Head Coach Ben Askren

[The_KC_Godfather]

1 hour ago, Tigerfan said:

Lots of good discussion/speculation on this topic. One thing that doesn’t often get mentioned is his mental mentorship. Ben’s mindset is special, if not unique. He guided Mark Ellis to his Championship by moving in with him when Ben was a grad assistant at Mizzou. The following year, when Askren was gone, Ellis took 6th, much more in line with what what most wrestling experts would have predicted given his skill set. The difference, the biggest of all differences, was Ben in his ear that whole season his Jr year. To me, THAT speaks volumes about his ability to coach people and get the very best out of them. His creative wrestling mind is a distant 2nd, maybe 3rd after his recruiting prowess, to his greatest asset, which is his mindset. How many other elite athletes of his level would show the video of his record-quick KO loss in UFC to his kids at practice and have a good laugh? Never be afraid to lose was the lesson. Mindset is what separates the champions at NCAA level, not wrestling skill. 

Such a great post. I also believe Max said after his NCAA title that he was struggling mentally before the final, but Ben came down and talked to him and got his mind right. Same thing with Keegan if you watch Funky 2.0 on Flo.

[The_KC_Godfather]

Great topic. Does Ben have the name recognition? Of course. Nine out of ten elite wrestlers that are worth recruiting have gone to many LL and HS tournaments and I’m sure have seen AWA or at minimum know who he is through watching Keegan and other AWA alum.

As great as Ben is, he’s never run a college program. He’s never had to manage scheduling, boosters, alumni events, administration, NCAA relationship, etc. At least people like Dake, Taylor, Burroughs stayed around college wrestling and I’m sure have or will learn the intricacies of the head coach responsibilities. Ben hasn’t been in a college program in how long now. Running a business and teaching technique is different than running a college athletic program.

That said, he’d have to be an assistant initially to learn the ropes. The only people I think he’d respect enough to do that with is Brian Smith and maybe Alex Clemson with the caveat that he takes over within a few years. The only reason I could see him taking a college job is if his competitive side wants to see if he can beat Cael. Otherwise, why leave a job where you’re your own boss, are comfortable financially (remember he’s sitting on millions from MMA and Jake Paul), and can work as much or as little as you want? I can’t see him doing that unless it’s to be the best and beat the best.

My guess on the Flo comments is actually the reverse of what most have said. I think Flo said “we’re paying this guy 6 figures for very little…time to cut costs”. I’d think they asked him to not indicate that and that’s why he said what he did.

[1032004]

2 hours ago, The_KC_Godfather said:

My guess on the Flo comments is actually the reverse of what most have said. I think Flo said “we’re paying this guy 6 figures for very little…time to cut costs”. I’d think they asked him to not indicate that and that’s why he said what he did.

That’s possible.   I’m not sure the economics of FRL.  I wouldn’t imagine it’s a big revenue generator considering it’s free to watch, but then again they just got that fancy new studio…

[jajensen09]

12 minutes ago, 1032004 said:

That’s possible.   I’m not sure the economics of FRL.  I wouldn’t imagine it’s a big revenue generator considering it’s free to watch, but then again they just got that fancy new studio…

They make alot in subscriptions 

[1032004]

2 hours ago, jajensen09 said:

They make alot in subscriptions 

But people don’t subscribe because of FRL

[bnwtwg]

2 hours ago, jajensen09 said:

They make alot in subscriptions 

Deceptive subscription and cancellation methods are always a boost to the P&L

[The_KC_Godfather]

1 hour ago, bnwtwg said:

Deceptive subscription and cancellation methods are always a boost to the P&L

I just read that they settled a class action lawsuit in November over this

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

21 hours ago, billyhoyle said:

Yeah, like that Iowa wrestler Dan Gable. 

Dude that was 50 years ago….

[TexRef]

On 2/16/2024 at 11:46 AM, Ohio Elite said:

I said that to my wife once it didn't go so well

Probably went over as good as the time I asked my wife if she had been doing "busy work" all day? 

[TexRef]

On 2/16/2024 at 11:57 AM, PortaJohn said:

On FRL 1000 he announced he is leaving the podcast & that at some point all he wants to do is coach and this is part of the process.  He's not quite there yet but he'll be there soon enough

Does that mean that his wife no longer wants to see him at home? 

