PAULSON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS JOURNAL: Freestyle team arrives in Denmark; making final preparations
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by Trent Paulson
Sept. 18
We made it to Denmark safely!! The team settled in last night around 9 p.m., had a quick dinner, then hit the hay. Food was buffet style and very good - salmon, smoked tuna, rice, salad, bowl of many fruits, and bread were among the options.
The rooms are small and beds are smaller than a twin bed, but we're making the most of it. Staying positive and ready to win regardless of the accommodations. We have beds, mats, sauna, water and food on complex - what more could you ask for? Ha, you should feel for the training partners. They are all staying in motor homes, with no running water, on a campground right beside the wrestling arena.
This morning we had wrestling practice at 10:30 a.m. We mainly just drilled and blew our lungs out from the travel. In the afternoon, it was weight control on your own - most of us got a workout in the sauna. Same schedule tomorrow and then the first group weighs in Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (55 kg, 66 kg, 96 kg). I'm glad I wrestle on the first day. I can't wait to compete on Monday.
Thanks for all the e-mails and support from back home!
Sept. 15
Thave been 4 workouts since my last entry. Yesterday morning, we drilled and had 3 matches, in the afternoon one match and sauna. Today was 2 matches in the a.m. and one in the p.m. The 1 match in the afternoon workouts took place at 7:30 p.m. and was a World finals simulation. Yesterday, I wrestled Jared Frayer, today I wrestled Germany's 74 kg World Team member. I was glad I had an opportunity to wrestle a top foreigner before the tournament - they have a different feel and it's great to compete against that ahead of time.
Cael Sanderson joined our crew and has been a good addition. Cael and Jake Varner have been battling daily.
The town we are staying in is called Saarbrucken and it is 15 kilometers from France. The weather here has been nice - pretty cool early morning and evening, with sunshine and warm weather during the day. Tomorrow we'll go at 11 a.m. and have the afternoon be open mat/work out on your own.
We depart Thursday morning at 10 a.m. for Denmark. The first group (55 kg, 66 kg, 96 kg) weighs in on Sunday - I'll try to keep you updated.
Bed time for me - Night!
Sept. 13
Yesterday, we completed another two-a-day workout schedule. In the morning, it was a long drill with situational sparring. In the afternoon, it was two matches followed by a lift or sauna afterward. It was more of the same with our team having high intensity and a mindset to score points.
After the second workout, we ate dinner then headed to a nearby town and watched Germany's Level 2 league of Freestyle and Greco wrestling. This league goes for four months (September-January) and the wrestlers get paid $40,000. The event was in a bar type setting with the majority of the spectators drinking beer and the wrestlers joining in after they completed their match. It was a little different because the matches were best-of-5 periods instead of best-of-3. In between periods, they played loud, upbeat music that kept the spectators' spirits high.
The leagues have one dual meet per week and people from different countries come to wrestle for these teams. Last night in the dual, one German team had athletes from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and France. I wish we had something like that in America!! It was a laid back, fun atmosphere and the fans were really getting into it. During intermission, they announced over the intercom that the USA National Team was in attendance. They also had the audience give a big round of applause for each one of our coaching staff that was a World or Olympic champion.
Today, we had the day off. We pretty much just relaxed and recovered. Andy Hrovat, Lou Rosselli, Tim Flynn and the team chiropractor all arrived at the training center today. It was nice to get them on board. This afternoon, we went to the town square, walked around for a bit and then had dinner. It was a nice restaurant with mainly pizza, pasta and panini options. It was fun to get off complex and experience some of Germany's culture.
Tomorrow, we get back on track with workouts - I'll try to keep you posted.
TP1 out
Sept. 11
Hey all -
Team USA had 2 great workouts today! This morning was short and sweet - we had an intense drill with the World Team members hitting most of the offense and scoring from different control positions. At the end, we blew our lungs out - we did a bunch of sprints to help get the long travel out of us.
In the afternoon, we got after it with 3-4 matches depending on how you felt. I went with Dustin Schlatter, Shawn Bunch, Jared Frayer and Bill Zadick - they all gave me top-notch looks and we had some fun battles. Wrestling hard and going out to score a lot of points was definitely the mindset today - I'd see Danny Felix hit a hard double leg on one side of the room, then Jake Varner with a nice ankle pick, Tervel Dlagnev a sweet elbow pass single, and Dustin Schlatter an awesome arm spin.
Everyone on the team seems to be feeding off one another and there is definitely a positive energy among us. We have a great coaching staff here with Zeke Jones, Brandon Slay, Bill Zadick, Mark Manning, John Smith and Sean Bormet - they are pushing hard and helping us peak at the right time. I feel blessed to be surrounded with legends of the sport and have teammates with positive attitudes and common goals.
TP1 out.
Sept. 10
We made it to Germany safely! It was an 8-hour flight from Denver to Frankfurt - I slept maybe 2 hours of it.
Tervel Dlagnev stayed up the entire time and watched 4 movies in a row. When I got up to stretch, I saw Jake Herbert passed out. He was slobbering all over his Sponge Bob Square Pants pillow (sometimes you have to wonder about that kid).
Once we arrived, it was an hour and a half drive from the Frankfurt airport to Germany's Olympic Training Center. Traveling was pretty much smooth sailing.
The facilities and the food here are really good. Upon arriving we had lunch (chicken breast, dumplings, spinach sauce and spaghetti sauce).
Right after that, we headed to the sauna. I just showered up and am about to head to dinner in a little bit. We have practice tomorow morning at 9:30 and then one afternoon workout at 4.
