August 6, 2025 • 24 mins
Some might remember Vinny Barber wrestling in New York for coach Duane Ritter at Oneonta State. Others may remember him as a boisterous figure at Flowrestling. However you may remember the old Vinny Barber, things are a lot different now.
After returning to college, finishing his degree and joining the coaching staff at the University of the Ozarks, Barber found himself leading the Division III Arkansas school. Then a new opportunity arose, a chance to start a brand new program at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia.
Hear how Vinny’s progressed in coaching and growing professionally.
Links to Follow
Join the Discord: https://www.mattalkonline.com/discord
Daily Wrestling Newsletter: https://www.mattalkonline.com/news
Contribute: https://www.mattalkonline.com/contribute
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattalkonline
The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear: https://www.mattalkonline.com/compound
Quick Subscribe: https://www.Podfollow.com/shorttime
After returning to college, finishing his degree and joining the coaching staff at the University of the Ozarks, Barber found himself leading the Division III Arkansas school. Then a new opportunity arose, a chance to start a brand new program at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia.
Hear how Vinny’s progressed in coaching and growing professionally.
Links to Follow
Join the Discord: https://www.mattalkonline.com/discord
Daily Wrestling Newsletter: https://www.mattalkonline.com/news
Contribute: https://www.mattalkonline.com/contribute
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattalkonline
The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear: https://www.mattalkonline.com/compound
Quick Subscribe: https://www.Podfollow.com/shorttime
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
WHOA done here in Florida NBCA Convention, Vinnie Barber, the
(00:21):
new head coach at the brand new program or revived
program actually at Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia. This is now
your second head coaching gig. And if we go back
ten years and people, if somebody would said, hey, Vinnie,
you're gonna be a head coach at two colleges ten
years ago, what would you have said to that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I guess I would have never never thought of it. It
wasn't something that was on my radar.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
At that point.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I definitely was living a much different life ten years ago,
you know, traveling the country, working with flow, kind of
living a little bit more of.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
A free life. But I love coaching.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I think I'm really excited that that's where my life
had led me to.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and let's talk about how your life got here.
You grew up New York wreusselled Division III, only onto
State to start, and then you've been a guy he
was always like, looked at your college coach as a
guy that really you hold very high regard.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Talk a little bit about Dayne Ridger and what he
meant to you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, So it's funny Dwayne called me right before I
got out to the convention. We probably talked every two weeks.
I wish I knew now what I what I like then,
what I know now about him and why I should
have stayed because I ended up transferring three years out.
But he's a great guy who's been a great mentor
to me. He's been great with me, you know, helping
me become a coach and helping me you know still,
you know, ten years into this, still like asking him
questions and getting feedback. I left seeing him out, but
(01:29):
you know, we keep in touch all the time, and
I really value that relationship.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, he look at the the the just the world
of Division three. Both the schools you went to were
D three. Now you started back into coaching. Actually the
getting back into wrestling was Lroy Gardner brought to you
the university. Those are because you were you had some
eligibility left. You were potentially looking to get on the mat.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Again, right, Yeah, I was going through That was the plan,
and then I had another back surgery and Lary kind
of x that out, was like, hey, we're not doing it.
I was like, yeah, it probably makes sense. I'd gotten
multiple at that point and I was like, it's probably better.
I just needed to finish my degree, which was really important.
That was a big thing I needed to do, and
then coaching kind of even then, I didn't think I
was going to coach. I just knew I was going
to out of college coaching somebody as well, finish my
(02:09):
degree for a year, and and then it just kind
of spiraled out of control. Are now ten years fast forward,
still coaching.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, we look at it and you know, the program
at Ozarks was pretty new. And then when he left
for another opportunity a year there, and what goes through
your mind? We're like, am I were you ready? Do
you think to be a head coach at that point?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I think I was lucky because one nice thing with
Leroy was he was really good about like making sure
I knew everything that I need to do, Like I
was pretty hands on to a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I was a little older getting into coaching as well.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was about twenty six and I had my own business,
so I understood some.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Things on that end.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
But there was really no I guess there wasn't much
of a choice, and not that I didn't want there
to be. I did want to take the head coaching job.
But there was nobody better, I thought at that point
than myself because it's a unique place.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
The Ozarks was a little you know, you have.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
To I've been there for at that point three four years,
so I kind of knew it in and out, and
I knew what we needed to do to be successful.
So I kind of just saw that as like what
made sense was just a step into that role right away.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Talking to Nathaniel Rankin, who was on your staff last
year Ozarks wrestled there and one of the things that
he had.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
To be sold on was like, dude, I'm.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Not going to college in Arkansas, So how did you
I mean, You've always been very people personal. Yeah, like
you can talk to anybody for hours at a time,
So probably selling the thing was not the big thing.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
But what do you have to come.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Through to sell a kid on a Division three school
and sellicate on you know, the unique situations where you're
at geographically.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I mean Arkansas was tough just because wrestling was
so new there. The bordering states really don't understand the
Division three model very well, and it was hard.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
It was really difficult.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I think it was selling kids on the opportunity to
come into a program and be the first you know,
all American, be the first national champ and do something
special there in Arkansas.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Keeping in state kids was really important.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
This past year, we had four guys in state who
started for us from the week from Arkansas and they
were successful. So having in state guys developing that talent
was important. But it was you know, recruiting to it
was difficult, just because it is Arkansas, and you know,
they're definitely getting better, but at the time, even a
few years back, was a tough draw and people just
have this preconceived notion of Arkansas.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I'll say, like, I love my house.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Out there, I love where I lived. I did love it.
I think Arkansas's beautiful. I think it's a great place.
It's just you got to get Once we got somebody
to campus, we knew we were good.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It was just that first step of like, hey, coming
to campus.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Linchburg opens up.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
They start the program and much like Arkansas, Virginia has
been seeing a boom in Division thie wrestling programs. You've
seen more school Arkansas went from zero wrestling to high
school wrestling to okay, you know watch it. Tava was first,
and then you got a couple of small schools. Little Rock
comes in. Of course they've been kind of a media
darling a little bit with what Neil's done there.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Ozarks was actually the first opponent.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
For Little Rock, a duel meet at the Jack Stevens Center,
and just to see the wrestling progress in Arkansas and
then now to see more Division three opportunities in Virginia.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
What was enticing about Lynchberg for you?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, first, really, I mean I never thought i'd leave
those arts. I really thought I could stay there forever.
