Stepping off the mat with the trophy held high, a sense of accomplishment, the feeling of a new beginning, and a new hope was present. For the first time since its inception, F&M had won the Rupp Cup and defeated Millersville. For those closest to the wrestling program, it meant so much more than just a W.
Coming off a winless season in 2010, little was expected of the Diplomats of the 2010-2011 season. However, with new coach Michael Rogers at the helm, things looked different. F&M won its final four matches in convincing fashion, culminating with its impressive performance against Millersville. Even when they weren’t winning the team looked different, carrying itself with a confidence and swagger that was not there two years ago.
Heading into the 2011-2012 wrestling season, the outlook for the team could not be any more different than what it was almost a year ago. Rather than hoping to win, the wrestling program is now looking to leave its mark in the EIWA. With a large crop of new first-years eager to take the mat and the return of experienced wrestlers such as Matt Fullowan, Colin Ely, and Matt Latessa, it’s easy to understand why those closest to the program are excited for the new season.
“Last year, we won four duals. This year, we’d like to win them all obviously, but, realistically, we set the bar at six,” said assistant coach Matt Greenberg. “We think that there’s six matches we should be competitively able to win. And then if everything goes right, we can build on that.”
It wasn’t long ago the wrestling program would have viewed six victories as an unachievable goal. If anything, the wrestling program has demonstrated that, with hard work, dedication, and some perseverance, turnarounds like the one it is currently experiencing are not out of the question.
Starting Anew
Walking into the wrestling office, one is struck almost immediately by its humble nature. The football program occupies three offices across the hall, and just about every head coach at F&M has an office with a window overlooking a field or some other portion of the school.
The wrestling office is tucked away in the corner of the second floor of the Mayser Center’s office wing. It’s easy to miss if you’re in a hurry to get somewhere else. There are no windows. There aren’t many accolades or photographs hanging on the wall, nor is there a large trophy case displaying the program’s past accomplishments.
Looking at the wall across from the main doorway, a collection of small photographs and memories are cluttered over a tack board positioned above Greenberg’s desk. They create a collage of memories that, to many on the outside, may not mean all that much. Scanning over the wall, most of it blends together, with one notable exception.
At the very top, on a plain sheet of white paper with blue and black writing, is a short slogan that embodies the current mission of the wrestling program at F&M:
F&M Wrestling—a proud tradition…a new beginning.
It jumps out from the board and the rest of its surroundings, and perhaps it is supposed to. Regardless, it’s a motto the wrestling program lives by as it tries to rebuild itself in the mold of a championship caliber program.
“When I first got here, there was something of a void between the ‘70s and ‘80s teams and then the 2000s teams,” Greenberg said. “It seemed like there had been a lot of drifting with the direction of the program. When Coach Rogers first came in, he wanted to establish a theme or a goal, something that was a mission statement to the program.”
“We are very proud of the people who have wrestled here and the people who have come to our program,” Greenberg
For something so profound and meaningful to the program, it is surprisingly simple.
“It kinda just popped into my head one night,” is how Greenberg described the slogan’s creation.
It is short and to the point, remarkably simplistic while also appropriately capturing the mission of an entire program. Just like everything else in the office, it is neither imposing nor flashy. It’s all wrestling, and it’s all about making this team the best it can be.
Gaining Traction
Not surprisingly, as a program on the rise, the wrestling team is looking to market itself to the broader F&M community. After several fruitless years and a winless season, the wrestling program had fallen by the wayside and drifted from the minds of many F&M students. However, as the program began to pick up steam late last season, wrestling began to make a comeback.
Attendance at home matches began to creep up, and the program started to garner a little more attention around campus. With a new Facebook group and Twitter feed, the program is hoping to become connected to the campus community. While these ideas are good first steps, the team is looking to become a staple in the minds of the student body.
“We have two promotions we are really pushing this year, and we feel that our success last year gives us the ability to really reach out and try and do these things,” Greenberg said. “The first thing we’re doing, it’s called the win pool. We’re getting all the people in the community … to pledge a dollar amount for every individual win we have over the course of the season. So we’re organically engaging the fans and getting these people not just to send in a check and disappear, but to really follow the team and to get updates and to be involved.”
“While we were doing this, we realized we need to give something back as well and not just ask,” Greenberg added. “So we partnered with Panasonic and they donated two flat screen televisions, a couple cameras, some MP3 players. What we’ll be doing is raffling those off at our home matches to students. Students who come are going to be eligible to win those prizes. At our last dual meet, we’re going to be giving away a 46-inch 3D flat screen TV. It’s pretty exciting, and I don’t think there are too many things like it or too many programs that can say they’re doing that.”
Some of the items being raffled off for the students at home matches include an old school Panasonic stereo headphone set, a compact stereo system, a Lumix 16.1 megapixel digital camera, a 32-inch Viera C3 series LCD TV, and the aforementioned 46-inch 3D HD TV.
On basketball nights, the Mayser Gymnasium is filled with students, faculty, and parents, giving F&M a huge home-court advantage. With promotions like these, the wrestling program is hoping to generate enough interest and fanfare amongst the student body so the experience on wrestling nights is the same.
Prior to the 2010-2011 season, current F&M students had little to cheer about when it came to wrestling. However, with these new promotions and a program that is experiencing a turnaround, it’s fair to expect wrestling will return to the forefront in the coming years.
Looking Forward
With so much going on, it is difficult not to be excited for the upcoming season. F&M opens on the road at the Terrapin Duels, hosted by the University of Maryland College Park. There, the Diplomats will square off against Bloomsburg, West Virginia, Johns Hopkins, and Maryland. It will be an early test for the program, and will reveal a great deal about where the program stands and what must improve in the future.
F&M will feature a young program this year, with a large first-year class. Despite their inexperience and youth, many of these wrestlers will be vying for valuable time as starters and will be looked upon to contribute to the program right away.
“We have 11 new freshmen, and five or six of them will be stepping into the lineup immediately,” Greenberg said. “We are a division one program, and our conference, the EIWA, is the second toughest conference, right behind the Big Ten in terms of the competitive nature of the conference and the number of All-Americans. So we’re going to have to learn on the fly.”
“We brought in the type of kids who are going to be able to [compete],” Greenberg added. “They were all winners and champions at their levels. This year is going to be the year where we show them that we weren’t just a one-hit wonder last year. We like to say we’re pouring the cement so we can build the house. This is still the pouring the cement stage. We’re building that foundation.”
Turning a program around and taking it from worst to first is a long process that cannot be achieved without patience, hard work, and dedication to the mission. It cannot happen overnight, and it is not possible by simply catching one or two five-star recruits. It’s a multi-tiered process that demands a great deal from those involved.
With its new first-years, dedicated senior leadership, and its commitment to generating interest within the community, the F&M wrestling program is in the middle of that process. The 2011-2012 season will be another step towards that goal.
It will be a long journey, and there is no telling what the end destination is. However, just as the small white piece of paper with the blue and black writing placed high on the wall suggests, the F&M wrestling team is experiencing a revival. There will be bumps in the road throughout the course of this revitalization. It won’t all be pretty.
But, at least for now, it’s hard not to be excited about what is going on in the humble office on the second floor of the Mayser Center.
