Brandon Paulson is the persoanl coach of Jake Deitchler. Paulson was an
Olympic silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Jake Deitchler and Brandon Paulson at the Olympic Trials. August 19, 2008
My wife and father have insisted that people actually care what I
have to say and that I should write an Olympic recap for family,
friends, and the wrestling community. This one is a little long winded,
so read at your own risk.
It was great to be back and see Shelly, Eli, Sydney, and Abby. Shelly
sacrifices so much to let me coach Jake. I am lucky she loves him like
a son, and realizes I have a passion for wrestling and coaching. I have
the best wife in the world, don't try to argue with me.
I had a great experience at the Olympic Games. It has been something I
have been enamored with my whole life. There is nothing like it. I had
goosebumps watching each and every medal match. The joy that these guys
were feeling resonated throughout the gym. I didn't care if it was
Russia, France, Georgia, or Cuba, I was happy for all of the champions
because I know how hard and long these guys had worked to get to this
specific moment. It really brings back great memories that I still have
from Atlanta, I will never forget these memories.
I just got done watching Henry Cejudo win an Olympic Gold Medal. I
caught myself yelling and screaming encouragement at my television
screen. My son woke up and gave me some strange looks until he saw
wrestling was on and joined in for screaming for "Cehooodo". It was
awesome. My family is a little crazy about the Olympics, wrestling, and
gymnastics.
Before I get to Jakes wrestling and his decision on his future I will
tell another funny story from the games. This is one I heard from Jake.
Last time I wrote, Jake had just left my room after making weight and
eating until he couldn't walk. He headed back to the Olympic Village to
get one more meal and then get to his bed and get to sleep. The village
has a bunch of 10 story apartment-looking complexes where the athletes
stay. Jake was staying on the 9th floor and he realized on the way up
that he didn't have his keys. So he went to the coaches door and
started pounding on the door. Nobody answered right away, so he peaked
in and the gymnasts Alicia Sacramone and Nastia Luiken were walking
toward him. He closed the door real quick, and they opened the door
"Hey, what did you need, whats going on?" He shamefully explained that
his dorm was right next door, and he went to the wrong dorm. The
gymnast had to compete the next morning, I hope he didn't interuppt a
team meeting. I think cutting weight makes you lose a few brain cells.
I hate losing
The only thing I dislike more than losing is talking about losing. I
know it is not a Christian thing to say or do, so I have to pray for
forgiveness. Seriously. I don't know what it is, but since I was little
I have something inside of me that drives me to succeed. Jake has this
same drive and it has made for some interesting wrestling practices,
foosball matches, soccer matches, and sauna sit offs(I win most of
these things but I am still having trouble getting over my loss in air
hockey).
Maybe writing about it will be easier, so here goes.
I am very proud of Jake. He did everything I asked of him in
preparation, and gave all of his heart out there on the mat. Because of
this, I have failed him in some way.
Many people have been confused with the scoring, wrestling and
non-wrestling alike, so i figure I should explain it. If nobody has
scored any points on the feet they take out a ball (red and blue are in
the bag) and whomever ball color comes out goes on top first, and
bottom last. If a wrestler doesn't get scored on from bottom he
receives 1 point for his defense and the last person to score(in a tie)
wins the period. So, if you are blue and a blue ball is grabbed, you
will win the period if nobody scores a point because you are on bottom
last.
Hopefully that helps. Now as far as my point of view of Jake's matches;
He started off slow, again. I actually expected that and wasn't too
worried. He came back to the corner with his head down and i tapped his
chin up and said "same thing as the match at the Trials, now come back
and score some points" After one minute on the feet and nobody scored,
they had to grab a ball out of the bag. I might have been the only one
from America that wanted the other guys color to pop up. Jake has
showed that if he has to score to win, he will. He was put in the
position at the Olympic trials to be on top last and it worked out well
. It worked again on this match as he turned his opponent from
krygestan. I had visions of Olympic Gold as he turned his opponent. It
looked like a replica of his matches at the Olympic Trials.
Unfortunately, he made a mistake and tried to hold on and his opponent
reversed him and turned him for two to tie it up and win the second
period and the match. As I stated in my first email, if he wins his
first match he will be dangerous. I truly believe that if Jake wins
that match he could have been on top of the podium. In fact, if he wins
that match I would have been suprised if he didn't come away with a
medal.