They took care of me. We had a really good
thing going, we were having success. I got a call
from Nate Yetzer and he said, Hey, there's a school
down the road opening up, and I think you should
throw a.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Hat in the ring, and I had.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And for those who were involved in the process, know
that it became a very long, like year long process
finding somebody for Lynchburg.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I took a little longer than I think they wanted.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
But what was exciting about that was one, they're one
of the best athletic departments in the country. They're a
top five athletic department of the country. They win national championships,
hit everything. So when I looked at what makes a
good fit for a Division three program. I think Lynchburg
was really a good opportunity. I'd seen some other programs
start up, and you know, there's still some looking for
coaches two years later, So I think.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Lynchburg was a really good opportunity for me.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And then when I got to campus and met the
other coaches and saw the resources that we have available
to us, it was it was kind of a no brainer.
It's kind of a I say, it's like a small
Division one. It's small Division one athletics. We really take
them seriously. They resourced me very well, you know, full
time assistant right away. We're just spending the first year recruiting.
We'll have the biggest facility in Division three wrestling standalone
(06:03):
facility with four mats, twelve thousand square feet, everything in
there that you'll need to train and be good at wrestling,
locker rooms, weight rooms, nutrition station, study room, all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So we have everything we need.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And I just saw it as an opportunity to advance myself.
And I think most importantly, I talked to Trevor Kittleson
and I was nervous to take and he said, what
are you nervous about and I was like, I don't know, man,
these guys are really good at sports.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Like what if I'm not good and I get fired?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
But then right then and there I knew like that
was the answer, Like I want to go find out
just like we tell our guys, go find out your best.
I wanted to find out good of a coach. I
can be at a place that resources accordingly. Now I
can just worry about coaching wrestling and see how good
I can make a program like Lynchburg.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
How do you grow as a coach?
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I think just knowing that you don't know everything.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I think talking to people, coming to events like this, networking,
talking to people, having relationships I talk to.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
The more I.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Communicate with coaches more than my own family, I guess
like just learning how to be better constantly, like beating
that drum on.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
What can I do to improve with the guy for a.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Program, you know, reaching out to people I've one year
I had a few years like a network we'd meet
every Wednesday on Zoom and just talk about a coach
is from all around the country and we'd meet and
just pick each other's brains. But I think it's just
understanding that there's still so much to learn and everything
changes so fast, and if the moment you think you
got it all figured out, it is probably the moment.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
You should get out of coaching.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
How do you grow as a person.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Being humble and knowing like, hey, I've messed up on
some things, and being honest, and like, I think, being
really vulnerable. That's something we run our program on. It
is like being vulnerable understand like, hey, I messed up.
This was a foolish thing I did, or that wasn't
the right choice. I got, you know, here with Nathan
this week and talking to him about, you know, some
of the struggles he's having. I'm like, hey, man, like
you'll have to figure this out yourself. But when I
did this, this is what happened. And and then knowing too,
(07:45):
like that we're human and that we're going to make
the mistakes again, and really just being vulnerable and open.
And I think when I started as a coach, I
was really closed.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Off and I thought I could do no wrong and
that was not the case.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
But I think just just learning through it and being okay,
like messing up how much is.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Something like the Leadership Academy and the NBAC a convention
help a guy.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Like you, I hope's a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I think, you know, I'd started my coaching career through
the Leadership Academy, and now, you know, it's cool that
I spoke on a panel yesterday, which that were two
days ago, which was cool, Like, it's cool to see
that progression. For myself, I think I want to go
through the Leadership Academy again because again, I think it's
really important to get like, you know, refresher on things
I think I do well and then maybe I don't.
And the times are changing in college athletics and it's
really important.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
To stay up with that. But I think these events
are great.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
You know, every one of my assistants ever has gone
through the Leadership Academy, and every single one of the
person who's been my assistant coach is now a head coach.
So I kind of attributed to that in a big way.
They do a good job preparing young coaches and even
older coaches to kind of stay in the game and
be be sharp.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
You're a visible character, for a lack of a better term,
while you were at Flow Sports, and I go through
this and where people see me saw me grow up
through the sport.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
People seen you grow up through the sport.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
How much of you know the goofy Vinnie from Flow
do you still have to kind of like, well, I've
grown up since, and how much do you have to
answer questions about that?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Well, I think it's kind of passed. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I think like people, you know, the recency bias is
like great in wrestling and disregard, like some people forget
I was even at Flow, but it's like, but still
my little story, my little.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Thing, you know, going.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I was just you know, when I see s on
events like this, like, hey man, I remember when you
like fired me from Flow and he's like yeah, and
I was like yeah, well, you know, we laugh about it.
But I remember, like memories pop up on Facebook when
I'm showing up to work in pajama pants and stuff.
So I guess it's twenty one, twenty two years old.
I get it then, you know, I didn't understand it then,
but now I get it. I wasn't the you know,
I made some poor choices there, but it was a
great opportunity for me, and I think Flow as a
(09:33):
whole has just changed so drastically since I was there,
working in the basement of a house to you know,
a multimillion dollar company. I think guys like me had
to move on from that, but still relationships that you
know were great. I still talk to will Acey and
Piles here, Kyle Bradkee all those guys, and those guys
are really like cornerstones in my coaching career. But you
know those times where it was goofy, silly, funny times,
I think, like the kind of they were fun, let's
(09:54):
put it out with their fun.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
When I was young, it was your favorite clip there?
I have one in mine which always my favorite, which
was what.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Was your favorite? My favorite clip?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I think honestly my favorite clip, And unfortunately I wasn't
involved in this one, but when Ed Ruth came in
and like, uh, cradle Kyle Bradkey mid air, and because
Kyle actually got hurt after that, like he was actually
in pain, So I think how many people know that
he kind of leveled him on a concrete floor. But
there was so many that I really enjoyed.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I think my favorite was your re enactment of Gilman
and Alan Waters.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh, like I watched this video.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, it was quite a few things that never made
it online that are probably funny and people would have loved.
But actually probably my my number one it's still like
the number one grossing video on Flow is that Tim
Flynn headlock.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That was a good one. That was a fun one.
Those were good clips.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Now as far as Lynchburg goes, you know, there's a
lot the ODAK has grown. The farm just went from
division to visions very division two.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know, Blake had done a great job at Averritt.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Now the coach at fareham As they're out no longer
Division three competitor.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
But you know when I grew up, w and L
was it and now they're.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
They're doing great. There's Shenande's got a new coach. So
you know, what do you know about the landscape of
the ODAK Division? Iie in Virginia, that region, and what
are you looking forward to the most?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, No, I think it's a great wrestling conference. I
think it's a great wrestling area. I'm really excited to
be out there. Just in the first few months that
I spent out there, just working with kids in high
school coach is just a big difference from where I
was at.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I think it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
One of my college teammates at Center he's actually at
Chanandoa now, so having the opportunity to compete against him
is cool. I'm very good friends at Nate Yetzer and
I've seen what he's been able to do at Roanoke
in such a short amount of time, and we have
very like minded thought process on coaching and building a
program in things. And you know, he really pushed me
to take the job.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And I remember, you know, I.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Was just out and getting coffee a few weeks ago
and I was like, hey, you know, I really appreciate
that you got me here, but now I'm here to
beat you. I think I'm really looking forward to be
able to compete with one of the best teams in
the country right away.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
I think we can.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You know, bringing on a guy like Sammy Hilligas has
been huge, having the resources we have at Lynchberg and
seeing how we fit in the ODAK. You know, we're
kind of the we're kind of the big dogs of
the ODAK come Athletics. You know, we pretty much wined everything.
