Cael Sanderson's Blog

Wonder what Cael's been up to? - Keep in tune with this busy man's schedule and what's going on in his life by viewing this page. As often as he can, Cael will take time out of his busy schedule to post entries into a blog to keep you informed on his where-abouts and whats going on.

land like a cat - Thursday, August 19th, 2010
It pays big time to land like a cat if you happen to get taken down.  Part of having the confidence to open up and attack comes from knowing that you can escape if you happen to make a mistake.  If you land like a cat it is much easier to escape right away and [...] (Read More)

Train your mind - Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Most people work on their technique, strength and conditioning to make progress.  But they don’t think to work on training their mind.  If you struggle with the way you think before or even during a match, you need to work on that as much if not more than your technique and strength.  Some of the [...] (Read More)

Dustin Carter - Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Dustin carter is an inspiration.  I had the privilege of spending the week with him last week as we worked a camp together at Berry College in Georgia.  Research Dustin and his story, it is amazing.  As a child Dustin got a rare blood disease and it was a miracle that he even survived.  The [...] (Read More)

Chess and Wrestling - Friday, July 9th, 2010
Consider the definition of “initiative” in chess terms.  Taking the inititiative to attack and keep your opponent of the defensive is the key to victory.  It sounds exactly like wrestling.  The more I think about it, the more I believe taking initiative in our wrestling careers, each practice and each match might be the most important [...] (Read More)

Initiative - Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Awesome qoute from the US Marine Corps’ doctrinal manual “Warfighting” written by Marine General A. M. Gray. “Initiative, the willingness to act on one’s own judgement, is a prerequisite for boldness.” (Read More)

The “Do” and the “Be” Box - Saturday, June 26th, 2010
One of my favorite speakers and authors is John Bytheway.  I have referenced him several times in blogs. Here we go again.  I want to share one his messages and relate it to raising kids in wrestling.  I get a lot of questions on how to raise a young wrestler in the sport for long term [...] (Read More)

Leading a Horse - Saturday, June 19th, 2010
In a speech, Russell Ballard shared this experience that a friend of his had. “He had never owned a horse in his life until he married a wonderful woman who loves horses. Wanting to impress his new bride, he announced one evening that he was going to the pasture to teach a colt how to be [...] (Read More)

A good plan violently executed right now is worth a hundred perfect plans put off until next week. -General George S. Patton - Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
A good plan violently executed right now is worth a hundred perfect plans put off until next week.    —-General George S. Patton This is simply awesome.  If anyone knows how to win and how to compete, General Patton, one of the greatest military figures in history, does.  That is how you compete if you are unwilling [...] (Read More)

Omaha Next Week - Friday, June 4th, 2010
NLWC practices are going great.  We have the world team trials next weekend in Council Bluffs.  We almost have a full room of guys training at our Penn State Regional Olympic Training Site.  We have several of our college guys training, as well as Les Sigman, Jake Varner, Aaron Anspach, Teyon Ware, David Armstrong, Nick [...] (Read More)

Thank You Troops! - Monday, May 31st, 2010
“I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free, And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me, And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A.”     -Lee Greenwood Thank [...] (Read More)

Abraham Lincoln - Saturday, May 29th, 2010
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.     -Abraham Lincoln  Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.  -Abraham Lincoln Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the [...] (Read More)

Strengths - Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Turning weaknesses into strengths is a common theme in sports.  However, that is a very difficult thing to do.  A more realistic goal would be to neutralize our weaknesses.  The best game plan in a competition is to spend as much time in your areas of strength as possible.  You also minimize time spent in [...] (Read More)

1994 JV Football Video- me getting tackled by opposing coach - Friday, May 21st, 2010
Check out the video I just posted in the video section for fun.  It is from 1994 (I think) when I was a sophomore in high school playing jv football.  I got crushed by the opposing coach after the game. I wrestled 135lbs my sophomore year in high school.  My team (Wasatch High School) was [...] (Read More)