Jake received the chance to wrestle back for a bronze medal after his
opponent made the finals. His next opponenet, Armen Vardanyan, defeated
defending Olympic and World Champion Farid Mansurov, in the first round
of the tournament and then was defeated by the guy from Krygestan. Jake
out-wrestled Armen and had him exactly where he wanted him. Many people
have expressed outrage, and expressed that it is lucky that his
opponents color was choosen from the bag each time. Luck has nothing to
do with it. You score points, you win matches. Ask all of the Olympic
champions, they scored points, they won. I remember in the third period
and his opponents color was picked, Jake looked at me and I
yelled,"that's what we want" and he nodded. He wants the last shot on
top, he won't be denied in that position again. I made a mistake and
didn't yell loud enough to go for the low reverse lift, because I knew
the high reverse would slip off (it was very humid in China). I should
have went over that point more before hand. He didn't score and the
Ukrainian went on to win a Bronze medal. Jake out-wrestled him, and is
the better wrestler. He is right there with the best in the world.
I was sitting with Jake the next day watching the finals. The final at
84 kg was a relatively unknown guy from Italy, who came out of a
terribly tough bracket, and a wrestler from Hungary. The first two
periods were won 1-1 with the guy whose ball was picked won. Before
they went to grab the ball from the bag (because nobody scored on the
feet again), I said to Jake and others we were sitting with "The person
on top last will win, the person whose color is picked will lose" Sure
enough, the Italian's color was not picked, but lifted his opponent to
win the match as he was the last one on top. Champions will score
points to win. Luck has nothing to do with it. The color of the ball
didn't matter to any of the champions. It may help you win one match,
but it won't win you a World/Olympic Championship. I know people don't
like the new rules, but it certainly gives each guy a chance to win.
The Greco team wrestled with a lot of heart, but only came away with
one medal. Adam Wheeler achieved a life long dream by winning a bronze
medal. We will do better next time. I feel for my former teammate, Brad
Vering, who may have wrestled his last match. I know how hard it is to
go out in heartbreak.
Jake has decided to wrestle Greco full time. This isn't a decision that
was made overnight. This has been in his heart for a long time. I
originally fought for him to go to the University of Minnesota and
wrestle collegiate style. I believed that would be best. But, that is
not what is in Jake's heart and dreams and I am going to support him
100%. Jake's goals are to be an Olympic/World Champion and be the best
Greco Roman wrestler ever. To accomplish these goals, wrestling Greco
full time is the only choice. It is hard for Americans to understand
that his first goal isn't to be a NCAA champion. This doesn't interest
him, doesn't drive him. He was going to go to the U to please his
friends, me, and family. But, he is going to follow his dreams. Isn't
that what sport is all about? Jake would love to live in Minnesota, get
a college scholarship, and wrestle Greco. But this isn't a possibility.
At the Olympic Training Center he will get his tuition, room, and board
paid for and be able to do what he LOVES. He has went through the
positives and negatives, but always comes up with the same decision.
Some of his best friends go to the U of M, hopefully they understand
his decision. I know his true friends will. Nothing is ever guaranteed,
you can only do everything in your power to put yourself in the best
position to accomplish your dreams. Jake has the possibility to
accomplish great things. Hopefully, the Minnesota Storm wrestling club,
and the minnesota wrestling community will stick by him. I believe God
has a plan for everybody, and this is his plan.
For little wrestlers "Believe in yourself, be the best conditioned, score points, and above all, have fun and enjoy the fight"
Hope to see you all in London in 2012, and hopefully Chicago in 2016 (as Jake and Abby walk together in the opening ceremonies)
God Bless,
Brandon Paulson August 12th, 2008
Now it is time for some fun!
Weigh-ins are over and Jake is fat and happy. The last few days with
Jake were pretty quiet, which didn't bug me too much. With him getting
his weight down he wasn't so talkative. By one hour after weigh-ins, I
couldn't shut him up. I told him I liked it better when he was cutting
weight.
We went down to eat and watch the finals at 55kg and 60kg. The 55kg
(the toughest weight in the world of course) match was awesome. The
Russian wore down the Azerbajanian and won in two periods. Jake was
pretty pumped after watching the finals and can't wait to get out on
the mat. He feels great and is ready to go. I hope he gets a chance to
show how exciting wrestling can be. He wrestles a guy from Krygestan
(sp?). The guy he wrestles placed second in the world in 2006. This
means nothing to Jake, he isn't scared of anybody. Every guy at the
Olympics is a stud, and every guy can get beat.
Today we were just getting done with a workout, and walking out to the
bus, when the USA basketball bus arrived (they are training at the same
facility). These guys are TALL! (no short jokes please) Jake had just
made scratch weight and I think some of the guys were scared of him. I
think I was more impressed in the weight room yesterday with the
Russian coaches and there 14 combined World Gold Medals. I don't think
Jake could name more than three or four of the USA basketball team, but
he could tell you what kind of shoes every 2004 Olympic wrestler wore.
Yes, he has a serious shoe issue, and yes, we both have serious
wrestling addictions as well.
Get him tired, score points, and HAVE FUN! Time to put the beat down.
"Today is the day that Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Brandon
August 10th, 2008
Hello again from the Olympics,
Crunch time! Jake had his last two mat practices in the past two days.
