Heads Up - A USA Wrestling Coaches Council Podcast

This episode features Christina Young.

Christina is and has been a long time wrestling advocate, parent, and supporter. A tragic accident in November of 2023 left her paralyzed. 

Her story of learning to live life again with the same amazing attitude and perspective she’s always lived by is amazing. 

Please join us for this version of Heads Up!

About Frank Jasper
Please welcome Frank Jasper to our Heads Up Podcast! You might recognize him from the iconic 1985 film Vision Quest, where he played the unforgettable Brian Shute. But Frank's journey extends far beyond the big screen. Today, he's a leading expert in holistic health and nutrition, leveraging his knowledge to empower people to reach their full potential.

Frank Jasper
Insta: visionquest_shute1985
https://shuteshirts.com/
https://discover.lifeionizers.com/osanihealth 
[email protected] is my email if athletes want to work with me on their optimal performance thru nutrition (not an official partner w USA Wrestling).

About USA Wrestling
Website: http://go.teamusa.org/3NoBDtx
Become a USA Wrestling Member: https://bit.ly/3NK7UfT
USA Wrestling Events: https://bit.ly/3NoBIgP

Follow USA Wrestling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usawrestling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/USAWrestling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usawrestling

For more info about the USMC:
https://rmi.marines.com/influencer/?utm_source=USAW&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_campaign=BA_USAWPartner24

Music: Soothsayer by Buckethead

Music: Soothsayer by Buckethead

Part two of Lee Kemp Podcast. 

Leroy (Lee) P. Kemp, Jr. (born Darnell Freeman; December 24, 1956) is a former American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. Kemp would achieve success at the high school, collegiate, and international levels.

Kemp started wrestling in only the 9th grade at Chardon High School, in Chardon, Ohio and by the end of his high school career had compiled two undefeated seasons, while winning two Ohio state titles. His first state title included wins over the defending state champion and the previous years' state runnerup. Shortly after graduating from high school, Kemp was one of only four American Junior wrestlers that recorded a dual meet win against a tough Junior Soviet team on their Ohio stop of an eight city United States tour, which resulted in 80 total matches being contested. Lee also won the prestigious Junior National Freestyle Tournament in July of that same year defeating a future 3-time NCAA Champion in the finals.

While competing for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Kemp was a four-time NCAA Division I National finalist, winning the championship three times and placing 2nd, on a split referee's decision, as a true freshman at 18 years old. Lee recorded losses to only three wrestlers in his collegiate career. His last college loss was in the NCAA finals as a freshman, posting 110 wins and no losses against collegiate competition during his last three years, which included the historic win over the legendary Dan Gable in November of Lee's sophomore year.[1]

Kemp was America's first three-time World Champion, winning his first title in 1978 at age 21, establishing him as the youngest American world champion ever, a distinction he held for 30 years. Lee was a four-time World Cup Champion, 7-time United States Freestyle National Champion and was a heavy favorite for gold earning a berth on the 1980 United States Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team, but was unable to compete because of the U.S. boycott of the Olympics.

Kemp was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990. While at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, where he was one of the freestyle coaches for the U.S., he became just the fifth American to be inducted into the United World Wrestling (formerly known as FILA) Hall of Fame.[2][3]

Kemp is the subject of a film documentary, entitled Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story, on his life scheduled for theatrical release Summer 2019, and is the co-founder and President of LKNutrition (formerly FORZA Technologies), a nutritional supplement company. LKNutrition (formerly FORZA) was the official corporate sponsor of USA Wrestling and its national teams.

About Lee Kemp (from LeeKemp.com)

I went from an Average wrestler (with a 11-8-3 record) as a high school Sophomore (in only my 2nd year of wrestling) to undefeated State Champ the next year. This led me on a path to learn the psychological components of not only how to become successful, but how to stay successful. Consistency is the key to success. My mental development continued to allow me to become the youngest American World Champion at age 21, a distinction I held for 38 years, and America’s first 3-Time World Champion. I went from an Average high school wrestler to World Champion in six years! The thought process I learned and developed in wrestling is the same for achieving excellence in any vocation or discipline. I frequently speak to a variety of groups, in both athletic and non-athletic settings, sharing my proven psychological techniques and strategies I’ve learned and perfected over the past four decades.