CrossFit - Monday, May 17th, 2010
I get a lot of questions about strength and conditioning.  I am not a strength expert by any stretch of the imagination.  Coach Cunningham is the director of our strength and conditioning.  We all work together but he is the mastermind.  We have different programs for different times of the year.  Each individual is a [...] (Read More)

“You focus on your sword and his sword; nothing else!”– Hector (Troy 2004) - Friday, May 7th, 2010
“You focus on your sword and his sword; nothing else!”– Hector I spoke at “Meals on Wheels” last week for great Penn State Wrestling supporter Galen Driebelbis.    The “Meals on Wheels” program feeds elderly people who need a little help.  It’s a great thing.  In the speech I spoke about four overlooked principles that I think [...] (Read More)

Strength and Struggle - Friday, April 30th, 2010
“Strength and struggle go together.  The supreme award of struggle is strength.  Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes men weak.  Do not equip yourselves with superior power and hope to escape the responsibility and work.  It cannot be done.  It is following the lines [...] (Read More)

Dogs and tattoos - Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
This is probably the worst blog I’ve ever written.  I apologize in advance.  Maybe it will give parents and young wrestlers something to think about.  Probably not.  I try to discourage our wrestlers from getting dogs and getting tattoos.  We have several kids on our team with dogs, and even more with tattoos.  They are great [...] (Read More)

Welcome Nick Fanthorpe and Jake Varner!! - Friday, April 16th, 2010
The U.S. nationals and Jr. FILA Nationals are a less than a week away.  We have several wrestlers that will be participating in both tournaments.  We are building up the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club with world-class wrestlers.  Next week post-graduates, Aaron Anspach, Les Sigman, and Teyon Ware, will be wrestling for the NLWC.  Building a [...] (Read More)

America needs Wrestling - Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Hello Everyone, April is always a very busy month. The majority of our team is going to Akron tomorrow to compete in the University Nationals. This will be a great opportunity for our redshirts and non-starters to compete again. It has been a few months. A few of our starters are going [...] (Read More)

Mom - Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
I love my Mom. She is awesome. I am so grateful for all that she did and continues to do for me. Mom’s have the most important, most noble, and most difficult job in the world. There is no comparison. One of my favorite TV shows is “Dirty Jobs” on [...] (Read More)

Keep Moving - Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
The NCAA tournament is over…now what? We prepare for next year’s NCAA tournament. Our team had more ups then downs but the downs always hurt. The point now is to move forward. To move forward we must closely study everything that has happened, both the good and the not so good. Learning is a continuous [...] (Read More)

leather roads - Monday, March 15th, 2010
We are all playing the same course. Author Dr. Joseph Parent nails this key point in his book, “Zen Golf, Mastering the Mental Game.” ————- “Somewhere in ancient India, there was a king whose feet were very sensitive. He complained constantly about the kingdom’s roads, which were rough and rocky. Finally, the king decided he [...] (Read More)

to war - Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Omaha is the big show. We work all year long to be at our best at the NCAA tournament. They only hand out NCAA titles once a year. Time to do it. Wrestle to win. Attitude wins when it matters the most. It’s time to Go For It! [...] (Read More)

tournament time - Monday, March 1st, 2010
It’s tournament time! We are really exited about this week. Our team is wrestling great. We are healthy, excited and ready to go. Confidence comes from two things 1) knowing you are prepared and 2) knowing that the goal is to focus on fighting and best effort. Focusing on effort [...] (Read More)

got questions? - Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Don’t question yourself, Question your doubts! (Read More)

Think like God wants us to think - Monday, February 15th, 2010
Think like God wants us to think. The truth is simple. God does not deceive. His perfect advice is black and white. There is no confusion. God is perfect. He knows everything. He knows what we need before we ask Him. He is our Father in Heaven. We are His [...] (Read More)

