MEDVED BLOG: Burroughs keeps cool, scores points and wins gold
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by USA Wrestling
Friday, March 6 - Day one of the 2015 Alexander Medved Tournament is in the books and it was an exciting day of wrestling! It had everything you can ask for in a great competition; a ton of great athletes, exciting match ups, heroes, villians, and dqncing bears! What more is needed?!
Everyone’s favorite, Jordan Burroughs, wrestled impressively to a gold medal! He was cheated, eye-poked, stalled against, slapped and punched, yet he keeps his cool and puts points on the board.
And afterwards he signs autographs and takes picture with the multitudes that follow him everywhere he goes. Moms with children, coaches, athletes, grown men and women, fans of all kinds, ages and country loyalties follow him around. Jordan handles this relentless following graciously and kindly, talking with as many folks as he can afford the time. I took some photos of the 150 or so people that mobbed him after his final match. It maybe a little dark, but you’ll get the idea.
Frank Perrelli wrestled well today nearly coming away with a medal but placing fifth. He was pretty exciting and fought through a pretty good cut from an opponent’s tooth on the back of his head. The other athletes competed hard as well. Overall, we need to be able to fight to create angles while maintaining the center of the mat.
Tomorrow we have eight guys taking the mats. Keep your eyes on USA Wrestling’s news for updates. Also, here is the live feed: wrestling.by
Also, here are answers for the last two trivia questions:
6x Champion, John Smith’s Gold medal years and cities
1987 Clermont-Ferrand, France
1988 Seoul, South Korea (Olympics)
1989 Martigny, Switzerland
1990 Tokyo, Japan
1991 Varna, Bulgaria
1992 Barcelona, Spain (Olympics)
5x Champion, Bruce Baumgartner Gold medal years and cities
1984 Las Angeles, California, USA (Olympics)
1986 Budapest, Hungary
1992 Barcelona, Spain (Olympics)
1993 Toronto, Canada
1995 Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Movie quote from:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Wednesday, March 4 – Coach Tom Erickson takes over the blog from Bill Zadick today…
I want to thank Bill Zadick for kindly letting me take over the blog for a day so that I can relate my experiences from past and present trips here to Staiki. Last year was my first return to Staiki in almost 20 years. Boy, has time flown by.
I can remember very clearly talking with then National Team Coach Zeke Jones about my assignment. He had discussed several other trips that I might be going (Cuba, Paris) before settling on the Medved Tournament. Before I got to say a single word Zeke immediately said "Tom, it’s a lot nicer than it used to be" my immediate sarcastic reply was "I'm sure it is".
Looking back on my earlier years training at Staiki, I realized it was never really that bad. Sure some things were tough and it was extremely cold in the old dorm we used to stay in and the food was a step up from your average third world country. But come on, what did you expect. We where there to train and get ready for the Medved Tournament which was then and now still one of the tougher tougher tournaments on our winter schedule. If you are looking for a nice cozy place to hunker down for a relaxing vacation, I would suggest taking Staiki off your list but for a wrestler preparing for a major international wrestling competition. Staiki is the place you want to be.
Then and now, wow, where do I start? I think it has to be the technology. Back in the day you actually had to read paperback books and if you here fortunate you might have had one of those first generation hand held electronic games (mine was a football game) or the infamous Walkman (how many people remember those?).
Today Staiki is completely equipped with wireless I\internet and if you are bored surfing the web or texting with your friends and family back home you crack open your computer and watch one of the dozens of movies your have downloaded for this trip. Yes, technology has turned Staiki into something almost enjoyable and I haven't even mentioned the "small" upgrades to the dorm we now stay in or the "slight" upgrade to the food they now serve.
One thing you cannot deny while training at Staiki is the level of competition you get once you walk through the door at the training center. To see nine mats covered with wrestlers from all over the former Soviet Union and her Republics. Not only is there an abundance of wrestlers but to see former Olympic and World Champions who now Coach and run the practices is truly amazing.
Did I mention the saunas? I would dare you to find a hotter sauna anywhere in the United States, making weight has never been a problem not back in the day or even today. Yes, Staiki has become something more than just a place to get some great training for any major international Wrestling competition, Staiki has become a place where training for Major International Wrestling competition is not only tolerable but enjoyable.
