This weekend, USA Wrestling kicks off an exciting new officials education program known as "Top Gun," designed to improve the level of officiating and the education process across the nation.    Three times within the next year, select groups of the nation's best wrestling officials will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. to participate in dialogue and training activities with athletes, coaches and national staff members. These officials will then go out into the grassroots of wrestling, teaching a more consistent style of officiating to younger officials.    Top Gun comes from the slogan TOPS (Technical Officials Proficiency Studies), a key new element to the U.S. Wrestling Officials Association (USWOA) Mentor Program. What makes Top Gun different and more effective is that a joint effort by USA Wrestling and the USWOA, using the resources and expertise of both groups working towards a common goal.    "This is the philosophy," said John Branch, Committee Chairman of the Mentor Program and facilitator for the Top Gun program. "Our education has always been a grassroots thing. We ask our top officials to recruit young people into officiating all across the nation. The problem is, what do we teach them? Are we consistent across the nation? Are we working as a team?"    According to USWOA literature, "the TOPS program is Top Gun style training with selected senior officials working with national team coaches and elite athletes while studying techniques and philosophy as well as developing better working relationships between officials and coaches."    Branch says that this unified effort within officials education was the product of a very productive USWOA Board meeting held in New Jersey, which was attended by USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. The officials and the national staff made a commitment to work together to improve officiating across the board.    "This program is the result of that decision," said Branch. "We decided to include coaches, athletes and staff, and start from the top down."    An invitation to all of USWOA's 1 and 2 ranked officials was sent out, inviting the officials to participate in the program. Each session will include a number of E ranked officials, those with the highest ranking. The positions in all three sessions of Top Gun were quickly filled by high quality and motivated wrestling officials from across the nation. From this core group of officials will become mentors for the rest of the officiating corps within USA Wrestling, transforming the way that officiating is taught in the field.    This weekend, 16 officials have arrived at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. They are not taking time away from work and family to enjoy the snowy mountains. They are going into the National Team practice room, officiating matches side-by-side with coaches and athletes, talking about every aspect of the process. They are also participating in intense classroom discussions. Everyone involved has agreed to enter the process as equal colleagues, leaving all previous assumptions behind, working as a team with a spirit of inquiry.    "We are redesigning the way education in facilitated in the USA for officials, to make it 100% effective," said Branch. "It is the next logical step for expanding our education program. In the past, USA Wrestling has done a good job and the USWOA has done a good job. Now, working together, we will do even better."    According to Branch, some of the goals of these meetings include:  1. Creating consistency  2. Creating a national syllabus for officiating in the USA  3. Developing national clinicians and mentor coordinators for the nation    Branch has noted that in the past, there may be a difference in the way officiating is learned and executed within USA Wrestling and across the world in the FILA programs. This has created challenges and issues that the Top Gun program hopes to eliminate in the future.    "We want to create a program that is consistent for all competitions," said Branch. "When officials go to the Junior Nationals, the U.S. Nationals, the World Team Trials and to events in Europe, they don't have to change things. The officials coming up through the system won't learn one way, then have to learn the FILA way. We take away the USA and FILA styles. It all one style - international wrestling."    The first group of officials in Colorado this week will intitiate the program, and serve an important role in getting the system developed and putting the philosophy to work. The second group that arrives in March will take a few extra days, drive together to Laramie, Wyo. where they will put their education to practical use by officiating the Olympic Regional Trials event there. The third group, assembled in April, will examine the practical lessons from the U.S. Nationals event in Las Vegas and discuss adjustments for the World Team Trials and the upcoming international events.    Certainly, this is an ambitious project, but it is one that has full support of the leaders within USA Wrestling and the officials organization. The product of this program will be the creation of a shared vision moving forward.    "When there is a shared vision, people excel and learn, not because they are told to, but because they want to," wrote Branch in his letter to all Top Gun participants. "The practice of shared vision involves the skills of unearthing shared 'pictures of the future' that foster genuine commitment and enrollment."    TOP GUN OFFICIALS PARTICIPANTS    Jan. 21-23 session: Tony Arrendondo, Randall Balch, Jack Bowman, John Branch, Pat Cadwallader, Morrie Geselter, Pete Gomez, Ron Grose, Greg Lusk, Mike Matlock, Kevin Maxwell, Bill Stecklein Dave Stormo, Gustavo Velez, Lance Wager, Al Williams    March 23-27 session: John Branch, Belinda Brown, Rusty Davidson, Neil Dorow, Wayne Edkin, Umberto Fasilino, Pete Gomez, Bill Harper, Jerry Kuntz, Marcia Haise, John Mata, Tony Melosci, Gary Nast, Tom Siar, Bill Stecklein, Joe Zamilpa    April 27-30 session: Mark Anderson, Steve Bernhardt, John Branch, Jack Bowman, Tom Clark, Stacy Davis, Dave Errett, Zach Errett, Ron Fazio, John Kelly, Doug Molin, Roy Pittman, Joe Russo, Jim Speelman, Bill Stecklein, Toby Walker    * Participant lists are tentative, and could change slightly.