resulted in points. On Sunday, during the wrestlebacks, he moved his opponent a lot, several times back to the middle of the mat first and then finished. But he never stopped moving. Any idea how much energy a wrestler uses bouncing around on one foot with his other foot above his own waist or shoulder? THis is even more true for a heavyweight. If he continues that, he will be fine at nationals.
A good high crotch where we cut the corner right away or just a freight train double are both moves we scored a lot on in the 80's and 90's that both forced the opponent to keep moving with little or no breaks, but didnt allow them to "hang over" the top of us and subsequently grab our ankle and tie us up. Remember doubles that started in the middle of the mat and then ended up 5 feet off the mat? That is how you wear a wrestler down and that is when the stalling calls come around.
Again, as I said in a previous post, I am not sure if this is an Iowa issue all of the time, but more of the way wrestling as a sport is moving. No matter what Brands wants his kids to do, if they have wrestled a certain way for 10 years before they get to campus, it will be very difficult to change them. That combined with that fact that most everyone else wrestles this "new" way and officiating has continued to change along the way.
By the way Ramos, without a doubt, moves his feet better than anyone on our team and the results speak for themselves. With that said, when Stieber had Ramos in that high single in the 3rd period and hit that bazigar? That is a great aggressive move that we used to hit all of the time. Sweet. Granted, Ramos fought his *** off and didnt give up the points, but still a great powerful move.
Go Hawks.
PS: I think this is a link to a Royce Alger/Kevin Jackson match from 1987 that is a great example of this style of wrestling. I will check in to make sure it works.
Kevin Jackson v Royce Alger 2-21-87 » Watch College Wrestling Video Online » Iowa Public Television