What truly make Staiki are the people who come to train here. The stories and friendships you create in this sport are truly amazing yet once you come to a place like Staiki they become legend. Not only do they become legendary but they also create legends. This blog doesn't hold enough space to talk about one trip let alone the multitude of trips I have been on either representing the United States in competition or as a Coach. I would truly be remiss if I did not mention one of my former travel partners, a person I consider a true legend of the USA Wrestling travel circuit. That person would be Royce Alger. If you have ever been on a trip or knew someone who has been on one with Royce I can guarantee they have some type of story involving Royce. It may have good, bad or indifferent. The one thing I can assure you it was memorable.
As I wind down my time I don't want to forget about why we are here and what we are doing today. Today is the last full day here at Staiki and it is more of an individual day, our first group of four weights (57,66,74 and 96 kilos) weigh-in tomorrow so guys are getting their last big chunk of weight off before we leave Staiki and head to the tournament hotel and weigh-ins. I know it may sound "cliche" to say this but the word around the training center is that this year’s Medved Tournament will be not only bigger but one of the toughest Medved Tournaments in awhile. The athletes we will have weighing in and competing on the first day are at 57 kilos, Brandon Precin, Frank Parelli and Andrew Hochstasser. Also at 66 kilos Chas Pami, at 74 kilos, Jordon Burroughs and at 96 kilos Dave Zabriskie, Dustin Kilgore and Cayle Byers.
No matter who you are or where you are, you always know its tournament time just by listening to the noise level in the cafeteria. When we first got here, there was tons of chatter with people joking and carrying on. Today it was very quiet and to tell you the truth a little sparse. Definitely tournament time. To me there is no better time!
Thanks again to Bill Zadick for letting me have the blog for the day and I look forward to seeing you next time matside. From Staiki this is guest blogger, Tom Erikson, signing off.
Tuesday, March 3 - As we draw closer to the competition it's time to start focusing on the details. Early this morning I met a driver who took me to the Hotel Yubilenia to scout the facility. It’s conveniently located across the street from the competition hall.
Around the corner and just a block from the hotel is a decent health club equipped with a sauna and several cardio machines. I remember these places from the last time I was in Minsk and was using them to prepare for myself in 2008. I secured a reservation for our team to utilize the facility both days of weigh-ins. I’m pumped how well this will work for us and the close proximity of all necessities. Once these were taken care of, we raced the 30 minutes back to Staiki to get ready for the first of today’s two practices.
The two workouts today were outlined as a structured workout in the morning and open training in the evening. Guys pushed hard today through both workouts and continue to look good.
Afterwards, as has been typical of everyday several people approach Jordan Burroughs to ask for autographs and photos. He is a rock star in the wrestling world outside the U.S. as much or more as he is at home. I can’t tell you all what a great ambassador for our country and our sport that Jordan continues to be.
He works very hard, doing more on his own each day when practices finish, yet he humbly greets and talks with each person or group that come to him for photos. It seems to me as though everyone realizes they see history happening in front of them and want to connect with him for a moment. Jordan’s humility shows tremendous respect for people and, even more so, gratitude for his blessings while his diligent work ethic honors the goals he has for himself.
Monday, March 2, Staiki, Minsk, Belarus…WE…travel back in time to save an ancient species from total annihilation, so far…
Today Team USA was back on the mats full steam. The room looked a lot more full with a few new international teams arriving as well as the last three American athletes coming in. Among the foreign teams was Mongolia with what appears like most of their 2014 World Championships Team. It will be good to see them here as Mongolia has several tough guys on the team and later in April there is potential we will see those athletes on our side of the World Cup draw. With the last three Americans, altogether we have 18 athletes now here in Staiki. Look for Richard Immel USAW Social Media Manager, to release our roster soon. Now it’s still classified :)
We had a great workout this morning wrestling situations and covering key areas. Creating angles, establishing our sets and control ties, clearing the opponents, finishing takedowns, transitioning to turns, defending par terre, down block/sprawls and go behinds are some of the positions we all need to master to be competitive internationally today. Repetitions help us develop proficiency and the National Team has been working diligently in these and other areas.
After the recovery day everyone was working very hard and having a great time training and preparing for this tournament. In the afternoon workout, we intermixed with some of the international athletes and mostly did open mat work and on their own live wrestling. A pretty good day and fun to get the “feel” of the foreign styles.
There are some rumblings of teams and line-ups for some of the powerhouse nations coming to the Medved this week. Azerbaijan and Russia potentially sending strong contingents as well as the team mentioned earlier. We will be looking forward to these opportunities and if I can confirm any of these, I will update here as they come.
After the day’s workouts we relaxed again in our living arrangements. A late evening card game broke out in our lounge room. Montell Marion, Richard Perry, Tanner Hall, Chase Pami, Brandon Precin and myself played UNO gladiator style for about two and a half hours with JB and Joey McKenna looking on.
