Jordan Oliver at the Olympic Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)An Ode to Coming up Just Short
It must have been 1995 or 1996. I was in a Blockbuster Video (you youngins don't remember those; it was a store where you could rent movies) with my girlfriend when I bumped into Barry, an alumni of my high school that I had looked up to as a star baseball player.
We chatted for a moment - he asked me about wrestling, of course, before a starry-eyed little kid emerged from behind his leg and looked at me. "This is the next great wrestler," Barry told me.
That was my first meeting with Jordan Oliver, Barry's nephew, who must have been about seven years old at the time. But in my town - one that's produced Olympians and a long list of NCAA Champ and AA's, that was old enough for a second grader to be shy around me - an average high school wrestler.
He was already hooked on the sport, and indeed, JO became our next great one.
He soaked up everything. He truly loved the sport and had an insatiable appetite to learn technique. He won Fargo and committed to John Smith at Oklahoma State. In short, he was prepared for success.
Over the course of his career - 4 NCAA placings, 3 finals, 2 titles, and on to the Senior circuit with finals appearances and titles at the Open and Trials - through a '1-year' suspension that really cost him two years, JO was always a contender and always in the mix.
And yet, there were always questions. Was he focused enough? Did he cut the wrong way? Why is he wrestling this style?
It was part of a question not just for JO but the microcosm of a larger, national frustration - that of not having world success at 65/66kgs in decades.
Which makes this year's results so much harder to stomach. Jordan Oliver was, without a doubt, as disciplined and focused as ever. And yet, in Sofia, Bulgaria, he came up one point short of a lifelong dream.
I'm sure Jordan has lived the wrestling life. Loved it and hated it. Gave everything he had to it. Philosophized and re-philosophized. And now, what?
I talked with Jordan after the loss. He's hurting. And though there's no way for me to fully understand his pain, I told him that he made us all proud and that a whole nation was cheering for him.
To be blunt, it's really tearing me up.
And then it dawned on me that my emotions were exacerbated by the relationship. It cuts a little deeper when you've known someone for years. And so I can't help but think about how difficult it was for others legends that came up just short before him. Brent Metcalf - who ruled the weight for several years, but never made an Olympic team or medaled at Worlds.
And then the trickle-down. To every wrestler that ever laced 'em up, gave everything they had, and came up just short. Wrestling is more than a sport. It's a lifestyle and a dream. To the victors go the spoils. But let's not revere any less the commitments our top guys have made when they come up just short.
To your questions...
Can you please go over all the coaching changes? - @jdmoneytrain
The current DI positions open are Assistant spots at Lehigh, Penn, Army, and - posted yesterday - Appalachian State and Indiana. There are Volunteer Asst. slots available at South Dakota State and Little Rock. And a Strength and Conditioning vacancy at Clarion. There's also an outstanding vacancy for an S&C job at Iowa, but, the way I understand it, the Covid situation put the university under a hiring freeze.
Other coaching changes:
Tervel left Ohio State for the Nebraska RTC position. Just yesterday, Bo Jordan and Logan Stieber were named Assistants at tOSU.
Of course, at Illinois, Jim Heffernan retired and Mike Poeta got the Head Coaching job. Poeta hasn't announced his staff, but one thing for sure is that he's interested in Jordan Oliver.
At Rutgers, Anthony Ashnault was hired as an Assistant with John Leonardis moving to the Scarlet Knight WC.
Jason Borrelli replaced Teague Moore at American University.
As far as rumors, there's been chatter that Tom Borrelli is thinking of hanging it up at Central Michigan.
And Gabe Dean looms as a high-profile free agent.
Here is InterMat's Job Page
Shot Clock. Too subjective. How do we change this? - @EricAsselin74
I respect your wrestling, IQ, Eric. But I respectfully disagree.
Name me a match that was decided on a shot clock point in which you think the loser was incredibly active.
The shot clock is a needed intrusion. During the three-period era, wrestling was oh-so-lame. Even now, with cumulative scoring, there is a serious lack of offense and risk. You don't wanna try to score? Fine. You get what you get. If you lose on a shot clock point (even if it was questionable), you frankly didn't do enough.
The fact of the matter is that you have to insulate yourselves from bad calls and minutiae, which is what the shot clock situation is.
Listen to This Podcast - J'den on The Trials Situation
What are JOs chances of getting in via covid, injury, missed weight, etc. - @XGrain_Mark
Slim and none. Frank Molinaro didn't qualify at Last Chance in 2016 but got in because someone popped for PED's. That's really not likely. And I'm not sure about the contingency plans for Tokyo regarding someone who tests for Covid, but with everything being so tight and regimented, I would guess they would just not replace that athlete.
Crazier things have happened, I guess. But don't count on it.
What are the anticipated Covid regulations for athletes in Tokyo? - Plasmodium
I hit up our old pal, TR Foley, for help with this.
Recently, Pfizer and BioNTech announced a major donation of vaccines to the IOC, which has been working with all national governing bodies. The plan is to vaccinate all athletes/coaches before they get to Tokyo.
The full release is here
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