Eli Paulson – Finding The Fun

By Brian Jerzak

If you are Anoka's Eli Paulson, you were almost pre-determined to be a wrestler. His dad – Brandon Paulson - is an Olympic Greco Silver medalist, and his grandfather – Doug Paulson – is a long-time wrestling coach. Eli was never pressured by anyone, despite his family connections, into athletics. When he needed time off, he got it. When deciding what to do in college, he was encouraged to look outside the family business and go his own way. Now, he is a state wrestling champion and a future Division I football player.

"I was first in wrestling rooms when I was two years old when my dad would go into Anoka or something to run a practice or Augsburg to run a team camp," Paulson said. "When I was three or four years old, I was in what Pinnacle calls the 'tough guy group.' It was a bit of a rough start because we were all about five, just trying to learn wrestling and not knowing what we were doing. I was just trying to get to dodgeball at the end of practice."

Before ever competing, Eli would go with his dad once or twice a week to work out at PINnacle Wrestling School, which his father co-owns.

"It wasn't all wrestling," Paulson explained. "We did a lot of agility and gymnastics – cartwheels and round-offs. When you are four years old, you don't have a lot of life experience and don't know what toughness means. I did a lot of crying and had to learn how to deal with it."

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Brandon Paulson goes On The Mat

Anoka, Minnesota native Brandon Paulson is a wrestling-lifer. One of the brains behind one of the most successful youth and high school wrestling clubs in the country (PINnacle Wrestling School) along with Jared Lawrence, Paulson hasn’t spent much time away from wrestling mats during his life. An All-American at Minnesota and a 1996 Olympic silver medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, Paulson is versed in every aspect of wrestling. He’s also watching his own kids excel on the football field and on the college gymnastics world.

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Expectations, endured and then embraced, weigh no longer on wrestler Eli Paulson

The Anoka junior, son of Olympic medalist Brandon Paulson and grandson of Hall of Fame coach Doug Paulson, overcame youthful disinterest to make a name for himself.

Being the only son of an icon comes with baggage. Anoka junior wrestler Eli Paulson knows. He’s spent a lifetime carrying that baggage.

His father, Brandon, is a Minnesota wrestling legend: a three-time high school state champion for Anoka, NCAA All-America, Olympic silver medalist, co-owner of one of the premier wrestling clubs in the metro and coach of a top club team. The name Brandon Paulson carries cache in regional and national wrestling circles.

It left Eli carrying baggage. Continue reading at mnwrestlinghub.com →

Training Schools and Camps Wrestling With COVID-19

By Brian Jerzak

Businesses around the nation have all had to deal with several changes during the last six months. The business of wrestling has had to adjust too. While high school and college programs have had many challenges, so have wrestling training facilities. How are these training facilities dealing with our new reality, and how are they planning for an uncertain future?

I talked with four wrestling training school owners and one wrestling camp director/coach to find out their thoughts on wrestling with COVID-19.

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Hall of Fame Legends Podcast: 2019 Distinguished Member Brandon Paulson

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Successful at virtually every level of his storied career, Brandon Paulson is recognized for his wrestling prowess and coaching expertise by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a 2019 Distinguished Member.

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University of Minnesota Coaches Clinic set for October 25th

Headlining wrestling clinicians include Brandon Paulson, Sean Russell, and Pat Smith

The University of Minnesota wrestling team, led by Brandon Eggum and his staff, will once again host a coaches clinic this fall. The event will take place on Friday, October 25, 2019, at the Bierman Field Athletic Building in Minneapolis, Minn (516 15th Ave SE). The clinic offers professional instruction on the fundamentals and techniques of coaching wrestling and is open to all interested participants and fans of the sport.

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