Wrestlers perform a significant amount of physical exercise but it is also important to balance this by exercising our brain as well.  My high school coach once told me: “always have a book in your hand”.   I have come to value this advice and probably do more reading these days than when I was in college.  The benefits of reading are well documented from increasing one’s vocabulary, being a stress reliever, making us better writers, and increasing our overall knowledge on whatever subject we choose to read.  I have found that each book that I read allows me to have some personal growth and can also see it in those who read.  It has been gratifying to know that our coaching staff is a group of avid readers and we would like to share the last three books that the we have read this summer.  Feel free to post the last book(s) that you have read.

Coach Ozzie:

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Still Me by Chistopher Reeve
Becoming the Natural by Randy Couture

Coach Loo:
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The Honeymoon by James Patterson

Jerry Garcia an American Life

Coach Ulises:

The Soloist by Steve Lopez

Crecimiento Personal a la Mexicana: 7 Principios para Vivir a Toda Madre by Jorge Cuevas

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Coach Audelo:

Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

Out of The Silent Planet

Perelandra

That Hideous Strength

  Coach Melendrez: Mexican Mafia Tony RafaelIceman: My Fighting Life by Chad Millman and Chuck Liddell My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror by Louis Freeh Coach Daren:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (in 5^th grade)

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (Cliff Notes)

Spiderman, Volume 9 Number 3

Camp Rock by Lucy Ruggles

 Coach Abeyta:  The Art of War by Tzu Sun

The Life and Dath of Crazy Horse by Russell Freedman

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling

08/28/2008

BURBANK, CALIF. – The Henry Cejudo story got even bigger tonight when the Olympic freestyle champion made an appearance as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, August 27.

Already considered one of the big personal stories of the Beijing Olympics, Henry Cejudo reached an even larger audience when he was interviewed on one of the most popular shows on television. Wrestling fans across the nation took great pride when this 21-year-old represented his sport with great charm and character on national television.

The Tonight Show appearance became a reality back in Beijing, China, after Cejudo’s amazing victory at 55 kg/121 lbs. on August 19. His heartfelt celebration and impressive personal story captured the attention of the world. It also caught the attention of Tonight Show’s Steve Ridgeway.

Ridgeway spent some time with Cejudo during one of his days of media tours following his victory, and decided that Henry’s story should be included on the Tonight Show.

Working closely with USA Wrestling’s Communications Manager Craig Sesker, the complicated details of Cejudo’s visit were ironed out while everybody was still over in China. When Henry arrived in Chicago from China on August 26, the Tonight Show decided to re-route him immediately to Los Angeles, where he would appear the next day with Jay Leno.

While working out the travel arrangements, Ridgeway and his colleague Bryan Branly decided to play a little trick on Henry, and also liven up the segment tremendously. Originally, the plan was to have Henry’s older brother Angel and his mother Nelly Rico attend the show as his guests.

The story of Nelly Rico, a single mom who raised Henry and his siblings under trying conditions and with great strength and love, was one of the stories which emerged when Cejudo claimed his Olympic title. Henry had not seen his mother for over a month, because she had not been able to attend the Olympics.

Working with Angel on the trick, they decided to tell Henry that his mom could not attend the show. Meanwhile, the Tonight Show staff flew Nelly and Henry’s sister Gloria Cejudo in at a later time and kept them hidden from Henry. The idea was to surprise Henry with his mother’s appearance at the end of Henry’s interview with Leno.

Meanwhile, Henry flew all the way from Beijing to Chicago, then switched over to a late night flight to Los Angeles, where he was greeted by a limousine and whisked off to the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. There he was greeted by his brother Angel, and was told his mom was not feeling well and did not attend.

Henry became a big hit in the hotel lobby when it was discovered that an Olympic champion had arrived. Many contestants for the TV series America Has Talent were in the hotel, and lined up for pictures with Henry and his Olympic gold medal. Eventually, Henry went off to get a little sleep after traveling more than a day to get home.

Henry’s day on the Tonight Show was very busy. It started with an 8:30 a.m. breakfast meeting with Tonight Show staffers Ridgeway and Branly, where Henry and Angel were interviewed and ideas about what would be discussed on the show were bantered around.

Many friends along with Cejudo family members arrived during the day, including a group that drove up from his Phoenix hometown early in the morning. By the time that the Tonight Show van pulled up to the 2:45 p.m. pickup at the hotel, there were over a dozen Cejudo supporters there to see Henry’s appearance with Jay Leno.

Cejudo was taken to his own dressing room outside the Tonight Show set, with his friends given backstage passes. Food was brought in by the Tonight Show staff, and everybody was having a good time. Eventually, Jay Leno stopped in himself to greet Henry, visit with his group of friends, and go over the night’s script a bit.

Prior to the start of the show, the friends and family were taken to seats inside the Tonight Show set in the audience. There was a warmup act prior to the start of the show, including some jokes from Leno himself. Meanwhile, Cejudo was by himself behind stage, waiting for his turn with Jay Leno.

