RBY and NLWC

El_Jefe

All-American
Oct 11, 2021
2,260
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Uh, no. Cassar didn't qualify for the NJ state championships until his senior year.

He didn't get many looks from other schools.
I think he meant that in terms of the perfect storm at HWT for both.

Both faced a Steveson who was mentally less sharp than the guy who won 2 NCAA titles and the Olympics. Hendrickson's only other challenge was a 1-legged Kerk. Cassar's only other challenge was 1x AA Bulk Job White.

I don't mean to downplay Cassar's year -- he was the best HWT that year and probably the next year before getting injured. He also had great timing, in missing Snyder.
 
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SRATH

All-American
May 29, 2001
2,724
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Taylor is w/o doubt a great wrestler with many levels of success and has earned his opportunity in coaching at Oklahoma State. He had a front row seat at PSU to learn from Cael and a wonderful experience with NLWC. The difference between Cael and DT has to do with character. Cael demonstrates beyond reproach behavior. While no one is perfect, he works at it. OTOH, DT took a coaching job and then attempted, as the story is told by insiders, to take some PSU wrestlers with him. While poaching happens in the athletic world, it certainly shouldn't come at the expense of the mentor/employer. I like him a lot less than I did when he was at PSU. Maybe that's just part of viewing non-PSU folks as the enemy.
Recall how DT got to PSU, came with Cael when he left ISU. Talent follows coaching……good for the sport.

If there are more coaches out there with the keep scoring philosophy, good for the sport.

Sit back and be amazed. Cael has transformed college wrestling. The winning isn’t unprecedented; the point scoring is. Back to back records and we will take a solid crack at it this year. He has a team which may run away with things this year and a group of backups could cruise to a top ten finish. Oh, and there is one starting senior.
 

apoharrow

All-Conference
May 14, 2006
6,259
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Uh, no. Cassar didn't qualify for the NJ state championships until his senior year.

He didn't get many looks from other schools.
Exactly Cael has brought guys from no where and turned them into Champions. DT needs to do that before he becomes a threat. Sorry I didn’t word my point very well.
 

PSUAllTheWay

All-Conference
Jan 18, 2015
2,047
4,169
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Being a former PSU wrestler and big-time PSU fan, I will always root for PSU wrestlers to succeed in life, regardless of their chosen path. So I wish DT well except when he wrestles us.

Clearly, DT is a very, very good coach. I think he also has the reputation and personality to be a great recruiter. What I haven't been able to determine is whether his personality can result in the type of success Cael has had. Their personalities are completely different, with Cael being much more understated, and I believe he sets expectations well with parents, his athletes, and the PSU administration. I'm not sure DT will do the same, and I wonder whether some of the coaching defections that have happened are due to this. Will this issue impact his athletes and administrative support in the future? Time will tell. Cael and his staff have always seemed to be on exactly the same page about everything, while I'm not sure DT and staff are.

If I'm betting on future success, it's hard not to bet on Cael and staff, so I will just continue to watch this rivalry evolve and enjoy the ride!
 

SkiSkiSki

Senior
May 29, 2001
3,580
598
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Being a former PSU wrestler and big-time PSU fan, I will always root for PSU wrestlers to succeed in life, regardless of their chosen path. So I wish DT well except when he wrestles us.

Clearly, DT is a very, very good coach. I think he also has the reputation and personality to be a great recruiter. What I haven't been able to determine is whether his personality can result in the type of success Cael has had. Their personalities are completely different, with Cael being much more understated, and I believe he sets expectations well with parents, his athletes, and the PSU administration. I'm not sure DT will do the same, and I wonder whether some of the coaching defections that have happened are due to this. Will this issue impact his athletes and administrative support in the future? Time will tell. Cael and his staff have always seemed to be on exactly the same page about everything, while I'm not sure DT and staff are.

If I'm betting on future success, it's hard not to bet on Cael and staff, so I will just continue to watch this rivalry evolve and enjoy the ride!
I think you have touched on something that isn’t mentioned enough in fostering the success that PSU has achieved as a program and that is the loyalty of the assistant coaches. These guys could easily be running their own programs elsewhere as head coaches but choose to stay.

I am fairly certain that Cael makes sure they are well compensated for being assistants but I am more certain that they could be making more money on their own. I think they realize that they are part of something very special that we may not see again anytime soon.

We are blessed to have these individuals running the program. With Cael we will always have a top program. Cael plus these assistants raise that to a level where we will always have THE top program as long as they stick around and can still roll around on the mats with the kids.
 

SRATH

All-American
May 29, 2001
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I think you have touched on something that isn’t mentioned enough in fostering the success that PSU has achieved as a program and that is the loyalty of the assistant coaches. These guys could easily be running their own programs elsewhere as head coaches but choose to stay.

I am fairly certain that Cael makes sure they are well compensated for being assistants but I am more certain that they could be making more money on their own. I think they realize that they are part of something very special that we may not see again anytime soon.

We are blessed to have these individuals running the program. With Cael we will always have a top program. Cael plus these assistants raise that to a level where we will always have THE top program as long as they stick around and can still roll around on the mats with the kids.
I don't disagree with how good they are and how integral they are to our success. Realistically, where would each go. There are established coaches at all the top places. I would guess the number of places looking to upgrade their program are few and far between who could pay more than what they are getting today........along with hiring a staff and having the resources that they have today.