The game is played basically normal rules with some small adjustments. If you don’t have a card that plays , you draw until you do…draw 2’s in succession to infinity (or they run out) same with draw fours. Yes, that piles up quick and a few times, my hand was holding more of the UNO deck than was on the table! The only caveat with the draw 4’s is the person it gets dropped on can challenge the other players hand, if the player challenged reveals and has the color before the draw 4 was played, they pick up the draw 4 AND 10 more cards. If the challenged doesn’t hold the previous color, the challenger picks up the 4 PLUS 10 more….Ouch!
It’s pretty fun and funny when it happens…to someone else :) Amazing how dramatic a little UNO can be. One hand lasted about an hour and a half before Montell finally went out…it was a roller coster of ups and downs with plenty of table talk. When it finally ended, Precin was left holding most of the deck and a lot of points! To be fair, Precin was a late sub when Pami went out of the game with a strained neck. Our medical staff was quick at hand to take care of it but Pami was done for the game…folding laundry. We played one more hand and had to retire for the evening. I’ll keep you all posted on future developments in the UNO Championships.
Answers to the trivia:
Sergei Beloglazov won 8 titles and Anatoly won 4 titles. Anatoly's titles came in the years 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1982. Anatoly’s four titles put him in rarified air but not quite the top of this list. As well as a few others, two American heroes of mine (and probably yours too) are ahead: John Smith, 6 total, 2-Olympic, 4-World, and Bruce Baumgartner, 5 total, 2-Olympic, and 3-World.
Sergei’s 2 Olympics and 6 Worlds extend from 1980-88, with the only gap being the 1984 LA Games that Russia boycotted. Sergei is tied for third, with Arsen Fadzayev, on the list of most titles in freestyle. They are behind Alexander Medved, 10, and Buvaisar Satiev, 9.
Next trivia questions:
1. What years and cities did American Champions Bruce Baumgartner and John Smith win their gold medals?
2. At the beginning of todays blog I quote a movie, which movie?
Sunday, March 1 - Sunday has been a pretty relaxed day around Staiki, Most of the morning was spent relaxing with a lot of the guys napping to catch up from the last of the jet lag. As a team we used the day off to do an active rest and recovery day.
Heading over to the gym as a group around 2:30 pm, everyone was on their own to do what they needed to get ready for the upcoming week. Most guys did some light exercise and stretching before heading into the recovery area which we had reserved from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
A few athletes took some time to work on positions fixing things and learning. These types of open workouts are a lot of fun when you see athletes, hungry to learn, grabbing a coach and a partner to work on things and improve. All of our staff were helping guys with technique while our medical staff, Ryan Palmer, made sure everyone was taking care of their health needs. Sometimes finding ice for sore muscles is a chore in Europe. However, Ryan is a worker and got the job done!
The recovery time was pretty refreshing and served us well. After eating dinner most guys settled in to watch movies before bed time. Our coaches and staff sat around relaxing, talking, and fixing the world, as usual. Given the opportunity, I believe a group of good wrestling minds will help the world do a lot of great things for itself!
Our staff along on this tour are: National Coach, Bruce Burnett; wrestling great Tom Erickson; LVAC Head Coach Jeff Buxton; coach and technology Del Hawkins; medical guru Ryan Palmer; and, of course myself, Bill Zadick. Having 18 athletes out on tour takes a lot of support and it’s a blessing traveling with these guys and sharing a great experience. As wrestlers, we understand the camaraderie that teammates share and this is no different for staff as well. I enjoy learning from these men and seeing the progress being made by Team USA!
Today’s Photo: Coach Tom Erickson works with Deron Winn and Jason Welch during Sunday’s open workout time.
Saturday, February 28 - Following a good night’s sleep for almost everyone, we awoke to a fresh blanket of white stuff covering the ground at Staiki. Team USA met as a group in the lobby of the hotel to discuss the day’s agenda and to take our short walk before breakfast. We had a good variety of breakfast options from yogurt, toast and jam, to porridge, and quiche… actually beginning to be a bit gourmet!
After a rest, we went to work out at 11:30 am. We had a great workout this morning that was high energy and very technically focused. Coach Burnett ran drills in various skill areas we have been focused on since the 2014 World Championships evaluation.