Positive perfectionists - Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
The team is making progress. I am proud of the way the team is competing. We are obviously not satisfied and have to continue to improve as we move along. We only have five dual meets left and then the Big 10 Tournament. There is time to improve. Commitment, discipline [...] (Read More)

obstacles - Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
“The greater the feat you desire to achieve, the greater the mental preperation required for overcoming obstacles and persevering over the long haul. If you want to take a stroll in your neighborhood, you can reasonably expect to have few, if any problems. But that’s not the case if you intend to climb [...] (Read More)

some thoughts on how to compete - Thursday, January 14th, 2010
To be the best you can be you must focus on the process. Focusing on the process means that you break down what you are going to the bare essentials. What are you doing with your hands? What are you doing with your feet? Don’t focus on things like ” [...] (Read More)

Are you “all the way in!?” - Friday, January 1st, 2010
One evening a little boy fell out of bed. The little boy, in tears, went to his dad and said, “hey Dad, i fell out of bed!” His dad responded, “well, why did you fall out of bed?” The little boy responded, “I guess I wasn’t in far enough!” I’m not sure who [...] (Read More)

Happy New Year! - Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Hello, We have practice in a few minutes so this will be short. We had a nice Christmas Break, our family went back to Iowa to Kelly’s parent’s house. We shovelled a lot of snow and ate a lot fo junk food. We have a tradition of playing a “white elephant” or “nasty [...] (Read More)

K.I.S.B. – Keep it simple, buddy - Monday, December 21st, 2009
We are traveling back to State College today. We competed in Reno at the Tournament of Champions. Most of the team competed well but we are not satisfied. We are making progress in a lot of areas. We will move forward inch by inch. Progress comes in inches. We [...] (Read More)

Cunningham on last weekends performance - Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Hello Penn State Wrestling Fans!!!! It was a pretty interesting week/weekend for our guys to say the least. Usually I am not bringing news to our fans that they do not already know but we did beat West Virginia on Friday 33-12 and tied Pittsburgh on Saturday night 19-19. Several of our guys stepped [...] (Read More)

James Allen - Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
“Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your Vision, or your Ideals. You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominating aspiration…” Mr. James Allen from his book “As a Man Thinketh “ (Read More)

thanks NLWC - Monday, December 7th, 2009
Hello Everyone, The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club did an absolutely fantastic job running the NLWC Open. Thank you to everyone that helped organize and run the tournament. To run a one day tournament with over 500 participants and to be out of there by 6p is amazing. Thank you very much NLWC and [...] (Read More)

courage to develop our talents - Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Courage comes from God. Fear and doubt do not. A favorite quote of mine is “What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” The challenge in this life is to take what we have been given and do the most we can with it. Everyone has [...] (Read More)

competing to win - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
We have completed our first weekend of wrestling and we saw a lot of positives to build on. Our guys are fighting for the most part. The hustle is improving and conditioning is solid. This team will improve throughout the season. We have some young kids that will only make progress [...] (Read More)

Work - Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Work is the answer. Philosopher Korsaren said: “If you are poor, work. If you are burdened with seemingly unfair responsibilities, work. If you are happy, work. Idleness gives room for doubts and fears. If disappointments come, keep right on working. If sorrow overwhelms you and loved ones seem not true, [...] (Read More)

creepy video - Friday, October 30th, 2009
Hello, all is well. Practices are going great. the team is looking good. They are ready to compete. Our intrasquad is next Thursday and our first match is two weeks from tonight. Our first home match is two weeks from Sunday at legendary Rec Hall. We expect to pack [...] (Read More)

Footprints - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
cool story… One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were only one. This bothered me because I noted that during the low periods [...] (Read More)

Feelings….nothing more then Feelings - Friday, October 23rd, 2009
There is a lot of talk on the power of feelings and emotions these days. The famous “law of attraction” also known as “the secret,” claims that we literally get what we think about. The idea teaches that we attract into our lives what we think about, whether good or bad. If [...] (Read More)

Octopus on Rollerskates - Thursday, October 15th, 2009
We are less then a month away from our first dual.  I can’t wait!  The team is coming along.  The guys are making progress every week.  We are spending a lot of time mastering what our staff feels are the fundamentals of college wrestling.  The fundamentals are the key. We are talking a lot about choosing [...] (Read More)