I told Nate I said, we we beat Roanoke pretty
much everything, and like, I'm going to make it wrestling soon.
And he's done a great job, and I know it's
going to be a big, big mountain to climb, and
he's you know, I look forward to that. And I
(11:58):
think being part of something like the ODAK that's producing
national champions and All Americans and national qualifiers at a
high level, I look to add to that and continue
to add the strength of the O deck.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
When we look at the comparison comparing contrast, Lynchburg kind
of a sleepy community foothills of the mountains like you
have rolling hills, but it unlike Clarksville, Arkansas, Lynchburg has
a long time wrestling community. There's a culture there. My
college roommate was from Brookville High School, so and you've got,
you know, got a good culture of wrestling there. So
(12:28):
that's one hurdle that's out the way. But how do
you how do you come in somewhere to and introduce
yourself to an area that you know, you might be
known to some people, but you have to you have
to you know, you're talkers, not a problem, but but
how do you how do you basically become part of
a new community.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, so so so far it's kind of been really good.
They've been really welcoming. Lynchburg does have a good strong
wrestling community. You know Randolphs in town, you got Liberty,
the Stewarts are out there. We got guys who just
wrestled in college, which was something. We had a two
time All American Trunk come up to.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Me at a club. He's like, I just want to
help out. I was like, man, I.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Don't even if there's a two time All American in Clarksville.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Arkansas, so in sport, in any sport. Yeah, yeah, So
it's cool to have him come out.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
But I think you know, one thing, because we're not
competing right away year one, we're just doing a bunch
of recruiting, is just getting out there and getting to
know people. I think my entrance to like Texas and
Arkansas was a little brash. So like back to the question,
how do you get better as a coach, Like learn
not to be so brash entering a new geographical area
for college wrestler.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Or for you know where I'm at. It just be
like helping out.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Like I've got involved with the FCA club out there,
do some workouts out there. We got like this old
man group that I'm with all the dads that we
do a little high rocks work out in the morning,
which is cool, and then working with the kids at
their local club.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Sammy.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Sammy's a great guy, Like he's a talker, he loves talking,
really genuine human and I think he'll help kind of
get us, you know, intertwined and really too, like having
the bet, Like Nate has done a great job introducing
me to some people out there. But people are excited,
you know, I walk around and people are excited. I
went to Virginia Beach my first weekend there for the Duels,
and everyone's like Lynchburg, We're so excited.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
They should have had wrestling forever. It was great in
the eighties.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And also like we've reached out to all the alumni
and a lot of them still live in town, so
kind of bridging those gaps and getting the relationships back
to there, but getting into the new area. I think,
you know, I just love people who love wrestling, and
I love wrestling, and usually those people when they meet up,
you just kind of get along, and it's just fostering
those relationships and continuing to build them.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You've talked about the athletic support and tradition at Linsburg,
but what.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
About the school?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
What sold you on the school?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I think What sold me on the school is like,
right now you know where higher Ed's at. I think
it's a scary place to make a move like that
was one thing about the Ozarks was that it was,
you know, very very safe place. And I feel very
comfortable at Linchburg from a financial standpoint. I think just
being on campus too. The vibe was just a little
different than other campuses I visited. All the students were happy,
very healthy.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Athletic place.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Great medical programs there, like we can get your doctorate
in physical therapy in five or six years, like you,
master's programs is a big one. We really take a
lot of pride in our academics. The buildings are beautiful,
the campus is beautiful, the town is beautiful.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Just outside of wrestling.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I think like quality of life was a big increase,
and I could just see myself selling to that at
selling that campus really really well.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I think I was talking to another coach.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Here's like, once you fall out of love with the
place thereat, it's really hard to recruit to it and seal.
I'm not that I fell out of love with the Ozarks,
but when I saw Lynchburgh, I immediately it was like
when I stepped foot on campus at Oneano was like, oh,
this is it. You know, I almost didn't want to
take the visit to Lynchburg when they flew me out
because I knew. I was like, man, I think I'm
gonna really like it and then I'm gonna have to
leave the Ozarks. And but once I got there, it
was just a really welcoming place. Again, it feels like
(15:22):
a small Division one campus and all aspects from academics
to athletics to everything. It's even a little Greek life
on campus, which I'm kind of have to get.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Back used to it.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
So but yeah, no, overall it's a great place.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, while this isn't a plug, I'm familiar with Lynchburg obviously,
having not just my roommate went there, my first college
roommate got married there. So I've spent uh spent time
watching some you know, uh semi pro football there at
Liberty's the Old Field, Like I mean, like, so you know,
the roots run deep there, one of which is, you know,
recruiting heavyweights is not gonna be hard because there's a
biscuit villain town.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
They're not a sponsoring yet, but I just thought about
some of the quirks of this of Lynchburg.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, so it's great.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I think there's you know, I where I live is
like right on the skirts of town, really right near
Brookvie High School, and I wake up every morning with
like deer in my front lawn, but also two seconds
down they running back into like the city of Lynchburg.
Having Liberty in town has been awesome because it makes
it feel like a division one college town. But also
like liberty student body is a little bit different than
a normal division one, so I'm not super worried about
(16:21):
some of that night life stuff. But you have a
lot of industry out there. There's a section of town
that's a lot of mom and pop, like that's kind
of where I live, a lot of mom and pop chops.
And then there's a side that has a lot of
you know, like there's three chick fil as in town.
I heard through the grapevine that guy loves wrestling and
he was part of the reason Lynchburg got wrestling back.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So I got to figure that out when I get back.
But there's a lot of things in town that I love.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And then there's you know, the outdoors aspect nature preserves.
I love going fish and that's been great, but it's
it's honestly a town that you know.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It's funny.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
My first week there, I was moving in and I
dropped my French press and then Clarks fell. I'm like, ah,
I got to wait like four days for Amazon to
get it, and I was like, oh, I can go
right down the road and get it from the TJ
Max that's in town.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So it's a really big town. There's an airport in town.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's a really unique place where you really can feel
if you want like an outdoorsy, small town field, you
can have it. But if you want a big city
field too, it's there as well.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
So next steps this year again all recruiting. Sammy just
got announced as it was your head coach job. Obviously,
relationship there because of Kyle Brackett, you guys are still
pretty close.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
But you know, year one, what do you how do
you set the table?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
I think year one is I'm really excited to be
able to build it from the ground floor up because
I think we can bring in guys who we want
right away. I think most importantly to me is like
building a program on high quality guys right I think
a lot of people want to build a program and
the best guys they can and go get like a
transfer for one year and see how good they can do.
