Jake Patacsil has done his homework.
And the first-year Central College assistant wrestling coach thinks he’s prepared to return to the mat and contend for an elusive first title at the Midlands Championships at Evanston, Ill. Dec. 29-30. It’s considered the top wrestling tourney in the U.S. this side of the NCAA Division I meet.
A former Big Ten Medal of Honor winner for academic and athletic achievement at Purdue, Patacsil finished third at 149 pounds three times at the Midlands tourney as an undergraduate, then placed second at 157 pounds last year following graduation. Patacsil, who earned all-America distinction in 2009, was a three-time team MVP at Purdue.
Defending Midlands champion Steve Fittery of American University., the No. 1-ranked NCAA wrestler at 157 pounds, is listed as the top contender at this year’s tournament. Patacsil is listed second, ahead of Northwestern standout Jason Welch and Derek St. John of Iowa.
Patacsil attacks each tournament like a physics test, studying opponents, their moves and their weaknesses, as well as his own.
“The big thing is Jake is what I would call a thinking man’s wrestler,” Central head coach Eric Van Kley said. “He’s a very bright guy who has figured out how to use his strengths and put guys in a bad position. And I think that’s part of the reason he feels so good about his chances this year. He’s had another year of experience and he’s that much more mature, that much smarter.”
Conversely, a unique style makes Patacsil tough for opponents to prepare for. Instead of scoring with takedowns and escapes, Patacsil likes to rack up riding time, with his matches typically ending amid a flurry of back points.
It’s a style developed partly by necessity because of Patacsil’s build, but also by design.
“Back in high school when I first started wrestling, I was shown how to do a cradle,” he said. “I have real long arms and when I used a cradle, very few JV wrestlers could withstand that, so I had tons of pins. I didn’t work on my feet at all, I just kept developing new and better cradles. I was so bad on my feet, sometimes I would just let opponents take me down , then I’d roll them through and try to pin them.”
It’s a style that continues to evolve.
“The main stuff I use is basic high school stuff I was taught right at the beginning, mostly tilts and cradles,” Patacsil said. “But I also have my own unique, funky moves.
“I definitely study ways people can get out on me. I try to go against as many people as I can to see different styles. If I hear of someone who’s doing something different, I like to wrestle them and learn. You never know when you might run into a style like that in a big match.”
Because opponents are less familiar with Patacsil, he finds more weaknesses he can expose.
“When you’re on top, some people are really bad at defending anything,” he said. “Most college wrestlers are really good on their feet. I’m in more of a niche category. Against my style, people’s flaws come out a little more.”
But Patacsil’s analysis reveals other advantages.
“When you turn a person you get your two or three (back) points, and then you can turn them again,” he said. “There’s nothing you have to give up to get more points. If you cut them—take them down and let them go--you have to give up an escape point before you can try to take them down again and get two points. I can rack up more points in a shorter amount of time than anyone on their feet.”
It’s a high-stakes style, but Patacsil is a fearless gambler, and a bad draw only makes him more confident the next card is an ace. At last year’s Midlands, he breezed through four matches with two major decisions and two technical falls. But after taking an early lead against Fittery in the championship match, he got caught with a move that resulted in getting pinned with 8 seconds left in the first period.
Patacsil’s confidence never wavered.
“I take a few more risks than some people would,” he said. “The way I think of it, it works nine out of 10 times. That time was the exception. But I’ve been pinned a lot of times in my career.”
Patacsil left Central’s campus last Wednesday for some final Midlands training back at Purdue, where his brother Sam is a two-time all-American for the Boilermakers. But while coaching at Central, Patacsil also works out with the Dutch wrestlers and that’s accelerated his preparation.
“I try to work out with the heavier guys, like Tommy (Van Renterghem) (junior, Oskaloosa) and Ivan (Gaeta) (junior, Bremerton, Wash., Olympic HS),” he said. “Their strength gives me a challenge and gets me tired, which is good. Last year I was coaching in high school and that didn’t prepare me very well. When you’re on top, most of the time it doesn’t matter who you’re wrestling. People feel very similar. But the thing that really helps at Central is that Tommy and Ivan are a lot better on their feet than those guys from high school.”
Patacsil doesn’t intend on wrestling any other tournaments this year. He’s firmly committed to a career in coaching.
“I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” he said.
Yet two years after graduation, he remains on a quest. The fact that he’s never won a Midlands crown drives him, just as being an overlooked Florida high school wrestler helped fuel the desire that propelled him to a state championship his senior year.
“I wasn’t picked to win state that year,” he said. “And as a junior, I was completely off the radar and I finished third. I like to go against the best and see how well I do.
“Maybe if I’d won the (Midlands) title, I wouldn’t have such a chip on my shoulder. But it’s not all about titles for me. It’s about having fun and competing with the best college
wrestlers in the country.”
Patacsil’s love of the underdog role makes him an ideal fit for Central’s wrestling program, which is undergoing a dramatic turnaround under Van Kley. The Dutch, who were 0-15-1 and finished Van Kley’s first season with just four wrestlers in 2007-08, now number nearly 40 competitors and are coming off a 10-9 campaign in which Van Kley shared league coach of the year honors.
Van Kley loves having Patacsil in the Dutch wrestling room.
“The biggest thing he brings is his experience,” Van Kley said. “He’s been there, he’s accomplished some of the things we want to do. And day to day, the other thing he brings is his work ethic. He’s always trying to better himself and serve as a great model for a young team.”
A Dutch wrestler mastering Patacsil’s style in a season at Central is a bit like trying to learn Russian in a month, but he’s taught a few Dutch wrestlers some new moves.
“Bryan Connolly (freshman, Naples, Fla., Gulf Coast HS) has been one of the big beneficiaries,” Patacsil said. “I’ve seen him hit a couple of roll-throughs. And the Atwells—Joe Atwell (sophomore, Jamaica, Panorama HS) and Josh Atwell (junior, Jamaica, Perry HS)—have used some moves. They’re not particularly long-armed guys, but you can definitely teach it to people to a degree.
“But I haven’t shown the guys some of the funkier stuff yet.”
Patacsil especially enjoys working with younger wrestlers.
“Some older guys are more set in their ways,” he said. “Some of the younger guys don’t have as much skill but they have the heart and the drive to try it. You tell them something and they’ll do it.”
Practices are Central are fast-moving and intense, but short, leaving lots of time for individual work after practice for those who are interested. That’s when Patacsil teaches moves, tells wrestlers what he’s seeing in dual matches and analyzes areas of weakness.
“With a new move it’s just a matter of them getting their confidence up,” he said. “Once they start hitting it in practice, hopefully they’ll start hitting it in live matches.”
And the former Division I all-American is loving his time at Division III Central.
“It’s nice,” he said. “The environment is really cool, it’s such a family-oriented place. Plus I get experience in all aspects of coaching.
“Before this I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I’m super happy with how supportive Central has been. This is a very big learning experience for me.”
Central’s academic emphasis is a fit for Patacsil as well. That helped him stand out in the hiring process.
“What impressed us most was that he has excelled in many areas,” Van Kley said. “In addition to being an outstanding wrestler, he’s a great student and was involved in all aspects of being a student-athlete.”
Patacsil’s coaching career is off to a promising start. But at least one more time, