Technical Explanation - The Wrestling Official's Show

Ryan Simmons is a wrestling official in Nashville, Tennessee but his #wrestlingstory begins in Ohio. Ryan was a standout high school wrestler who continued his wrestling career at Kent State.  

After his days competing were over Ryan made the move to coaching and eventually officiating. As you can tell, Ryan is quick-witted and full of jokes. Enjoy the madness that ensues in Episode #27 with Ryan Simmons.

Dennie Uhl is a wrestling official in Ohio originally from West Virginia who is pioneering a new way for wrestling lovers to become wrestling officials. In this episode, Dennie talks about how he and Larren Wikel are conducting officiating classes via Zoom and having a lot of success bringing new officials into the ranks. 

Dennie shares his wrestling story including his days as a competitor and how that led him to become an official. Dennie compares and contrasts the differences between being a wrestling official and a football official, talks about his officiating goals, and lets everyone know where his favorite hospitality room is.

Rick is an Offical out of Minnesota and he joins us for Episode #19 of the Technical Explanation Show to tell his wrestling story.  "Ravishing" Rick Rud is a 40+ year official, Multi-year State Tournament Official, Multi-year Clash Official, Region One Wrestling Hall of Fame - 2011, Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame - 2014, MSHSL Rules Interpreter, MSHSL State Wrestling Tournament Supervisor of Officials.  When he is not officiating you might find him presiding over marriage ceremonies as Rick is also a licensed wedding officiant. Check out Episode #19 to hear more of Rick's story.

In Episode #26 we catch up with Butch Blankenship from Archbold, OH. Butch became a wrestling official because after his days of competing he missed the sport. Butch talks about his journey to become a better official and how he has learned from so many other officials. I've had the pleasure of working a tournament with Butch and his personality in this episode come across exactly how he is in real life. Butch offers several insights that coaches and officials can put into action to become better at their craft. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Episode #26.

Wayne Meyer's #wrestlingstory begins in Pennsylvania where he first tried out wrestling. Years later after competing in college at the DIII level his job brought him to Wisconsin where he became an official. In Wayne's episode we discuss: 

-Wayne's journey back to wrestling 

-The "Get To" mindset 

-Becoming an official in Wisconsin

-A whole lot more.

Rachael Woody is a wrestling official from the state of Kansas and was born into a wrestling family. From officiating her first match (which she says didn't go as planned) to becoming the seasoned veteran that she is now. Rachel has always been focused on being the best official that she can be and credits her mom  for keeping her involved in wrestling.  In this episode we hear Rachael's wrestling story, talk about Senior Night with dinner served matside for spectators, wrestling parents, and so much more. I hope you appreciate Rachael's positive attitude as much as I did when we were able to record. Enjoy!

George is a lifelong student of the sport of wrestling. George started his carer on the mats high school and ended his high school career as a State Runner-up his Junior year. After high school, George wrestled at the JUCO level before finishing his college career at Appalachian State. He then made a transition to coaching where he had a very successful career as well. 

Upon the urging of a fellow coach (one from Ohio,) George began his officiating career under the tutelage of Dino White. Dino took George all over the US to officiate matches and now George is the Head Official at the toughest folkstyle wrestling tournament in the US, the Super 32. George has officiated at nearly all of the largest High School level tournaments and he is always o the road during the season. Take a look/listen to this episode and hear more about George's journey from wrestling on the mat to wearing the whistle.

Barbara Brummet is a wrestling official from Missouri who has been blazing a trail for women's wrestling and officiating since 1971 when she first fell in love with wrestling. Barbara went to all of the wrestling matches at a large school in Missouri that attended wrestling meets and cheered (yes, it wasn't just a thing in Vision Quest.)  

Barbara gained a huge respect for wrestlers and the tenacity and what it takes to be a competitor. At one point she reflects on asking herself in high school, "What would make a person want to do this?" In her episode, she talks about the individual and team aspects of wrestling and what it teaches young men and women.  

Beginning her wrestling officiating career she fell even deeper in love with the sport of wrestling. As you can imagine, being a female wrestling official in the '90s was a rare feat. Barbara tells some of the experiences she has had as a female official in a male-dominated sport and how the sport has evolved over the years.

Dan is a Cincinnati, OH wrestling official who started out playing basketball, but then turned to wrestling after he realized he was good at tumbling and got sick of sitting on the bench for basketball. After wrestling in high school, Dan went to the University of Cincinnati where he was a part of the club wrestling team while it existed. 

Once the wrestling club disbanded, Dan transitioned into coaching at various levels. Dan became a wrestling official in 1992 when coaching became hard to juggle with his growing family. 

Watch or listen to Episode #21 to hear the rest of Dan's wrestling story.

Yes, Bryce does get HIS own guest's name wrong in the first 10 seconds of this video. YES, he does deny it. Anyway, after all of that, the interview is great. 

Walter STARKS has officiated wrestling, football, basketball, and volleyball at the high school and college levels. During our interview, Walter discusses the similarities between officiating various sports, the amount of time officials dedicate to their craft, and how competitive officiating is.  Walter's wrestling story starts when he was in 3rd grade, but after that, he didn't wrestle again until his freshman year in high school. After that, he got into flag football leagues where he was approached and asked to become an official. Officiating basketball and wrestling followed soon after. 

With a goal of officiating the Ohio High School Athletic Association's State Wrestling Tournament Walter began putting in the time and work to ascend the ranks.  Enjoy Walter STARK's #wrestling story.