Contributors

Ollie Cooperwood - graduated in 2001 from Maple Heights High School,OH, a school with a long, rich wrestling tradition. Ollie was an All-League, varsity wrestler and a State qualifier. He was an Ohio State Freestyle Champion and wrestled for the All-Marine Team. He is currently the Head Coach of the Marine Team at the Marine Corps. Cherry Point Air Station in North Carolina and also serves as the Assistant Head Coach at West Carteret High School. Article: Importance of Sports

 

Greg DeMarco - was a New York State Runner-up for Amityville High School when dinosaurs roamed the earth. He wrestled several years for Rutgers University and in 1969 became the head coach of Madison Township High School (NJ), now called Old Bridge High School. He was an assistant coach at Middlesex County Community College for three years and then returned to high school coaching in 1983 at East Brunswick High School until 1987. Greg has written several articles for Wrestling USA magazine and served as its NJ state editor. He founded both the Old Bridge Mat Rat Kid's Wrestling program and the East Brunswick Wrestling Club. He was the director of numerous wrestling tournaments including the Middlesex County Tournament, the Top of the East Tournament and was the founder and director of the Old Bridge Wrestling Festival from 1976 to 2002. In 1996 he was awarded the prestigious Harry Lake Award for outstanding contributions to New Jersey Wrestling. After 34 years as a high school math and computer science teacher in Old Bridge he retired and moved to Chocowinity, NC where he lives with his wife and youngest daughter. Articles: Madison System - Using E-mail - Tournament Checklist - Science of Motivation - Creative Competition Bracket - Rules for Wrestling Coaches - Team Book - Join Wrestling and See the World -

Ray Nunamaker - retired in1997 after 34 successful years of coaching wrestling at Nazareth High School in Pennsylvania. Ray's teams never had a losing season and compiled a record of 468-95-7. In his last ten seasons of coaching, Ray's teams never finished out of the top five in the "big" school State Championships, they were state runner-up seven of those seasons, and were nationally ranked from 1990-97. He was voted the Pennsylvania Coach of the Year by his peers 4 times, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame. Articles: Promoting High School Wrestling - Scholastic Rules Test

John Sacchi - took over the Rutgers wrestling program 12 years ago and has since developed it into one of the strongest programs in the country. In just 13 seasons, he has garnered a 134-75-5 record with the Scarlet Knights and his 30-plus year career as a coach puts him at an impressive 414-133-9 overall. His recruiting classes include several top wrestlers from around the state and area, and his schedule is loaded to compete against the top programs in the nation. For Sacchi, coming to Rutgers was an opportunity to develop the team into a national power. His philosophy and coaching ability took him to the heights of junior college wrestling, and he brings many years of experience to "The Banks". His teams have now won over 400 matches in his career, placing him among the elite of college wrestling coaches. A 1966 graduate of Ithaca College, Sacchi earned a master's of science from the University of Montana, where he began his coaching career. The Ithaca, NY native also brings international experience to Rutgers, having studied at the Moscow Institute of Physical Education and Sport. He also coached the victorious freestyle team at the 1982 Junior Pan American Games and the 1991 United States Junior College Wrestling Team in an international meet in Madrid. A member of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1958-1961, Sacchi is a former Vice President of the National Junior College Wrestling Coaches Association. He was an assistant athletic director while at Middlesex, where he was a professor of Health and Physical Education. Sacchi has since retired from teaching to devote himself on a full-time basis to the Rutgers Wrestling program. Article: Basic Skills: On Your Feet!

Milt Sherman - a member of the East Carolina University Athletic Hall of Fame, he had a collegiate record of 101-13 (88%). A former All-American, he scored wins over NCAA champions Mike Frick (Lehigh) and Gary Barton (Clarion) as well as Korean national champion Kyung Mu Chang (4th in World). Milt also defeated NCAA runner-ups Marty Willigan (Hofstra) and Brian Beatson (Oklahoma). He had the distinction of wrestling on ECU'S 1973 team which won all 10 weight classes at the North Carolina Collegiate Championships. As a coach, Milt ranks second all-time in North Carolina wins (470-114-5 80%). While at D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, NC he coached a state championship team and three state runner-up teams. He has had 43 All-state wrestlers including 13 state champions and 5 high school All-Americans. His top athlete, James Johnson, went on to win three Open Division National Championships at Greco-220 and place 5th in the 1994 World Championships. As an author, Milt has had seventeen articles published in Coach, Amateur Wrestling News, and Wrestling USA. Article: History of Wrestling - Wrestling History Quiz

Brian Smith - Brian has spent 10 years as a head coach splitting this time at two different high schools.  He has been privileged to coach 62 high school state qualifiers, 18 state placers and 3 state champions in his tenure.   He has had 4 teams earn distinguished academic honors as well as 4 individual Academic State Champions.  Brian's off-season is spent as the head coach of "The Sons of Thunder" wrestling club, where his focus is on promoting all age levels in all styles of wrestling. He is currently an applicant Silver Level Coach through USA Wrestling. Other Honors include: 2004 State Coach of the Year AAA, 2004 District 1 Coach of the Year AAA, 2004 Region 1 Coach of the Year AAA, 1999 District 1 Coach of the Year AA, 2004 WSWCA President, 2002-2004 WSWCA Vice-President, 2001-2004 WSWCA "Graham Morin" Scholarship Director, 1995-2001 WSWCA Region 1 Board Representative, 2002 Coach of the Washington State Cultural Exchange Team to Japan, 2003 Host Coach for the Japanese Cultural Exchange in Washington, 2004 Head Coach of Washington at the Down Under Games in Australia. Article: High School Team Handbook - Coaching Duties

Greg Troxell - was a 1990 National Honor Society graduate of Phillipsburg High School, NJ. He earned three varsity letters in football and four in wrestling. In his final two seasons he amassed an incredible 65-0 record on his way to winning two New Jersey State championships. At the conclusion of the wrestling season, Greg was named to the Asics Tiger High School All-American Wrestling Team (1st Team). His outstanding football season earned him 1st team Parade All-American status and 2nd team USA Today Football Team Member. Moreover, he was awarded the prestigious New Jersey Gatorade Player of The Year award which is given to one football player in each state. He continued his career upon accepting a full football scholarship to Penn State University. During his four years at Penn State, Greg earned three football letters and three wrestling letters. He made two trips to the NCAA wrestling championships and was ranked as high as 7th in the country. He was a member of the Penn State Wrestling Team's 1993 National Dual Meet Championship. During his senior year at Penn State, Greg was named to both the Big Ten Conference Scholar Athlete Team and The National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Team. He was the head wrestling coach at Phillipsburg High for four years. Prior to that, he was an assistant at PHS for five years. During his tenure as head coach, he was named District Coach of the Year in 2000, 2002 & 2003. His teams finished as Group IV State Champions in 2000 and 2003 and runner-ups in 2001 and 2002. Greg holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees and is currently the Assistant Principal of the Phillipsburg Middle School in Phillipsburg, NJ. Article: Parents' Questions About Wrestling