I'll try to keep everyone updated as much as I can.
Talk to you later.
TP1 out.
We made it to Denmark safely!! The team settled in last night around 9 p.m., had a quick dinner, then hit the hay. Food was buffet style and very good - salmon, smoked tuna, rice, salad, bowl of many fruits, and bread were among the options.
The rooms are small and beds are smaller than a twin bed, but we're making the most of it. Staying positive and ready to win regardless of the accommodations. We have beds, mats, sauna, water and food on complex - what more could you ask for? Ha, you should feel for the training partners. They are all staying in motor homes, with no running water, on a campground right beside the wrestling arena.
This morning we had wrestling practice at 10:30 a.m. We mainly just drilled and blew our lungs out from the travel. In the afternoon, it was weight control on your own - most of us got a workout in the sauna. Same schedule tomorrow and then the first group weighs in Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (55 kg, 66 kg, 96 kg). I'm glad I wrestle on the first day. I can't wait to compete on Monday.
Thanks for all the e-mails and support from back home!
Sept. 15
Thave been 4 workouts since my last entry. Yesterday morning, we drilled and had 3 matches, in the afternoon one match and sauna. Today was 2 matches in the a.m. and one in the p.m. The 1 match in the afternoon workouts took place at 7:30 p.m. and was a World finals simulation. Yesterday, I wrestled Jared Frayer, today I wrestled Germany's 74 kg World Team member. I was glad I had an opportunity to wrestle a top foreigner before the tournament - they have a different feel and it's great to compete against that ahead of time.
Cael Sanderson joined our crew and has been a good addition. Cael and Jake Varner have been battling daily.
The town we are staying in is called Saarbrucken and it is 15 kilometers from France. The weather here has been nice - pretty cool early morning and evening, with sunshine and warm weather during the day. Tomorrow we'll go at 11 a.m. and have the afternoon be open mat/work out on your own.
We depart Thursday morning at 10 a.m. for Denmark. The first group (55 kg, 66 kg, 96 kg) weighs in on Sunday - I'll try to keep you updated.
Bed time for me - Night!
Sept. 13
Yesterday, we completed another two-a-day workout schedule. In the morning, it was a long drill with situational sparring. In the afternoon, it was two matches followed by a lift or sauna afterward. It was more of the same with our team having high intensity and a mindset to score points.
After the second workout, we ate dinner then headed to a nearby town and watched Germany's Level 2 league of Freestyle and Greco wrestling. This league goes for four months (September-January) and the wrestlers get paid $40,000. The event was in a bar type setting with the majority of the spectators drinking beer and the wrestlers joining in after they completed their match. It was a little different because the matches were best-of-5 periods instead of best-of-3. In between periods, they played loud, upbeat music that kept the spectators' spirits high.
The leagues have one dual meet per week and people from different countries come to wrestle for these teams. Last night in the dual, one German team had athletes from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and France. I wish we had something like that in America!! It was a laid back, fun atmosphere and the fans were really getting into it. During intermission, they announced over the intercom that the USA National Team was in attendance. They also had the audience give a big round of applause for each one of our coaching staff that was a World or Olympic champion.
Today, we had the day off. We pretty much just relaxed and recovered. Andy Hrovat, Lou Rosselli, Tim Flynn and the team chiropractor all arrived at the training center today. It was nice to get them on board. This afternoon, we went to the town square, walked around for a bit and then had dinner. It was a nice restaurant with mainly pizza, pasta and panini options. It was fun to get off complex and experience some of Germany's culture.
Tomorrow, we get back on track with workouts - I'll try to keep you posted.
TP1 out
Sept. 11
Hey all -
Team USA had 2 great workouts today! This morning was short and sweet - we had an intense drill with the World Team members hitting most of the offense and scoring from different control positions. At the end, we blew our lungs out - we did a bunch of sprints to help get the long travel out of us.
In the afternoon, we got after it with 3-4 matches depending on how you felt. I went with Dustin Schlatter, Shawn Bunch, Jared Frayer and Bill Zadick - they all gave me top-notch looks and we had some fun battles. Wrestling hard and going out to score a lot of points was definitely the mindset today - I'd see Danny Felix hit a hard double leg on one side of the room, then Jake Varner with a nice ankle pick, Tervel Dlagnev a sweet elbow pass single, and Dustin Schlatter an awesome arm spin.
Everyone on the team seems to be feeding off one another and there is definitely a positive energy among us. We have a great coaching staff here with Zeke Jones, Brandon Slay, Bill Zadick, Mark Manning, John Smith and Sean Bormet - they are pushing hard and helping us peak at the right time. I feel blessed to be surrounded with legends of the sport and have teammates with positive attitudes and common goals.
TP1 out.
Sept. 10
We made it to Germany safely! It was an 8-hour flight from Denver to Frankfurt - I slept maybe 2 hours of it.
Tervel Dlagnev stayed up the entire time and watched 4 movies in a row. When I got up to stretch, I saw Jake Herbert passed out. He was slobbering all over his Sponge Bob Square Pants pillow (sometimes you have to wonder about that kid).
Once we arrived, it was an hour and a half drive from the Frankfurt airport to Germany's Olympic Training Center. Traveling was pretty much smooth sailing.
The facilities and the food here are really good. Upon arriving we had lunch (chicken breast, dumplings, spinach sauce and spaghetti sauce).
Right after that, we headed to the sauna. I just showered up and am about to head to dinner in a little bit. We have practice tomorow morning at 9:30 and then one afternoon workout at 4.
I'll try to keep everyone updated as much as I can.
Talk to you later.
TP1 out.
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