Obituary

U.S. Greco-Roman star Alan Vera passes away

Wednesday, September 25, 2024 - 07:21 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 24) -- United States Greco-Roman wrestler and Pan-Am champion Alan VERA (USA) passed away Monday. Vera suffered a sudden cardiac arrest earlier this year and had been hospitalized since then in recovery from his serious health challenges.

Vera was born in Cuba and won a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 2016 Pan American Championships, while competing for Cuba. He immigrated to the United States and lived in Florida for a number of years. He continued to train and compete in Greco-Roman and various international events for a few years.

Vera qualified the U.S. for the Paris Olympics in 97kg at the 2024 Pan-American Olympic Qualification Tournament in Acapulco, Mexico.

Very saddened to hear about Alan Vera’s passing. In my limited time around him he was always willing to help on the mat, and offer a laugh at a terrible joke I made

— Kyle Dake (@kyledake444) September 24, 2024
 

Domestically, Vera claimed his first U.S. national title in 2020, and won four national titles during his career.

Vera was married to Elena PIROZKHOVA (USA), a two-time Olympian and former world champion.

United World Wrestling mourns the death of Vera and stands with the Vera family.

#development

British Wrestling hosts Level 3 Coaching Course following first-ever GB Grand Prix

Monday, January 8, 2024 - 14:29 By United World Wrestling Press

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MANCHESTER, England (January 8) – British Wrestling organized the first-ever Great Britain Grand Prix December 2-3. This competition was part of the UWW Development Department’s REDT programme and conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and British Wrestling. The REDT (Regional Education Development Tournament) is a programme designed to partner education activities with a competition to help develop wrestling across a region. Prior to the competition, a Level 3 Coaching course was conducted for 15 coaches from Great Britain (GBR), Austria (AUS), and the Netherlands (NED). This course focused on developing a coaching philosophy and an introduction into periodisation principles. 

The course was conducted by Mr. Zac DOMINGUEZ (USA). Coach Dominguez is a Gold Level Coach for USA Wrestling and has coached at numerous Continental and World Championship events. He also runs a top club and was able to relate very well to the coaches as many of them were coaching at their own clubs. “My favorite was discussing philosophy, because many of them had their own clubs and I could relate to their “problems” very well,” said Dominguez.

In addition to helping the coaches develop their philosophy for coaching, the course also targeted performance planning for wrestlers through video analysis, periodization principles, nutrition, and better understanding the rules of wrestling. The sessions included theoretical and practical sessions. Dr. Saam FALAHATI (Chief Medical Officer for British Wrestling) led the training on Nutrition and Hydration. Mr. Vaclav SCHEINER (CZE) was the assigned Referee Delegate for the competition and a certified UWW Educator. He conducted a session with the coaches on better understanding and using the rules of wrestling.

“The participants were very competent and understanding of the course materials. They were prepared very well from Level 1 and 2 UWW Certification. I was very pleased because we had great conversations and practical sessions” said Dominguez.

“British Wrestling targeted the level 3 UWW coaching course to help develop our coach’s knowledge of performance planning and developing athletes over the longer term," said Craig Anthony, Chief Executive Officer for British Wrestling. The course was expertly delivered and incredibly well received by our pathway coaches. Zac, Saam, and Vaclav provided expert knowledge and a fun learning environment that benefited everyone in the course. We are excited to see how this learning translates into improving our young developing athletes."

“After successfully finishing both levels 1 and 2 of the United World Wrestling coaching course, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to engage in the UWW level 3 course held in Manchester. During the program, I gained valuable insights into periodization in planning, video analysis, coaching philosophy development, evaluation of holds for Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Women's Wrestling, as well as nutrition and hydration for wrestling," said Steve McKeown. "I extend my gratitude to UWW Educator Zac Dominguez from the USA, UWW Referee Václav Scheiner from the Czech Republic, UWW Doctor Saam Falahati from Scotland, and British Wrestling for hosting this event.”