10 Keys to Winning the Big Ones - Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
10 Keys to winning the Big Ones *(in no particular order and there are more, but lets keep it simple) 1. Wrestle to win- attack!!  Make it happen, don’t wait.  2. focus on your game plan, not what your opponent will do.  3.  Keep things in perspective.  (this is a game and life will go on win or lose. [...] (Read More)

Revisiting “White Bears and Pink Elephants” - Monday, September 28th, 2009
White Bears and Pink Elephants “In Winter Notes on Summer Impressions (1863), Dostoyevsky asked the question: “How do you stop thinking about a white bear?” Researcher Dan Wegner and his colleagues set out to investigate this issue in 1987. They asked college students to not think about a white bear. What do you think happened? The [...] (Read More)

Tomorrow We Scrap - Sunday, September 20th, 2009
Varner, Felix and Paulson all weighed in earlier today.  Wrestling starts tomorrow at 1p.  Varner has Japan first round.  I am excited for Jake. He has a great opportunity tomorrow.  I think he is going to make a name for himself on the international circuit very quickly.  We are about to go break a good [...] (Read More)

In Denmark - Thursday, September 17th, 2009
I am in Denmark, waiting for our team to arrive tonight.  The facilities in Denmark are nice.  The arena is a small and should be a great atmosphere.   The food is good.  I am in a hotel right now about an eight minute walk from the arena.  The housing is very limited.  The tournament directors [...] (Read More)

In Germany - Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Hello, I am in Germany at training camp.  We’re at an Olympic Training Center a little less then two hours outside of Frankfurt.  The facilities are great.  The team is working hard. The team has been working out at 1p and 7:30p to simulate the world championships.  Varner is feeling really good.  He is ready to go.    Because [...] (Read More)

Going to Denmark - Saturday, September 12th, 2009
we just finished a tough strength and conditioning workout this morning.  I leave this afternoon to go to the world championships.  The team will be in Germany for a few days for an acclimation camp, but the world championships are in Denmark.  I will have a lot of time to write some blogs and answer some [...] (Read More)

Big Weekend - Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Hello all, everything is going well.  school is rolling.  we have a big recruiting weekend coming up.  4 out of 5 kids coming in have already commited and we are fired up about the future.  teyon ware got to state college this past weekend and will compete for the Nittany Lion wrestling club.  he is a [...] (Read More)

Yellowstone - Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Howdy, We’re getting ready for school to start.  it has been a busy summer but a good one.  i am definitely ready for the team back on campus and get rolling.  My son, wife and I just got back for Utah where we visited my family for a few days.  we went to Yellowstone last weekend with [...] (Read More)

NYC - Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
hello everyone, Everything is going great in PA.  My family and our staff loves the area and the passion for wrestling here.  Recruiting is going well.  the house i am renting doesn’t get internet and I usually work on my website at night so I haven’t been able to do much.  as the we get back [...] (Read More)

Nature vs Nature - Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Is work ethic is a matter of nature or nurture?  I think it is both.  Kids whose parents work hard, usually work hard themselves.  Kids are usually a reflection of their parent’s work ethic.  But are the kids hard workers because they are taught to work hard or because it is in their genes?  I [...] (Read More)

sorry mark and les - Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Hello I’m in Utah hanging out with my parents and brother Cyler working a camp.  I always love being back in Heber Valley.  The camp is a commuter camp with only two sessions a day so we have the evenings off.  Haven’t had an evening off for a several weeks, feels kind of weird- haha.  Yesterday, [...] (Read More)

not much - Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Howdy, Our 21 Day intensive camp only has a few days left.  It has been a good camp.  The last few days I have working on the camper’s individual technique videos that we send them home with.  Each camper picks the techniques they want to take home on video and we shoot the video and have it [...] (Read More)

