I can barely contain myself with excitement. Southeastern University, in Lakeland, Florida, has added wrestling at the NAIA level for the 2015-16 school year. For a state without one college level program, this is magnificent news. The level of wrestling in Florida continues to rank among the best in the nation yet no college offered the sport. I know what your saying, this is NAIA not Division I wrestling. Yes, our best kids will want to gravitate to the higher divisions for a chance at an NCAA title and All American status. The reality is many of our good high school wrestlers will benefit from an in state opportunity to continue competing while earning their degrees. Southeastern University (SU) competes at both the NAIA and NCCAA level for athletics. They are a Christian school that will want student/athletes who aspire for greatness in the classroom, athletic endeavors, and demonstrate a strong faith. If you go to their school website peruse each athletic program. All of their programs are successful and the facilities are top notch. This school may not be for everybody but Im making a bold prediction that they will find success at the NAIA in a very short time frame. Once they tap into the unmined pool of talent in this state, plus recruit kids who want better weather with their educational experience, this school will field a quality team. Now, the pressure is on other in state schools to add , as well. Which brings me to my next point. With the extensive amount of NAIA schools in Florida, many schools can now add wrestling and have common opponents within driving distance. Add to this the Division II circuit that runs from Pensacola to Miami (all Florida schools) and it easy to see the college wrestling scene grow from the bottom up. Forget the DI schools for the time being. Maybe, if the growth is substantial, Florida State and Miami add wrestling as they are in a wrestling conference. That may happen down the road. the real focus is other NAIA schools and starting a wrestling conference within the Sunshine Conference which consists of DII schools. Either way, I feel an excitement like never before. What this will do for wrestling in this state is huge! So many people have never witnessed a college wrestling match. That will change. Developing large open, dual, and IBT type college tournaments will bring programs from all over the country to Florida to wrestle. SU will reap the benefit of being first! With the Lakeland Arena in town, they can easily host some large events. Maybe, they can bring the formerly prestigious Sunshine Open back to the winter break circuit. Right now, everything is on the table as a giant wall has been knocked down. College wrestling is coming back to Florida for the first time in almost thirty years. Time to get excited! Tomorrows workout: 500 meter row/Ring rows 500 meter row/DB Presses 500 meter row/Overhead lunges 500 meter row/GHD sit-ups Technique: Tabata back step and roll wall hip heists granby rolls switches
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:01:45 +0000
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