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attendance at freestyle qualifers; attendance at freestyle qualifers
Topic Started: Apr 30 2006, 11:27 AM (2,971 Views)
Obsessed With Wrestling
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cwillaert
May 4 2006, 08:46 AM
Obsessed With Wrestling
May 3 2006, 04:28 PM
It's MN/USA's job to build our freestyle/greco program because I know they want alot of good competetive kids coming out of our state for all these national tournaments. So maybe they have to start to look at how we can make it easier for people.

I just quoted this one part because it really jumped out at me. Who is MN/USA? Who are the "they" that you refer to in the 2nd sentence there?

I'll answer those questions. MN/USA is you. "They" are you. If you carry a coaches or athletes card and compete in/attend the events sanctioned by MN/USA you are a member of the organization and you are one of the people that can be in on looking at the ways to make it easier for people.

MN/USA is not a company/corporation with full time employees that exists to make money. MN/USA is a non-profit organization that exists to give wrestlers the opportunity to become better wrestlers with a support staff that is completely VOLUNTEER BASED.

Here is the brief story of how I became so involved with this organization. I was at a tournament down in Las Vegas coaching Cory Harnitz. There were a bunch of other MN coaches and wrestlers down there as well as a few adults who were at the time on the MN/USA board of directors. I was there to coach as that is what I love to do. But there was a 4-minute conversation that took place down there between a couple of people including myself. The basics of the conversation is that one of the guys was telling 2 of us younger guys that the organization needed guys like us (both of us were at the time married but didn't have any kids yet) to get involved. 1 month later I attended my first board meeting...not at the invitation of anyone but just because I wanted to see what it was about. I went back the next month...and the next. I wasn't going to these meetings because I love to sit in meetings (I get enough of that at work) but because I thought I had something to offer to the organization...ideas, man-power, etc.

If you are someone that needs to be asked, I'm asking you right now...please help us. Help yourselves. Help wrestling. I will be down in Rochester all day Friday...please track me down, introduce yourself and tell me what you can do or would be willing to do. Not just at the tournament but in general. Maybe you can make a few phone calls every year to help out your Region Director. Maybe you're able to help me find 1 or 2 advertisers for the 2006-07 MN/USA schedule poster that I'd like to create. Anything at all. I have a number of fund-raising ideas that I simply can't get off the ground because there is not enough people volunteering to help. We need help. We need individuals to step up. If every parent with a child in this organization were to make it a point to volunteer at 1 tournament (if even for just 1 hour) throughout the year we'd be in great shape. Or give 1 hour helping in a non-tournament situation such as those phone calls I mentioned.

Again, please introduce yourselves to me and let's talk about how you can help. Tell me what you'd be willing to do. Any help at all will make a difference to this organization. The better we can make it overall, the more your children will get out of it. The more kids we can attract the more the organization can do. I would love to see us having so many kids attending tournaments that we could fully fund every team trip to things like the national duals. The more money we would have to establish more Regional Training Sites ALL OVER THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.

There is so much we could do to make it better for everyone if we had enough people working to make it happen. Just think of what we could do as far as bringing one of these large tournaments to St. Cloud or Moorhead or Duluth or Mankato or Brainerd if we had people volunteering to help make it happen. Rochester is getting all these tournaments from all these organizations because they have the people that are working to make it happen.

Chris Willaert
MN/USA Wrestling
Junior Director

If you read everything I wrote, I did write it is also our job to build the FS/GR program and we are trying in our area. I feel that is our first step is to get the kids we know involved and be willing to drive them to practice. We don't have a FS/GR practice. We drive 3 to 4 days per week. We have helped at tournaments. Isn't that what this board is for is to give out ideas and try to help that way.
What is your comment on the regionals? Wouldn't we benefit more from having open tourneys that weekend so the kids can wrestle?
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cwillaert
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I did read everything you wrote and I understand what you are saying. I picked out the part I did because you made comments there that I hear all to often. I was not trying to pick on your or anything like that. Before saying anything I said I picked that part out because it really jumped out at me. Too many people are of the opinion that MN/USA is a bunch of other people that make decisions...MN/USA is everyone that belongs to this organization or has a child in it.

As for the Regional Qualifiers...if we can get the overall numbers back to where they were at one time the Qualifiers will be necessary and will have numbers more similar to open tournaments. I'm not sold on the idea that dumping them right now is the answer. If we do that I feel we are more less resigning ourselves to low numbers forever and I just don't think that is the case. We need to keep working on getting more involvement. Such as in your area...getting more involvement so you don't have to drive far 3 or 4 days a week just for a decent practice.

We want numbers to go up all over the state...we want to see wrestling not just surviving in MN but thriving. It can...but we all need to work at it. We need to hear ideas from everyone as to how we can get the numbers up. Would an extra week of open tournaments instead of Regional Qualifiers make the overall numbers increase?
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Like I said before.....but I will put bluntly now........you want something you must put a set on the table.....meaning YOU! That is what MN/USA is about. When I went into it back 20 ago years we had a group that took the bull by the horns.(#'s)
They having meetings that are open to the public.
It is a hard time of the year to give that kind of time. The teachers have the summer off so CW and company "GIVE" as mush as they can but need help. Flat out. If I had a job that allowed me time off in the summer I know I would be pushing like a freak for SUMMER FIGHTING.
You look at the make up of the sapporters in MN/USA and it is mostly the teacher/coaches that GIVE so the state of MN wrestling can get.

We get people asking WHY..............We know the answer......we need more hands on the job........molding........this is a ball that you can let lay for second...it always needs a touch by many people.

I will be gearing up for my giving back stage when my boy get older and have brother around me that will join in do time but until then THAT GROUP needs to step up..
...what group you may ask.....it is the WHY GROUP!

I thank the C.W. the Harnitz the Morgan so on and so forth for keeping the flame alive...........my hat goes off to you all so deeply you have no idea.

We know the answer....what group will put a set on the table??????

I'm currently biulding a very large think table for my time :D
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cwillaert
May 4 2006, 03:17 PM


We want numbers to go up all over the state...we want to see wrestling not just surviving in MN but thriving. It can...but we all need to work at it.

Absolutely!!!!!
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