When the violence began Sunday night it was reported that a recently sacked vice president was attempting to manage a coup. As the hours passed and stories started to emerge it was evident that the factions weren't being made along party lines, but tribal.
I was in Juba hosting a two-part "Wrestling for Peace" tournament through my non-profit Wrestling Roots Foundation and our partner the John Fetzer Institute. Fetzer, whose mission it is to promote "love and forgiveness" through sports, science, education and other fields, was our primary source of financial support.
The first tournament was completed last Saturday and by all accounts was s success. We had more than 8k fans show up to Juba Stadium, including fans and athletes from more than a dozen tribes. In the moment, the tournament was a snapshot into the country's hope to evolve from tribe-focused difference, to South Sudanese nationalism and cultural similarity.
There is much more to write out about what happened in Juba, but for now it's too fresh to detail with competency or care. (I'm writing this on the plane ride home to the states.) This was a major diplomatic event that requires vigilance in retelling.
However, one thing is certain: We're lucky to have a blue passport that reads United States of America. As the Air Force landed their C-130's and used their Special Forces unit to set up a perimeter in the tall grass surrounding the runway, there were others in Juba -- those dedicated to promoting peace, love and forgiveness -- who were stuck inside a city in the grip of violence, death and insecurity. My friends lost members of their family and have seen their homes hit by tank fire, RPG's and the spray of bullets from AK-47's. I was carried out unharmed by our Armed Forces, and for that I'm fortunate and grateful.
I'll bring you much more about our friends, the tournament and the violence in Juba over the next several weeks. Until then, please keep South Sudan in your thoughts. More than most any place on the planet, the people there are in need of a Christmas miracle.
To your questions ...
Q: When I was a kid it was always fun to see a growing field of old and young talent at the Midlands. Why do you think not as many older wrestlers are entering?
-- Eric L.
Foley: Wrestling hurts! You may remember that I gave this tournament another chance in 2011 and was handily defeated in two of three matches by wrestlers who were in much better shape. Conditioning is a large component of being a successful collegiate wrestler, and if you're like me and of modest talent, but not training, stepping onto a mat with a 20-year-old who is four months sober, wrestling six-times a week and lifting every other day, will likely end with a darkening glimpse of the rafters.
Thought there is some great talent showing at this year's event. Your question reminds me that we need to find a more democratic and inviting form of wrestling for our former wrestlers with the physical and mental want to compete. As always, I think it's a takedown-only style that we see across the world. This extends wrestling from a sport with a primary age focus of 10-22, into one that is for 10-45.
Wrestling is fun. We just have to learn to relax the focus on mega-conditioning for the old farts like myself who don't mind a few minutes of sparring, but can't absorb four seven-minute matches on a Saturday.
Q: You recently answered a question about coaches who are "program builders." I'll take it a step further. Which current wrestler (NCAA or National Team pool) will be a future coaching superstar? In other words, who will be the next Cael Sanderson or John Smith?
David Taylor? Kyle Dake? Jordan Burroughs?
-- DZ
Foley: You mentioned the greatest freestyle wrestler in American history and the greatest collegiate wrestler in American history, leaving me to think that the next great coach will need a similar background.
Jordan Burroughs, who is undefeated through 67 matches and owns three World titles, is starting to fit into that schematic. He's engaging which is helpful, and from what I know of him as a person and a wrestler he's a hard worker and polite. He's my second choice.
My top choice might be Kyle Dake, if only because he's seen Rob Koll do it firsthand and is one of the most popular, and fiercely-competitive wrestlers in the world. Though it would be a big cut, it's conceivable that Dake could make a World team at 70 kilos and later challenge Burroughs again for 74 kilos. That would give him the international street cred, but he's already secured an argument for GOAT after his recent 4-4-4 at the collegiate level.
Q: An interesting article about the demise of BU wrestling. I wrestled for Coach Adams years ago and have a lot of respect for the man. I also accepted your premise that he just did not do enough to show the administration that the program is still relevant. This article, however, takes a different and interesting spin on events, speculating that the program being dropped had more to do with corporate sponsorship and the promotion of lacrosse. Now if Coach Adams was more of an innovator and marketer it likely would never have come to where things are today. If you have time and are interested, please take a read as I would be interested in your thoughts.