I mean, I'm seeing it some other Division three startups
right now, and it's like, I can go do that too.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
But I think I want guys who are going to
be there for four years program, guys.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Who are in families who see the vision for Lynchburg Wrestling,
you know, being one of the best programs in the
country in the first five years and selling kids on
that and getting them excited about that and their families
and high school coaches and you know, building it from
in that sense is really good.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
And some of the.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Experience I had at the Ozarks that we kind of
did well at, you know, building that, found a fundraising,
alumni base, all the things that go into making a
program really successful that people kind of drop the ball
on or maybe don't understand or see until it's a
little too late. So being able to do from the
ground up for one year and have a lot of
time to do that is really nice.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
But really we're just looking for kids. You love wrestling.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I tell our recruits all the time, like, if you
love wrestling and you want to be like a professional
college athlete, like I'm bringing to you go to school
in wrestle schools number one and wrestling's one point one.
So guys like that, who are high quality people and
come from families of good people and you know, live
a good life is the people we're looking forward to
build a program that's going to be one of the
best in the country.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
In Division three. It's Augsburg and Warburg.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Lonnie broke through and got a title this year for JAWU.
But Lynchburg. What's it going to take for Lynchburg to
be another one of those Burgs that you can talk
about and.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Hey, we're looking to do it. I called Keller and
Kittles and Red. I say, hey, there's a new Burg
in town. Like I'll make sure that they always say
like it's always been a Berg to win it, and
I'll make sure that that happens with us too, And
you know, we kind of laugh, but I kind of
mean it right, Like I think even at the Ozarts,
I said we're gonna win a national title as a team,
but I think at Lynchburg, I think it's even more.
And it's hard, right, It's gonna be so hard. You
watch a team like Johnson and Wales, like I love Lonnie.
(19:04):
He was my coaching mentor here and you watch him
and it's like.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Man, you I mean almost thirty years yeah and close.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I mean still couldn't do it on like did it.
Don't get me wrong, but like tie right, like Warburg
and Augsburg will always find a way. But what's nice
is I remember in my interview the track coaches like, hey,
battle of the Burgs.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I'm like, oh, you know, wrestling. He's like, no, it's
a battle.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Of the Bergs in track too, because we beat Warburg
and track and field they beat us sometimes, and so
I'm like, oh, this is an athletic department that competes
with the best in the country. So I think, you know,
we talk about that. We talked about winning national championship.
It's not that winning conference title. It's like it's important us.
Don't get me wrong, but I was just talking to
Sam Lynde. As a two time national champion. All you
could talk about is say, hey, man, lacrosse is so
good at track.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I'm like, I'm pretty good a wrestling too, Like that's
another beast we got to slay. And but they we
talked about winning national championships.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So I think at Lynchburg the expectation is to climb
the ranks at the President's Cup, to win O Deck
and national championships. And I'm around like minded people, and
I think, you know, putting Lynchburg right up on the
map in the wrestling community with an Ogsburg gonna Warburg
is something It's going to be pretty pretty easy to
do here in the next coming years.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
What do you think your biggest challenge is going to
be in Virginia, Not necessarily as as a coach or
but just you know, knowing the new landscape. It's it's
a pretty interesting state to travel through. It's it's not
the most direct in the world, and you've got you've
got powerhouses, and then you've got kids that are still
at small schools that are you know, hard you know,
the diamonds in the rough.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
I think the hardest part is really kind of understanding
the landscape in a short time. And since we have
the first year to just recruit, I think we can
do that well. But it's gonna be understanding that. Like
I knew Arkansas through and through, I need Texas through
and through. It's getting to know these coaches and getting
out every single weekend and you know, really seeing how
coaches run their programs and how these kids do and
learning different classifications, you know, learning what the powerhouse programs are,
(20:42):
what are programs we want to get kids from. That's
going to be one of the biggest ones, just learning
the landscape of wrestling and understanding those And you're right,
it's kind of difficult to travel through Virginia in a
way like there's no direct shot to anything. And then
you know, like you know, like a subtle compliment, like
part two of the hardest thing to overcome is going
to be I think, you know, they've really done a
good job, and I think that's going to be a
(21:04):
kind of a thorn in our side. But we plan
to put the thorn right in their side as well
in the recruiting aspect, and they have been successful. So navigating,
you know, kind of trying to build a relationship when
Nate's still building his right it's not a brit I
don't even think they're five six years now, so he's
still doing the same work in a way that I'm
going to have to be doing too. So having to
(21:24):
you know, people like him and myself doing that is
it kind of makes it a little harder, but it's
more fun. You know, give some kids some more options.
But overall, just understanding the landscape, meeting all the coaches,
and trying to really, you know, keep selling Linchburg on
why Virginia the best kids in Virginia should stay in
state and go to the University of Lynchburg.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Do you have a one, three, five year chart mapped
out or is it? You know, what are your what
are your short term goals? Where do you want to
see the program in five years?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, in five years, I would love for it to
be similar to what the Ozarts was, you know, fundraising
about six figures a year, top twenty in the country
duel Meet ranking. I'd like to be in the top
twenty five as a team by that point, I would
like to have surpassed the amount of national qualifiers that
we had at the Ozarks.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I think just regionally based.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
I think at the Ozarks we've had kids who could
go to the national tournament and they stay back because
of the region we're in. I think in the region
that Lynchburg's in, I think it makes it a little
bit more accessible for some kids. You know, we got
a heavyweight coming who won a high school national title,
and he's coming in this upcoming year and I could
see him going to the national tournament where at Ozarks
is man.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
You know, I got Mitch Williamson back.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
You know, So I mean that when when that happens,
I'm not saying that the that that that conference that
I'm moving to is not tough. It's definitely tough, and
we had a national champ from it. It's just it's
a little bit more of an even playing field amongst
all the coaches who work are like minded, right, So
within the first five years, one about you know, fewel
Americans who get our first national champ.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
But doing a lot of things that we did at
the Ozarks.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
I kind of took the same plans and the same
you know, scope of you know, they're down the road
plan and and kind of just put Lynchberg on instead
of Ozarks because I think we were heading in the
right direction. I think Nathan will continue to do that
at the Ozarks. But I think you know, the framework
and the plans that we had there were successful.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
We were good at the Ozarks.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You know, academic all Americans, higher tension, fundraising, National Tournament, appearances.
