UWW Academy

UWW Academy Launches Three New Programmes

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 22) – United World Wrestling’s IT and Development Departments launched three new programmes on UWW Academy, the official educational learning platform for coaches, referees and athletes. 

The United World Wrestling Academy is an integrated online learning portal designed to provide information, tools and resources in order to support and enhance the knowledge and value of the discipline of wrestling. 

Periodization in Planning, Coaching Philosophy and Programme Development are the three programmes that launched in English on Wednesday morning.

“The IT and Development Departments of UWW are very excited to launch these additional programmes on the UWW Academy” said UWW’s Development Director, Deqa Niamkey. “The wrestling community worldwide has shown great interest for the platform, and therefore, we must continue to pursue these developments to further expand wrestling knowledge worldwide.”

‘Periodization in Planning’ looks at the basics of implementing periodization into training. It covers the benefits of periodization, different methods for periodization, and covers key points and questions regarding the implementation of this planning. 

‘Coaching Philosophy’ will help coaches develop their coaching philosophy.  It is an interactive course where coaches will learn and answer questions regarding their philosophy.  The coaches will learn about three areas: self-awareness, their purpose, and the different types of leaders.  Then, they will use their answers to draft their coaching philosophy statement. 

‘The Programme Development' course focuses on the key concepts on how a coach would develop their program or team. The course begins by helping them develop a plan and set goals.  It then extensively covers how to develop and implement a training plan.  The course also helps coaches develop a vision statement, budget and financial strategies, use social media for promotion, and create a risk management plan. 

Outside of the newly-released Periodization in Planning, Coaching Philosophy and Programme Development programmes, other helpful UWW Academy resources and courses included: 

 Courses:
- Ready to Wrestle
- UWW Online Rules Test 
- Introduction to Coaching and Safety   
- Introduction to Practice Planning  
- Introduction to Refereeing 

Resources: 
- Wrestle4Fun
- United World Wrestling Coaching Pathway
- United World Wrestling Referee Pathway 
- Anti-doping and WADA Programs 
- IOC Programs 
- E-Journals and Performance Analysis for UWW Competitions 

For more details on the educational courses and resources that the UWW Academy has to offer, please visit www.uwwacademy.org.

#WrestleSantiago

Torreblanca, Valdes repeat as Pan-Am Games champs

By Eric Olanowski

(Photo credit: Ramon Monroy Panam Sports via Xpress Media)

SANTIAGO, Chile (November 2) --- Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) and Alejandro VALDÉS (CUB) repeated as Pan-American Games champions after grabbing golds on Thursday night at the Chilean Olympic Center.

Valdes dominated his three opponents, picking up 10-0 wins over Joseph SILVA (PUR) and Albaro RUDECINDO (DOM) before pinning Nahshon GARRETT (USA) in the gold medal bout.

Valdes now has a pair of Pan-American Games gold medals to go along with his three Pan-American Championship titles.

Fellow Cuban Torreblanca was nearly flawless in his quest to repeat as Pan-Am Games champion, scoring four wins on Thursday—three coming via shutouts. Torreblanca blanked Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL), Rashji MACKEY (BAH) and Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN) (8-0, 10-0 and 4-0, respectively) to reach the 86kg finals.

In the championship bout, Torreblanca controlled the six-minute finals bout against Mark HALL (USA), effectively shutting down the American’s offense. The Cuban stopped Hall’s only real shot attempt of the bout, picking up a counter-offensive takedown. After giving up a reversal to end the first, Torreblanca tacked on an additional step-out point and cruised to the 3-1 win.

Meanwhile, in women's wrestling, Yusneylis GUZMÁN (CUB) became the first Cuban woman to win Pan-American Games gold since Lisset HECHEVARRIA (CUB) and Katherine VIDIAUX (CUB) claimed titles at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Guzman defeated Erin GOLSTON (USA) and Jacquline MOLLOCANA (ECU) to end Cuba’s 12-year Pan-Am Games gold drought. She defeated Golston, 10-0, then beat Mollocana, 5-1, cementing a spot in her nation’s wrestling history books.

In the bout of the night, Giullia RODRIGUES (BRA) narrowly edged Hannah TAYLOR (CAN) to win the 57kg gold. She hit two inside trips to score her six points—a two-point trip in the first and a four-point trip in the second—to win her third competition of the season. Rodrigues also won gold medals this season at the Poland Open and Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Memorial. 

Rodrigues joins Joice SILVA (BRA) as the only woman from Brazil to win a Pan-American Games gold medal.

The final gold of the night in women’s wrestling went to Forrest MOLINARI (USA), who defeated Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN), 3-2, in the 68kg finals. Molinari surrendered a high-level single-leg takedown in the first period but scored three unanswered points to win her first Pan-Am Games title.

Friday's opening round matches begin at 10:00 (local time), with the bronze and gold-medal bouts beginning at 17:00.

Freestyle

65kg
GOLD - Alejandro VALDÉS (CUB) df. Nahshon GARRETT (USA), via fall
BRONZE - Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG) df. Sixto AUCCAPIÑA (PER), 7-1
BRONZE - Joseph SILVA (PUR) df. Albaro RUDECINDO (DOM), 6-5

86kg 
GOLD - Yurieski TORREBLANCA (CUB) df. Mark HALL (USA), 3-1
BRONZE - Hunter LEE (CAN) df. Ethan RAMOS (PUR), 14-4
BRONZE - Pedro CEBALLOS (VEN) df. Carlos IZQUIERDO (COL), 7-6

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
GOLD - Yusneylis GUZMÁN (CUB) df. Jacquline MOLLOCANA (ECU), 5-1
BRONZE - Mariana ROJAS (VEN) df. Erin GOLSTON (USA), 3-0

57kg
GOLD - Giullia RODRIGUES (BRA) df. Hannah TAYLOR (CAN), 6-6
BRONZE - Angela ALVAREZ (CUB) df. Xochitl MOTA-PETTIS (USA), 10-0

BRONZE - Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) df. Betzabeth SARCO (VEN), via fall

68kg
GOLD - Forrest MOLINARI (USA) df. Soleymi CARABALLO (VEN), 3-2
BRONZE - Nicoll PARRADO (COL) df. Virginia JIMÉNEZ (CHI), 6-0
BRONZE - Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) df. Ambar GARNICA (MEX), 8-6