[TexRef]

On 2/16/2024 at 12:07 PM, Hammerlock3 said:

He's still really effective. Mizzo doesn't have the stagnant feel that Iowa has or OSU had before about a month ago.

Plus we just found out that the kids at Mizzou don't let the bong water get stagnet 

[Hammerlock3]

27 minutes ago, TexRef said:

Plus we just found out that the kids at Mizzou don't let the bong water get stagnet 

whataya mean

[wrestle87]

I’ll go out on a very sturdy limb here and say Ben is the 2nd best coach in the country right now at developing talent.  He is also slowly developing a PSU pipeline, which will only mean great things for AWA in the future.

[MadMardigain]

1 hour ago, wrestle87 said:

I’ll go out on a very sturdy limb here and say Ben is the 2nd best coach in the country right now at developing talent.  He is also slowly developing a PSU pipeline, which will only mean great things for AWA in the future.

While we are at it who you got at 1 and 3?

[wrestle87]

27 minutes ago, MadMardigain said:

While we are at it who you got at 1 and 3?

#1 I have Cael, and #3 even though he doesn’t officially coach anymore I have Gable.

I’m very open to discussions about where Mike Grey goes, bc clearly he has been the magic behind Cornell’s success for a long time.

Edited February 18 by wrestle87

[MadMardigain]

27 minutes ago, wrestle87 said:

#1 I have Cael, and #3 even though he doesn’t officially coach anymore I have Gable.

I’m very open to discussions about where Mike Grey goes, bc clearly he has been the magic behind Cornell’s success for a long time.

I was assuming you were considering top youth age coaches since Askren isn’t in the college coaching development ranks yet.  Putting him with college coaching legends like Carl and Gable is a completely different level, especially since he’s not with his AWA kids nearly as much once they his the college level. 

[The_KC_Godfather]

46 minutes ago, wrestle87 said:

#1 I have Cael, and #3 even though he doesn’t officially coach anymore I have Gable.

I’m very open to discussions about where Mike Grey goes, bc clearly he has been the magic behind Cornell’s success for a long time.

I mean…think about the education you get at Cornell. A lot of companies are going to look highly on that, not to mention the career options. Seems like a no brainer to me…

[wrestle87]

2 hours ago, MadMardigain said:

I was assuming you were considering top youth age coaches since Askren isn’t in the college coaching development ranks yet.  Putting him with college coaching legends like Carl and Gable is a completely different level, especially since he’s not with his AWA kids nearly as much once they his the college level. 

I was basing it off the continuing role he has in the development of his athletes at the college level like o’toole, and how I think he would do if he were to have an entire team at the college level.

I think once established, his guys would be the perennial #2 team.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that missouri is always the funkiest most creative team when they hit the mat year after year.  Funky is their technique base—>Askren fingerprints all over it.

 

[scribers]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:34 AM, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Kids in their know who he is.  UFC. Flo. PFL. Fargo, etc.

His media credentials are the only legit selling point now 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

22 hours ago, ionel said:

We talk'n about freestyle.

Except, there is probably little more embarrassing in sports than when one man is trying to crawl off the playing surface and the other man grabs him by the foot, pulls him back in and says something to the effect of "Uh uh, you're not going to get away from me, I'm not done with you yet."

This translates to freestyle, folkstyle, BJJ, MMA, the playground, NFL football, etc.

[PortaJohn]

10 hours ago, TexRef said:

Does that mean that his wife no longer wants to see him at home? 

I could never divulge that info on this public forum.  Jake Paul might be lurking around.  

[TexRef]

10 hours ago, Hammerlock3 said:

whataya mean

The starter at 133 was recently in a fight where a guy threw a bong at him. The details were cloudy at first, but he had some lacerations and what appeared to be puncture wounds. Reports were unclear if he was going to return for the remainder of the season and I stopped following the story. 

The kid is tough and has been having a great season. I hope he gets better soon, as he is entertaining to watch. 

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

10 hours ago, Hammerlock3 said:

whataya mean

133 pounder got whacked with a bong. There’s a thread here somewhere if you want to search. He got pretty ***ducked** up from it.

[Hammerlock3]

2 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

133 pounder got whacked with a bong. There’s a thread here somewhere if you want to search. He got pretty ***ducked** up from it.

the injuries minnow posted were from a bong?!?!

[Ohio Elite]

10 minutes ago, Hammerlock3 said:

the injuries minnow posted were from a bong?!?!

Yes sir