The object of a workout like this is two-fold. First of all, to continue to refine and improve our technical and tactical recognition. Secondly, a drill-type practice in this way is taxing and as we fatigue, we need to be able to perform. Not simply get through the workout, which takes toughness, but to be able to execute technically when you are fatigued while maintaining a high level of proficiency in our skills .This is even tougher yet; and, is exactly what is necessary for Team USA and each individual to be ready to perform and be successful in our toughest competitions. When you are in the thick of the fight, in a tough match, against a great opponent, this is what you draw on to propel yourself to victory. It may be this coming weekend at the Medved. It may be in a little over a month at the World Cup in LA. It may be at the World Championships in September in Las Vegas. It most likely will be all of them AND every other competition that means anything to you and us!
With most of the other countries using the day to cross train playing games, our practice drew a lot of attention from onlookers. A little audience is a good thing at times and today helped sharpen everyone from Team USA. Beside, no one likes to get beat on and especially not with people watching.
After such a great workout this morning, we used to afternoon for guys to do some individual work and recovery. Some guys warmed up with a little mat ball while other lifted weights. A few guys partnered up with a coach and worked on technique.
After a getting a light sweat and some learning, the team used the awesome recovery facility that is here at Staiki. It’s a room filled with a wet area housing a couple cold pools of different temperature, showers for rinsing, and a sauna hot enough to smelt iron ore! It is really nice to have all of these located conveniently together and helps everyone prepare for the work that will get done tomorrow.
Coach Gable said to me once, “you must work really hard, and then you must work hard at getting ready to work hard!” That statement is all about living the right way. Most understand there is hard work involved in training, not everyone understands the work it takes in between the hard work…but that should be another blog :)
P.S. Make sure you guys are thinking about yesterday’s trivia…answer to come!
Captions for today’s photos:
1. Snowy day-Looking down the lane as we are on our morning walk at Staiki.
2. Pool-The wet area in one of the Staiki recovery areas.
3. Sauna-Jordan Burroughs and Joey McKenna having fun while Jordan teaches Joey the finer points of building big guns
February 27, 2015 - I know EV-eryone read the “Yargyin: from Russia with love” blog in January and have been waiting on pins and needles for more. I hate to disappoint so… to the three of you- all my friends (including coach Jeff Buxton, whom is the only confirmed reader because he was with me in Kras, :)…at long last, it is here!
Team USA departed the United States mid-day on February 25, with a delegation standing 21 strong, bound for Minsk, Belarus and “Staiki” the Olympic Sports Complex. As usual, our National Team athletes and staff, as well as our volunteer staff, leave from our various home locations and we meet along connecting routes.
I was traveling with a group of 10 that connected first in Denver, Colo. The weather in Denver was starting to get pretty Western about the time of our departure for Frankfurt. We were delayed, initially, due to our plane changing a couple tires (nothing like a NASCAR pit crew). Then a fuel truck bumped the de-icing truck and somehow the liquid shut down the plane’s auxiliary power…instant dark, dang! Not what you want to have happen, right? The captain explained it would be a bit to straighten out and we would depart as quickly as possible. It was remedied and after some further explaining by the captain, most likely to calm folks’ concerns, we took off about 2 hours delayed.
The flight was routine after that and luckily we had a six hours lay over in Frankfurt, which allowed plenty of time to meet the rest of our group. Everyone made our final connection into Minsk. Arriving in Minsk, we collected our luggage, batting a perfect 1.000 at baggage claim. All 21 people getting their luggage is pretty good! We made it to Staiki and got checked in around 11:30 pm on February 26, a long day and a half. It always takes some time but all-in-all it was good travel!
Staiki has been somewhat of a spartan accommodation in years past. However, it seems to improve every time we visit. The rooms are simple but clean and warm and so is the food…mostly :) The wrestling complex is a great facility, housing nine full mats, uninterrupted, an awesome sauna/cold-plunge/recovery room, and of course plenty of locker room space.
Waking up around 7:30 a.m., our team met at 8 a.m. to do a short walk and then grab some breakfast. Day one is about getting the trip out of our bodies and adjusting physically. As such, we did a good warm-up and drill from 10:30 a.m. until noon. At the 6 pm workout, the guys warmed up and wrestled one or two matches, depending how each athlete felt.
The training camp that accompanies the Medved competition is always strong and this year appears to be upholding tradition. Along with the Belarusian freestyle team, led by Anatoly Beloglazov, and Kazakhstan, coached by brother, Sergei Beloglazov, there are teams from Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan already here. There are at least 150 athletes filling the nine mats currently, with many more countries expected to arrive as the competition approaches. It was a good first day and promises to be a great week and a half of training for our Freestyle National Team!
P.S. Let's start a little chatter early with an easy one…How many World and Olympic titles did each Anatoly and Sergei Beloglazov win AND how does each rank in the most of all-times list? Ready, go!