-- Jordan B
Foley: I'm hesitant to absolve Boston University and its alumni for not creating a more profitable and exciting program at Boston. The components were/are there and if there was more vigilance much of what is transpiring never would have occurred.
That aside, the idea that Boston would sell off wrestling in favor of a shoe contract for their new lacrosse program is infuriating. The main rub is that the school won't come out and admit that there was a calculus for creating the decision to drop wrestling, that had been influenced by the New Balance cash. Was it illegal? Doubtful. Immoral? Welcome to the NCAA.
Lacrosse is a rapidly growing sport in the Northeast, where this is a high concentration of wealth and a population of mothers and fathers keeping their kids off the football field to avoid head traumas. Lacrosse is a more controlled sport with less physicality. Lacrosse is also a culture, and with the long hair and bro-isms comes a mini-economy of gear sales, clothing companies and shoes. Lacrosse is easy to commoditize and thus is more attractive to the school.
Wrestling still hasn't figured out how to profit from its culture. We are a lower to middle income sport, but the problem really stems from traditionalism and an unwillingness to adapt. Boston wrestling can't be blamed for that cultural failure, but parallels can be seen in the pre-decision apathy of the alumni and coaching staff in wanting to create new revenue, or excitement about the program.
Q: Did you know the BU-Penn State match at BU was a sellout and the largest crowd ever to witness any sporting event (including basketball) at Case Gym?
-- Pat D.
Foley: That is a great 'did you know!' Despite my tough feelings on the matter, I do hope we can see Boston take the mats for the 2014-2015 season and beyond.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Link: South Sudan: On the brink of collapse?
Q: As an advocate for women's wrestling I wanted to thank you for all of the coverage and work that you do for the future of the sport. I also believe that the women's side is the future for wrestling.
I know of a coach that is trying to build a women's program smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, and maybe you have heard of him. His name is Terry Fike. He coaches a women's club team at Lock Haven University.
It's called Women's Wrestling Project. Terry has a Facebook page for this and a website.
-- Beau E.
Foley: I'm going to send Terry an email. This is a great step forward and indicative of a culture that is starting, albeit slowly, to accept that women are wrestlers, too! It's still my opinion that when the wrestling community embraces the participation of women, we'll see a rapid rise in participation and some support for our men's programs that often don't have a companion sport to keep them off the radar of Title IX lawyers.
Pennsylvania is the right place to focus these developments. Coaches, parents, friends and family have all grown up with the sport and respect the winners within -- male or female.
Kyle Dake and David Taylor's rivalry, which started when they were young, has continued on after college wrestling (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)-- Marcus R.
Foley: The Taylor-Dake rivalry was an organic phenomenon that won't be repeated again soon, but here are some that might reach that level, or have the ingredients. I realize most of these are just the top two wrestlers, but they are all competitive matchups that could heat up in the second half of the year due to proximity, name ID or past history.
125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. Nico Megaludis (Penn State)
133: Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. A.J. Schopp (Edinboro)
141: Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
149: None. Weight class is too wide open.
157: Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State)
165: None. Taylor is too dominant.
174: Chis Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. Andrew Howe (Oklahoma)
184: None. Ruth is too dominant.
197: Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) vs. Scott Shiller (Minnesota)
285: Mike McMullan (Northwestern) vs. Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Q: What are the current NCAA uniform guidelines regarding wearing a singlet in competition? I am guessing that a team would be prohibited from wearing fight shorts for a dual meet, but could a wrestler wear fight shorts while competing at Midlands? How about an open preseason tournament?
-- Matt T.
Foley: Wrestlers are still able to wear a doublet, which is spandex shorts and a spandex rash guard. However, I think that just makes for more material rather than a more conservative look.
Midlands doesn't allow fight shorts, and I haven't heard of any preseason tourneys that are allowing this sensible solution to our sport's uniform crisis.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK
By RT
I was fortunate to attend the Cliff Keen in Lost Wages, Nevada. There were some great matches.
