The Maryland State Wrestling Association, the USA Wrestling state association in Maryland, will host the inaugural MSWA Fall Coaches Seminar and Annual Meeting in Towson, Md., Sept. 29-30.

The Fall Coaches Seminar will feature many of the best coaches in the nation, including Div. I head coaches Kerry McCoy of Maryland, Pat Santoro of Lehigh and Robbie Waller of Lock Haven, as well as 2004 Olympic silver medalist Jamill Kelly, who is currently Assistant Coach at North Carolina State, along with other talented instructors.
	
Among the other activities during the weekend is the annual MSWA business meeting and bi-annual election of MSWA Board members, as well as the MSWA awards ceremony including the presentation of the 2012 Fargo All-American Awards as well as the annual Johnny Eareckson Award.

The event will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 903 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson MD 21204. The hotel is located just off of Route 695. 

The Coaches Seminar is a tremendous value. Included are nine sessions of instruction, a clinic luncheon, awards ceremony luncheon and special clinic gear for just $120. 

Participants must also book their room at the Sheraton early in order to insure that they have a room during the busy weekend. To receive the special rate, you must ask for the Maryland State Wrestling Association when making the reservation. You can call the hotel directly at 410-321-7400 or 1-888-627-7147 or go online to the link below.
Click here for Sheraton Room Reservation (Special Rate)

The clinicians are world-class athletes and coaches, who have a tremendous knowledge base to share with the coaches who attend.

Kerry McCoy was a member of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic freestyle teams, a 2003 World silver medalist and a two-time NCAA champion for Penn State. He coached the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team. Since taking over the Maryland program, he has twice been named ACC Coach of the year, and led the Terrapins to two conference titles.

Pat Santoro is the current head coach for Lehigh, and previously served as head coach for Maryland. He has been both EIWA Coach of the Year for Lehigh and ACC Coach of the Year for Maryland. Named NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year during his tenure as an assistant coach for Lehigh, Santoro also assisted at Duquesne and Penn State. He won two NCAA titles for Pittsburgh, and was 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up in freestyle.

Robbie Waller became head coach for Lock Haven in 2010, and is helping strengthen the program at this traditional wrestling power. He was the Head Assistant Coach at the Univ. of Oklahoma, where he coached for five years. He also was an assistant for Missouri. Waller was a 2003 NCAA champion for Oklahoma.

Jamill Kelly won a 2004 Olympic silver medal in freestyle for the United States and was also a member of the 2003 U.S. World Team. He joined the staff as an assistant coach for North Carolina State this year. He has previous assistant coaching stints at Cal Poly and Harvard. Other positions have included the Cowboy WC, the Dallas Dynamite and with USA Wrestling. He competed for Oklahoma State, where he was team captain.

Willie Madison served as assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman program at Northern Michigan Univ., where he coached many of the nation’s top Greco-Roman athletes. He competed with the USOEC Greco-Roman team as a student-athlete at NMU, and was also a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Madison was a four-time U.S. Open All-American, and placed at both the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Kevin Gilligan is the head coach at Huntingtown High School. He previously coached at Stephen Decatur High School, where he had a 214-44 career record and was named 2008 Maryland State Coach of the Year. His team was also the 2008 3A/4A State Dual Meet champions.

Among the topics to be covered during the Coaches Seminar are: Organizing your season and your coaching staff, fund raising, booster club organization, feeder programs, PE class wrestling structure, getting kids ready for college recruiters, recruiting on campus, unique games or competitions in practice, dieting, weight training, team rules and enforcement, successfully dealing with the administration, publicity and dealing with the media, overcoming hurdles and adversities with parents, athletes, administrators, scheduling of practice, athlete mental preparation, peaking athletes, rules interpretation.

The Johnny K. Eareckson Memorial Award is presented annually by the Maryland State Wrestling Association to exceptional individuals who have demonstrated the qualities of inspiration and distinguished service to the Maryland wrestling community as exemplified by Johnny Eareckson. For 60 years, Johnny Eareckson stimulated the growth of wrestling at the Baltimore YMCA and along the Eastern seaboard.

Past recipients are: Elmer Bright*, Vernon Cronhardt*, Marshall Dauberman. Haswell M. , Franklin. Bruce Gabrielson. Tom Gaylin, Bill Hastings, Lloyd Keaser, Ed Kelly, Sully Krouse*, Doug Lee*, John Lowe, Ed Masood, John McNelis*, Robert McNelis*, Irvin Naylor, Ray Oliver, Ed Peery*, Guy Pritzker, Ed Russell, Greg Slick, Dick Slutsky, Dan Zottarelli (*-deceased).

Those who wish to attend just the Awards Ceremony will receive a catered lunch, and witness a presentation by Olympic medalist Jamill Kelly and a 30-minute video highlight of 2012 Team Maryland in Fargo.

For more information contact Neil Adleberg at neiladl@yahoo.com

MSWA Fall Coaches Seminar and Annual Meeting website