#77: The Future of Regional Training Centers

RUDIS Wrestling Podcast

RTCs
On this episode, Ben Askren and Matt Dernlan discuss the main topics from the NWCA coach’s convention including changes/recommendations for how RTCs are being run, monitored, regulated and enforced by the NCAA. They kick off the podcast by bringing up current news of Zain Retherford not wrestling at the 2019 Pan Ams. They also briefly discuss the news of Yianni Diakomihalis officially announcing he will taking an Olympic redshirt year. Next, Askren and Dernlan talk 2019 Cadet Worlds held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Notably our women’s team performance.
The Future of the Sport
Getting into the discussion of RTCs, Askren asks “Do we care more about elevating and growing the sport as well as bringing up the level of competition for the US senior-level athletes to compete internationally? Or do we care more about the fairness of the college competition?” The answer to this question will help determine the future state of RTCs. Next years NCAA Championships being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the U.S. Bank Stadium will be the first time in its history the championships are held in a stadium as opposed to an arena. Dernlan talks about how he heard at the NWCA Coach’s Convention that they have sold close to 20,000 seats and are working on unveiling a plan to grow it to close to 40,000.
One Semester Season
Another hot topic surrounding last weekends convention is switching the college wrestling season to a one-semester sport. This would benefit the academic side of the sport by not pulling athletes away from the classroom over two semesters and allowing them to schedule their classes easier. It would also allow wrestling to bump the national championship back to April instead of “competing” against basketballs march madness. Lastly, there was talk about two types of championships stretched over two semesters. One would be a dual meet champion season and the other would be a tournament championship. Askren talks about when you can win a team race with 4 wrestlers that is probably not the best way to judge the best overall team. Coming up on the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast Askren will be interviewing 2x NCAA Champion, Spencer Lee.