Rogers & Greenberg Flashback to Wrestling Origins

Hard as it may be to believe, F&M wrestling coaches Mike Rogers and Matt Greenberg weren’t wrestling in their cribs. In fact, both had rather unconventional, and surprisingly late introductions to the sport.

Growing up in Florida during the 80s and 90s, wrestling wasn’t the most popular sport. Truth be told, it was probably about as popular as sailing—maybe even less so.

During his freshman year of high school, Rogers began his wrestling career, and concluding his inaugural season with a grand total of five wins. As a senior, Rogers won states and took second place nationally, earning him recognition and recruiting visits from various colleges. Despite various offers from several schools across the country, Rogers chose Lock Haven University, a school which would accommodate his desire for a small campus with a Division I wrestling program.

Upon his immediate arrival, Rogers made a mark at Lock Haven, capturing first place at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship. He would go on to defend that title for the remainder of his collegiate career, in addition to earning All-American accolades, and boasting two championship victories in the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL).

“I was of a part of a pretty good team—we finished fifth in the country, so that kind of put me on the track that small schools can compete with big schools,” Rogers said. “We’re a school of 3,000 students finishing fifth behind schools like Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, right in the mix with a lot of Big 10, Big 12 schools.”

It was this aspect of wrestling that intrigued Rogers, and motivated him to work harder in order to upend the larger, better known schools.

“I think wrestling is a unique sport that lends itself to small schools being able to compete against large schools and it’s 10 guys against 10 guys, and you can really turn a situation where you have four or five guys getting big enough points, you can be as competitive as anyone else, so that was really appealing to me.”

Despite initially pursuing a career in special education, Rogers found his way back to wrestling, and is seeking to provide his team with the best collegiate wrestling experience possible, accompanied by top-tier academics.

Like Rogers, Greenberg began wrestling at a very late stage in the game, following an odd and unexpected turn of events.

As a sophomore in high school, Greenberg was enthralled with the prospect of snowboarding, and had recently purchased his first board. As he prepared to be a part of the snowboard clique and become one of the ‘dudes,’ Greenberg found himself getting into frequent trouble at school.

Notified of their son’s misbehavior, Greenberg’s parents quickly gave him an ultimatum—get rid of the snowboard, or find a winter hobby that would keep him out of trouble.

The school wrestling coach had called Greenberg’s home, suggesting that Matt and wrestling might be a match.

 “I stumbled into wrestling—my first practice I remember walking in and asking where the ropes were, and I thought it was pro wrestling. I had no idea what I was getting into,” said Greenberg. “Very quickly I realized it was the sport for me. I like the fact that you can control your own destiny, the fact that you don’t have to rely on other people holding up their end of the deal to be successful. If you want to win, you work harder than the guys around you, and you win.”

Equipped with this simple understanding of the sport, Greenberg embarked on what would prove to be an immensely successful career.

“Very quickly I became engulfed in the training, engulfed in the sport and I realized that this was something that could take me into college.”

Prior to his senior year, Greenberg received very little attention from recruiters, and finished his junior season fifth in the state. One year later, Greenberg entered the same tournament undefeated, but ended up taking third overall in the state.

“That’s when I started getting all the letters from the Ivy League schools and I said ‘wow I can do this.’ That summer, I took second in the country at the U.S. Nationals for high school, and I ended up committing to wrestle in college.”

Following his high school graduation, Greenberg matriculated at Columbia University, but his stay in the Upper West Side would be short-lived.

His sophomore year of college, Greenberg transferred to Cornell University, in what he deems “the best decision I ever made.”

“The program was on the way up, but it hadn’t established itself as the powerhouse it is today,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg thrived with the Big Red, aiding the team in its successful goal of breaking into the top-10 national rankings.

Greenberg finished his career as a four-time All-Ivy League selection, an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) title at 197-pounds, All-America honors his senior season, and three trips to the Division I National Championship.  

Like Rogers, Greenberg is quite fond of the concept of wrestling at the D-I level, in a smaller, liberal arts setting, preparing its wrestlers for the working world, while enjoying the benefits of elite wrestling.

“I wanted to be in a place where you had student-athletes and not just athletes,” said Greenberg. “I like a program that doesn’t have to deal with the scholarship side of the sport. I wanted a program where 99 percent of the athletes went on to do something other than athletics after college.”

For both Rogers and Greenberg, F&M has been the perfect fit, and at the helm of Diplomat wrestling are two men doing far more than just coaching. The pair have a vision, and have made it their business to prepare every F&M wrestler that walks through the door for the competitiveness of D-I wrestling perfectly balanced with a liberal arts education and an understanding of the working world that will lead them to successful professional careers and lives.