Amen! There has been so much talk/rumors of John not being real crazy about it. Difficult to raise money with no vision to share with the fanbase.
Cowboy RTC
- Thread starter leecothran
- Start date
Honestly the Kyle dake PR move on flo about him moving programs really pisses me off. Why can’t we do something like this. We keep letting these big moves unfold around us. It’s not unattainable for us to grab some big names but we just keep doing the same thing with zero fire power. Is this a money issues or a program issue?
No sense of urgency with any announcement which is on par for the last 5 years.
Does anyone know what the Dake move means for Jason Nolf? Is he staying with the NLWC or will he now be available to sign with another RTC?
Who would get y'all excited? If John came out next week and made a full throated announcement of being behind it (which he is) and that Cowboy RTC is going to make a run on two high level senior level athletes.... Who would y'all want to see? Excluding the big NLWC guys like Snyder, Gilman, DT, Dake.
I don’t know if i care about going after certain guys as much as it is embracing the concept and how we plan to use this to get us back to the top.
I give you credit Lee for being the biggest cheerleader/advocate for this but at some point John and the admin are going to have to fully get on board or we will keep being mediocre. It doesn’t seem like Derek is the guy to put it over the top either in my opinion. Almost seems like we need to get a fresh start with a new guy.
I give you credit Lee for being the biggest cheerleader/advocate for this but at some point John and the admin are going to have to fully get on board or we will keep being mediocre. It doesn’t seem like Derek is the guy to put it over the top either in my opinion. Almost seems like we need to get a fresh start with a new guy.
I cheerlead it because I believe that the RTC is trying to get off the ground and get to a status that we all want it to be at. I've heard from the mouths of those in charge... Both John and the AD... That they support the RTC raising money and growing. This is what is happening. The golf tournament sold out.
Personnel decisions do need to be made. I think a big priority is going to be keeping Daton Fix in Stillwater for the duration of his competitive career. Carter, Plott, and Voinovich are probably the next most likely to have impact international careers as well.
I guess my whole point is you can't change the past, you can only do better moving forward. So instead of lamenting being 5+ years behind the times, celebrate the small wins that are actually driving this thing forward to try and catch up.
Personnel decisions do need to be made. I think a big priority is going to be keeping Daton Fix in Stillwater for the duration of his competitive career. Carter, Plott, and Voinovich are probably the next most likely to have impact international careers as well.
I guess my whole point is you can't change the past, you can only do better moving forward. So instead of lamenting being 5+ years behind the times, celebrate the small wins that are actually driving this thing forward to try and catch up.
I will also say that our program is absolutely still relevant and still a top 5 program. Top 3, really. Penn State is just so far ahead of everybody that it makes it feel like we are stuck in the mud.
I was talking about our program as a whole.
Agree that the RTC isn't top 5 or close as of right now. Sorry if I misunderstood the post from yesterday. Thought the poster was talking about our overall program.
I’m not lamenting on the past by any means and have no doubt that you have heard folks support it. To get things really going forward we need John to be the biggest cheerleader and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen.
Very glad the golf tourney is sold out, hopefully things get rolling.
Very glad the golf tourney is sold out, hopefully things get rolling.
Currently, I think the only big name left that isn't with NLWC now is Jordan Burroughs, but he is still training out of the state of Pennsylvania with PRTC. I think Burroughs said he plans to compete for a spot on the Olympic team in 2024 which I'm guessing would be his last go. Burroughs would certainly be a name that would give the Cowboy RTC a boost in all areas, but I also think that would come with a large bill.
Well put.
Literally anything laying out the plan for the RTC would be so helpful. What's the fundraising goal? What's the staff vision look like? Are new facilities going to get built, or existing facilities just used on a different schedule? What is the RTC in 5, 10, 15 years? And I don't even care if the vision is "no new facilities, no new coaches, OSU wrestlers only" - just own it so fans and recruits can have some idea of what's happening rather than the RTC being a black box. I'm already donating monthly so it's not like I'm expecting them to lay it all out there for me in order to support them, but dang, sharing something besides a sticker and a flashy webpage for something that's supposedly crucial to the future success of OSU Wrestling would be nice.
I think we should also consider the RTC head coach position. Post grad athletes bounce around from RTC to RTC as their contracts expire, but the head coach offers some stability for elite HS recruits. Derek may be a nice guy (don't know him), but I don't think he's much of a factor in recruiting. Take a look at the head coaches for the top RTCs...