The show started with Leno’s monologue, then an extended comedy feature from the Democratic National Convention. Next up was comedian Bill Maher, who talked for two time segments with Leno about politics and other social issues. In between segments, the Tonight Show band entertained with outstanding music, keeping the atmosphere lively.

The Cejudo segment began with video of his Olympic championship celebration, and loud applause from the audience, including the chant of USA, USA, USA. Cejudo sat down next to Leno and began to chat. Cejudo was relaxed and friendly, and soon the two were joking around, telling stories and having a good time.

When Leno asked Cejudo about his mother, Henry praised her and then said that he was sad that she was not able to attend the show. That is when Leno surprised Henry, and those in the audience, by bringing his mom Nelly onto the stage. Henry hugged his mother, and placed his Olympic gold medal around her neck, to the applause and tears of the audience. Ridgeway’s trick had worked, and Henry was given a chance to see his mom for the first time since he had left for China.

After a closing musical act, the Tonight Show ended. The Cejudo family and friends came down on the stage and took pictures with Jay Leno. Everybody went back to the dressing room, where there were hugs and many pictures taken. After Leno came back to wish Henry well, the entire group went back to the vans for a ride back to the hotel. The local NBC affiliate was waiting outside the set for a quick interview with Henry, and soon everybody, including Henry’s mother, returned to spend a night together to celebrate in Los Angeles.

Click on Tonight Show to watch the video

Saturday September 27^th 2008

Savanna High School Gym

301 N Gilbert St Anaheim

Weigh-ins 7am-8:30am

Wrestling starts 10am

5 Divisions

Frosh/Soph-JV-Varsity-Girls-Open

1st Entry $10

2^nd Entry or Weight Class$5

No Card or Club Membership Needed

Medals for 1^st -2^nd-3^rd

Info Contact:

Coach Gaze

714-713-2548

Saturday Aug. 30, 2008

Lancer SCWA Folkstyle Tournament

 La Serna HS

15301 Youngwood Dr.

Whittier, CA 90605

 (Map) O, J, C, S & K

Questions please contact:

Coach Mike Osborne 562-201-2252 mookswrestling@gmail.com

All SCWA tournaments

weigh-ins from 7:00 to 8:30 AM.

Wrestling begins at 9:30 AM.

 For additional info check with contact person.

Entry fee $10.00 per style and weight class.

Grappling $20.00. Must have USA card. (On sale at tournaments.) Weight classes for all divisions will be determined for each tournament using USA Wrestling guidelines.

We are meeting at Cal at 6:45am!

The Chained Elephant

I used to love going to the circus when I was a little kid, and what I liked the most about going was seeing the animals.  I was fascinated with the circus’ elephant, as many other kids were.  During the show, the large beast would show off its tremendous size, weight, and strength….but after his performance and shortly before returning for the final act, the elephant was only tied by a chain around its leg to a small stake nailed to the ground.

However, the stake was a miniscule piece of wood stuck barely a couple of inches into the ground.  Even though the chain was thick and powerful, it seemed obvious to me that the elephant who was capable of tearing off a tree from its roots with his strength, it could have easily pulled off the stake and run away.

So the mystery is: What keeps him there?  Why does he not run away?

I was five or six years old then, and I still trusted the wisdom of the adults.  I then asked a teacher, a parent, and an uncle about this elephant mystery.  One of them explained to me that the elephant did not escape because he was a trained animal.

I then asked the obvious:  If he is trained, why does he need to be chained?

I do not remember getting a logical response.

As time passed by, I forgot about the mystery of the elephant and the stake…and would only remember it when I would run into others that had asked themselves the same question.

 A few years ago, just by luck, I found someone wise enough to know the answer:  The circus’ elephant does not run away because he has been tied to a similar stake since he was very, very young. 

I closed my eyes and imagined the newborn elephant tied to the stake.

I am sure that the first time that he was tied, he pulled, pushed, and exhausted himself trying to get away.  Despite all his efforts he was unable to set himself free.

The stake was certainly too strong for him.  I would swear that he went to sleep worn out and that the next day he attempted to get away again, and the next day too, and the next, and the…..

Until one day, a terrible day in its life, the animal accepted its helplessness and accepted its destiny.

This powerful and massive elephant that we see at the circus does not escape because he believes that he can’t!  All that his brain registers and remembers is his helplessness, that helplessness that he felt shortly after being a newborn. 

The worst part is that he has not seriously questioned that imprint of helplessness.  The elephant lived the rest of his life at the circus and never, never again did he try to question his strength once more….

 *Source: Jorge Bucay  Recuentos para Demián            Translated by yours truly 

 Did you reflect on yourself and answered the question?

Everyone has the capacity to break away from that stake and chain!  The trick is in realizing that you are not helpless and then make a decision to wrestle to the best of your ability. 

Just in case you were curious…

Olympic wrestling medal standings: nbcolympics.com

HENRY CEJUDO FREESTYLE GOLD 55KG

ADAM WHEELER GRECO BRONZE 96KG

RANDI MILLER WOMEN FREESTYLE 63KG

Cejudo Shines on Big Stage

By ALAN ROBINSON,

AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (Aug. 19) - Henry Cejudo, the 21-year-old prodigy who had competed in only one world-level senior tournament before Beijing, won the gold medal Tuesday at Olympic freestyle 55-kilogram wrestling.

