On another note, lol..I am definitely interested in seeing how they come out tomorrow versus Iowa State. I hope I’m wrong but this seems to be a match after the letdown last night that they come out and get wiped off the mat. I hope they battle!!
Pitt vs UNC Friday @7
- Thread starter wrestlingfan22
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I wouldn't be surprised but the team thing is overblown in wrestling
light weights and who's actually matching up there might allow Pitt to keep it close enough but likely not enough to win late
Gavin's in meet comment when asked what he says to his guys was exactly accurate to what it seems he always says, at least during a meet
right?and really if he were vociferous and animated who knows how much difference he makes, but it seems most coaches do and say more
Pitt beat Stanford this year already.
Pitt was co-acc champs just two seasons ago too.
Seems like a lot of folks here only pay attention or comment when Pitt loses.
They have a team with 2 seniors, 1 junior then the rest sophomore and freshman. Stout is ranked 10th as a sophomore and Evans is having a great freshman year, not sure of his rank now. Kade Brown seems to be promising and they have some exciting recruits coming in.
Yes but the guys that followed did all win and wrestle really well. Except Pitzer. Seems like the lightweights are the ones that need more of the pep talk stuff.
it's actually rather refreshing that he didn't just say something that is mostly BS like they wanted to hear
I told them "dig deep and go hard for a 7 minutes" , "trust your work" , "the team believes in you" and really stupid like "we got your back" , "leave it all out there"
Can't say enough good things about Dylan Evans, beating a quality opponent at the buzzer to get our streak started.
165 is a weak spot in the lineup and Keslar has laid some eggs out there, but he's also provided some big points at big moments and yesterday was one of those times.
Luca got to his offense early and held on. Nice comeback for Reece, that's 11 straight wins since his 0-3 day at Rider.
15 straight Ws for Mac.
Tebo was impressive in defeat (also Dylan C pinned Carter Bailey in the Bucknell-Lehigh dual, Carter beat him twice before that).
Babin is a quiet upgrade at 125 but one-dimensional. Ant looks small and ineffective at 141 so far.
Dayton hasn't really looked good since Dec 2023. He seems similar to Cole Matthews in that a good scouting report will go a long, long way towards beating him. Earlier this year it seemed like Pitzer's whole game plan to win matches was to stay scoreless in neutral, then get a reversal and rideout to win ~3-0. That's too narrow of a path to victory. Gotta be able to create some offense against other strong wrestlers.
165 is a weak spot in the lineup and Keslar has laid some eggs out there, but he's also provided some big points at big moments and yesterday was one of those times.
Luca got to his offense early and held on. Nice comeback for Reece, that's 11 straight wins since his 0-3 day at Rider.
15 straight Ws for Mac.
Tebo was impressive in defeat (also Dylan C pinned Carter Bailey in the Bucknell-Lehigh dual, Carter beat him twice before that).
Babin is a quiet upgrade at 125 but one-dimensional. Ant looks small and ineffective at 141 so far.
Dayton hasn't really looked good since Dec 2023. He seems similar to Cole Matthews in that a good scouting report will go a long, long way towards beating him. Earlier this year it seemed like Pitzer's whole game plan to win matches was to stay scoreless in neutral, then get a reversal and rideout to win ~3-0. That's too narrow of a path to victory. Gotta be able to create some offense against other strong wrestlers.
I was pleased with Tebo’s effort, he is confident he can win. Bailey was sick, Dylan pinned Seamus Mack, but he wrestled better than he has the last week, dealing with a few issues.
That is really surprising. I find that when I coach, managing a kid's mental state and approach to competing is at least half of the job
Tebo did great. He has shown a lot of improvement in a short time.
Is he on the verge of growing out of 125? He looks thick even at 133
I don’t think so, I believe he’s only walking around at 135, maybe 139 Off season. My experience, any coach would push him to be a 125 unless he is consistently winning matches at 133 and beef up. Good weight management he’s a 125z.
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My two cents, the coaches are doing a good job. Have they made some mistakes and misses, I think they would tell you they have. First HC job at a power school in a hotbed of wrestling. They are learning and you can see it. They are transitioning in the correct direction with recruiting and coaching. Biggest move, bringing in Rosselli, he is the exact opposite of the other coaches, more vocal and the wrestlers love his style. He also has HC experience so he can provide guidance. I think they have the coaching staff they want to keep moving forward.