My top five performances:
1. Robert Kokesh giving Andrew Howe all he could handle.
2. Daniel Mitchell taking down Taylor Meeks.
3. Johnni DiJulius handling Joe Colon and then pinning Cody Brewer.
4. Brian Realbuto giving James Green all he could handle.
5. Logan Stieber's two-minute tech fall in the finals.
My biggest disappointments:
1. Devin Carter's season-ending injury, mainly for Carter himself but also for the fans that were anticipating a Stieber-Carter final.
2. The often classless behavior of some members of a Big Ten program's coaching staff. During many of this team's matches I watched, certain coaches were consistently whining about calls, stepping onto the mat during matches, seemingly trying to intimidate opposing coaches, and confronting the referees.
I understand passion from coaches (my college coach was an NCAA champ and he would be often be on the floor next to the mat during our matches -- literally wrestling them with us!) However, he had class and would argue only egregious calls.
One of the many great qualities of wrestling (and especially wrestling as a character builder for kids) is the ZERO tolerance for the kind of punkish behavior we see on football fields and during other sports.
I know the rules of sportsmanship for wrestlers but am curious about the rules for coaches? Seems to me it would have been appropriate for the Cliff Keen refs to reprimand certain coaches for their inappropriate behavior.
InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. Questions can be sent to Foley's email account or Twitter.
Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.
It is also important to note here that a now deceased BU Wrestling alum had created an endowment that funds something like 9 or 10 wrestling scholarships I believe. The BU Administration wants to take these scholarships and give them to other sports.
So you had a situation where a wrestling program was pretty well endowed financially and that still didnt save it from being cut.
Its time for the wrestling community to stand up against this outrage. Its not too late. I remember Brown tried to cut wrestling a few years back, and that decision was reversed. For wrestlers with no attachment to BU, it can be as simple as "liking" the Save BU Wrestling Facebook Page. I believe they sent around an online petition a while back...maybe its time for another one? Or even buying a BU wrestling shirt and wearing it around in public (I have done this and received positive comments in unexpected places).
In order to promote the growth of the support we need to preserve struggling programs while at the same time adding/reinstating new programs. It would be great to see BU competing in the EIWA for years to come.
I really should not waste my time responding to your mailbag post. However, for the sake of my alumni, parents and friends of Boston University wrestling, I need to speak up.
I did a little research on you. I see that you attended the University of Virginia, spent a short coaching stent at Columbia and you were an All American wrestler. Congratulations on your accomplishments. By the way, nice job on getting your tail out of that situation in Africa.
You have posted a number of times on our situation at Boston University. The more I read what you have to say, the more convinced I am that you have no clue about what you are talking about. I'm sure you would like to be recognized as a credible journalist but you are failing miserably trying to come across as the expert on me and the Boston University wrestling program. For example, you listened to one side of the story about why the Boston University wrestling program is being cancelled. You took that one sided conversation and your own personal bias and you ran with it. I'm sure that you have noticed that many other journalist have a much more accurate accounting of what went down.
Never once did you pick up a phone to talk to me. Any credible journalist knows that there are two sides to every story. After all, I am smack in the middle of the whole situation. Ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you that I do not bite and that I would have been more than happy to speak with you.
Further, you really seem to have an axe to grind. Go back and read some of your very first post. Take a look at how you responded to P. Duthie. I just can't sit back and let you try to built your reputation on the backs of our alumni, Boston University wrestling or me. It's truly amazing how you think that you can come across as the expert on Carl Adams. What you have written shows that you know absolutely nothing about me.
Aren't journalist suppose to do some research before they write something? TR, you failed really bad here.
You keep bringing up marketing and promoting the sport of wrestling. Again, you are showing yourself to be absolutely clueless. You seem to have a fixation on my ability to promote and market. You also have tried to come across as the person with all the answers. This just blows me away.
Part of my goal here is to set your distorted one sided record straight. I would also like to help you become a better journalist. You are failing when it comes to BU wrestling and Carl Adams.
