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USA Wrestling Job Opportunity

Position Title: Manager of the National Coaches Education Program

Division/Department: Department of State Services

Position: Full-time

Job Responsibility: USA Wrestling is seeking a self-motivated, highly energetic, qualified individual who seeks to make a difference in the sport of amateur wrestling, and is committed to develop, promote and implement strategies that will enhance USA Wrestling's National Coaches Education Program (NCEP). The qualified individual will be responsible for managing the day-to-day responsibilities and activities associated with the NCEP. In addition, the qualified individual will be responsible for staying current on coaching strategies, coaches education techniques, working closely with the National coaching staff, effectively communicating and working with USAW State Association Coaches Directors and developing programs to increase the opportunities and number of NCEP certified coaches. The successful candidate shall also be responsible for conducting an annual Silver Level Coaches College , producing educational materials and flyers for member coaches, maintaining USAW's Regional and Junior Olympic Training Center program and assisting with USAW developmental camps. The qualified individual shall also be required to conduct coaches education seminars, have excellent public speaking qualities and be confident in various settings in conducting NCEP clinics. The successful applicant shall also be responsible for maintaining an accurate and organized inventory of NCEP materials and supplies, accounting for all NCEP funds received for camps and clinics, and providing detailed reports on the status of USAW's NCEP program as requested. This dynamic individual must also demonstrate the ability to work with diverse groups of individuals, volunteers and business professionals, and exhibit the ability to work as a team player, communicate effectively orally and in written form, and interject new ideas and concepts.

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications: Several years coaching experience. A bachelor's degree in sports management, education or related fields. Ability to travel, work some weekends and some evening is required. Computer skills are required. Graphic design, desktop publishing, database development and management skills preferred. Must be able to lift a minimum of 50lbs. Must be self-motivated and be willing to develop and present creative and innovative ideas related to the education of coaches at various levels of development. Must have organizational skills and be able to maintain clear concise files and records. Competitive salary and comprehensive benefit program. USA Wrestling is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Application Process: Interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume and three references to: Mark A. Scott, Director of State Services, USA Wrestling, 6155 Lehman Drive , Colorado Springs , Colorado 80918 . Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications will be accepted until position is filled.

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WCC-30 wrestlers win overall trophy

Express News Service Chandigarh, May 21:

WRESTLING Coaching Centre (WCC), Sector 30, claimed the overall trophy in the Chandigarh Sub-Junior and Junior State Wrestling Championship held at Labour Hall in Sector 30, today.

In the girls' competition held today, Anita and Harwinder claimed gold medals in the 38 and 40 kg categories respectively. In the 38 kg sub-junior final, Anita beat Shashi on points while Harwinder outpointed Sufia in the 40 kg sub-junior final bout. Yogesh got the better of Monika in the plus 65 kg final.

Kulwinder defeated Balwinder in the 67 kg final bout in the junior girls section.

Results: Girls: Sub-junior: 38 kg: 1 Anita, 2 Shashi. 40 kg: 1 Harwinder, 2 Sufiya. 43 kg: 1 Reetu, 2 Sakuntla. 46 kg: 1 Priyanka, 2 Sudesh. 49 kg: 1 Sumesh, 2 Nitu. 52 kg: 1 Sapana, 2 Jyoti. 56 kg: 1 Kavita, 2 Rakhi. 60 kg: 1 Sonia, 2 Niki. 65 kg: 1 Manisha, 2 Anita. +65 kg: Yogesh, 2 Monika.

Junior: 44 kg: 1 Kulwinder, 2 Kanchan. 48 kg: 1 Heena, 2 Ranju. 51 kg: 1 Anita, 2 Neeru. 55 kg: 1 Nweeru, 2 Sonia. 67 kg: 1 Kulwinder, 2 Balwinder. +67 kg: 1 Yogesh, 2 Babita.

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Spotlight: USOEC Women's Freestyle Training Program Paying Dividends

By Andrew Berglund TWM Freelance Writer 5/22/07

Back in 2004, as the torch for the Olympics in Athens,
Greece was being lit, so too was a fire behind the only new sport added
to the Games that summer---a sport trying to garner more attention
at the high school, collegiate and international levels. That
sport was womenâs wrestling.

Also in 2004, on the heels of the womenâs first
opportunity to compete in the Olympics, Shannyn Gillespie, a former
All-American at Lock Haven, took the reigns as the head coach of the
womenâs freestyle program at the United States Olympic Education Center
(USOEC) on the campus of Northern Michigan. The USOEC is one of four
Olympic training centers in the country and the only one located on a
college campus, offering its resident athletes educational
opportunities while offering world-class training.

Currently, the USOEC also offers training programs in
boxing, short track speed skating, weightlifting, and Greco-Roman
wrestling. And its the home to 16 resident-athlete women’s freestyle
wrestlers, ranging in age from high school, to college, to post-graduates.
They all have one goal in mind:

Make the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

If the first three years of the USOEC program is any
indication of things to come, the freestyle team could see a number
of its current and former athletes wearing the red, white and blue.
Theyll get that chance at the World Team Trials June 9-10 in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Gillespie and companys list of accolades include:

* One Senior National Champion and Outstanding
Wrestler (Sharon Jacobson)
* Four University National Champs and One Outstanding Wrestler
* Seven Jr. National Champs & 1 Outstanding Wrestler
* One USGWA National Champ (girls high school nationals)
* One World University Games Bronze (Mary Kelly)
* One World University Championships Bronze (Dany Hedin)
* Two Jr. World medals (Silver & Bronze)

The numbers dont lie. The USOEC program is
consistently creating winners and its reconfirmed the very reason
Gillespie accepted the position.

I wanted to take the job as head coach at the USOEC
to help athletes reach their Olympic dreams by teaching and coaching
the essentials and fundamentals of hard work, persistence, and
dedication, the Illinois native said.
Shannyn Gillespie, a former All-American at Lock
Haven, is the head coach of the womens freestyle program at the United
States Olympic Education Center (USOEC) on the campus of Northern
Michigan University.

The upcoming Trials in Las Vegas will showcase a
whos who in womens
freestyle wrestling, including Olympic medalists
Patricia Miranda and Sara McMann, who have been dominating in their
careers, including recent U.S. Nationals titles. The goal of the USOEC is
to produce high caliber athletes in the likes of Miranda and McMann
for years to come.

Former USOEC team member Mary Kelly, currently ranked
2nd in the U.S. at 48 kg, was the first USOEC freestyle wrestler to
represent team USA at the Senior World Championships. Kelly, who won a
silver medal the Senior National in April, now trains in Colorado
Springs at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

The USOEC currently has 13 former and current
wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the country, including four at 48 kgs in
Kelly, No. 5 Alyssa Lampe, No. 6 Liz Short and No. 10 Sadie Kaneda.

Kaneda is one of three wrestlers ranked in the top 10
from the USOEC representing the Aloha State of Hawaii. Gillespie also
has the talented junior Dany Hedin, a silver medalist at the University
National championships, and Cherae Pascua, both at 55 kgs,
training together at NMU.

In a tune-up for the hectic summer ahead, at last
months Body Bar Women’s Nationals in Colorado Springs, the USOEC won
every weight class that it entered in the junior national division and
had seven wrestlers finish third or better at the university level.

Winning titles for the USOEC were first time FILA Jr.
National champions: 48kg Alyssa Lampe (Tomahawk, Wis.), 51 kg
Whitney Conder (Puyallup, Wash.), 55kg, Cherae Pascua (Oahu, Hawaii),
Erin Clodgo (Richmond, Vt.) 67kg and 72kg Paige Rife (Fowlerville,
Mich.)

Lampes heroics earned her the award as Outstanding
Wrestler (OW). She defeated 2006 Junior World champion Nicole Woody in
the finals, 7-0, 4-0. Lampe also defeated the 2007 Body Bar University Nationals newly crowned champion and OW at 51kg
earlier in the year.

Taking home seven medals for the USOEC in the
university division were 48kg Sadie Kaneda (Honolulu, Hawaii), 51kg Whitney
Conder, 55kg Dany Hedin (Kailua, Hawaii), 59kg Shyla Iokia (Maui,
Hawaii), and 72kg Jenna Pavlik (Lewes, Del.) - who all won silver medals.
Cherae Pascua (55kg) and Dallas Monreal-Berner (72kg, Niles, Ill.) won
bronze medals. Alyssa Lampe (left), from Tomahawk, Wisconsin, is one
of many wrestlers from the USOEC program looking for big things at the
upcoming World Team Trials.

