VIDEO: Randy Couture talks wrestling, Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts

By Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
08/05/2011

TheMat.tv caught up with MMA superstar Randy Couture, who was a U.S. World Team member in Greco-Roman wrestling and NCAA runner-up for Oklahoma State in college wrestling.

The 2011 U.S. Grappling World Team Trials will be hosted at Randy's gym, Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nev., starting tomorrow (August 6).

Randy talked about a number of topics, including his wrestling career, his interest in the sport of Grappling, his Mixed Martial Arts career and his acting career.

Click here for the Randy Couture interview

Randy will spend some time at the event tomorrow before heading out to begin filming of a new major motion picture.

A native of Washington, Randy competed for the U.S. Army in Greco-Roman for many years. After leaving the service, Couture went to Oklahoma State where he was an NCAA runner-up for the Cowboys and continued to pursue his Olympic dream in Greco-Roman. Couture made a number of U.S. World Teams and won U.S. Nationals Greco-Roman titles.

While still wrestling, Couture got involved as an athlete in Mixed Martial Arts and become one of the sport's top heroes. He has been inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame. Randy's acting career has blossomed and he is now featured in major motion pictures.

2011 Cadet and Junior Nationals Wrap-up

Catch up on all the action, news, notes, results and happenings from the 2011 USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D. from July 16-23. 
2011 Cadet & Junior Nationals Special Section

Save the Last Dance

from WrestlingRoots.org
I remember sitting in the University of Virginia Wrestling room in 1999 listening to then-captain, now-coach Steve Garland and a half-dozen other wrestlers fantasize about what they would do if they ever win the NCAA championship. Almost every celebration included some use of available props, in this case ankle bands. Guys floated the idea of using them as a grenade (you've seen this before), others would lift them high above their head and then fall rigid to the mat like a tree in the forest. Still others had totally complicated, totally unprintable ideas they thought they'd like to express to 18k screaming fans. It was a comical moment that left an impression on me about the range of emotions and desires in the head of a post-match competitor. However, the truth is post-match victory celebrations in American folkstyle are exceedingly rare, in fact, they're almost non-existent. Read more...

ESPY Awards Fan Voting now open: Anthony Robles among nominees; Win Win up for best Sports Movie

By USA Wrestling
06/24/2011

NCAA Champion Anthony Robles is one of the nominees for Best Male Athlete with a Disability. Fans are encouraged to vote for Robles.

"Win Win" starring Paul Giamatti is also nominated for best sports movie.

The ESPY Awards are presented annually by ESPN. Fans can follow the link above to vote in each respective category.

Fan voting ends July 9 and the ESPY Awards will air on ESPN on July 13.

Vote for Robles: ESPN Fan Voting Site.

Olympic Champion Cael Sanderson Makes Triumphant Return by Winning U.S. World Team Trials

By Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
06/11/2011

Cael Sanderson battles Jake Herbert in the finals. John Sachs photo.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Can you win a World title after a seven-year layoff?

We are about to find out after Cael Sanderson capped an amazing run by winning a U.S. World Team Trials freestyle wrestling title on Saturday night at the Cox Convention Center.

The 2004 Olympic gold medalist and Penn State head coach looked like the Sanderson of old after sweeping two straight matches from 2009 World silver medalist Jake Herbert in the finals at 84 kg/185 lbs.

Sanderson won the first match of the best-of-3 finals series 4-1, 2-0 before winning the second match 5-2, 2-0 against one of the best wrestlers in the World in the talented Herbert.

Sanderson was one of nine champions crowned in three styles on Saturday. Those champions advance to September's World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

"I haven't been in competitive matches in an atmosphere like this in a long time," Sanderson said. "Early on, I think I was forcing things and maybe trying a little too hard. I felt a lot more comfortable as the day went on."

Click here now to read more and view results...
Watch video interview with Sanderson...

Covenant Wrestling Camps

The Covenant School is hosting two camps this summer at the Upper School Campus for rising 3rd-8th graders. 

The first camp will be held June 13-17, 9am-Noon. The camp is run by Covenant's Head Wrestling Coach, Colin Anderson, and will feature some other excellent instructors as well. See the camp flier for more information.  You may register online at https://covenant.registernation.com.

The second camp is sponsored by ACAC, and will be held June 20-23, 8:30am-4:30pm. The camp will feature top-notch instructors and will provide a nice blend of technical instruction, drilling, and competition geared for both new and experienced wrestlers. Campers will be transported between the the Covenant School and ACAC's Adventure Central mid-day for lunch and an hour of free swim at the ACAC WaterPark. See the camp flier for more information, or check it out online at acac.com.    

UVA Wrestling Camps

If you haven't already, check out UVA's great wrestling camp opportunities this summer! (http://www.virginiawrestlingcamps.com)

Read what Steve Garland, UVA's Head Wrestling Coach, says about this year's camps:
"We believe our camp offers a unique balance of small group instruction (and the goal with that is so that you actually learn something when you leave) with hard training and competition added in as well. Most camps have hundreds of kids in a week and that makes it impossible to really learn. We cap our first two camps (the Elite camp, and College Style camp) at 60 to ensure a great counselor to camper ratio. New this year, we are going to assign a counselor and coach to a group of kids so they have one on one instruction the whole time.
Our team camp is different as well because our goal with this camp is not just dual meet or tournament competition...we instead try to get you both competition AND structured drilling. We want every camper to leave our team camp with a SYSTEM that they can take back to their high school room. We want them to know 1) the right way to warm up 2)the right way to drill and 3) the right way to compete."

Check out the camps online at http://www.virginiawrestlingcamps.com