Lee Kemp Documentary "Wrestled Away" at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtsX6FdhUak 

About USA Wrestling
Website: http://go.teamusa.org/3NoBDtx
Become a USA Wrestling Member: https://bit.ly/3NK7UfT
USA Wrestling Events: https://bit.ly/3NoBIgP

Follow USA Wrestling
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usawrestling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/USAWrestling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usawrestling

Heads Up - A USA Wrestling Podcast: S3 E2 featuring Kyven Gadson, M.Ed.

Kyven is currently serving as Assistant Director Of Development - Priority Initiatives at Iowa State University, his alma-matter.

He is also Co-Founder & President of the Be RARE, an initiative to promote healthy social and emotional learning through creative outlets.

Kyven’s success on the mats have earned him a Bronze at the World Cup, multiple US Open National Titles, an NCAA D1 title in 2015 for the Cyclones, and a University National Championship in 2016. 

Wrestling for Waterloo East High School in Waterloo, Iowa, Gadson compiled a prep record of 113-12. In his sophomore season, he finished as the runner-up at the Iowa state wrestling tournament in the 145-lb weight class. Gadson was undefeated in both a junior and senior, winning the Iowa state wrestling tournament in the 171-lb and 189-lb weight classes, respectively. He finished his senior season ranked as the sixth-best high school wrestler in the nation at the 189-lb weight class by both the Amateur Wrestling News (AWN) and Intermat. In high school, Gadson was coached by his father William "Willie" Gadson, a former Iowa State Cyclone NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling All-American.

Additionally, Gadson was the 2011 FILA Junior freestyle national champion at 96-kg, 2009 FILA Cadet freestyle national champion at 85-kg, the 2009 Northern Plains Junior Freestyle champion, the ASICS Folkstyle Nationals champion at 152-lb in 2008, the runner-up in the 2008 USAW Preseason Nationals, finished fifth at the 2007 USAW Cadet Folkstyle Nationals, and was a Greco-Roman and freestyle state champion as a high school sophomore.

Kyven talks about family, goals, big match-ups, and what it takes to be great both on and off the mats. Join us for an amazing conversation with Kyven Gadson! 

Heads Up! For coaches, by coaches. 

The director of West Point’s Performance Psychology Program shares the secrets of mental toughness and self-belief in this new definitive guide to mastering confidence, the key to performance in any field.

“Studying confidence with Dr. Zinsser helped me win two Super Bowls. I recommend The Confident Mind to competitors everywhere.” (Eli Manning)

Dr. Nate Zinsser has spent his career training the minds of the US Military Academy’s cadets as they prepare to lead and perform when the stakes are the very highest—on the battlefield. Alongside this work, he has coached world-class athletes including a Super Bowl MVP, numerous Olympic medalists, professional ballerinas, NHL All-Stars, and college All-Americans, teaching them to overcome pressure and succeed on the biggest stages.

Dr. Zinsser has come to understand that one single trait above all others makes peak performance possible: confidence, or the belief in oneself. Whether your mission involves leading a platoon into combat, returning an opponent’s serve, or delivering a sales pitch to a roomful of skeptical prospects, you perform best when you are so certain about your abilities that your flow of fear, doubts, and confusion slows to the barest minimum. What’s more, Dr. Zinsser has come to understand that confidence is a skill that can be taught, improved, and applied by anyone to enhance nearly every aspect of our lives and careers.

Now, for the first time, Dr. Zinsser distills his research and years of experience, offering a fascinating guide to the science of confidence and providing listeners with a practical, step-by-step program to best harness their belief in themselves to achieve success in any field. The Confident Mind is a complete guide to confidence: how to understand it, how to build it, how to protect it, and how to rely upon it when your performance matters most.

For the first time in history, Joan Fulp and Andrea Yamamoto were honored in 2020 as USA Wrestling's co-Women of the Year. Active for decades in our sport, both made a decision to work together and focus on the creation of girls' wrestling on the state level. 

Joan Fulp (National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2017) and Andrea Yamamoto discuss teamwork, the growth of Girl's Wrestling, the importance of Women's Wrestling in our sport and society, and concepts of successful coaching that go far beyond gender or sport specific skills. 