Assistant National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick will be providing a blog of the U.S. team which is training in Minsk, Belarus and will compete in the respected Alexander Medved International.
Everyone’s favorite, Jordan Burroughs, wrestled impressively to a gold medal! He was cheated, eye-poked, stalled against, slapped and punched, yet he keeps his cool and puts points on the board.
And afterwards he signs autographs and takes picture with the multitudes that follow him everywhere he goes. Moms with children, coaches, athletes, grown men and women, fans of all kinds, ages and country loyalties follow him around. Jordan handles this relentless following graciously and kindly, talking with as many folks as he can afford the time. I took some photos of the 150 or so people that mobbed him after his final match. It maybe a little dark, but you’ll get the idea.
Frank Perrelli wrestled well today nearly coming away with a medal but placing fifth. He was pretty exciting and fought through a pretty good cut from an opponent’s tooth on the back of his head. The other athletes competed hard as well. Overall, we need to be able to fight to create angles while maintaining the center of the mat.
Tomorrow we have eight guys taking the mats. Keep your eyes on USA Wrestling’s news for updates. Also, here is the live feed: wrestling.by
Also, here are answers for the last two trivia questions:
6x Champion, John Smith’s Gold medal years and cities
1987 Clermont-Ferrand, France
1988 Seoul, South Korea (Olympics)
1989 Martigny, Switzerland
1990 Tokyo, Japan
1991 Varna, Bulgaria
1992 Barcelona, Spain (Olympics)
5x Champion, Bruce Baumgartner Gold medal years and cities
1984 Las Angeles, California, USA (Olympics)
1986 Budapest, Hungary
1992 Barcelona, Spain (Olympics)
1993 Toronto, Canada
1995 Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Movie quote from:
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Wednesday, March 4 – Coach Tom Erickson takes over the blog from Bill Zadick today…
I want to thank Bill Zadick for kindly letting me take over the blog for a day so that I can relate my experiences from past and present trips here to Staiki. Last year was my first return to Staiki in almost 20 years. Boy, has time flown by.
I can remember very clearly talking with then National Team Coach Zeke Jones about my assignment. He had discussed several other trips that I might be going (Cuba, Paris) before settling on the Medved Tournament. Before I got to say a single word Zeke immediately said "Tom, it’s a lot nicer than it used to be" my immediate sarcastic reply was "I'm sure it is".
Looking back on my earlier years training at Staiki, I realized it was never really that bad. Sure some things were tough and it was extremely cold in the old dorm we used to stay in and the food was a step up from your average third world country. But come on, what did you expect. We where there to train and get ready for the Medved Tournament which was then and now still one of the tougher tougher tournaments on our winter schedule. If you are looking for a nice cozy place to hunker down for a relaxing vacation, I would suggest taking Staiki off your list but for a wrestler preparing for a major international wrestling competition. Staiki is the place you want to be.
Then and now, wow, where do I start? I think it has to be the technology. Back in the day you actually had to read paperback books and if you here fortunate you might have had one of those first generation hand held electronic games (mine was a football game) or the infamous Walkman (how many people remember those?).
Today Staiki is completely equipped with wireless I\internet and if you are bored surfing the web or texting with your friends and family back home you crack open your computer and watch one of the dozens of movies your have downloaded for this trip. Yes, technology has turned Staiki into something almost enjoyable and I haven't even mentioned the "small" upgrades to the dorm we now stay in or the "slight" upgrade to the food they now serve.
One thing you cannot deny while training at Staiki is the level of competition you get once you walk through the door at the training center. To see nine mats covered with wrestlers from all over the former Soviet Union and her Republics. Not only is there an abundance of wrestlers but to see former Olympic and World Champions who now Coach and run the practices is truly amazing.
Did I mention the saunas? I would dare you to find a hotter sauna anywhere in the United States, making weight has never been a problem not back in the day or even today. Yes, Staiki has become something more than just a place to get some great training for any major international Wrestling competition, Staiki has become a place where training for Major International Wrestling competition is not only tolerable but enjoyable.
What truly make Staiki are the people who come to train here. The stories and friendships you create in this sport are truly amazing yet once you come to a place like Staiki they become legend. Not only do they become legendary but they also create legends. This blog doesn't hold enough space to talk about one trip let alone the multitude of trips I have been on either representing the United States in competition or as a Coach. I would truly be remiss if I did not mention one of my former travel partners, a person I consider a true legend of the USA Wrestling travel circuit. That person would be Royce Alger. If you have ever been on a trip or knew someone who has been on one with Royce I can guarantee they have some type of story involving Royce. It may have good, bad or indifferent. The one thing I can assure you it was memorable.