You know, Dimitri Tedley making the Blood Round last year
and that's I think you should have won, and being
all American, right, but it's a year ago now, and
so bothers me.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
But just those things.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Bothers anybody that watches that mat.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, that was a tough one. That was a tough.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Nny's right, Minni's right.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Even Scott Honeker saw me that far goes Okay, sorry
about that call. I'm like, yeah, I get it, man,
it's over, like you brought it up. Now I feel
bad again. So but yeah, I think, you know, just
doing the same stuff. But seeing Lynchburg. You know, we
got a bell on campus. There's a bell in the
center campus. You ring that bell when you win an
O DEK title. And in the first five years, I
want to ring that five times.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Benny Barber, good luck man, Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
The Short Time Wrestling Podcast has been outfitted by Compound
Sports where since ever since you need something, Surets Hats
Gear Team where you need it, They've got it. Call
up Cliff and the crew at CMP sportswear dot com.
WHOA done here in Florida NBCA Convention, Vinnie Barber, the
(00:21):
new head coach at the brand new program or revived
program actually at Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia. This is now
your second head coaching gig. And if we go back
ten years and people, if somebody would said, hey, Vinnie,
you're gonna be a head coach at two colleges ten
years ago, what would you have said to that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I guess I would have never never thought of it. It
wasn't something that was on my radar.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
At that point.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I definitely was living a much different life ten years ago,
you know, traveling the country, working with flow, kind of
living a little bit more of.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
A free life. But I love coaching.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I think I'm really excited that that's where my life
had led me to.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and let's talk about how your life got here.
You grew up New York wreusselled Division III, only onto
State to start, and then you've been a guy he
was always like, looked at your college coach as a
guy that really you hold very high regard.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Talk a little bit about Dayne Ridger and what he
meant to you.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Yeah, So it's funny Dwayne called me right before I
got out to the convention. We probably talked every two weeks.
I wish I knew now what I what I like then,
what I know now about him and why I should
have stayed because I ended up transferring three years out.
But he's a great guy who's been a great mentor
to me. He's been great with me, you know, helping
me become a coach and helping me you know still,
you know, ten years into this, still like asking him
questions and getting feedback. I left seeing him out, but
(01:29):
you know, we keep in touch all the time, and
I really value that relationship.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Yeah, he look at the the the just the world
of Division three. Both the schools you went to were
D three. Now you started back into coaching. Actually the
getting back into wrestling was Lroy Gardner brought to you
the university. Those are because you were you had some
eligibility left. You were potentially looking to get on the mat.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Again, right, Yeah, I was going through That was the plan,
and then I had another back surgery and Lary kind
of x that out, was like, hey, we're not doing it.
I was like, yeah, it probably makes sense. I'd gotten
multiple at that point and I was like, it's probably better.
I just needed to finish my degree, which was really important.
That was a big thing I needed to do, and
then coaching kind of even then, I didn't think I
was going to coach. I just knew I was going
to out of college coaching somebody as well, finish my
(02:09):
degree for a year, and and then it just kind
of spiraled out of control. Are now ten years fast forward,
still coaching.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, we look at it and you know, the program
at Ozarks was pretty new. And then when he left
for another opportunity a year there, and what goes through
your mind? We're like, am I were you ready? Do
you think to be a head coach at that point?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I think I was lucky because one nice thing with
Leroy was he was really good about like making sure
I knew everything that I need to do, Like I
was pretty hands on to a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I was a little older getting into coaching as well.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
I was about twenty six and I had my own business,
so I understood some.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Things on that end.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
But there was really no I guess there wasn't much
of a choice, and not that I didn't want there
to be. I did want to take the head coaching job.
But there was nobody better, I thought at that point
than myself because it's a unique place.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
The Ozarks was a little you know, you have.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
To I've been there for at that point three four years,
so I kind of knew it in and out, and
I knew what we needed to do to be successful.
So I kind of just saw that as like what
made sense was just a step into that role right away.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Talking to Nathaniel Rankin, who was on your staff last
year Ozarks wrestled there and one of the things that
he had.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
To be sold on was like, dude, I'm.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Not going to college in Arkansas, So how did you
I mean, You've always been very people personal. Yeah, like
you can talk to anybody for hours at a time,
So probably selling the thing was not the big thing.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
But what do you have to come.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Through to sell a kid on a Division three school
and sellicate on you know, the unique situations where you're
at geographically.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, I mean Arkansas was tough just because wrestling was
so new there. The bordering states really don't understand the
Division three model very well, and it was hard.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
It was really difficult.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I think it was selling kids on the opportunity to
come into a program and be the first you know,
all American, be the first national champ and do something
special there in Arkansas.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Keeping in state kids was really important.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
This past year, we had four guys in state who
started for us from the week from Arkansas and they
were successful. So having in state guys developing that talent
was important. But it was you know, recruiting to it
was difficult, just because it is Arkansas, and you know,
they're definitely getting better, but at the time, even a
few years back, was a tough draw and people just
have this preconceived notion of Arkansas.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
I'll say, like, I love my house.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Out there, I love where I lived. I did love it.
I think Arkansas's beautiful. I think it's a great place.
It's just you got to get Once we got somebody
to campus, we knew we were good.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
It was just that first step of like, hey, coming
to campus.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
Linchburg opens up.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
They start the program and much like Arkansas, Virginia has
been seeing a boom in Division thie wrestling programs. You've
seen more school Arkansas went from zero wrestling to high
school wrestling to okay, you know watch it. Tava was first,
and then you got a couple of small schools. Little Rock
comes in. Of course they've been kind of a media
darling a little bit with what Neil's done there.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
Ozarks was actually the first opponent.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
For Little Rock, a duel meet at the Jack Stevens Center,
and just to see the wrestling progress in Arkansas and
then now to see more Division three opportunities in Virginia.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
What was enticing about Lynchberg for you?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Well, first, really, I mean I never thought i'd leave
those arts. I really thought I could stay there forever.
They took care of me. We had a really good
thing going, we were having success. I got a call
from Nate Yetzer and he said, Hey, there's a school
down the road opening up, and I think you should
throw a.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Hat in the ring, and I had.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
And for those who were involved in the process, know
that it became a very long, like year long process
finding somebody for Lynchburg.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I took a little longer than I think they wanted.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
But what was exciting about that was one, they're one
of the best athletic departments in the country. They're a
top five athletic department of the country. They win national championships,
hit everything. So when I looked at what makes a
good fit for a Division three program. I think Lynchburg
was really a good opportunity. I'd seen some other programs
start up, and you know, there's still some looking for
coaches two years later, So I think.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Lynchburg was a really good opportunity for me.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And then when I got to campus and met the
other coaches and saw the resources that we have available
to us, it was it was kind of a no brainer.
It's kind of a I say, it's like a small
Division one. It's small Division one athletics. We really take
them seriously. They resourced me very well, you know, full
time assistant right away. We're just spending the first year recruiting.
We'll have the biggest facility in Division three wrestling standalone
(06:03):
facility with four mats, twelve thousand square feet, everything in
there that you'll need to train and be good at wrestling,
locker rooms, weight rooms, nutrition station, study room, all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
So we have everything we need.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And I just saw it as an opportunity to advance myself.