Camp Season - Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Hello everyone, Camp season is the busiest time of the year. I have been flying back and forth between PA and IA for camps. i am going back to Ames tomorrow to wrap up our Iowa State Camps. I have one more week in Ames. I have had many blog ideas [...] (Read More)

“The person who is afraid to take risks takes the greatest risk of all” anon. - Sunday, June 14th, 2009
Camps have begun. We are back in Ames… we’ve been working on mastering some key fundamentals and of course the good old ankle pick. I have a few quotes that I just came across that are very interesting. I have a thick folder of thoughts, notes, and quotes that I carry [...] (Read More)

We’re Gonna be Ok - Monday, June 8th, 2009
What’s up? Things are going well in state college. It’s almost wrestling camp time. We start our 21 Day Camp in Ames on Saturday. I may be biased (just a little) but I think this is the best camp in the country. Our numbers being up from last year despite [...] (Read More)

Staff - Thursday, June 4th, 2009
Hello everyone, The world team trials went well. Jake Varner made the team. He will have many great years of international wrestling. I’m back in PA and it feels good. My family and I are loving State College. We are renting a house that is 7-8 minutes from my office but is [...] (Read More)

Ready for trials - Friday, May 29th, 2009
I’m in council bluffs. just worked out with varner and les sigman at UNO’s room. Both guys are ready to go. varner feels big, strong and his skills are sharp. He should have a fun day tomorrow. He has a chance to make teh world team as junior in college. [...] (Read More)

Global Warming? - Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Just watched the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” I think that’s the name. It was not a good movie. It had an interesting concept and anytime a movie is about the end of the world it is interesting. At least it is to me. There have been several movies [...] (Read More)

progress?? - Monday, May 25th, 2009
To stay ahead and make progress with the sport of wrestling we need to copy other successful sports. You know the quote that says something like there aren’t any new ideas. Well I think the same thing holds true in sports. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Let’s learn from [...] (Read More)

Get it done in PA - Sunday, May 24th, 2009
Hey, things are going good. we are working and moving along. we are still putting all the pieces together at penn state. i am really excited about what we can do at penn state and how great it is going to be for the sport to have a consistent power in college wrestling [...] (Read More)

Laying the Bricks - Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Hello Everyone, I have been really busy but will work on updating my blog more. Im living in a hotel room right now with Cody, Casey, and now Les Sigman. Luckily it is a suite type room. the room is starting to smell a little funny, especially Cunningham’s room-haha. Our families aren’t [...] (Read More)

Coach Jackson - Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Congratulations Iowa State and Coach Jackson! As an alumni and someone who wants the best for the program I couldnt be more excited with the hiring of Coach Jackson.  I believe he brings all the skills necessary to be a huge success.  I have always had tremendous respect for Coach Jackson.  He and Coach Douglas were [...] (Read More)

First week - Friday, April 24th, 2009
Hello, Coach Cunningham and I just returned to Ames after spending 3.5 days at Penn State. Coach Cody stayed in Ames to make sure everyone in Ames stayed on track. Our days were busy. The transition will take some time but we are moving. The people and staff at PSU have [...] (Read More)

Go Cyclones! and Go Lions! - Sunday, April 19th, 2009
Hello Everyone, It has been a very difficult decision for me and my family to go to Penn State University. I have a deep passion and love for Iowa State University. But most importantly I love the staff and wrestlers at ISU like family. I really don’t have the words to explain how [...] (Read More)

Benjamin Franklin’s “Plan of Conduct” - Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Benjamin Franklin’s “Plan of Conduct” 1. It is necessary for me to be extremely frugal for sometime, till I have paid what I owe. 2. To endeavor to speak truth in every instance; to give nobody expectations that are not likely to be answered, but aim at sincerity in every word and action–the most amiable [...] (Read More)

Navy SEALS - Monday, April 6th, 2009
I just returned from the high school folkstyle nationals in Virginia Beach. Coach Cunningham and I were there for several days. There was some solid wrestling. The sport of wrestling is growing. We ate some great food. I took a bunch of Undefeated Sport Cookies to hand out but Cunningham [...] (Read More)