I thought he may be starting to feel the effects of cutting weight. But
that was not the case. I was sitting on the mat and I feel somebody hit
me in the back. There is Jake, big smile on his face, hopping around.
"I met this cool girl on the way over to the training site, she is a
diver, and on and on and on." Needless to say, he was in great spirits
and was his usual talkative self.
This past year I have implemented what we call "play wrestling" into
his practices. Play wrestling is a low intensity wrestling somewhere
between drilling (practicing technique) and hard wrestling. You open up
to new positions, and try scoring and "playing around". It is perfect
for this time when he really just needs to have some fun, and get
weight off. Today Jake was on the mat a little bit and we played some
soccer. Tyson Gay (one of the favorites in the 100 meter) stopped by
and watched some practice, he was pretty amazed at what we do.
Jake's weight is a little higher than I wanted it to be, but he was
still feeling good. I went over to the Olympic village with him to hang
out and keep his mind off of wrestling and get him ready for another
workout. I ran into Lindsey Davenport, whom I have watched a hundred
times at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. She had to pull out of the
Olympics because of an injury, so I don't think she was in good
spirits. We stopped by the rec area so we could have some friendly
competition. I realize people are looking at us strange because we are
getting into air hockey like most haven't seen. Unfortunately, Jake
beat me in air hockey, but I crushed him in his favorite game, foosball.
We went to the workout area of the Olympic Village and it was
unbelievable. It was not only huge, but had some machines I didn't know
existed. It was packed with athletes from all over the world. Including
the Russian Greco-Roman wrestling coaches, Islam Dugushiev – four-time
World Champ, Mnazakan Iskandarian – five-time World Champ, and Georgi
Kagoushivili – five-time World Champ. Thirteen World titles between the
three of them. Ridiculous!
All the coaches and wrestlers on the team have told me how enjoyable it
has been to be with Jake during this time at the Olympic Games. He is a
very positive person to be around, and it rubs off on everybody else.
Crunch time for cutting weight tomorrow. This is the painful day before
weigh-ins that wrestlers dread. He has worked really hard to keep his
weight in control so he can wrestle at his optimum level. I am really
feeling good about his chances for this tournament. If he gets past the
first round, WATCH OUT! We have worked specifically on wrestling at his
best in the first period, and in his first match. I am confident that
this will help him start out fast.
By the way, did anyone see my little superstar mentioned in the NY
TIMES, no not Jake, but Eli. The NY Times came with us to the Great
Wall of China and I told him about my bedtime stories about the Great
Wall of China and the warriors that fought there. Here is a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/sports/olympics/08wrestlers.html?ref=olympics
The Olympic Games have started! Holy cow was that an awesome display
last night. Good luck to London in 2012 trying to top that. I went with
a few guys to a restaurant and watched with 150 other people from
countries all around the world. Whenever a new team walked into the
opening ceremonies, a group of people would shout and cheer. It was
pretty cool.
Jake is having a great time, but is focused on competing at his highest
level. He is looking GREAT! The improvements he makes in short periods
of time is nothing short of amazing. I would say that he is 20% better
than he was at the Olympic Trials. his mental attitude, and physical
skills continue to improve. His training partner, Mark Rial, says that
he isn't the same wrestler as he was two weeks ago.
He is having a great time in the village. Suprisingly (sarcasm) he
talks to everybody he sees. Before the opening ceremonies last night he
got a picture with The President of the United States. President Bush
took a picture with every American team, that is pretty impressive. We
went to the Great Wall of China, one of the 7 wonders of the world. Did
you know that 1,000,000 people died building the great wall? The
coolest part was taking a toboggon down. It is like a one man
bobsled(skulls). Those things could move.
Now it is time for him to cut weight. That is something I don't miss.
He is having a great attitude about it, and will get it done. Any
prayers for strength during this difficult time would be great. This
will be Jakes last time at 145.5, and he is looking forward to getting
big.
As for myself, I am having a good time. Here they have live Olympic
feeds of every event that is going on. It is awesome. I watched earlier
the mens gymnastic team. They were awesome. I can't believe some of the
things they do out there. I am going to try to get some tickets to the
volleyball tonight. GO USA!!
I am getting pretty nervous. Did I forget anything? How is his weight?
Did he train perfectly? etc... As an athlete, I trained as hard as I
could, as smart as I could and had confidense in myself because of it.
Hopefully, I did all the right things for Jake. I am going to spend the
next three days with Jake and helping him get his weight off. My knee
is hurting a little bit. I decided that three months was enough
recovery from my acl reconstruction. This is the Olympics after all. My
knee doesn't really agree with my assessment.
Hope all is well back in Minnesota. Win, Lose, or Draw, Jake has
prepared that best that we know how and will have no regrets. It is now
in God's hands.