And I think most importantly, I talked to Trevor Kittleson
and I was nervous to take and he said, what
are you nervous about and I was like, I don't know, man,
these guys are really good at sports.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Like what if I'm not good and I get fired?
Speaker 2 (06:27):
But then right then and there I knew like that
was the answer, Like I want to go find out
just like we tell our guys, go find out your best.
I wanted to find out good of a coach. I
can be at a place that resources accordingly. Now I
can just worry about coaching wrestling and see how good
I can make a program like Lynchburg.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
How do you grow as a coach?
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I think just knowing that you don't know everything.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I think talking to people, coming to events like this, networking,
talking to people, having relationships I talk to.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
The more I.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Communicate with coaches more than my own family, I guess
like just learning how to be better constantly, like beating
that drum on.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
What can I do to improve with the guy for a.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Program, you know, reaching out to people I've one year
I had a few years like a network we'd meet
every Wednesday on Zoom and just talk about a coach
is from all around the country and we'd meet and
just pick each other's brains. But I think it's just
understanding that there's still so much to learn and everything
changes so fast, and if the moment you think you
got it all figured out, it is probably the moment.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
You should get out of coaching.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
How do you grow as a person.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Being humble and knowing like, hey, I've messed up on
some things, and being honest, and like, I think, being
really vulnerable. That's something we run our program on. It
is like being vulnerable understand like, hey, I messed up.
This was a foolish thing I did, or that wasn't
the right choice. I got, you know, here with Nathan
this week and talking to him about, you know, some
of the struggles he's having. I'm like, hey, man, like
you'll have to figure this out yourself. But when I
did this, this is what happened. And and then knowing too,
(07:45):
like that we're human and that we're going to make
the mistakes again, and really just being vulnerable and open.
And I think when I started as a coach, I
was really closed.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Off and I thought I could do no wrong and
that was not the case.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
But I think just just learning through it and being okay,
like messing up how much is.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Something like the Leadership Academy and the NBAC a convention
help a guy.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
Like you, I hope's a lot.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I think, you know, I'd started my coaching career through
the Leadership Academy, and now, you know, it's cool that
I spoke on a panel yesterday, which that were two
days ago, which was cool, Like, it's cool to see
that progression. For myself, I think I want to go
through the Leadership Academy again because again, I think it's
really important to get like, you know, refresher on things
I think I do well and then maybe I don't.
And the times are changing in college athletics and it's
really important.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
To stay up with that. But I think these events
are great.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
You know, every one of my assistants ever has gone
through the Leadership Academy, and every single one of the
person who's been my assistant coach is now a head coach.
So I kind of attributed to that in a big way.
They do a good job preparing young coaches and even
older coaches to kind of stay in the game and
be be sharp.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
You're a visible character, for a lack of a better term,
while you were at Flow Sports, and I go through
this and where people see me saw me grow up
through the sport.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
People seen you grow up through the sport.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
How much of you know the goofy Vinnie from Flow
do you still have to kind of like, well, I've
grown up since, and how much do you have to
answer questions about that?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Well, I think it's kind of passed. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I think like people, you know, the recency bias is
like great in wrestling and disregard, like some people forget
I was even at Flow, but it's like, but still
my little story, my little.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Thing, you know, going.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
I was just you know, when I see s on
events like this, like, hey man, I remember when you
like fired me from Flow and he's like yeah, and
I was like yeah, well, you know, we laugh about it.
But I remember, like memories pop up on Facebook when
I'm showing up to work in pajama pants and stuff.
So I guess it's twenty one, twenty two years old.
I get it then, you know, I didn't understand it then,
but now I get it. I wasn't the you know,
I made some poor choices there, but it was a
great opportunity for me, and I think Flow as a
(09:33):
whole has just changed so drastically since I was there,
working in the basement of a house to you know,
a multimillion dollar company. I think guys like me had
to move on from that, but still relationships that you
know were great. I still talk to will Acey and
Piles here, Kyle Bradkee all those guys, and those guys
are really like cornerstones in my coaching career. But you
know those times where it was goofy, silly, funny times,
I think, like the kind of they were fun, let's
(09:54):
put it out with their fun.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
When I was young, it was your favorite clip there?
I have one in mine which always my favorite, which
was what.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Was your favorite? My favorite clip?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I think honestly my favorite clip, And unfortunately I wasn't
involved in this one, but when Ed Ruth came in
and like, uh, cradle Kyle Bradkey mid air, and because
Kyle actually got hurt after that, like he was actually
in pain, So I think how many people know that
he kind of leveled him on a concrete floor. But
there was so many that I really enjoyed.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I think my favorite was your re enactment of Gilman
and Alan Waters.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh, like I watched this video.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, it was quite a few things that never made
it online that are probably funny and people would have loved.
But actually probably my my number one it's still like
the number one grossing video on Flow is that Tim
Flynn headlock.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That was a good one. That was a fun one.
Those were good clips.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Now as far as Lynchburg goes, you know, there's a
lot the ODAK has grown. The farm just went from
division to visions very division two.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
You know, Blake had done a great job at Averritt.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Now the coach at fareham As they're out no longer
Division three competitor.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
But you know when I grew up, w and L
was it and now they're.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
They're doing great. There's Shenande's got a new coach. So
you know, what do you know about the landscape of
the ODAK Division? Iie in Virginia, that region, and what
are you looking forward to the most?
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah, No, I think it's a great wrestling conference. I
think it's a great wrestling area. I'm really excited to
be out there. Just in the first few months that
I spent out there, just working with kids in high
school coach is just a big difference from where I
was at.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I think it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
One of my college teammates at Center he's actually at
Chanandoa now, so having the opportunity to compete against him
is cool. I'm very good friends at Nate Yetzer and
I've seen what he's been able to do at Roanoke
in such a short amount of time, and we have
very like minded thought process on coaching and building a
program in things. And you know, he really pushed me
to take the job.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And I remember, you know, I.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Was just out and getting coffee a few weeks ago
and I was like, hey, you know, I really appreciate
that you got me here, but now I'm here to
beat you. I think I'm really looking forward to be
able to compete with one of the best teams in
the country right away.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
I think we can.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You know, bringing on a guy like Sammy Hilligas has
been huge, having the resources we have at Lynchberg and
seeing how we fit in the ODAK. You know, we're
kind of the we're kind of the big dogs of
the ODAK come Athletics. You know, we pretty much wined everything.
I told Nate I said, we we beat Roanoke pretty
much everything, and like, I'm going to make it wrestling soon.