One Shot - Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Hello, Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. That is one of my favorite scriptures. We only get a a limited number of opportunities. The trick it seems is to stay calm, poised and execute. Don’t panic. Don’t ovethink the situation. Just because it’s a big tournament or [...] (Read More)

hating to lose - Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Hello everyone, Very interesting and true quote. “Most of us will do anything to become good except change our way of living.” Anon. People will do anything but the difficult thing to be successful. The difficult thing is to change the way we live. That means eliminating bad habits, correcting our weaknesses, stepping out of [...] (Read More)

Living on the edge - Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Living on the edge I think what separates the good from the great is a total commitment to the cause. A total commitment requires great discipline, sacrifice, hard work, and coachability to name a few of the qualities. It is essential to not live on the edge of any of these qualities. [...] (Read More)

Cunningham reviewing the season - Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Hello Cyclone Wrestling Fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well we just finished the National Tournament and as most everybody knows we finished third. We had a first, third, fourth, and a fifth place finisher. We also had two other guys in the round of twelve. In addition to this we had all ten guys score points [...] (Read More)

Crap - Monday, March 23rd, 2009
Hello everyone, Well, the college wrestling season is over. What a strange feeling. It’s time to get ready for next year. Preperation never ends. We had a lot of good things happen this year. We finished 3rd at the NCAA tourney. Jake Varner won the national championship. Nick [...] (Read More)

Backbone - Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Wrestling starts tomorrow. I am just sitting in my hotel room with my wife and kid. The NCAA tournament is the most exciting and fun tournament in the world. The Olympics are fun and more prestigious but nothing compares to the atmosphere of the NCAA tournament. We know we are ready [...] (Read More)

“Be not afraid, only believe.” (Mark 5:36) - Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
“Duty is ours, results are God’s.” John Quincey Adams Our duty is to fight, hustle, challenge every position, create the circumstances, control the tie up, clear tie up that we don’t want to be in, be relentless, be excited, and attack. If we can do that, we can be fully satisfied regardless of [...] (Read More)

Sir Winston Churchill - Saturday, March 14th, 2009
Here are some awesome qoutes by Si Winston Churchill. One of the greatest leaders in the history of the world. Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill I like a man who grins when he fights. Winston Churchill If you are going through hell, keep going. Winston [...] (Read More)

“Parable of the Talents” - Thursday, March 12th, 2009
I love the “parable of the talents” that Jesus gave us when he ministered on earth. Here are the scriptures. ———————— Matthew 25:14-30 For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to [...] (Read More)

Tedeyev - Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Hello, We just found out that one of our wrestlers, Duke Buke, received a wild card to the NCAA tournament. It was great news. He definitely deserved one but you just never know. That means we have all 10 of our guys going to the NCAA tournament. They are all capable of [...] (Read More)

wrestling needs to make some rule changes - Monday, March 9th, 2009
after a challenging day at the Big 12 my thoughts on some changes that need to be made to our sport are even stronger. We need to eliminate as many of the judgment calls as we can. As a coach I get more upset with the lack of stalling calls then anything else. [...] (Read More)

There’s a hair in my dirt - Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Here is a story by told by Jacob de Jager: The story is told of a ship that was in distress during a severe storm off the coast of Holland: “A rowboat went out to rescue the crew of the fishing boat. The waves were enormous, and each of the men at the oars had to give [...] (Read More)

two wolves - Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Here is a great story that you may have heard. it is often forwarded around in emails but it has a great message. One evening an Old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said “My son, the battle is between ‘two wolves’ inside us all. [...] (Read More)

“Believing Christ” - Sunday, March 1st, 2009
The scriptures teach us to fight with our heart, might, mind and strength to become more like our perfect example Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. God is so patient, merciful, loving, and just straight up the most awesome God anyone could even dream [...] (Read More)