As I wind down my time I don't want to forget about why we are here and what we are doing today. Today is the last full day here at Staiki and it is more of an individual day, our first group of four weights (57,66,74 and 96 kilos) weigh-in tomorrow so guys are getting their last big chunk of weight off before we leave Staiki and head to the tournament hotel and weigh-ins. I know it may sound "cliche" to say this but the word around the training center is that this year’s Medved Tournament will be not only bigger but one of the toughest Medved Tournaments in awhile. The athletes we will have weighing in and competing on the first day are at 57 kilos, Brandon Precin, Frank Parelli and Andrew Hochstasser. Also at 66 kilos Chas Pami, at 74 kilos, Jordon Burroughs and at 96 kilos Dave Zabriskie, Dustin Kilgore and Cayle Byers.
No matter who you are or where you are, you always know its tournament time just by listening to the noise level in the cafeteria. When we first got here, there was tons of chatter with people joking and carrying on. Today it was very quiet and to tell you the truth a little sparse. Definitely tournament time. To me there is no better time!
Thanks again to Bill Zadick for letting me have the blog for the day and I look forward to seeing you next time matside. From Staiki this is guest blogger, Tom Erikson, signing off.
Tuesday, March 3 - As we draw closer to the competition it's time to start focusing on the details. Early this morning I met a driver who took me to the Hotel Yubilenia to scout the facility. It’s conveniently located across the street from the competition hall.
Around the corner and just a block from the hotel is a decent health club equipped with a sauna and several cardio machines. I remember these places from the last time I was in Minsk and was using them to prepare for myself in 2008. I secured a reservation for our team to utilize the facility both days of weigh-ins. I’m pumped how well this will work for us and the close proximity of all necessities. Once these were taken care of, we raced the 30 minutes back to Staiki to get ready for the first of today’s two practices.
The two workouts today were outlined as a structured workout in the morning and open training in the evening. Guys pushed hard today through both workouts and continue to look good.
Afterwards, as has been typical of everyday several people approach Jordan Burroughs to ask for autographs and photos. He is a rock star in the wrestling world outside the U.S. as much or more as he is at home. I can’t tell you all what a great ambassador for our country and our sport that Jordan continues to be.
He works very hard, doing more on his own each day when practices finish, yet he humbly greets and talks with each person or group that come to him for photos. It seems to me as though everyone realizes they see history happening in front of them and want to connect with him for a moment. Jordan’s humility shows tremendous respect for people and, even more so, gratitude for his blessings while his diligent work ethic honors the goals he has for himself.
Monday, March 2, Staiki, Minsk, Belarus…WE…travel back in time to save an ancient species from total annihilation, so far…
Today Team USA was back on the mats full steam. The room looked a lot more full with a few new international teams arriving as well as the last three American athletes coming in. Among the foreign teams was Mongolia with what appears like most of their 2014 World Championships Team. It will be good to see them here as Mongolia has several tough guys on the team and later in April there is potential we will see those athletes on our side of the World Cup draw. With the last three Americans, altogether we have 18 athletes now here in Staiki. Look for Richard Immel USAW Social Media Manager, to release our roster soon. Now it’s still classified :)
We had a great workout this morning wrestling situations and covering key areas. Creating angles, establishing our sets and control ties, clearing the opponents, finishing takedowns, transitioning to turns, defending par terre, down block/sprawls and go behinds are some of the positions we all need to master to be competitive internationally today. Repetitions help us develop proficiency and the National Team has been working diligently in these and other areas.
After the recovery day everyone was working very hard and having a great time training and preparing for this tournament. In the afternoon workout, we intermixed with some of the international athletes and mostly did open mat work and on their own live wrestling. A pretty good day and fun to get the “feel” of the foreign styles.
There are some rumblings of teams and line-ups for some of the powerhouse nations coming to the Medved this week. Azerbaijan and Russia potentially sending strong contingents as well as the team mentioned earlier. We will be looking forward to these opportunities and if I can confirm any of these, I will update here as they come.
After the day’s workouts we relaxed again in our living arrangements. A late evening card game broke out in our lounge room. Montell Marion, Richard Perry, Tanner Hall, Chase Pami, Brandon Precin and myself played UNO gladiator style for about two and a half hours with JB and Joey McKenna looking on.
