(Photo/Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)It's a very difficult time to be a high school coach.
This week a story ran in the New Jersey Herald outlining a lawsuit filed against Blair Academy. One of their former wrestlers claims he was a victim of bullying and hazing and that Brian Antonelli, who was Head Coach at the time, turned a blind eye to it.
Last month, Antonelli stepped down as Head Coach but maintains his position at the school as Assistant Athletic Director.
How much of it is true? Who knows. Bullying is a serious matter and 'rites of passage' and hazing is an antiquated excuse that's rightfully no longer accepted.
What is clear, though, is that coaches at the top high school wrestling programs have been increasingly under fire.
Last summer, at emerging PA program Forest Hills, Head Coach Jake Strayer was accused of not handling a racial situation within the program. He remains as Head Coach, but Junior High Head Coach Bill Bassett was relieved of his duties. It led to the fracturing of a homegrown program.
A few months before that, amid turmoil and allegations of misconduct, Izzy Martinez, who had Montini Catholic situated among the Top 10 nationally ranked high school teams annually, resigned.
In 2018, Dave Bell of Bergen Catholic, a staple in the Top 10 team rankings, was accused by a wrestler of making inappropriate comments and advances.
Notice a trend?
While we must be vigilant - we have to ensure that the environment our youth are in is a safe and fostering place - we know, too, that there are often ulterior motives. If a kid doesn't crack the starting line-up, if a kid didn't have the performance he (or the parent) expected him to, if a program gets a promising transfer… These can, and do, lead to charges of misconduct.
It's always difficult to ascertain the veracity of the claims, one way or another. The guilty coaches, of course, should be gone. But to be sure, there are also filers of frivolous suits because a high school athletic situation didn't quite play out the way they had hoped.
I spoke to another high school coach yesterday, one who routinely has his team among the nation's best. He told me, 'We spend a lot of time fearing someone will run to the papers about this or that. We always have to make sure things are buttoned up and not misconstrued.'
To Your Questions…
How long do you think it will take for Coach Borrelli to bring in elite talent, and put American on the map? - @jsk1631
Remember when Madison Square Garden went nuts for David Terao?
It only takes one run to let high schoolers know they can win at a given program.
I've always viewed American as a good gig. No one is expecting them to win team titles. The threshold is to put some guys in contention and get someone on the podium once in a while and build from there.
I think Borrelli accomplishes that rather quickly.
What are your top 5 teams for next week's NJCAA Championship?! - @CCCWrestling
It's been difficult to get a feel for the national pecking order this year with NJCAA being so regional. Clack is a lock for the title. Pratt is great through the lightweights but almost needs to be perfect. And I like Iowa Central to overperform.
Clackamas
Pratt
NE Oklahoma
Western Wyoming
Iowa Central
If you can make one wrestling rule change to what would it be? - @PSUWRfan
Although I say 'that's the dumbest thing in sports' about three things everyday, the slip headlock is truly stupid. Get rid of it.
Also, get rid of riding time. It not only makes the sport boring as hell, it somehow manages to get the refs to leave them off the hook for what is nothing more than stalling.
Give me takedowns worth three points and a pushout rule in folk, too.
How many D1 coaches did not reach All-American status? @CubHorner
I walk to the mound. I look out at the bullpen, motion to my right wrist. I'm calling in The Almanac. Jason Bryant's got this.
With 79 active Division I wrestling programs, two are currently without head coaches. Illinois' Jim Heffernan retired last week and Jason Borrelli left to take the vacant post at American University. We're going to consider #KeepStanfordWrestling as an active team for the purposes of the research. There's also more than one answer to the question, depending on the intended answer.
Of the 77 remaining schools, 28 are led by wrestlers who weren't Division I All-Americans. Of those, 23 are led by wrestlers who were not All-Americans at any collegiate level, which leaves 49 as Division I All-Americans. Presbyterian's Mark Cody holds the distinction of being the only Division I coach who was an All-American in two divisions - placing twice at SUNY-Delhi in the NJCAA and fifth in Division I at Missouri in 1985.
The non-Division I All-Americans: Nebraska's Mark Manning was a three-time Division II All-American and a two-time champion at Nebraska-Omaha. He reached the Division I bloodround in 1985. Davidson's Andy Lausier was a Division III All-American at Lycoming, while Bellarmine's Spencer Adams and Northern Illinois' Ryan Ludwig were both NAIA All-Americans. Adams placed three times at Campbellsville from 2009-2012, while Ludwig was a three-time All-American from 1997-1999 at Findlay, which was an NAIA school at the time, but is currently Division II.
George Mason's Frank Beasley finished seventh at Lincoln College in the NJCAA before continuing his college career at Bloomsburg.
What's the latest on the Illinois coaching hire. - No one. I just have an update.
The search committee had a shortlist of four candidates, all of whom did Zoom interviews:
Doug Schwab, Mark Branch, Mike Poeta, and Tony Ramos.
They are moving extremely fast. It sounds as if the decision will come soon, perhaps (early) next week.
Who are three 2022 true freshmen who can AA next year? - @jagger712
Gimme Paddy Gallagher. He's gonna start at 157 and though it will be relatively deep and perhaps contain two NCAA Champs (Carr / O'Connor), I think he can get on the podium.
In my Crystal Ball rankings, I had Shayne Van Ness AA'ing at 149. But there is talk that Nick Lee goes 149 and any suggestion that SVN goes 157 is foolish. I see Bartlett or SVN at 141 if Lee goes up.
The only other guy I could see AAing out the gate from 2021 is Dean Hamiti (157), who's going to Wisconsin.
I don't think any of the other heavy hitters in the class start. Maybe Alex Facundo, but that's a big if.
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