I hate to pat myself on the back but I need to do this for you. So, this will just be for you and I. I am going to share a little history. Since you have spoken so much about my ability to market and promote, I will list some accomplishments. You also need to know a little about my personal history. This will also give you an idea why so many are irritated with the lies you are telling.
1) I invented the ADAM TAKEDOWN MACHINE at age 25. It is still on the market today and is recognized as one of the most advanced training devices for the sport of wrestling. I invented it and did all of the marketing myself before I sold the company. That marketing thing!
2) I own one of the longest running wrestling camps in the country. This year will be the 35th consecutive year that I have offered the camp. It has been known as one of the most successful camps on the east coast. That marketing thing!
3) The camp has generated in excess of 2.5 million dollars for Boston University. It has been the most successful camp by far at Boston University. Over 20,000 campers have attended the camp over the past 34 years. That marketing thing again!
4) I have also conducted camps and clinics in 15 other states over the past 33 years. I handle every aspect of the marketing and promotions. www.carladams.com
5) I have authored 3 instructional wrestling books. All 3 were best selling wrestling books when printed. I did all of the marketing and promotions myself.
6) I have authored 11 instructional video tapes for wrestling. Over 100.000 were purchased. I did all the marketing and promotions myself.
7) I am the inventor of the Snap and Shoot Takedown System. I did all of the marketing and promotions myself www.snapandshoot.com
8) I am the inventor of the IOWA STYLE SNAPPER. I did all of the marketing and promotions myself www.snapandshoot.com
9) I am the inventor of the JOBO TAKEDOWN SYSTEM. I did all of the marketing and promotions myself. www.snapandshoot.com
10) Inventor of The TAKEDOWN DEFENDER Yep! I did all of the marketing and promotions.
11) My camp administrators and I have conducted seminars for other camp directors who were trying to start or improve their camp. Yep, you guessed it, I did all of the marketing and promotions myself.
12) You may not remember this but Gary Abbott and I were co-ownwers of WRESTLING MASTERS MAGAZINE.
Personal, because you might not believe it unless you see it in writing.
1) Brentwood HS 1st Sate Champion
2) 1st and only NCAA freshman All American 1969 - first year of freshman eligibility.
3) Team MVP of 1972 NCAA Championship team
4) Member of 3 NCAA Championship teams- 2 X champ - 2X Freestyle Champ- World team-Pan Am Team-World Cup
5) Hired as an Iowa St. assistant at age 22.
6) Head coach at age 27 - Rhode Island University
7) D ! Coach for the past 41 years. TR, that is longer than you have been alive.
8) 33rd year at BU - 19 times 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the conference. 10 times 1st, 6 x 2nd and 3 x 3rd
9) 75 individual conference champions & 107 NCAA qualifiers. at Rhode Island and BU
Now, let me help you with some information about my stint at Boston University.
When I arrived at BU the program was on the chopping block. Ask Gary Abbott! In my early years, scholarships had been phased down to 1 scholarship. We had a $13,000
operating budget and my salary was $22,000 a year. I think you will agree that I had to be resourceful in order to raise a family and survive. Fortunately, I have a great work ethic and a very creative mind. No brag here, this is fact.
BU won 10 conference titles in my first 13 years. Gradually, I was able to get the administration up to the full 9.9 scholarships. Even then, we did not have a recruiting budget to speak of and it took a full 23 years before I was able to hire my first full time assistant.
I need to remind you TR, that this was a very tough time for college wrestling programs in New England. We lost, the University of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Yale, University of Maine, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, U. Mass Boston and there may be others that do not come to mind.
Boston University was continually building while programs were dropping all around us. Not many people speak about that. My struggles at BU have been a challenge but I have loved every second of it. That is what wrestling teaches us. We know that we have to overcome adversity and any challenge that is put in front of us. I am very satisfied with my efforts and I have absolutely loved working with so many incredible students.
I did not intent to spend this much time responding to your post but I know I needed to be thorough. I have no intention to debate you on this topic anymore. The facts are before you, so now you have the other side of the story. My only request to you is to do your research before you write something and stop trying to come across as an expert about something that you have no clue about. I wish you the best. You have talent and you could be really good for wrestling.
Carl Adams
SaveBUwrestling