Some Sage Advice from Our Veterans

On Wednesday, January 8th the Bullet Mat Club (K-6th grades) came out in force to cheer the high school team to victory against the Kutztown Cougars.  Over 25 kids attended the match and when lined up along side the mat during introductions, there was barely enough room for them to stand.  The crowd encouraged their participation in the sport with a resounding round of applause.

In spite of the few open spots in the line-up, there was plenty for these youth to learn from their elder wrestlers.  Dan Schmeck retained his undefeated record.  Dan's technique is solid.  His goal is always to get a 5 point move and he did not disappoint us on Wednesday night.  Zach Session showed amazing courage and confidence when he faced his opponent, giving up at least 20 pounds.  Zach went on to beat his opponent 11-4. And Trevor Gimbor show-cased his amazing speed.  He wrestled with great intensity and earned another 6 points.  Much learning to be done from all the wrestlers competing that night.

And hopefully, all 25 of those kids pictured themselves wrestling in the spot light in front of family and friends one day. One day we hope to see them putting on the "clinic" for the next generation of youth BMC wrestlers!

As the youth came out to support our high school team, the high school wrestlers returned the favor and offered some advice for the weekend...Keep trying, be motivated, try your best, and stick with it.  What other advice do they need to become the next generation of Bullet Wrestlers?  Go Bullets Go!

 



 

Sam's Sneak Preview

Is there anyone in Berks County that has been to more County Wrestling Tournaments than our coach, Sam Lovello?  OK, well maybe Freddie Richardson.  This weekend Sam will be making his 17th trip to the tournament so let's just say he has perspective on the subject.  In this short video, Sam not only gives us a sneak preview on how the team will fare this weekend but also talks about how the caliber of the wrestling has changed over the years.  The County tournament starts on Friday night and continues into Saturday.  For those of you who can't make it to Reading High School, radio station WEEU 830AM will be broadcasting the finals starting at 6pm.   See if Sam's predictions come true.

2013 Year in Review

2013 was a great year for Bullet Wrestling.  Missing from the list below are the personal stories of friendship, determination, and courage.  The stories of how victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat or sometimes visa versa.  Watching Bullet Wrestlers do the unexpected is always thrilling. Unfortunately, some of these stories don't always make it beyond the locker room.  Regardless, the list is still long and replete with accomplishment.  The program has much to be proud of.

• Added almost 300 new fans to our Bullet Wrestling Facebook page.
• Coach Oswald joins Bullet Wrestling from Oley.
• 6 Berks County medalists including two champions. Bullets earn 5th place in team standings.
• Gimbor wins Counties as a freshman.
• Sam turned 36 yrs old again.
• Coach Lovello celebrated his 500th win at Twin Valley.
• Mackie continues to thrill us with the big moves and pins.
• Over 50 alumni return to celebrate 50 years of Bullet Wrestling.
• Mauer snubs Renda.
• Wrestling voted out of the Olympics.
• 7 wrestlers qualify for Districts.
• Mackie, Renda and Schmeck qualify for Regionals.
• The two seniors qualify for States.
• 2 State medalists 
• 1 State champion
• Lovello inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
• Wrestling voted back into Olympics.
• 300 boxes of blueberries sold to fund another year of Strength Training and MS singlets.
• Coach Oswald leaves Bullet Wrestling for head coach position at Daniel Boone
• @Bullet Wrestling Tweets started appearing
• Schmeck and Conrad take Gold at the Bullet Invitational.  4 others earn medals.
• Fenstermacher and Caskie take Gold at Governor Mifflin JV tourney.
• 5 Medalists at the Governor Mifflin Holiday Tournament.

Bullet Wrestling has great momentum heading into 2014.  This year we had two Bullet Invitational Champions...same as previous year.  This year we had 5 medalists at the Governor Mifflin Tournament, one more than last year.  Last year we had 6 Bullet Wrestlers earn medals at Counties.  What can happen this year?  Can Gimbor repeat as a County champion?  Can we bring home 6 medals?

Sure 2013 was a great year but what are the possibilities for 2014?  

Coach Lovello's Induction into Hall of Fame.  

Mackie with a pin over Lousieau

Finally!

Alumni Event with some Bullet Hall of Famers!

Lovello's 500 Win Celebration

Promoting Our Wrestlers

Last year, in an effort to recognize and promote the hard work and accomplishments of the Bullet Wrestling team, a Bullet Wrestling facebook and this blog were started.  We are continuing those efforts and expanding into some new areas.