Clodgo, a rising star in the sport, was crowned the
67kg champion in the Cadet division and also added her second national
title at the 2007 Body Bar Nationals. Clodgo, a 16-year-old junior
attending Marquette High School, won the ASICS Junior National title in
2006 and captured a silver medal at the Nordhagen Classic in Alberta,
Canada last year. She has qualified to attend the FILA Junior World
Championships in Beijing, China, August 20-25.

Erin has had a tremendous season, winning four
national titles this year at the tender age of 16, said Gillespie, who
mentors Clodgo as she competes with 21 and 22-year-old national
champions on a regular basis. Erin is successful because she loves to
train, learn, and compete; she is hungry. Wrestling fans can expect her
to grow and learn step by step on her way to achieving her goals.

The same can be said of the USOEC program, which as
seen its fair share of changes and challenges since the conception of the
freestyle team.

The biggest challenges for the USOEC freestyle
program are to reach the masses and communicate that there are
opportunities for high school wrestlers who aspire to wrestle after high school or
in college or at the Olympics, said Gillespie, who has seen
increased depth in the caliber of wrestlers and the level of competition in
the room which has produced outstanding results. The USOEC program has
doubled Junior World Championship participants annually and this year
has five of eight wrestlers going to China to compete for a world title.

Most folks are unaware of the USOEC or the process
to enter the USOEC or are unaware of the women's wrestling opportunities
after high school or are unaware women compete in freestyle wrestling in
the Olympics and annually for world titles.

Statistics show that in 2004-05, there were 4,334
girls competing in wrestling at the high school level. The total has
increased every year since 1990. The problems women’s wrestling are
facing lie in the sanctioning of the sport at the state level, by each
states high school activities organization. This will allow for
guidelines and state championships. The states won’t sanction the
sport without the support of high school coaches, students and parents.

Because of this, most states offer informal division
and meets, and the sport, despite gaining popularity, is largely
unrepresented at the collegiate level. Gillespie has only seen two new
programs started since he began coaching three years ago. There are a
handful of teams in the U.S., like Cumberland College in Williamsburg,
Ky., who compete as much as they can, and have driven as far as
nine-hours for matches in Canada to find competition. Canada has three times
as many womens college programs as the U.S. currently. Oklahoma City
College recently added a program, which will help the sport and
opportunities grow for women.

Gillespie keeps in regular contact with U.S. Olympic
Coach Terry Steiner on the changes and advancement of the sport.
I report to Terry on a weekly and sometimes daily basis as we both have
the same goal,Gillespie said. To lead, teach, and develop
Olympic-caliber athletes. Terry and I meet more than six times a year at
tournaments, world championship training camps and Olympic Development
camps. Generally, we plan our strategies and I enjoy being able to give
input to Terry that has a great effect on USA Wrestling's national
women's program.

With more than 100 resident athletes and coaches, the
USOEC is the second-largest Olympic training center in the United
States, in terms of residents, behind the one in Colorado Springs
(whose women resident-athlete wrestling program has been in
existence since 2002).
The USOEC has more athletes than the Lake Placid and
Chula Vista sites combined and has developed into a major contributor to
the U.S. Olympic movement.

All of Gillespies athletes train year-round and
compete generally once per month to enhance their ability to achieve success
in practice, camps and competitions, Gillespie says. The standards
are extremely high. And they have to be if the U.S. is to compete
with Japan and China, who have developed into the toughest countries
to compete with at the national level according to Gillespie.

Athletes must place at Senior Nationals, Junior
Nationals or High School Nationals to be considered for the USOEC
resident athlete program, he said.

With the U.S. World Trials just around the corner,
those senior, junior and high school champions will get their chance to
earn a spot on a roster that will represent the United States at the
World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, September 17-23.

Globally, the USOEC womens freestyle program has
already represented the U.S. in a number of competitions and continues to
excel in all corners of the world. Theyll continue that
excellence for years to
come.

The USOEC will grow in terms of producing
high-caliber Olympic hopefuls annually, Gillespie said. And in five
to ten years, will set the standard for leading, teaching, and developing
aspiring Olympians.