Eagle Grove wrestling

[Herdcyclones]

Must admit I am not a big wrestling guy, but 1/2 pay attention to it. What has happened with Eagle Grove? Weren't they a real wrestling power? I was listening to the Roland-Story/Eagle Grove meet tonite on the net, and EG maybe only filled 6 weights, and only won 1 or 2. I see they haven't won a dual.

So am I imagining they used to be a wrestling power house? If so, how long ago was that, and what happened?

 

[DarkThunder#61]

Eagle Grove wrestling is one of the most storied programs in the NCC.

They have the most team titles (10) and are tied for most individual champions (95) with Humboldt in the NCC dual meet history.

They've won state titles in 1974, 1986, 1987 (2A) and finished runner-up 8 times (3rd most in state history) and most recently finished 3rd in 2005 and 2006. They have the 5th-most individual state champions in tournament history with 51.

They have state dual titles in 1987 (2A) and 1992 (1A) and have 6 total appearances (last in 2003).

Their problem is a reflection of the current overall athletics program at Eagle Grove, which is way down in the dumps right now. They're losing numbers and there's just not the same talent that there used to be.
They have a couple of decent wrestlers but not enough numbers to be competitive with such a tough conference like the NCC. At least not right now.

 

[Lonetreehawk]

I believe they even lost their 220# frosh state qualifier from last year. Doesn't Gambrill wrestle for Clarion-Goldfield now? That's gotta be tough to take.

 

[dadthencoach]

Eagle has struggled for a number of years now. Ever since 2006, when Darin Schreck left as coach, they have struggled for numbers, even for coaches. They had basically draft Dave Morgan out of retirement to come back for a few years in 2006. Sad thing is that -- like a lot of districts up there -- it is losing enrollment and it's probably not coming back. Clarion-Goldfield is holding enrollment pretty well and their consolidation has really strengthened the district and should keep enrollment strong. As far as consolidation prospects go, I'm not sure there are any for Eagle. And that's sad. I grew up in the era of Morgan, Korslund, Woodall, Prehm and Marv Reiland's other great teams of the 1970s and '80s. But those days may be gone, and in a land of shrinking communities and shrinking schools, they may not come back. And that is sad.
This post was edited on 2/1 7:31 PM by dadthencoach

 

[NCC Wrestling]

Football at Eagle Grove has seemed to slide by the "no kids out" situation. They have been pretty successful recently. Wrestling is another story. They simply don't have the numbers in high school or in middle school. They should look seriously at sharing with near-by Clarion-Goldfield. It would probably send Clarion-Goldfield into Class 2A but this year anyway....they could easily compete very well in Class 2A. If Eagle Grove ever had numbers again possibly they could go back to their own identity. Lake Mills and Northwood-Kensett combined for a few years and it worked. Now Lake Mills is back on their own. For the sake of wrestling and competition, E#agle Grove needs to look at a sharing situation.

 

[juicebox215]

Eagle Grove is certainly one of the most storied programs in state history and it pains me to see it fall apart like it has. For a school with over 100 state finalists and traditionally a top 10 team to have 0 returning state qualifiers is awful. There are several factors involved in the downward spiral, but a lot of it boils down to the current coach. For whatever reason, after Dave Morgan re-retired, the school hired a coach that had zero wrestling experience or coaching ability that's not even a teacher in the school. He doesn't know technique, kids don't want to wrestle for him, they don't respect him, they're poorly trained....and it really shows on he mat. He's turned off some of the recent grads/greats and they don't want to come back and help the program anymore as long as he's there. Even if the school had more kids, the team wouldn't be good again as long as this guy is around. Just 5-6 years ago the team took 3rd at state with only 3 state qualifiers. I'm sorry to bash on the guy and I'm sure he's doing his best, but it really is the truth and probably the biggest reason for the fast decline. Hard to get rid of a coach at this level for poor performance, but they shouldn't have given him the position to begin with. There are several other good coaches/former wrestlers around town and some former alumni/coaches that applied for the job that were turned away. I really hope they can get things turned around, but I don't see it in the near future. It's really sad to see.
This post was edited on 2/2 11:41 AM by juicebox215

 

[Herdcyclones]

Thanks for the replies gang. So I wasn't imagining their past success. I talked to another coach. He indicated that Eagle Grove is also suffering from some classes with low boy to girl ratios. Good for getting a date at prom, not so good for the wrestling program.

 

[Spoon3251]

I like traditions and the Eagle Grove Invitational was always a classic wrestling meet. I t would draw the best of the best every year in to the old gym at the high school. The new "varsity" gym that was built a few years ago at the middle school just doesn't carry the same atmosphere.

I loved Eagle Grove's old gym. When that gym was full for either wrestling or basketball, it was a great place to play and view an event. That atmosphere is lost in the new gym. I say, go back to the old gym.

 

[DarkThunder#61]

The old barn that Eagle Grove played in, while nostalgic, wasn't exactly the greatest venue in the world.

Sure it fit the hard-nosed mentality of their wrestling program, but the seating for basketball games, the times I was there, got and looked very uncomfortable towards the end.

 

[NCC Wrestling]

They still hold wrestling events in the old gym.

 

[DarkSky]

NCC Wrestling - Just so you know... New 2011-2012 district student number count (from this year) show the Eagle Grove Community School District as the biggest school district in Wright county, with over 125 more students than C-G. While the high school classes right now are in low numbers. I don't know where you are getting your information but the lower grades are showing enrollment at 65+ and one in 86+.

 

[NCC Wrestling]

It's not enrollment I'm talking about. It's numbers out for wrestling. Clarion has the numbers right now. So it only makes sense to go to Clarion UNTIL the Eagles can support it's own team with numbers.

 

[se xc1]

Darksky,
Where did you find the numbers?? Can you link a site? Thanks.