And he's done a great job, and I know it's
going to be a big, big mountain to climb, and
he's you know, I look forward to that. And I
(11:58):
think being part of something like the ODAK that's producing
national champions and All Americans and national qualifiers at a
high level, I look to add to that and continue
to add the strength of the O deck.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
When we look at the comparison comparing contrast, Lynchburg kind
of a sleepy community foothills of the mountains like you
have rolling hills, but it unlike Clarksville, Arkansas, Lynchburg has
a long time wrestling community. There's a culture there. My
college roommate was from Brookville High School, so and you've got,
you know, got a good culture of wrestling there. So
(12:28):
that's one hurdle that's out the way. But how do
you how do you come in somewhere to and introduce
yourself to an area that you know, you might be
known to some people, but you have to you have
to you know, you're talkers, not a problem, but but
how do you how do you basically become part of
a new community.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Yeah, so so so far it's kind of been really good.
They've been really welcoming. Lynchburg does have a good strong
wrestling community. You know Randolphs in town, you got Liberty,
the Stewarts are out there. We got guys who just
wrestled in college, which was something. We had a two
time All American Trunk come up to.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Me at a club. He's like, I just want to
help out. I was like, man, I.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Don't even if there's a two time All American in Clarksville.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Arkansas, so in sport, in any sport. Yeah, yeah, So
it's cool to have him come out.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
But I think you know, one thing, because we're not
competing right away year one, we're just doing a bunch
of recruiting, is just getting out there and getting to
know people. I think my entrance to like Texas and
Arkansas was a little brash. So like back to the question,
how do you get better as a coach, Like learn
not to be so brash entering a new geographical area
for college wrestler.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Or for you know where I'm at. It just be
like helping out.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Like I've got involved with the FCA club out there,
do some workouts out there. We got like this old
man group that I'm with all the dads that we
do a little high rocks work out in the morning,
which is cool, and then working with the kids at
their local club.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Sammy.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Sammy's a great guy, Like he's a talker, he loves talking,
really genuine human and I think he'll help kind of
get us, you know, intertwined and really too, like having
the bet, Like Nate has done a great job introducing
me to some people out there. But people are excited,
you know, I walk around and people are excited. I
went to Virginia Beach my first weekend there for the Duels,
and everyone's like Lynchburg, We're so excited.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
They should have had wrestling forever. It was great in
the eighties.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And also like we've reached out to all the alumni
and a lot of them still live in town, so
kind of bridging those gaps and getting the relationships back
to there, but getting into the new area. I think,
you know, I just love people who love wrestling, and
I love wrestling, and usually those people when they meet up,
you just kind of get along, and it's just fostering
those relationships and continuing to build them.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You've talked about the athletic support and tradition at Linsburg,
but what.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
About the school?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
What sold you on the school?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I think What sold me on the school is like,
right now you know where higher Ed's at. I think
it's a scary place to make a move like that
was one thing about the Ozarks was that it was,
you know, very very safe place. And I feel very
comfortable at Linchburg from a financial standpoint. I think just
being on campus too. The vibe was just a little
different than other campuses I visited. All the students were happy,
very healthy.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Athletic place.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Great medical programs there, like we can get your doctorate
in physical therapy in five or six years, like you,
master's programs is a big one. We really take a
lot of pride in our academics. The buildings are beautiful,
the campus is beautiful, the town is beautiful.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Just outside of wrestling.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I think like quality of life was a big increase,
and I could just see myself selling to that at
selling that campus really really well.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I think I was talking to another coach.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Here's like, once you fall out of love with the
place thereat, it's really hard to recruit to it and seal.
I'm not that I fell out of love with the Ozarks,
but when I saw Lynchburgh, I immediately it was like
when I stepped foot on campus at Oneano was like, oh,
this is it. You know, I almost didn't want to
take the visit to Lynchburg when they flew me out
because I knew. I was like, man, I think I'm
gonna really like it and then I'm gonna have to
leave the Ozarks. And but once I got there, it
was just a really welcoming place. Again, it feels like
(15:22):
a small Division one campus and all aspects from academics
to athletics to everything. It's even a little Greek life
on campus, which I'm kind of have to get.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Back used to it.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
So but yeah, no, overall it's a great place.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, while this isn't a plug, I'm familiar with Lynchburg obviously,
having not just my roommate went there, my first college
roommate got married there. So I've spent uh spent time
watching some you know, uh semi pro football there at
Liberty's the Old Field, Like I mean, like, so you know,
the roots run deep there, one of which is, you know,
recruiting heavyweights is not gonna be hard because there's a
biscuit villain town.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
They're not a sponsoring yet, but I just thought about
some of the quirks of this of Lynchburg.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Yeah, so it's great.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
I think there's you know, I where I live is
like right on the skirts of town, really right near
Brookvie High School, and I wake up every morning with
like deer in my front lawn, but also two seconds
down they running back into like the city of Lynchburg.
Having Liberty in town has been awesome because it makes
it feel like a division one college town. But also
like liberty student body is a little bit different than
a normal division one, so I'm not super worried about
(16:21):
some of that night life stuff. But you have a
lot of industry out there. There's a section of town
that's a lot of mom and pop, like that's kind
of where I live, a lot of mom and pop chops.
And then there's a side that has a lot of
you know, like there's three chick fil as in town.
I heard through the grapevine that guy loves wrestling and
he was part of the reason Lynchburg got wrestling back.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
So I got to figure that out when I get back.
But there's a lot of things in town that I love.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
And then there's you know, the outdoors aspect nature preserves.
I love going fish and that's been great, but it's
it's honestly a town that you know.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
It's funny.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
My first week there, I was moving in and I
dropped my French press and then Clarks fell. I'm like, ah,
I got to wait like four days for Amazon to
get it, and I was like, oh, I can go
right down the road and get it from the TJ
Max that's in town.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
So it's a really big town. There's an airport in town.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's a really unique place where you really can feel
if you want like an outdoorsy, small town field, you
can have it. But if you want a big city
field too, it's there as well.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
So next steps this year again all recruiting. Sammy just
got announced as it was your head coach job. Obviously,
relationship there because of Kyle Brackett, you guys are still
pretty close.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
But you know, year one, what do you how do
you set the table?
Speaker 2 (17:21):
I think year one is I'm really excited to be
able to build it from the ground floor up because
I think we can bring in guys who we want
right away. I think most importantly to me is like
building a program on high quality guys right I think
a lot of people want to build a program and
the best guys they can and go get like a
transfer for one year and see how good they can do.
I mean, I'm seeing it some other Division three startups
right now, and it's like, I can go do that too.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
But I think I want guys who are going to
be there for four years program, guys.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Who are in families who see the vision for Lynchburg Wrestling,
you know, being one of the best programs in the
country in the first five years and selling kids on
that and getting them excited about that and their families
and high school coaches and you know, building it from
in that sense is really good.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
And some of the.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Experience I had at the Ozarks that we kind of
did well at, you know, building that, found a fundraising,
alumni base, all the things that go into making a
program really successful that people kind of drop the ball
on or maybe don't understand or see until it's a
little too late. So being able to do from the
ground up for one year and have a lot of
time to do that is really nice.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
But really we're just looking for kids. You love wrestling.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
I tell our recruits all the time, like, if you
love wrestling and you want to be like a professional
college athlete, like I'm bringing to you go to school
in wrestle schools number one and wrestling's one point one.
