All the coaching bashing.....

[hammen]

No insult taken Oldtimer. I believe I was well-trained and prepared. My inconsistent results on the mat and failure to reach my goals were due to my internal/mental struggles that didn't allow me to open up and perform to my ability consistently. Then again, there most certainly was a ceiling, I'm just not sure where exactly it was.

[Jimmy]

Mr.pope I tried to start a dialogue with Drew to understand his position. I mean no harm ,but simply had more questions. If I offended you drew I am sorry.

[npope]

Mr.pope I tried to start a dialogue with Drew to understand his position. I mean no harm ,but simply had more questions. If I offended you drew I am sorry.

But you didn't have any more questions. Instead, you had comments and opinions in response. You used the initial query, which seemed innocent enough, to set up an opportunity for you to unload your opinions as to how Drew "shorted" everyone else in his acknowledgements and gave BD too much credit for Drew's development and growth. That's what really happened in that exchange, isn't it? I can't speak for Drew, however - he might care less.

More to the point, I just felt you were being disingenuous from the outset. Given your response, you seemed to be looking for an opportunity to diminish BD's contributions to Drew's development and I wanted to call you on your finagling to insert it into the conversation. It didn't seem very well disguised.

[littleguy301]

Mr.pope I tried to start a dialogue with Drew to understand his position. I mean no harm ,but simply had more questions. If I offended you drew I am sorry.

But you didn't have any more questions. Instead, you had comments and opinions in response. You used the initial query, which seemed innocent enough, to set up an opportunity for you to unload your opinions as to how Drew "shorted" everyone else in his acknowledgements and gave BD too much credit for Drew's development and growth. That's what really happened in that exchange, isn't it? I can't speak for Drew, however - he might care less.

More to the point, I just felt you were being disingenuous from the outset. Given your response, you seemed to be looking for an opportunity to diminish BD's contributions to Drew's development and I wanted to call you on your finagling to insert it into the conversation. It didn't seem very well disguised.

Boy I didnt see it that way at all. I read Jimmy post a couple of times and I can see what your saying to a little degree but Jimmy also gave BD some props that he continued drews growth.

Jimmy in his post stated he talked to several of this years reshirts so he must have some know in the program to be able to do that and maybe he got some inside and wanted Drew to expand.

No need to be the forum police on this one Mr npope.

[hammen]

I understand what you mean Jimmy, but Nat has good points. You asked me to expand on my experience and opinion, and then sort of discredited it to a small extent. I don't really care because it doesn't change anything for me, and I no doubt agree with many of the things you said regarding the character in athletes at this level. I doubt your intentions were to discredit anything, but the 2nd/3rd sentences do come off in that way. I do appreciate your inquiry and contribution though. Next time you see me at a meet feel free to introduce yourself and I can tell you more if you'd like.

[Jimmy]

I obviously didn't make my post in the form of a question. I made statements looking for drews comments on them nothing more. Again drew if I offened you I am sorry. As for you mr. Pope I'm very impressed with your ability to know what is in someone else's mind. Stop reading between the lines , especially when there is nothing there to read. Drew I would love to talk to you face to face.

[billymurphy]

Drew,
I was there for many of your matches in college (home meets).
I was there for the wrestle-offs your freshman year.
I take pride in knowing all the potential division I
level talent in Wisconsin every year and was surprised
when I did not instantly know your name when I saw the program.
I had to look up your prior history when I went home.
You were not exactly a blue chip guy.  The odds of you
making varsity with those credentials was not good, but you did.

As far as I am concerned you lived your dream.
You got a chance to compete against the very best guys
and you won some matches against Division I competition.
I am not sure what goal you set that you did not achieve,
but I never felt that you did not give 100 percent effort.
You actually exposed the Minnesota kids weakness I felt.
Naturally, if you were at Iowa Tom Brands would have
brought in a four time state champion to beat you out.
Barry tried to but failed to bring in somebody that could beat you out.

[npope]

I obviously didn't make my post in the form of a question. I made statements looking for drews comments on them nothing more. Again drew if I offened you I am sorry. As for you mr. Pope I'm very impressed with your ability to know what is in someone else's mind. Stop reading between the lines , especially when there is nothing there to read. Drew I would love to talk to you face to face.

Look Jimmy, you seem like a stand up guy; your posts have been sincere and transparent since you have come on the forum. That's why that post seemed unique, coming from you. 

[DocWrestling]

I may disagree with Drew on some of this in regards to Badger program but I don't think I have more respect for him than any other person on this forum.  Why?  First because he posts under his real name.  That makes his opinions worth more than anyone's because he is not hiding behind a screen name.  Secondly, he did what I could not do like make it all 4-5 years in a college wrestling room and achieved goals and dreams many of diod not even have the guts to try with the hard work and dedication needed.

