Cameron Wade interview

Coached by Scott Gomrad and Rocky Ciero of Winter Springs High School – Winter Springs, Florida, Robert O’Neill and his Brother Eric are prime for the picking of some college with the future in mind. Both young men are serious about their wrestling and it shows in their credentials and improvements from year to year.

Robert’s own words: I’ve been wrestling for 4 years. My freshman year I did not compete during the season, but I wrestled a little for my club team. I’ve attended Florida Pride Camp twice; Lee Pritts Camp & Henry Cejudo Clinic. The summer before my junior year I flew up with the Brandon wrestling team for the East Coast Duals in Maryland. This off-season I competed with South Florida Lightening at the Indiana Brute Scholastic Duals, the Virginia Beach National Duals and with my schools team at Disney. In the pre-season, I will compete in the Super23 Tournament in North Carolina. This year in the Quarter Finals of State, I sprained both of my ankles.That’s the only injury I’ve ever had while competing in sports. I weigh between 175 & 180 and will wrestle 171 this season. In college I plan on being a 174 pounder.

With recruiting budgets dwindling and coaches looking for quality athletes, it seems to me that RecruitAWrestler.com has the right  idea at the right time. Many kids are going unnoticed and are not being recruited after high school. Coaches and kids need a place to meet up and communicate. They are doing that at RecruitAWrestler.com

Central Florida University Head Coach Jason Balma understands that many kids are just not blue chip prospects and for lack of “the connection” may not even know what colleges may offer wrestling. Many of the NCWA schools even have money available for wrestlers to attend.

Excel Wrestling held its 14th Excel Tribute Dinner this past Sunday in Central Iowa.  Inducted into the Excel “Hall of Heroes” was legendary Iowa State coach Les Anderson.  Anderson joins the ranks of Rulon Gardner, Brandon Slay, Lincoln McIlravy, Terry Steiner, Kevin Jackson, Larry Nugent, Mike McArthur, Arno Niemand, Eric Swanson, Henry Cejudo and others.  Anderson was the 16^th inductee overall.

The award is given each year based on courage, character and commitment to wrestling and life.  Anderson touched the lives of Cyclone wrestlers for more than three decades en route to six NCAA National Championship teams from 1965 to 1987.  He and Head Coach Harold Nichols formed one of the most successful coaching tandems in NCAA Wrestling history.   

Steve Knight, Excel Wrestling’s Head Coach, who wrestled for Anderson in the late ‘80’s and coached along side him for two seasons had this to say, “Les was one of the best coaches I ever had.  His technique in every position was flawless and especially his ability to ride and pin was exceptional!  He was a guy you wanted to work for, you wanted to win for.  He was more than a coach, definitely a father figure to all of us who were fortunate enough to be coached by him.  It was an honor to recognize him today at our Tribute Dinner.”

As a wrestler for ISU from 1958-60, Anderson, a native of Clarion, Iowa, was a three-time All-American, two-time national champion and two-time Big Eight champion at 130 and 137 pounds. Anderson was Nichols’ first NCAA champion in 1958, winning the 130-pound NCAA title. He was the NCAA runner-up at 130 pounds in 1959 and closed out his senior year by winning the 1960 137-pound NCAA title. ISU was runner-up national champions in all three of Anderson’s seasons as a wrestler.

After graduation, Anderson coached at the prep level for four years before returning to Iowa State in 1964.  As an assistant from 1964-74, Anderson and Nichols coached ISU to five NCAA team titles, three second-place finishes and tutored 20 individual national champions and 47 All-Americans.

Anderson, who earned both his BS and MS degrees from Iowa State, left ISU in 1974 to become the head wrestling coach at Washington. He mentored the Huskies until 1978 and then returned to his alma mater to assist the Cyclones again. His second stint as an ISU assistant was from 1979-92, helping Iowa State win another NCAA team title in 1987 and tutoring 14 individual national champions. ISU wrestlers earned All-America honors 67 times from 1979-92. He spent his final two years at ISU in 1993 and 1994 as a compliance director and athletic coordinator. Anderson was named Amateur Wrestling News Assistant Coach of the Year in 1985.

He was one of the first coaches to implement summer wrestling clinics, a concept that became the norm. For seven years he was on the Board of Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and helped initiate the first annual coaches convention. He served as director of five NCAA and one AAU National tournaments and participated in the formation of the United States Wrestling Federation, serving three years on the Board of Directors of USA Wrestling.

He was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1984 and was a 2004 inductee to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Anderson commented, “I am flattered with the award.  It was a pleasure to be a part of this and see what Steve and his board have been building on the high school level.  It was great to see him and so many past Cyclones attend the event today.  I am grateful!”

 Cyclone wrestlers came in from all parts of the country.  Former NCAA Champion and longtime US Naval Academy Coach Reg Wicks attended the event as well as ISU All American Jim Duschen, who now coaches in Las Vegas, NV.

 Les Anderson continues to be active in the sport with his creation of www.thewrestlingsite.com and www.recruitawrestler.com websites geared toward youth and high school wrestlers who are searching for the right college fit for their wrestling careers.