Being a “Gamer” - Friday, February 27th, 2009
Hello everyone, We are a week out from the Big XII tournament. We are feeling really great. The squad is looking sharp and excited for the opportunities that we have coming up. We will be at our best. I am very confident and proud of where the team is right now. [...] (Read More)

Roasted duck - Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
It seems that we are always waiting for things to be perfect before we think we can be successful. The bad news is that everything will most likely never be perfect. So we will be waiting a very long time. As the old Chinese proverb says “He who waits for roast duck [...] (Read More)

Doubts are Traitors - Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
Hey everyone, Sorry I have been slacking a little bit with the blog lately. I am pretty focused this time of the year. We just finished our last dual meet of the year on Sunday. It is officially the post season and time to get the job done. We are ready to [...] (Read More)

state tournament time - Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Hello everyone, It’s getting close to tournament time there are a few things that will help you. State tournaments are starting up all over the country, some are already complete and some are just around the corner. Three things to think about that get overlooked often are 1- get plenty of sleep 2-let [...] (Read More)

a couple quotes from legendary Coach Paul Bear Bryant - Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Here are a couple quotes from legendary Coach Paul Bear Bryant. “I don’t know if I’m smart enough to know how to describe a winner, but I guess I’ve been wise enough or maybe just lucky enough of being able to spot one. I know a winner has dedication and pride and the [...] (Read More)

Pink elephants and white bears - Thursday, February 12th, 2009
We are what we think. And we are in control of everything we think and feel so kick some butt! I think one my favorite sayings that wise Bonnie Epstein told me was “we are in control of everything we think, everything we say, everything we do and everything we feel and we [...] (Read More)

Processionary caterpillars - Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Jon Bytheway tells an awesome story in his book “When Times Are Tough.” It goes… I remember hearing a story as a child that made quite an impression on me. A scientist conducted an experiment with what are called “processionary caterpillars.” Processionary caterpillars follow one another in a kind of follow-the-leader fashion as [...] (Read More)

speeding tickets and mining gold - Monday, February 9th, 2009
What’s going on? The Cyclones had a nice weekend of wrestling. We beat Northern Iowa 8 matches to 2 and that includes a forfeit we had at 133. Fanthorpe could have wrestled but we decided to just give him more time to time to get 110%. He wasn’t very happy about [...] (Read More)

Lou Holtz - Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Lou Holtz has some great stories and lessons.  Coach Holtz had just taken the head job at a new school.  On the first play of the season his team threw a pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown.  He said his team was given a standing ovation from the crowd.  It puzzled him [...] (Read More)

Put deadlines on your happiness….or not - Monday, February 2nd, 2009
What’s up? how about that stimulus package? pretty not awesome huh? seems to counter all common sense what so ever, oh well. it’s monday and another day to take a small step closer to our goals of being the best we can be at the NCAA tournament in march. I’m excited, the guys [...] (Read More)

Politics - Sunday, February 1st, 2009
Hello Everyone, The Cyclones had the weekend off. Several of our wrestlers did go to a tournament in Des Moines to get some matches in. Duke Burke was the only current starter to go. He’s just getting back from an injury and wanted to get on the mat. He scored a bunch [...] (Read More)

Support your local college wrestling programs! - Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Hello Everyone, I hope you are all doing well. It is an interesting and difficult time right now. Everyone has been effected by the current poor financial times, some much worse than others. For those who have really seen the blunt of the crisis I hurt for you, best wishes. [...] (Read More)

Ships are meant for sea! - Monday, January 26th, 2009
Hello, The Cyclones are making progress.  We had a nice weekend.  Our guys are wrestling hard and it is starting to show more and more.  Our focus is effort and fight.  The technique we work on is as good as there is in the world.  Now we just need to step out on the mat, attack [...] (Read More)

By the Power of Grayskull - Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
Howdy, big day today, we wrestle Oklahoma. The Cyclones have really done a nice job training the last week and a half. We have such an incredible quality of student-athletes at ISU. We actually had two guys get 4.0 GPA’s this past semester, Joey DeMarie and Matt Brown. With the way [...] (Read More)