PSU - Varner, Olympic champ
OhioSt - Stieber, World champ
Iowa - Dennis, Olympian
Penn - Slay, Olympic champ
Michigan - Beloglazov, 8x gold medalist
PSU - Varner, Olympic champ
OhioSt - Stieber, World champ
Iowa - Dennis, Olympian
Penn - Slay, Olympic champ
Michigan - Beloglazov, 8x gold medalist
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I would assume that Derek’s contract(if there is one) expires when Daton’s eligibility does.
I think that's probably true, but what if Daton wrestles 2 more years? Personally, I'd like to get someone before that.
To answer Lee's question, if we have $ to sign 2 guys in the near future, I'd take JO as the head coach and Jason Nolf as the post grad athlete. I think those 2 would provide a big boost to recruiting and development.
I second this. Waiting around doesn't make sense to me. Our World team just had massive success - now would be a great time to ride that momentum to get a coach and athletes. Having anybody currently on the world team would be a huge boost to get this program going. OSU might need to pony up the dollars to get the big names in order to get the big donor, too. Golf tournaments and Casino Nights are cute and its better than nothing, but we need an endowment level gift that will sustain the program for the next 10 years. And to get that gift there has to be some kind of plan beyond "well some of our current athletes and coaches have a few extra practices to focus on freestyle and there's a website, hooray!". Best case scenario there IS a plan and it just hasn't been made public, but it's hard not to be skeptical without a concrete statement saying "here's what we're going to do".
Accountability for the state of the Program and the RTC would be awesome 👏 !!!! Can’t get better if you don’t acknowledge the issues and then act immediately on getting them fixed. Waiting and taking things slow just keeps you almost good enough but not good enough.
Can't forget too that the kids we want to recruit are INCREDIBLY internet savvy (their parents are, too). They know how to find message boards, watch World Championship videos, stream tournaments, compare RTC websites, etc. If an RTC is important to them, it'll be easy for them to rank them in their minds with a few quick Google searches. For example it's great that we have a website now, but compare it to Penn's RTC website. They have embedded social media posts, pictures of facilities, an online store, a page just for high school wrestlers, details on upcoming training events, etc. Compared to ours which is mostly just a collection of mugshots and is a black box of information. Heck, the "About CWC" page has exactly two sentences, and one of those isn't even a complete sentence. Like it or not, the little details of a savvy internet presence play a huge role in recruits' decisions and if our website doesn't present a clear and modern vision of an engaging and successful RTC program, we will continue to fall behind.
The "History" page is nice but is there a place for former OSU wrestlers that aren't part of the CWC like Dean Heil, Alex Dieringer, Derek White?
Another thing, I can't find our RTC website when I search on DuckDuckGo. The only way I'm finding it is to search specifically for "Cowboy RTC" and then open the Twitter result which has a link to the RTC website. Can't search "Cowboy Wrestling Club" because nothing related to our RTC comes up. I can find it on Google, but it's at the bottom of the page amongst results for other organizations with similar names. This may not seem like a problem to our staff but I can guarantee that it makes a difference to some recruits. It would be a real shame to lose out on top talent because the CWC never bothered to make their website come up in search engines.
Anyways, sorry to rant. Many folks know way more about this than I do.
To pivot a little bit, I wonder if there's ever been talk about OSU doing an MMA training center. Or even a way to plug our current MMA competitors with the success of Cormier/Jacobe/Piccinnini/Lawal/Crutchmer.
pennsylvaniartc.org
www.cowboywrestlingclub.com
The "History" page is nice but is there a place for former OSU wrestlers that aren't part of the CWC like Dean Heil, Alex Dieringer, Derek White?
Another thing, I can't find our RTC website when I search on DuckDuckGo. The only way I'm finding it is to search specifically for "Cowboy RTC" and then open the Twitter result which has a link to the RTC website. Can't search "Cowboy Wrestling Club" because nothing related to our RTC comes up. I can find it on Google, but it's at the bottom of the page amongst results for other organizations with similar names. This may not seem like a problem to our staff but I can guarantee that it makes a difference to some recruits. It would be a real shame to lose out on top talent because the CWC never bothered to make their website come up in search engines.
Anyways, sorry to rant. Many folks know way more about this than I do.
To pivot a little bit, I wonder if there's ever been talk about OSU doing an MMA training center. Or even a way to plug our current MMA competitors with the success of Cormier/Jacobe/Piccinnini/Lawal/Crutchmer.