Cejudo, crying the moment the match ended and wrapping himself in an American flag, defeated Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan 2-2 on tiebreaker and 3-0 in the best-of-three match. Cejudo was 31st in last year’s world championships, his only prior tournament at this level.

Cejudo, who bypassed a college career to try to become an Olympian, assures of the United States of winning a freestyle wrestling gold for the ninth consecutive Olympics at which it has competed.

The bronze medalists were last year’s world champion, Besik Kudukhov of Russia, and Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria. Kudukhov was pinned by Matsunaga in the semifinals.

Two years after U.S. coach Kevin Jackson called him the future of wrestling, the future became the present in a dazzling four-match flurry, making Cejudo the youngest American to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal.

None of the other 49 did it the way he did.

“I always knew I was going to be here,” Cejudo said, his blackened right eye a contrast to the gold medal he clutched ever-so-tight. “I watched the Olympics as a kid and I knew I’d be here. It was tough. But it’s all worth it.”

The tears that fell moments after he defeated Matsunaga gave way to a smile as wide as a wrestling mat, as he realized what he had done it. And, too, how he had done it.

American wrestlers are supposed to go to college, then enter the Olympic program when they’re experienced and ready; Cejudo did so at age 17 and is the only wrestler to win a national senior championship before leaving high school.

From high school to the big time - the same path LeBron James and Kobe Bryant took in basketball.

On his day of days, Cejudo all but gave away periods, gambling he’d have enough energy to wear down his opponents in the last two periods, admittedly causing Jackson moments of panic.

“I’m kind of unorthodox,” Cejudo said.

The whiz kid won because he was every bit a wizard against wrestlers older and more wizened. His success story is the kind that seems hackneyed and a cliche, at least until it happens with the Olympics as a backdrop.

“This proves that whatever you want to do as an American, you can do it,” Cejudo said.

His parents were undocumented Mexicans who met in Los Angeles. His mother had six kids, four with his father, Jorge, who was in and out of prison until dying of heart problems at age 44 last year. Henry never saw him after age 4.

The family was miserably poor, sometimes moving from apartment to apartment under the cover of night because they lacked rent money. His mom worked several jobs at a time, stealing home for a few hours to make sure her family wasn’t in trouble.

Sometimes they stayed with friends, sometimes with relatives, sleeping six or seven to a room in bad neighborhoods, drug deals going on down the street. Always, though, someone was there to offer a helping hand

 Henry and older brother Angel emulated the pro wrestlers they saw on TV and the Mexican boxers they revered, and they entered a youth wrestling program in Phoenix. Angel was the first ace, winning four high school state titles, and Henry did the same.

Neither liked studying, so when Angel was invited to the Olympic training center, Henry tagged along and won his last two state titles while living there. Within a year, younger brother was the rising star.

But winning an Olympics so soon, with so little world-level experience, almost never happens. Cael Sanderson was the only U.S. freestyle gold medalist in Athens, but he had a long and storied amateur career and was a four-time unbeaten NCAA champion.

Cejudo’s first match was a tipoff of what was to come as he defeated Velikov 0-1, 3-2, 4-3, his first victory on the world level.

Cejudo then beat Besarion Gochashvili of Georgia 1-3, 3-2, 3-0, using single-leg takedowns to get the deciding points in each of the final two periods. He again lost the first period in the semifinals, but rallied to beat Namig Sevdimov of Azerbaijan 3-5, 3-2, 4-3, on another single-leg takedown.

Matsunaga helped by pinning Kudukhov in a major upset, and the Japanese wrestler appeared to lose his edge against Cejudo and didn’t wrestle nearly as well.

Several of Cejudo’s brothers and sisters were there to watch it, including Angel, who, Cejudo said, “Made it tough on me, with a few knuckle sandwiches along the way. But he’s the reason I’m here. We won this gold together.”

Their mom, Nelly Rico, didn’t make the long trip but, Henry said, will get the gold medal that he planned to sleep with Tuesday night.

“I’m not letting go of this,” he said, holding it up proudly. “It’s beautiful.”

His story produced the 125th Olympic wrestling medal for the United States and its 50th gold. Only swimming and track and field, with far more events, have produced more American golds.

“I’m proud of my Mexican heritage,” Cejudo said. “But I’m an American. It’s the best country in the world. They call it the land of opportunity, and it is. Maybe if some other kid watches this, he can do the same.”

The bronze medalists were last year’s world champion, Kudukhov, and Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria.

All SCWA tournaments weigh-ins from 7:00 to 8:30 AM. Wrestling begins at 9:30 AM. For additional info check with contact person.

Entry fee $10.00 per style and weight class. Grappling $20.00.
Must have USA card. (On sale at tournaments.)

Weight Classes

Weight classes for all divisions will be determined for each tournament using USA Wrestling guidelines.