The game is played basically normal rules with some small adjustments. If you don’t have a card that plays , you draw until you do…draw 2’s in succession to infinity (or they run out) same with draw fours. Yes, that piles up quick and a few times, my hand was holding more of the UNO deck than was on the table! The only caveat with the draw 4’s is the person it gets dropped on can challenge the other players hand, if the player challenged reveals and has the color before the draw 4 was played, they pick up the draw 4 AND 10 more cards. If the challenged doesn’t hold the previous color, the challenger picks up the 4 PLUS 10 more….Ouch!
It’s pretty fun and funny when it happens…to someone else :) Amazing how dramatic a little UNO can be. One hand lasted about an hour and a half before Montell finally went out…it was a roller coster of ups and downs with plenty of table talk. When it finally ended, Precin was left holding most of the deck and a lot of points! To be fair, Precin was a late sub when Pami went out of the game with a strained neck. Our medical staff was quick at hand to take care of it but Pami was done for the game…folding laundry. We played one more hand and had to retire for the evening. I’ll keep you all posted on future developments in the UNO Championships.
Answers to the trivia:
Sergei Beloglazov won 8 titles and Anatoly won 4 titles. Anatoly's titles came in the years 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1982. Anatoly’s four titles put him in rarified air but not quite the top of this list. As well as a few others, two American heroes of mine (and probably yours too) are ahead: John Smith, 6 total, 2-Olympic, 4-World, and Bruce Baumgartner, 5 total, 2-Olympic, and 3-World.
Sergei’s 2 Olympics and 6 Worlds extend from 1980-88, with the only gap being the 1984 LA Games that Russia boycotted. Sergei is tied for third, with Arsen Fadzayev, on the list of most titles in freestyle. They are behind Alexander Medved, 10, and Buvaisar Satiev, 9.
Next trivia questions:
1. What years and cities did American Champions Bruce Baumgartner and John Smith win their gold medals?
2. At the beginning of todays blog I quote a movie, which movie?
Sunday, March 1 - Sunday has been a pretty relaxed day around Staiki, Most of the morning was spent relaxing with a lot of the guys napping to catch up from the last of the jet lag. As a team we used the day off to do an active rest and recovery day.
Heading over to the gym as a group around 2:30 pm, everyone was on their own to do what they needed to get ready for the upcoming week. Most guys did some light exercise and stretching before heading into the recovery area which we had reserved from 3:00-5:00 p.m.
A few athletes took some time to work on positions fixing things and learning. These types of open workouts are a lot of fun when you see athletes, hungry to learn, grabbing a coach and a partner to work on things and improve. All of our staff were helping guys with technique while our medical staff, Ryan Palmer, made sure everyone was taking care of their health needs. Sometimes finding ice for sore muscles is a chore in Europe. However, Ryan is a worker and got the job done!
The recovery time was pretty refreshing and served us well. After eating dinner most guys settled in to watch movies before bed time. Our coaches and staff sat around relaxing, talking, and fixing the world, as usual. Given the opportunity, I believe a group of good wrestling minds will help the world do a lot of great things for itself!
Our staff along on this tour are: National Coach, Bruce Burnett; wrestling great Tom Erickson; LVAC Head Coach Jeff Buxton; coach and technology Del Hawkins; medical guru Ryan Palmer; and, of course myself, Bill Zadick. Having 18 athletes out on tour takes a lot of support and it’s a blessing traveling with these guys and sharing a great experience. As wrestlers, we understand the camaraderie that teammates share and this is no different for staff as well. I enjoy learning from these men and seeing the progress being made by Team USA!
Today’s Photo: Coach Tom Erickson works with Deron Winn and Jason Welch during Sunday’s open workout time.
Saturday, February 28 - Following a good night’s sleep for almost everyone, we awoke to a fresh blanket of white stuff covering the ground at Staiki. Team USA met as a group in the lobby of the hotel to discuss the day’s agenda and to take our short walk before breakfast. We had a good variety of breakfast options from yogurt, toast and jam, to porridge, and quiche… actually beginning to be a bit gourmet!
After a rest, we went to work out at 11:30 am. We had a great workout this morning that was high energy and very technically focused. Coach Burnett ran drills in various skill areas we have been focused on since the 2014 World Championships evaluation.
The object of a workout like this is two-fold. First of all, to continue to refine and improve our technical and tactical recognition. Secondly, a drill-type practice in this way is taxing and as we fatigue, we need to be able to perform. Not simply get through the workout, which takes toughness, but to be able to execute technically when you are fatigued while maintaining a high level of proficiency in our skills .This is even tougher yet; and, is exactly what is necessary for Team USA and each individual to be ready to perform and be successful in our toughest competitions. When you are in the thick of the fight, in a tough match, against a great opponent, this is what you draw on to propel yourself to victory. It may be this coming weekend at the Medved. It may be in a little over a month at the World Cup in LA. It may be at the World Championships in September in Las Vegas. It most likely will be all of them AND every other competition that means anything to you and us!