Philadelphia's Olympic Training Center
pennsylvaniartc.org
Cowboy Wrestling Club
Our mission is to build a foundation for amateur wrestling by committing the best training opportunities possible at all levels. Furthermore, providing support for coaching and access to the competition needed to become the best at every level.
www.cowboywrestlingclub.com
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Someone who knows a heck of a lot more about computers could probably give you a more accurate response, but I think google search results are filtered in order of popularity and hits. Being how the site is new that's probably why. I believe there is a way you can pay to have your website moved up on searches and have it come up in more search results in order to gain clicks, but again I don't know much more than that.
I like the website. It looks professional. There should be a donate now button and link instead of it saying "join now" Its a little confusing. Also, something the website doesn't have but desperately needs is a link to shop and buy RTC apparel, stickers, posters etc. Its just another way to raise some funds.
Can't forget too that the kids we want to recruit are INCREDIBLY internet savvy (their parents are, too). They know how to find message boards, watch World Championship videos, stream tournaments, compare RTC websites, etc. If an RTC is important to them, it'll be easy for them to rank them in their minds with a few quick Google searches. For example it's great that we have a website now, but compare it to Penn's RTC website. They have embedded social media posts, pictures of facilities, an online store, a page just for high school wrestlers, details on upcoming training events, etc. Compared to ours which is mostly just a collection of mugshots and is a black box of information. Heck, the "About CWC" page has exactly two sentences, and one of those isn't even a complete sentence. Like it or not, the little details of a savvy internet presence play a huge role in recruits' decisions and if our website doesn't present a clear and modern vision of an engaging and successful RTC program, we will continue to fall behind.
The "History" page is nice but is there a place for former OSU wrestlers that aren't part of the CWC like Dean Heil, Alex Dieringer, Derek White?
Another thing, I can't find our RTC website when I search on DuckDuckGo. The only way I'm finding it is to search specifically for "Cowboy RTC" and then open the Twitter result which has a link to the RTC website. Can't search "Cowboy Wrestling Club" because nothing related to our RTC comes up. I can find it on Google, but it's at the bottom of the page amongst results for other organizations with similar names. This may not seem like a problem to our staff but I can guarantee that it makes a difference to some recruits. It would be a real shame to lose out on top talent because the CWC never bothered to make their website come up in search engines.
Anyways, sorry to rant. Many folks know way more about this than I do.
To pivot a little bit, I wonder if there's ever been talk about OSU doing an MMA training center. Or even a way to plug our current MMA competitors with the success of Cormier/Jacobe/Piccinnini/Lawal/Crutchmer.
Philadelphia's Olympic Training Center
Cowboy Wrestling Club
Our mission is to build a foundation for amateur wrestling by committing the best training opportunities possible at all levels. Furthermore, providing support for coaching and access to the competition needed to become the best at every level.
The same person who built the PRTC and NLWC website built ours... I'm familiar with SEO optimization and can get that done though.
I think the website could use some tweaks like those mentioned above, but they should target prospective donors over prospective recruits. Top recruits already know who trains where and who coaches where.
Reading this thread, it seems like the disconnect is with fans/donors. They want to hear from John to better understand his drive/vision/plan. Maybe we need something like this as a starter. The CowboyRTC account could tweet it and it could also be a link on the website.
Reading this thread, it seems like the disconnect is with fans/donors. They want to hear from John to better understand his drive/vision/plan. Maybe we need something like this as a starter. The CowboyRTC account could tweet it and it could also be a link on the website.
John needs to get out in front of our RTC. He needs to be visibly promoting the program and active in fundraising for the same. Our social media presence needs to improve as does our outreach. Again…..John must be active. He has the name recognition and stature to give the program the boost it needs.
I couldn’t agree more. A man who until a few days ago was the most decorated wrestler of all time and considered one of the greats. It’s a no brainer. The million dollar question is why this hasn’t happened yet?
Which will happen first:
A) 35,
B) JB announced as new head coach or
C) they finally release the 22/23 schedule?
A) 35,
B) JB announced as new head coach or
C) they finally release the 22/23 schedule?
Popularity, hits, also the content in the site needs to be written with keywords that match what's being searched for. There are tools that show you what people are searching for, and it's a moving target. Ever stumble on a website that reads like a repetitive ad but seems a little off? That's often because they've done intensive SEO work on the site. I'm currently battling mice in my shed, so here's an example.