 

[dadthencoach]

Juice:

I just spent about a week on a similar topic talking about Harlan's coach, and I'm going to say the same thing here that I said in that case.
First of all, don't say you're "sorry to bash on the guy." If you were sorry, you wouldn't do it.
Second, were you on the search committee? Do you know who or how many applicants for the job there were? I mean actually know for a FACT, not just what you heard at the coffee shop. Did any of the recent grads/greats who have been turned off apply, or are they just sitting off to the side complaining?
Third, where do you work? Can I go, unnamed, on a website somewhere and call you inept and a loser and wish you can get fired? If I can't why should you be able to do it to someone else?

Tell you a funny story (and this is how I know what I'm talking about). A friend of mine (Iowa native, teacher and wrestling coach) was looking to move back from out of state during the time Dave Morgan was trying to re-retire. My friend had asked me what I knew about it, and said, well, I'll make some calls. So I called the Eagle Grove AD, told him who I was, that I was an old wrestling coach and that I had heard that Morgan wanted to step down. Before I could say another word, he all but asked me if I'd be interested. I was flattered, but I explained that it wasn't for me, it was for a friend, and I wondered about possible teaching openings. He said, sadly, that no, there weren't any openings in my friend's specialty. I thanked him and wished him luck in his search.

This fact coupled with what you're saying tells me that Eagle Grove had a tough time filling the position, and maybe had to turn an individual with less experience. And in a community like Eagle Grove that has the kind of history it has, that's a tough gig. You've got about four generations of fatties sitting around at meets complaining, but who because of time or work or the personal realization that they might have been good wrestlers but have no idea whatsoever how to actually run a wrestling program, won't step up to help (in a POSITIVE manner).

Juice, unless you've actually walked in the guy's shoes, you don't know what you're talking about. And like I said, let me know where you work, so I can stop by and heckle you, too.

 

[juicebox215]

What I said is fact, not coffee shop rumors. One of the applicants for the job was even a former coach, who was already a teacher at the high school, and he was passed over.

My comment regarding recent grads being turned off from helping was referring mostly to guys coming in to help during the summer, christmas/school breaks, camps, etc. Not coming back to the program to coach, as some were still wrestling in college or coaching elsewhere.

As someone that's coached many levels, I've walked in his shoes, so to speak - and regarding this topic I do know what I'm talking about. Why come online and talk about this? Because it's an online message board geared toward wrestling and someone asked about the program. I'm not coming online with some agenda and trying to get the guy fired, rather I answered the original question posed about the program's decline with accurate and factual information.

 

[Duddley Do Right]

In the end talent wins, there isnt anyway around it. The question is where are the parents as far as getting their kids involved in wrestling at a young age. That was what set apart a school like EG it had several kids wrestling from 3rd grade on up across the state and it showed by the time they got to HS. If kids arent trained well by the time you hit hs, doesnt matter the sport your going to struggle to a certain extent (obviously talent can overcome some of that). Secondly anyone that has ever coached in communities that are better off money wise compared to a school district like EG (last I saw they were at atleast 55% getting reduced lunches) knows that its tough coaching kids from districts like EG, a lot of them dont want to learn techniques and skills theyve got a lot more important things on their minds. Very little has to do with a head coach, thus its fairly unreasonable to run a coach off because back in the early 90's they were good.

 

[super_tecmo_bowl]

What's going on with the decline of Eagle Grove wrestling is a trend that started nearly a decade ago. After Morgan's first stint as head coach, the emphasis on the little kids program was non-existent comparable to what it had been for decades. His successor was not as invested in the long term success of the program as he had his own family and his own agenda. His predecessors always made a point to place great emphasis on their feeder program. The effort and commitment it takes to keep the program strong from K-12 in a town with the tradition such as Eagle Grove is great. As the emphasis dwindled on the program a decade ago, the talent pool to choose from obviously shrunk.

Whoever talked to the AD that was there when Morgan retired again may not want to put much in to what he was told. That guy had a problem in dealing with truth and doing/saying things with little to no facts to back up his statements. There were options available to hire a wrestling coach other than the one they have now. Although he puts the effort in to it, effort can only take you so far. He's a good guy, but he's shown that he's probably not the right guy to lead the entire program in a town with the history that Eagle Grove has on the mat. Clarion-Goldfield's resurgence has been lead by former Eagle Grove wrestler Kurt Morgan. He puts all the hard work in to his program that EG's coach does, but Kurt has the experience and knowledge to translate that hard work in to success on the mat.

The only way to fix the issue in Eagle Grove is for some of the old guys who like to piss and moan about what they don't like to help out in any way possible. The guys that were on those great teams in the 70's that are still around are now grandfathers. There sons who got to go to a packed gym and watch Mark Reiland and Jessie Whitmer now hopefully have kids who they try to excite about wrestling. Even if someone with more experience were at the helm, it still takes involvement from all to make a program with that kind of history regain its success with the lower enrollment figures compared to when that foundation was being built.

 

[dadthencoach]

STB:
It was me that talked to the AD, and if I was fooled, shame on me. Would I be safe in guessing that the person I talked to wanted anyone but who else was applying?

It's a funny thing about the pissers and moaners. When you go to guys like them and ask them to help -- I mean actually help in a positive manner -- they tend to slink away, more often than not. Or, they swear they will come back to help, once you get a Mark Reiland or Jesse Whitmer to come back to coach (knowing full-well there's a better chance of winning PowerBall than there is of that happening). The thing is that they don't want to help; they just want to piss and moan.

Eagle Grove has fallen on tough times, and I don't know what the answer is. Maybe one answer might be to start focusing more on what the kids want and need as opposed to what the parents and alumni think they need. They aren't the ones wrestling, are they?