New Wrestling Web Page at UtahWrestling.org,
the Official Web Site for Utah Wrestling Coaches
Association —
The Voice of Utah Wrestling
(Nov. 9, 2003) — The official Web address of the Utah
Wresting Coaches Association is now UtahWrestling.org,
edited and maintained by Bill Kilpack. Kilpack is
replacing Brian Preece in this capacity, although Preece
will continued to contribute, particularly during the
transition.
Kilpack said, "Utah wrestling has a lot to offer. We have
quality athletes who are every bit as qualified and worthy
of college scholarships as any other state in the nation.
In a recent issue of Wrestling USA Magazine, 13
Utah seniors were ranked nationally. That was number 16 in
the nation. However, the list did not include a single
wrestler from two defending state champion teams, Millard
and Fremont. This tells me that the magazine did not know
half as much as they should have about our Utah athletes.
This sells short the work that coaches in Utah put into
the sport, as well as the work of the athletes themselves.
It also does Utah wrestlers no favors when it comes to
college scholarships. It is my goal to help alleviate
these problems."
Local Media
One solution to this problem is through promoting Utah
wrestling in the local media. Newspaper clippings can be
helpful in scholarship applications. Newspaper Web sites
provide a venue for college coaches to research potential
recruits for their teams. It's also just a good boost to
your athlete to see his name in the paper, and can help
improve your parental support by parents seeing their
son's name in the newspaper. It also helps reinforce
your own position as a coach by helping promote the good
job you are doing, reinforcing the image of your high
school in your community.
Wrestling USA Magazine
The second solution to this problem is through promoting
Utah wrestling through Wrestling USA Magazine and
its Web site. Kilpack is the new Utah Editor for the
magazine, and will use the position to help the national
editor recognize more quality athletes in Utah, as well as
getting more information about Utah athletes in the
magazine and on the Web site.
The Challenge
It is physically impossible for Kilpack to attend every
wrestling tournament and every dual meet. It's not even
desirable. He is in no way making commitments to attend
tournaments or dual meets. He will attend some, he
won't attend others. Some parts of the state may
never see him. But that does not mean that he cannot
provide the two solutions described above. To do it, all
he needs is one thing: information.
The Coach Connection
If every Utah coach tells Kilpack how your athletes
perform, then he can compile it, quantify it and
distribute it. Using this information, he will put
together a state ranking system designed to limit the
impact of his own subjectivity. This information will be
distributed among coaches in Utah, others in the wrestling
community, the local media, and the national wrestling
media. The beginnings of this information will be compiled
through the information on the forms
on this Web site. It will continue to grow through Web
pages where wrestling enthusiasts can enter the results of
dual meets, of tournaments, of changes in team rosters, of
opinions about athletes who are deserving of attention.
Coach Feedback Pages
These pages will be simple and straight-forward. If a
coach does not have time to do it himself, he can delegate
it. He can assign it to his assistant coach, his team
captain, his team manager, a willing parent, etc. Using
technology, we can open up communication channels and help
our athletes get the recognition they deserve, if not help
them get a better chance at success through college.
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