"Are you looking for a way to get rid of mice quickly? The best mousetraps for outdoors can kill mice fast and will be effective when set properly. If you are wondering how to get rid of a mouse in your house humanely then look no further than our list of best mousetraps. Never worry about too many mice" etc etc. And yes you can pay to have your site show up at the top of Google, but that only works for Google. Still though that is the most popular search engine so it'd definitely be a good use of funds to regularly keep that site popping up first.
I agree that it will take big donor gifts to get this RTC off the ground and hopefully that is being looked at but what about small donor gifts on a regular basis such as $100-$500.00. There already may be requests for gifts of this kind. We have a lot of fans that could give in this range and it would add up. We can not just rely on the Big donors. A bunch of smaller donations from our fans would be important.
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2022 Golf Tournament
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You can go sign up to be a member of the Cowboy Wrestling Club for as little or as much as you want to. They're all in on everybody contributing and every bit goes to giving athletes the resources they need to compete internationally. Including coaches and training partners.
They're activity trying to hire coaches and senior level athletes to come in and be part of the Cowboy RTC.
My understanding of the current RTC athletes and coaches...
Athletes:
Jacarra Winchester - women's world champ @ 55 KG
Noel Torres - D2 champ @ 184 for Newman
Not sure why they aren't listed on the CWC website. Our last "name" D1 athlete was Alex when he left for Michigan 2 1/2 years ago (with Derek White). Seems like we have been actively fundraising to add more post grads. Hopefully news pops soon.
Coaches:
Derek Fix - RTC head coach
Zo - assistant RTC coach. Was a member of the French national freestyle team @ 57 KG. Thought to be an excellent technician. He has also worked with USA Wrestling, so top recruits know him. Well regarded.
Athletes:
Jacarra Winchester - women's world champ @ 55 KG
Noel Torres - D2 champ @ 184 for Newman
Not sure why they aren't listed on the CWC website. Our last "name" D1 athlete was Alex when he left for Michigan 2 1/2 years ago (with Derek White). Seems like we have been actively fundraising to add more post grads. Hopefully news pops soon.
Coaches:
Derek Fix - RTC head coach
Zo - assistant RTC coach. Was a member of the French national freestyle team @ 57 KG. Thought to be an excellent technician. He has also worked with USA Wrestling, so top recruits know him. Well regarded.
Every current OSU wrestler is also a Cowboy RTC wrestler. So Daton, Plott, Carter, Mastro, Voinovich, etc. Important to remember that OSU doesn't pay for them to go to freestyle events or overseas. The Cowboy RTC is funding that. Especially important for a guy like Voinovich, who wrestles internationally for Serbia. Also sent Carter to France and Spain to train with their senior level teams this summer.
Sending college guys to Vegas for the World Team trials is a minor expense. So is a round trip to Europe. The big $ comes from funding post grad resident athletes - salaries/housing/benefits. That's where we've fallen behind and are hopefully looking to catch up. If you look at the NLWC website, they don't list their 4 returning NCAA champs, they only list their 14 post grad resident athletes.
This is where I was saying I hope we get big donors on board. The monthly contributions (mine included) are great but will really only cover the one-off expenses like equipment & travel. Need bigger sums coming in to float post-grads while they train.
How active is John in securing big donors as well as publicizing our RTC in general and the need for fund raising ? He is the logical person to lead the RTC effort imo.
Securing the type of funds needed is going to be a tall order without John actively heading the fundraising efforts imo.
I think people would be more willing and enthusiastic about donating if they knew that the RTC was making positive changes to put itself in a position to compete with the likes of NLWC. We keep hearing that big things are coming. But up to this point all I’ve seen or heard is a new website, poker night and a golf torny.
I think two things need to happen. First, Coach Smith needs to demonstrate publicly his 100% support for the RTC and his willingness and effort to put the wheels in motion. Secondly, they need to bring in a new coach, preferably someone with a big pedigree who can recruit top talent. We don’t need to have 10 Olympic training athletes in the room, but certainly 3 or 4 would make a huge difference. My view on the RTC is that it should be used more as a development tool for all the guys in the room more than for recruitment purposes.
I think two things need to happen. First, Coach Smith needs to demonstrate publicly his 100% support for the RTC and his willingness and effort to put the wheels in motion. Secondly, they need to bring in a new coach, preferably someone with a big pedigree who can recruit top talent. We don’t need to have 10 Olympic training athletes in the room, but certainly 3 or 4 would make a huge difference. My view on the RTC is that it should be used more as a development tool for all the guys in the room more than for recruitment purposes.