• Where: DMACC Campus Conference Center,
  Building #7, Ankeny, Iowa
• When: Sunday, November 14th, 2010
• Schedule: Social Hour: 12 noon to 1pm 
                  Lunch served: 1pm
                  Awards: 2pm
• Honoring: Les Anderson, long time Legendary Iowa State coach and National Wrestling Hall of Fame Member

  Les Anderson is truly one of America’s legendary coaches. Very few in the sport of wrestling have even come close to matching the accomplishments of Coach Anderson. His impact on Iowa State wrestling spans nearly four decades! He made his impression on Iowa State’s storied wrestling program as a competitor, coach and administrator. Anderson competed for and assisted legendary ISU Hall of Fame coach Harold Nichols to help facilitate one of the greatest wrestling dynasties in NCAA history. 

  As a wrestler for ISU from 1958-60, Anderson, a native of Clarion, Iowa, was a three-time All-American, two-time national champion and two-time Big Eight champion at 130 and 137 pounds. Anderson was Nichols’ first NCAA champion in 1958, winning the 130-pound NCAA title. He was the NCAA runner-up at 130 pounds in 1959 and closed out his senior year by winning the 1960 137-pound NCAA title. ISU was runner-up national champions in all three of Anderson’s seasons as a wrestler.

  After graduation, Anderson coached at the prep level for four years before returning to Iowa State in 1964 to form one of the most successful coaching tandems in NCAA wrestling history. As an assistant from 1964-74, Anderson and Nichols coached ISU to five NCAA team titles, three second-place finishes and tutored 20 individual national champions and 47 All-Americans. 

  Anderson, who earned both his BS and MS degrees from Iowa State, left ISU in 1974 to become the head wrestling coach at Washington. He mentored the Huskies until 1978 and then returned to his alma mater to assist the Cyclones again. His second stint as an ISU assistant was from 1979-92, helping Iowa State win another NCAA team title in 1987 and tutoring 14 individual national champions. ISU wrestlers earned All-America honors 67 times from 1979-92. He spent his final two years at ISU in 1993 and 1994 as a compliance director and athletic coordinator. Anderson was named Amateur Wrestling News Assistant Coach of the Year in 1985. 

  He was one of the first coaches to implement summer wrestling clinics, a concept that became the norm. For seven years he was on the Board of Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and helped initiate the first annual coaches convention. He served as director of five NCAA and one AAU National tournaments and participated in the formation of the United States Wrestling Federation, serving three years on the Board of Directors of USA Wrestling.

  He was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1984 and was a 2004 inductee to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

It is with great respect that we honor Les Anderson inducting him into the Excel Wrestling “Hall of Heroes” for 2010. Coach Anderson becomes the 16th Excel “Hall of Heroes” inductee in 10 years joining Rulon Gardner, Brandon Slay, Lincoln McIlravy, Terry Steiner, Steve Fraser, Kevin Jackson, Scott Frohardt, Tom Clum, Mike McArthur, Henry Cejudo, Arno Niemand, Larry Nugent, Eric Swanson, Mike Chapman and Rob Koll.

Information: Tickets are $20 each (Excel wrestlers receive a complimentary ticket). The afternoon will begin with a social hour at noon and lunch following at 1pm. Raffle tickets will be available for $20 each – all funds raised from the Iowa Team EXCEL Fall Tribute Luncheon go toward supporting financial need scholarships for wrestlers in the Iowa Excel Junior Olympic Program.

Hall of Fame wrestler & Coach Les Anderson, along with Award winning wrestling broadcaster Scott Casber announce their new on-line venture www.recruitawrestler.com .

 The new site, designed specifically for the sport of amateur wrestling, creates a location for high school and junior / community college wrestlers to build their wrestling, academic and personal profiles. In addition, they will add their pictures and be able to upload multiple match & highlight videos. Kids will have 24/7 access to their profiles to keep their information fresh for collegiate coaches.

 Coach Anderson & Scott Casber invite every college coach in North America to come to the site, register for FREE and establish their own private and secure search location for their respective schools. Coaches will be able to search the wrestler data base privately. The search directives will allow coaches to find prospective wrestlers by record, weight, graduation year and location. They will be able to view, make notes, retain and prioritize prospect profiles.

 Coach Anderson says “Our philosophy is very simple. We believe that every kid that wants to wrestle at the next level should have that opportunity.”  Additionally, Scott Casber says “This is one of the most aggressive web initiatives, designed strictly for our sport that will introduce coaches from every Division and every level to a wide variety of student/athletes that want to wrestle, but may be overlooked.”

 Les and Scott say that a variety of recent events led to the development of this site. With the current financial pressure being experienced by a majority of collegiate programs, they have watched the impact range from reduced recruiting dollars to the complete demise of programs. Additionally, a number of families had indicated that they had invested up to several thousands of dollars with recruiting companies in an effort to create visibility for their student/athlete with limited results. And, as Coach Anderson says “The solid DI and DII programs know who the ‘Blue Chippers’ are; and have had them on the radar for years. Kids that want to wrestle, but haven’t caught the eye of a coach give up. We want to give every coach at every level several opportunities to find that student/athlete that fits perfectly into their program for both athletic and academic reasons. We also recognize that many kids wrestle in geographic areas that are not on the ‘recruiting’ circuit.”

 Their hope and intent with this website is to become the perfect “introduction” site for kids and coaches. They invite every coach and every kid that wants to wrestle at the next level to visit www.recruitawrestler.com .