I love his passion and defense for Coach Davis.  That is who you battle for and with when someone means a lot to you.

There are great coaches, great wrestlers, and great people in that Badger wrestling room but as a fan I have not been completely satisfied with the results.  I think a change for the sake of change would be a good thing and bring new energy and excitement to Wisconsin Wrestling.  I would love to see some leadership from the university coaches to link up "wrestling" with the high school coaches/teams, the D3 programs, the WWF/youth wrestlers, the club team, etc to have a cohesive all-in leadership for every wrestler in Wisconsin.

[Oldtimer]

Here's a thought for those that think BD should be replaced.  How about offering some constructive advice to him via email, phone, in person (whoa, scary).  Maybe he has interest in improving himself as a coach.  Maybe he recognizes that there are some coaching limitations that he hasn't overcome that he could resolve and potentially field a higher level team.  Who here has the qualifications necessary to provide DI coaching advice?

I'm in management.  I don't take other people's opinions into account unless they are spoken directly to me.  If we are in conversation I'll listen and take advice into consideration.  Maybe BD would be the same?

Bob

[sudden_victory]

"Coach Davis, I've been a Badger wrestling fan for a long time. It is always a good feeling when we celebrate dual meet victories, especially the one or two times we beat Minnesota. Also, having All Americans makes me proud in March. Would it be possible for you to recruit the highest rated high school stars, train them as Dan Gable trained you, and win the NCAA title? Thanks, and good luck."
Like that?

[lizard king]

Hello, This is my first time responding and hopefully I wont very often.  I enjoy reading anything about wrestling and it gives me a great little break in my day.  I have coached many years and recently experienced my sons wrestling at the D1 and D3 levels.  I have learned a lot!  I won't bore you but I do want to respond to the question of who among us is qualified to give a D1 coach advice. I would say anyone who has coached, or has kids wrestling.  Granted it doesn't mean they have to listen.  One thing I have learned is that most D1 coaches are there because they were great wrestlers, we all know that does not translate into great coaching.  I also feel that everyone has a right to complain on this forum, just be considerate of the kids please.  The coaches are big boys and need to take it or don't read it.  The last thing I'll say in this post is; 71 of the 80 All Americans were ranked in the top 100 coming out of HS.  So, recruiting nationally ranked kids may be more important than growing kids or recruiting Wisconsin kids?

[Kevin Black]

71 of the 80 Division 1 All-Americans were top 100 recruits coming out of HS.  Another statistic regarding top 100 recruits is that 80% of them never earn All-American status at any level.  Several things contribute to both sides of these stats.  Recruiting is extremely complex.

[lizard king]

Good point, and Kevin you are as good a judge as anyone, how then do you evaluate how a coach is doing if not by the recruits they bring in?  On other forums the Edinboro's coach takes a lot of heat for not winning, even though they were third!  I guess we all have a standard that we expect.  As a dad I wanted a coach to take over for me and figure out the best way to get the most they possibly could out of my son.  Him and I are probably the only ones who know that answer, certainly not the fans.  So are the coaches getting the most out of the wrestlers individually that they can in 5 years at Wisconsin?  We won't really know.  Are they winning, not at the level people would expect in the big 10, for the most part.  That is why it is a tough call, depends on what you want?

[badgerjohn]

Hello, This is my first time responding and hopefully I wont very often.  I enjoy reading anything about wrestling and it gives me a great little break in my day.  I have coached many years and recently experienced my sons wrestling at the D1 and D3 levels.  I have learned a lot!  I won't bore you but I do want to respond to the question of who among us is qualified to give a D1 coach advice. I would say anyone who has coached, or has kids wrestling.  Granted it doesn't mean they have to listen.  One thing I have learned is that most D1 coaches are there because they were great wrestlers, we all know that does not translate into great coaching.  I also feel that everyone has a right to complain on this forum, just be considerate of the kids please.  The coaches are big boys and need to take it or don't read it.  The last thing I'll say in this post is; 71 of the 80 All Americans were ranked in the top 100 coming out of HS.  So, recruiting nationally ranked kids may be more important than growing kids or recruiting Wisconsin kids?

Thanks for chiming in lizard king. 

Not asking for you to share anything more than you want to, but you have a unique perspective that many don't, that being multiple family members competing at different divisions and obviously different programs, different coaches, etc. 

What were the goals, were the goals reached, were the expectations met, would you pick the same schools again, make the same decisions again......

I totally understand and respect if it's none of my business