Factors some don’t consider. These are kids, transitioning isn’t easy, I have 3 D1 athletes, each has had their challenges transitioning from a watchful eye to having complete freedom.
If you’re trying to make sure you get a good education along with being a top 20 wrestler you also have some challenges you have to adjust to from HS.
Kids are growing still so weight management can be difficult.
Many of these kids are seeing real competition for a starting position for the first time, many breezed through HS. One transfer or new recruit can change your position and mindset. A well liked wrestler can decide to leave.
Team comradarie and cohesiveness is vital, but hard to develop and maintain. One or two bad actors can bring down performance of all.
My point is, there are lots of factors to consider from a team and individual perspective. I think the coaches are developing and on the right track. From what I see and hear, the coaches are challenging each wrestler to compete and to live the lifestyle and kids are buying in. Sometimes we expect it to happen over night, believe me, I am as impatient with my boys as anyone. It sucks watching them come up short and not thinking I could have done more to prepare them mentally. I’m sure the coaches do the same.
Apologies for this being long. I have spent a lot of time with the Bucknell coaches, not as much with Pitt but enough to see what they are doing, and I see similarities. Pitt will get better recruits, they can develop, but it is also on the wrestler to live the lifestyle to be developed. It takes some time to understand the type of kid who can do that and recruit them
Factors some don’t consider. These are kids, transitioning isn’t easy, I have 3 D1 athletes, each has had their challenges transitioning from a watchful eye to having complete freedom.
If you’re trying to make sure you get a good education along with being a top 20 wrestler you also have some challenges you have to adjust to from HS.
Kids are growing still so weight management can be difficult.
Many of these kids are seeing real competition for a starting position for the first time, many breezed through HS. One transfer or new recruit can change your position and mindset. A well liked wrestler can decide to leave.
Team comradarie and cohesiveness is vital, but hard to develop and maintain. One or two bad actors can bring down performance of all.
My point is, there are lots of factors to consider from a team and individual perspective. I think the coaches are developing and on the right track. From what I see and hear, the coaches are challenging each wrestler to compete and to live the lifestyle and kids are buying in. Sometimes we expect it to happen over night, believe me, I am as impatient with my boys as anyone. It sucks watching them come up short and not thinking I could have done more to prepare them mentally. I’m sure the coaches do the same.
Apologies for this being long. I have spent a lot of time with the Bucknell coaches, not as much with Pitt but enough to see what they are doing, and I see similarities. Pitt will get better recruits, they can develop, but it is also on the wrestler to live the lifestyle to be developed. It takes some time to understand the type of kid who can do that and recruit them
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Great stuff, Larry. I think we forget that these guys have lives off the mat that can impact performance. I know I've carried things from my personal life that have affected my professional performance, and that's after twice as much life experience as these kids have.
The point about living the right life is important, too. We also tend to forget where the Pitt program was before Gavin's arrival - not good on the mat and with a few bad apples off it that spoiled the bunch.
I don't think any Pitt coach, fan or wrestler is thrilled with where the program is right now -- all would love to see it be a top-10 program -- but it is so much better than it was previously. Eventually, they need to take that next step, and recruiting is the biggest piece of that.
Pitt fans are hilarious. Two years ago Dayton was the second coming and now he “sucks” and is “pathetic”. Maybe let the kid heal from injury? It was the same thing with Holstein on the football team. Only supporting when they’re on top then they hit a road bump and it’s game over
Yeah UNC has a good team. They beat Vtech and narrowly lost to nc state. It was considered a toss up dual for Pitt. It was a good dual that Pitt lost on criteria. The overreaction on here is crazy.
I don’t mind the overreaction because any team that actually cares and their fan base cares they have the same conversations after a match.. if there is no conversation like this after a heartbreaking loss then that’s a really bad sign of where the program is heading and what the fans think.. so I love the back-and-forth conversations that are good and bad.
Yea, at least there is conversation here, at Bucknell, very few parents discuss the team and the fans even less. lol. Even if my son isn’t lighting the world on fire I still like to see fans care and the wrestlers do look here, I have been asked about a few opinions I have expressed here.