Joan became the first woman to be elected to USA Wrestling's Executive Board in 2020. She taught and coached women's gymnastics at Central Michigan University for three years and served as an elementary and adapted physical education teacher in Half Moon Bay, CA for 24 years. Joan states, “Why should a sport that develops focus, determination, self-reliance, mental toughness and self-confidence only be available to half the population?”

Andrea represented Team USA on six national teams and at five World Championships. She has served as a coach and leader in the sport after establishing herself as a pioneer in Women's Wrestling. 

This podcast is sure to provide great ideas and reflection regardless if you're coaching a wrestling team, a gymnastics team, or a Fortune 500 business unit. 

Joan and Andrea on Moments off the Mat: #38 with Mike Clayton
https://youtu.be/rr3VOJFNMqs 

Joan Fulp on Moments off the Mat: #100 with Jess Medina
https://youtu.be/RP4NFwaySJU 

Andrea, and Olympian Tela Bacher on Heads Up Podcast S2 EP2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wTj9Diex1w 

One Courageous Girl 
https://www.osaa.org/docs/wre/courageous.pdf

Wrestle Like a Girl: Best Practices
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/572acf1062cd94f0536532bb/t/5fbae4b52b4bfe31fd76d25f/1606083845750/Best+Practices+Quick+Guide.pdf

Greg Warren hails from St. Louis, MO, where his father was a high school wrestling coach and his mother made him play clarinet in the band. Greg captivated audiences with anecdotes about the conflict inherent in meshing two high school identities-varsity wrestler and band geek. He was a D1 All-American wrestler at Mizzou.

Greg's "Flute Man" bit is a perfect capsulation of the insecurities of high school and the ongoing quest to be cool, and is one of the most requested bits in the history of the "Bob and Tom" radio show. Greg was also a West Point Cadet, where he distinguished himself by amassing an impressive tally of demerits and endless hours of pointless marching. After moving on to the University of Missouri, he studied journalism and was named an All-American college wrestler.

Early career

While in college, Greg won a comedy contest and was invited to perform at a local club in Columbia, Missouri, Dèjà Vu. After a stint selling Jif and Pringles for corporate giant Procter & Gamble, Greg made the decision to become a full time comedian. This bold move led to an invitation to the prestigious "Just for Laughs Festival" in Montreal in 2002, where Greg performed as one of their featured "New Faces of Comedy".

Work

He has also been seen on the Comedy Central show, "Premium Blend". Greg has an arsenal of characters that he brings to life in his act. He also highlights his current life struggles with the service industry, moderation, and "One Star People".

In addition to his television and festival appearances, Greg continues to tour all across the country, performing his act at clubs such as the Funny Bone and the Improv and is a frequent guest on the Bob and Tom Radio Show and a featured guest every Wednesday on Pittsburgh's DVE Morning Show with Jim and Randy. Greg's background recently resulted in a gig doing color commentary on college wrestling for Fox Sports Midwest. Greg's Midwestern upbringing and his ability to provide humorous social commentary gives him a wealth of material that continues to gain him fans throughout the country.

Recently, Greg has been seen on CMT's Comedy Stage, NBC's Last Comic Standing, CBS's Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the "Nateland" Podcast.

https://www.gregwarrencomedy.com/

Heads Up - A USA Wrestling Coaches Council Podcast: S2 Episode 7 featuring Marlin Grahn and PSU Athletes

Marlin Grahn spent most of his adult life within the Portland State wrestling program. Grahn, who was the head coach from 1985-2006, is best remembered for his dominant teams at the NCAA Division II level, which included a pair of National Championships in 1989 and 1990. His teams won four regional championships (1988, 1989, 1990, 1992) while his individual athletes earned 40 All-America honors, 17 national championships and two Olympic appearances. 

Grahn was an assistant under Don Conway and Len Kauffman from 1973-1984 before taking over the program. However, it should not be overlooked that Grahn was an extremely talented wrestler in his own right, competing at Portland State from 1969-73. Grahn competed on teams that compiled a 43-22-3 dual meet record and placed in the NCAA Division I Championships four times, along with NCAA West Regional titles in 1972 and 1973. He was 53-15 with 26 pins in his career and his unorthodox, aggressive style earned him the nickname “Marlin the Magician.” 

(Portland State University Athletics Hall of Fame)