David and Goliath - Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Hello everyone Happy today! Things are going good.  We’ve had a productive week and a half of training.  We are working hard to take a few small steps forward as we prepare for the national tournament in March.  We wrestle Oklahoma on Friday and Oklahoma State on Sunday.  There’s nothing more important than your attitude.  We [...] (Read More)

More on Confidence… - Friday, January 16th, 2009
Hello Everyone, I’ve gotten a few emails on my blog of confidence and I just felt like expanding on the idea. Having confidence helps without question. I just don’t believe it is necessary to have it before we do what we know is right. This reminds me of some lyrics of a primary [...] (Read More)

Confidence - Monday, January 5th, 2009
Hello Everyone, I hope everyone had a nice holiday.  Minus the holiday travel it’s tough to not have a great holiday season.  T he airline business is a crazy one.  I wouldn’t say their number one priority is customer satisfaction.  Funny story, my brother Cody was in the line checking in for an oversold flight. [...] (Read More)

Happy Holidays - Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
What’s up everyone?   Happy Holidays! The Cyclones are finishing up the semester with finals this week. Our team goal is get our team G.P.A. over a 3.0.  We have been close the last few years but haven’t quite reached it.  Hopefully this is the semester. We are getting some great workouts in as well.  We do [...] (Read More)

Developing our talents - Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Hello everyone, We had a tough loss this past weekend but not one that we wont learn from and be a better team because of it. The potential of our team this year is incredible and we don’t have a senior in the lineup. If we continue to make progress, and we will, we [...] (Read More)

Key to happiness - Friday, December 5th, 2008
Hello everyone, I’ve got a great quote and thought that I want to share with you. The quote comes from one of John Maxwell’s leadership books. His books are excellent. The book quotes English heart surgeon Martyn Lloyd-Jones where he says, “Most unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you [...] (Read More)

Undefeated Sport Cookies Coming Soon! - Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Hello Everyone, I am fired up, we have Undefeated Cookies (and brownies later) coming soon. They are awesome. As a person on the go all the time I have a tough time finding good, nutritious foods to eat that don’t slow me down. I do not like fast food. My idea of [...] (Read More)

“Whistles” - Saturday, November 29th, 2008
Hey Everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I did! It’s tough to not have an awesome Thanksgiving, especially for wrestlers who love good food.  I went to my in-laws in northwest Iowa and had a great time.  My brother in-law Dan and I passed Call of Duty 5.  I really had to [...] (Read More)

Thanksgiving!! - Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be grateful for. First and foremost, I am very grateful for my mom’s ability to cook pies, especially her lemon, pumpkin, and apple. Too bad I haven’t had my mom’s pies on Thanksgiving since my redshirt year in college back in the fall of 1997. Wow, that’s a [...] (Read More)

Potential changes? - Monday, November 17th, 2008
We just finished our first week of matches. I have been thinking about how we can make our sport better. Nothing good usually happens when I start thinking so beware. I answered a question about what potential changes I thought our sport could use on this site last Spring, so I basically copied [...] (Read More)

Why not me!?! - Friday, November 14th, 2008
Isn’t life exciting?! Think of all the opportunities we have ahead of us. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. No one has lived tomorrow yet, no one has already won their next match yet, so lets attack with everything we’ve got. Perspective is everything. I was raised to [...] (Read More)

Blog 2 - Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Hello everyone, I’m just sitting here waiting for our warm up practice before our first match of the year tonight. The only thing better then training and preparing for competition is competition itself. The Cyclones are ready to go. I can’t wait for that first whistle. We are wrestling Utah Valley [...] (Read More)

Blog 1 - Monday, October 27th, 2008
Hello, thank you for visiting my website.  I appreciate your support.  This has a been a busy and productive preseason for our team and staff.  It is a lot of fun working everyday with such quality and motivated people.  Our first match is just over two weeks away…can’t wait.  This should be a great year [...] (Read More)