So guys like that, who are high quality people and
come from families of good people and you know, live
a good life is the people we're looking forward to
build a program that's going to be one of the
best in the country.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
In Division three. It's Augsburg and Warburg.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Lonnie broke through and got a title this year for JAWU.
But Lynchburg. What's it going to take for Lynchburg to
be another one of those Burgs that you can talk
about and.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Hey, we're looking to do it. I called Keller and
Kittles and Red. I say, hey, there's a new Burg
in town. Like I'll make sure that they always say
like it's always been a Berg to win it, and
I'll make sure that that happens with us too, And
you know, we kind of laugh, but I kind of
mean it right, Like I think even at the Ozarts,
I said we're gonna win a national title as a team,
but I think at Lynchburg, I think it's even more.
And it's hard, right, It's gonna be so hard. You
watch a team like Johnson and Wales, like I love Lonnie.
(19:04):
He was my coaching mentor here and you watch him
and it's like.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Man, you I mean almost thirty years yeah and close.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
I mean still couldn't do it on like did it.
Don't get me wrong, but like tie right, like Warburg
and Augsburg will always find a way. But what's nice
is I remember in my interview the track coaches like, hey,
battle of the Burgs.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
I'm like, oh, you know, wrestling. He's like, no, it's
a battle.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Of the Bergs in track too, because we beat Warburg
and track and field they beat us sometimes, and so
I'm like, oh, this is an athletic department that competes
with the best in the country. So I think, you know,
we talk about that. We talked about winning national championship.
It's not that winning conference title. It's like it's important us.
Don't get me wrong, but I was just talking to
Sam Lynde. As a two time national champion. All you
could talk about is say, hey, man, lacrosse is so
good at track.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I'm like, I'm pretty good a wrestling too, Like that's
another beast we got to slay. And but they we
talked about winning national championships.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So I think at Lynchburg the expectation is to climb
the ranks at the President's Cup, to win O Deck
and national championships. And I'm around like minded people, and
I think, you know, putting Lynchburg right up on the
map in the wrestling community with an Ogsburg gonna Warburg
is something It's going to be pretty pretty easy to
do here in the next coming years.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
What do you think your biggest challenge is going to
be in Virginia, Not necessarily as as a coach or
but just you know, knowing the new landscape. It's it's
a pretty interesting state to travel through. It's it's not
the most direct in the world, and you've got you've
got powerhouses, and then you've got kids that are still
at small schools that are you know, hard you know,
the diamonds in the rough.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
I think the hardest part is really kind of understanding
the landscape in a short time. And since we have
the first year to just recruit, I think we can
do that well. But it's gonna be understanding that. Like
I knew Arkansas through and through, I need Texas through
and through. It's getting to know these coaches and getting
out every single weekend and you know, really seeing how
coaches run their programs and how these kids do and
learning different classifications, you know, learning what the powerhouse programs are,
(20:42):
what are programs we want to get kids from. That's
going to be one of the biggest ones, just learning
the landscape of wrestling and understanding those And you're right,
it's kind of difficult to travel through Virginia in a
way like there's no direct shot to anything. And then
you know, like you know, like a subtle compliment, like
part two of the hardest thing to overcome is going
to be I think, you know, they've really done a
good job, and I think that's going to be a
(21:04):
kind of a thorn in our side. But we plan
to put the thorn right in their side as well
in the recruiting aspect, and they have been successful. So navigating,
you know, kind of trying to build a relationship when
Nate's still building his right it's not a brit I
don't even think they're five six years now, so he's
still doing the same work in a way that I'm
going to have to be doing too. So having to
(21:24):
you know, people like him and myself doing that is
it kind of makes it a little harder, but it's
more fun. You know, give some kids some more options.
But overall, just understanding the landscape, meeting all the coaches,
and trying to really, you know, keep selling Linchburg on
why Virginia the best kids in Virginia should stay in
state and go to the University of Lynchburg.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Do you have a one, three, five year chart mapped
out or is it? You know, what are your what
are your short term goals? Where do you want to
see the program in five years?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, in five years, I would love for it to
be similar to what the Ozarts was, you know, fundraising
about six figures a year, top twenty in the country
duel Meet ranking. I'd like to be in the top
twenty five as a team by that point, I would
like to have surpassed the amount of national qualifiers that
we had at the Ozarks.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
I think just regionally based.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
I think at the Ozarks we've had kids who could
go to the national tournament and they stay back because
of the region we're in. I think in the region
that Lynchburg's in, I think it makes it a little
bit more accessible for some kids. You know, we got
a heavyweight coming who won a high school national title,
and he's coming in this upcoming year and I could
see him going to the national tournament where at Ozarks
is man.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
You know, I got Mitch Williamson back.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
You know, So I mean that when when that happens,
I'm not saying that the that that that conference that
I'm moving to is not tough. It's definitely tough, and
we had a national champ from it. It's just it's
a little bit more of an even playing field amongst
all the coaches who work are like minded, right, So
within the first five years, one about you know, fewel
Americans who get our first national champ.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
But doing a lot of things that we did at
the Ozarks.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
I kind of took the same plans and the same
you know, scope of you know, they're down the road
plan and and kind of just put Lynchberg on instead
of Ozarks because I think we were heading in the
right direction. I think Nathan will continue to do that
at the Ozarks. But I think you know, the framework
and the plans that we had there were successful.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
We were good at the Ozarks.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You know, academic all Americans, higher tension, fundraising, National Tournament, appearances.
You know, Dimitri Tedley making the Blood Round last year
and that's I think you should have won, and being
all American, right, but it's a year ago now, and
so bothers me.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
But just those things.
Speaker 4 (23:12):
Bothers anybody that watches that mat.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, that was a tough one. That was a tough.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Nny's right, Minni's right.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Even Scott Honeker saw me that far goes Okay, sorry
about that call. I'm like, yeah, I get it, man,
it's over, like you brought it up. Now I feel
bad again. So but yeah, I think, you know, just
doing the same stuff. But seeing Lynchburg. You know, we
got a bell on campus. There's a bell in the
center campus. You ring that bell when you win an
O DEK title. And in the first five years, I
want to ring that five times.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Benny Barber, good luck man, Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
The Short Time Wrestling Podcast has been outfitted by Compound
Sports where since ever since you need something, Surets Hats
Gear Team where you need it, They've got it. Call
up Cliff and the crew at CMP sportswear dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.