DT media availability
- Thread starter AtownPoke
- Start date
Hopefully he gets a little more open down the road. We’ve been spoiled with JS being so chatty
I’d imagine it’ll only get worse if he finds the success we hope for.
If he can replicate Cael’s success he can only speak in riddles with the media for all I care.
My wife was working but listening to that in the background, her comment was “how do you say all the right things and nothing at all at the same time?”
Ugh. Why do people think secrecy is the way to success? I get the ultimate goal is to win, but retaining and getting new people interested in the sport is important too. You can have both, IMO.
I don't think being tight lipped about your team has any effect on growing the sport. Having the coaches go out there raising the level of the sport at the high school level has a far greater impact on the sport imo. As we know, that is one of the foundational aspects of DT's hire. To grow wrestling in OK and surrounding states.
As for the issue of talking about the team, I think DT holds to the, "loose lips sink ships" adage. The less outsiders know, the better off the team is. We'll all know in due time.
I do - access breeds fanatacism in smaller sports. You are right that being a past wrestler certainly does too, of course, but for everyone else? Getting people interested on a collegiate level entails interesting stories and knowing about the team.
As for the loose lips theory - what on earth does it help or hurt if outsiders know that Cael Hughes is going 41 instead of 33? Or who has really stepped it up and raised a level? JS didn't start stinking because he was open, he started stinking because we missed on some kids and he missed the boat on fundraising, RTC, NIL and had some high profile misses because we had to take talented, highly rated kids with spotty personal records that teams like PSU could pass on.
Why would he define his thoughts on a weight/starter before Wrestle offs?
Almost nothing good comes from saying, yeah, it’s Hughes. Hughes probably lets off a little knowing it’s his to lose. At that point, Blankenship and JJ tone it down…but could turn it up to try and take it.
So at best, it’s 2/3 bad with the possibility that one good thing can happen.
Almost nothing good comes from saying, yeah, it’s Hughes. Hughes probably lets off a little knowing it’s his to lose. At that point, Blankenship and JJ tone it down…but could turn it up to try and take it.
So at best, it’s 2/3 bad with the possibility that one good thing can happen.
Im not saying he should necessarily say who is in the lead, my for instance was just a weight classification. And honestly, even if he says who is in the lead? IMO it lights a fire under the butts of guys who actually care.
... and with the new contacts rules, knowing CC and Blankenship are not going to be starters means someone outside the team now knows these kids can be recruited to go elsewhere. Honestly, nothing good happens when info gets out of the room too soon.
Oh please, if someone else wanted those guys they’d already be in contact. They ain’t waiting for a comment from the head coach
Here's a real life example. Carter Starocci is moving up in weight. To what weight? Took 6-7 months before it finally leaked out that he was going 184 instead of 197. Why not come out right away and say he is going 184? Because once you know his weight, everyone knows which wrestlers will likely be on the bench instead of vying for a starter role. If that info leaks out in March/April, you have to be concerned with a transfer of a talented guy. In October, not so much. These things seem minor and silly, but why give anyone an opportunity to wedge a guy smarting from losing a starter spot.
In a lot of cases, you're likely correct in that, "what's the harm". There are situations where silence is the better option.
You don't think the wrestlers in the room already knew? If I was a coach in this day and age I (or an intermediary) would have already been in contact with the guys at 84 and 97 (Mirasola?) if I thought I had a chance to poach and I wanted them. And if the 84 starter that was going to end up the backup was amenable to a conversation, bam. I'll say this too: if they aren't being honest with (or slowplaying telling) the wrestlers on the team they might be displaced by a guy moving weights, that's BS too. I don't think any of this is real "news" to the people that matter.
I'll probably get boo'd out of here but honestly college wrestling coaches don't really seem to care about getting new people interested in the sport. This isn't about DT specifically because I didn't even watch the interview but I think it is a problem overall.
I think you are correct, and I get it, but it makes me sad.
This is the reason that I hope DT can free up some time to attend Oklahoma's high school championship. I know that ou would not like it but who gives a crap what they think.
"college wrestling coaches don't really seem to care about getting new people interested in the sport"
I can't imagine one coaching contract in any sport in America where getting people interested in the sport is a goal. A coach's responsibility is to win for the school paying him a salary. Period. Winning makes new fans for the team but it doesn't grow the sport. DT going to Edmond to provide some free instruction is not for growing the sport. It is to improve the farm system for the OSU wrestling team. Every step and decision taken is to win now and in the future. Nowhere in there is making new fans for the sport. That's the job of the hierarchy of the sport like USA Wrestling.
I can't imagine one coaching contract in any sport in America where getting people interested in the sport is a goal. A coach's responsibility is to win for the school paying him a salary. Period. Winning makes new fans for the team but it doesn't grow the sport. DT going to Edmond to provide some free instruction is not for growing the sport. It is to improve the farm system for the OSU wrestling team. Every step and decision taken is to win now and in the future. Nowhere in there is making new fans for the sport. That's the job of the hierarchy of the sport like USA Wrestling.
This is the approach college wrestling has taken for a long time and look where it has gotten us. If the leaders of the sport like Cael and DT don’t care about bringing in new fans there might not be college programs for them to coach in 20 years.
I’m not saying it should be THE goal for college wrestling coaches but it should be A goal. Winter is coming for non-revenue sports in college. As much as I want to to get back to the podium for a team trophy I don’t want it to be because only Penn State, Oklahoma State and Iowa are fielding programs. I’m joking about there only being 3 programs but we are about to enter an extremely scary time for any sport that isn’t football or basketball.
Maybe it is his first rodeo as a head coach and under promising and overdelivering is the best approach. He's never had to have ranking matches and make the tough decisions a head coach as to make so until he has been through the cycle once, maybe it is best to stay tight lipped and not open yourself to a ton of scrutiny if you have to alter your plans.
I know we WANT to hear it all but whatever we hear, the entire wrestling community can also hear. JS shared too much sometimes - these days your words go far beyond the local reporters. "Yeah, wrestler 1 has a hurt knee and wrestler 2 is having trouble with xyz position" is are not things a high visibility coach should be sharing anymore lol
I think there is a lot of space between sharing specific positions your wrestlers struggle in/injury information and treating everything like the nuclear codes. I have no idea why things like starting lineups are closely guarded secrets. That isn't directed at DT either. It is at all coaches. I can't imagine how inaccessible college wrestling can be to people trying to get into it.