Sure there might be a school out there with some uber wealthy guy who is ready to roll out the bank truck, but until that happens, they will have to stay in SC and suffer through the winning.
 

nerfstate

All-Conference
Oct 11, 2021
518
1,923
93
I don't disagree with how good they are and how integral they are to our success. Realistically, where would each go. There are established coaches at all the top places. I would guess the number of places looking to upgrade their program are few and far between who could pay more than what they are getting today........along with hiring a staff and having the resources that they have today.

Sure there might be a school out there with some uber wealthy guy who is ready to roll out the bank truck, but until that happens, they will have to stay in SC and suffer through the winning.
By all accounts I’ve heard, it was only after Casey passed on the Ok St job that they pursued DT.
 

Psalm 1 guy

All-Conference
Nov 3, 2019
624
2,134
93
I'm of the opinion that Cael is successful as he is due to the coaches around him and i think he would agree. One could argue that psu wrestling would not have been as successful as it is without the team approach to coaching
Absolutely.
 

Anon1683312534

Freshman
May 5, 2023
94
97
18
I don't disagree with how good they are and how integral they are to our success. Realistically, where would each go. There are established coaches at all the top places. I would guess the number of places looking to upgrade their program are few and far between who could pay more than what they are getting today........along with hiring a staff and having the resources that they have today.

Sure there might be a school out there with some uber wealthy guy who is ready to roll out the bank truck, but until that happens, they will have to stay in SC and suffer through the winning.
Don't know if you are being serious or not. But Cael has said many times how fortunate he is to have the asst. Coaches he has and they could be heading their own programs.
 

Dren007

Junior
Feb 19, 2012
122
235
43
So what are the effects once they can no longer roll around with the kids. I haven't been real close to big-time programs so i haveno idea. How much impact on recruitment and hands on attention play a roll in all of this. I see Manning still laces them up and he's up there in age. Oh, and the coach from Vision Quest.
 

manatree

All-Conference
Oct 6, 2021
2,736
4,768
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Don't know if you are being serious or not. But Cael has said many times how fortunate he is to have the asst. Coaches he has and they could be heading their own programs.

It usually comes up in every preseason press conference. He addresses it @33 minutes into this year’s.

 
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SRATH

All-American
May 29, 2001
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Don't know if you are being serious or not. But Cael has said many times how fortunate he is to have the asst. Coaches he has and they could be heading their own programs.
Very serious. I doubt there are too many schools who pay their HC as much as these guys make. I don’t have the data to back that up…….just a guess. Iowa isn’t getting rid of TnT. OSU isn’t ditching Ryan. Neb isn’t ditching Manning. Cornell…. same. ASU, same. Mizzu….same. So maybe, big maybe, Minny, or Wiscy or Rutgers are your options in the Big Ten. Go there to be the head guy, make a little more money and never have the resources to compete……. Unless they have a Paycom guy willing to write checks. Even then…….

Could they do great? Sure. But why? You are in this position where you are transforming collegiate wrestling and USA wrestling on the international level.

Where else are you going to have that impact????
 
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zzs006

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2017
467
2,447
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Very serious. I doubt there are too many schools who pay their HC as much as these guys make. I don’t have the data to back that up…….just a guess. Iowa isn’t getting rid of TnT. OSU isn’t ditching Ryan. Neb isn’t ditching Manning. Cornell…. same. ASU, same. Mizzu….same. So maybe, big maybe, Minny, or Wiscy or Rutgers are your options in the Big Ten. Go there to be the head guy, make a little more money and never have the resources to compete……. Unless they have a Paycom guy willing to write checks. Even then…….

Could they do great? Sure. But why? You are in this position where you are transforming collegiate wrestling and USA wrestling on the international level.

Where else are you going to have that impact????
If Casey or Cody made it known they wanted to leave and lead their own program a number of those schools you first mentioned would do everything in their power to hire them including moving on from their established coaches. No one would be safe if Casey decided to leave. It just isn’t happening though
 
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El_Jefe

All-American
Oct 11, 2021
2,260
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Very serious. I doubt there are too many schools who pay their HC as much as these guys make. I don’t have the data to back that up…….just a guess. Iowa isn’t getting rid of TnT. OSU isn’t ditching Ryan. Neb isn’t ditching Manning. Cornell…. same. ASU, same. Mizzu….same. So maybe, big maybe, Minny, or Wiscy or Rutgers are your options in the Big Ten. Go there to be the head guy, make a little more money and never have the resources to compete……. Unless they have a Paycom guy willing to write checks. Even then…….

Could they do great? Sure. But why? You are in this position where you are transforming collegiate wrestling and USA wrestling on the international level.

Where else are you going to have that impact????
Several of those coaches are in their late 50s or 60s and would get put to pasture promoted to an Athletics ambassador job for Casey, who's not yet 50.

Except that Casey seems unwilling to even consider leaving PSU.
 

KSLion

Sophomore
May 29, 2001
69
102
33
Don't know if you are being serious or not. But Cael has said many times how fortunate he is to have the asst. Coaches he has and they could be heading their own programs.
Cael's staff is saying, thru their actions, that there are more important things in life than just maximizing one's highest five years of earnings, or net financial worth, or whatever other monetary metric "highly successful" folks may choose to measure their success by.

From where I sit, that's the very best part.
 
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