With most of the other countries using the day to cross train playing games, our practice drew a lot of attention from onlookers. A little audience is a good thing at times and today helped sharpen everyone from Team USA. Beside, no one likes to get beat on and especially not with people watching.
After such a great workout this morning, we used to afternoon for guys to do some individual work and recovery. Some guys warmed up with a little mat ball while other lifted weights. A few guys partnered up with a coach and worked on technique.
After a getting a light sweat and some learning, the team used the awesome recovery facility that is here at Staiki. It’s a room filled with a wet area housing a couple cold pools of different temperature, showers for rinsing, and a sauna hot enough to smelt iron ore! It is really nice to have all of these located conveniently together and helps everyone prepare for the work that will get done tomorrow.
Coach Gable said to me once, “you must work really hard, and then you must work hard at getting ready to work hard!” That statement is all about living the right way. Most understand there is hard work involved in training, not everyone understands the work it takes in between the hard work…but that should be another blog :)
P.S. Make sure you guys are thinking about yesterday’s trivia…answer to come!
Captions for today’s photos:
1. Snowy day-Looking down the lane as we are on our morning walk at Staiki.
2. Pool-The wet area in one of the Staiki recovery areas.
3. Sauna-Jordan Burroughs and Joey McKenna having fun while Jordan teaches Joey the finer points of building big guns
February 27, 2015 - I know EV-eryone read the “Yargyin: from Russia with love” blog in January and have been waiting on pins and needles for more. I hate to disappoint so… to the three of you- all my friends (including coach Jeff Buxton, whom is the only confirmed reader because he was with me in Kras, :)…at long last, it is here!
Team USA departed the United States mid-day on February 25, with a delegation standing 21 strong, bound for Minsk, Belarus and “Staiki” the Olympic Sports Complex. As usual, our National Team athletes and staff, as well as our volunteer staff, leave from our various home locations and we meet along connecting routes.
I was traveling with a group of 10 that connected first in Denver, Colo. The weather in Denver was starting to get pretty Western about the time of our departure for Frankfurt. We were delayed, initially, due to our plane changing a couple tires (nothing like a NASCAR pit crew). Then a fuel truck bumped the de-icing truck and somehow the liquid shut down the plane’s auxiliary power…instant dark, dang! Not what you want to have happen, right? The captain explained it would be a bit to straighten out and we would depart as quickly as possible. It was remedied and after some further explaining by the captain, most likely to calm folks’ concerns, we took off about 2 hours delayed.
The flight was routine after that and luckily we had a six hours lay over in Frankfurt, which allowed plenty of time to meet the rest of our group. Everyone made our final connection into Minsk. Arriving in Minsk, we collected our luggage, batting a perfect 1.000 at baggage claim. All 21 people getting their luggage is pretty good! We made it to Staiki and got checked in around 11:30 pm on February 26, a long day and a half. It always takes some time but all-in-all it was good travel!
Staiki has been somewhat of a spartan accommodation in years past. However, it seems to improve every time we visit. The rooms are simple but clean and warm and so is the food…mostly :) The wrestling complex is a great facility, housing nine full mats, uninterrupted, an awesome sauna/cold-plunge/recovery room, and of course plenty of locker room space.
Waking up around 7:30 a.m., our team met at 8 a.m. to do a short walk and then grab some breakfast. Day one is about getting the trip out of our bodies and adjusting physically. As such, we did a good warm-up and drill from 10:30 a.m. until noon. At the 6 pm workout, the guys warmed up and wrestled one or two matches, depending how each athlete felt.
The training camp that accompanies the Medved competition is always strong and this year appears to be upholding tradition. Along with the Belarusian freestyle team, led by Anatoly Beloglazov, and Kazakhstan, coached by brother, Sergei Beloglazov, there are teams from Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan already here. There are at least 150 athletes filling the nine mats currently, with many more countries expected to arrive as the competition approaches. It was a good first day and promises to be a great week and a half of training for our Freestyle National Team!
P.S. Let's start a little chatter early with an easy one…How many World and Olympic titles did each Anatoly and Sergei Beloglazov win AND how does each rank in the most of all-times list? Ready, go!
Assistant National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick will be providing a blog of the U.S. team which is training in Minsk, Belarus and will compete in the respected Alexander Medved International.