As a member of the Bullet Wrestling community, you also play a significant role in promoting our Bullet Wrestling team and the sport of wrestling.  Here is how you can help:

• Check the blog for frequent updates.  http://thematslap.blogspot.com/ .  The blog generally contains more in-depth information and/or analysis. Mark it as a favorite in your Internet Browser.   Information about our schedule, sponsors and rosters also get posted here.  Please share the link with friends and family.  Guest writers are welcome.

• Follow Bullet Wrestling on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/BrandywineHeightsWrestling Like and Share the facebook posts with your friends.  Encourage your friends to Like the Bullet Wrestling Facebook page.   Facebook posts are generally short in nature and we try to include video and photographs here. 

• Follow @BulletWrestling on Twitter. https://twitter.com/bulletwrestling  Encourage your friends to follow us.  Retweet Bullet Wrestling tweets.   Twitter is popular with high school and college students.  It is also an easy way to provide live scoring updates if you can’t make a match.

• Our Instagram account is probably the least developed but it is very popular with high school kids.  http://instagram.com/bulletwrestling

The ultimate goal is to pack the gym at home tournaments and matches and attract youth wrestlers to the sport.  Wrestlers work hard!  Wrestlers are performers! They deserve this recognition in the school and in the community.

Thanks for your help.

Rippey's Challenge

Besides looking forward to the Bullet Invitational, you know it is wrestling season when you look forward to Brian Rippey's predictions in the Reading Eagle.  Just like rules, predictions by Rippey are made to be broken.  This year Rippey comments on how the power in Berks wrestling is shifting to the big schools.  Since 2011 it seems that either Governor Mifflin or Wilson has won the Berks title.  These large schools definitely have opportunities that a smaller school wouldn't have, mainly a lot of kids to fill the 14 weight class slots and a football program to help feed the upper weights. However, this might be considered an excuse by some since the five years prior to 2011, the Berks title was shared by either the Bullets of BHHS or the Panthers of Schuylkill Valley. And in reality, you only need 14 wrestlers, not entire offensive and defensive lines.

Did Rippey just openly challenge the smaller schools in Berks county?

Early this week, Coach Sam Lovello indicated we might have two forfeits in the line-up.  Even Sam admitted that this will hurt the Bullet's chances, especially against a "Wilson" who has 4 returning Berks champions and took 4th place at the District 3 tournament last year.  How does a program fight off their back in this situation?  Unfortunately, there are no quick answers to two open weight classes.  

This kind of problem requires a "system" approach.  It requires all levels (elementary, middle school and high school) to be working together to address the needs of the wrestlers.  It needs the support and understanding from school administrators, the community and the alumni wrestlers. The good news is that our Bullet Wrestling program understands this and are already working on solutions to keep at least 14 wrestlers on the mat every season.   

Anyone who knows a good wrestler, knows that he is an extremely competitive person.  They are scrappers and rarely back down from a challenge.  They find ways to win.  Good wrestling programs, just like that wrestler, are competitive too. I guarantee Bullet Wrestling will not be backing down from Rippey's challenge to take back the wrestling power in Berks.     

Click here for the full preview <<<< Rippey's Preview - Berks Wrestling

The Bullet Invitational

On Saturday, December 7, the Bullets will be hosting 11 other teams at the Bullet Invitational.  Wrestling is slated to begin at 9:30 am and it is guaranteed there will be some hard fought matches.  After all, there is only one chance to have a perfect record and it all starts at these early season tournaments.  Over the years, many Bullet Wrestlers have found themselves standing on the top podium.  Our own Coach Adam was a 3X champion himself.  Last year seven of our wrestlers earned medals.

In an interview with Coach Adam this week, he remembered back to when he wrestled in this tournament.  His memories and comments help describe what makes the sport of wrestling and this program so special.  21 years later, Coach Adam is still remembering how his team made it possible for another team to compete at the tournament by hosting them at their homes.  More than likely, some of those wrestlers might have had to compete against each other the following day.  It is not like a wrestlers to take the easy way out of things.  They would rather compete than take a bye.  

Come out on Saturday and help support another generation of wrestlers.  We are hoping that a few of them come away undefeated, more come away with medals and all of them come away with a memory that will last at least 21 years.

Lovello's Encore

Last year Coach Lovello reached 500 career wins, coached a PIAA State Champion and was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.  Watch the video to learn how the team is shaping up this season and how he is planning to top last year! Go Bullets Go.

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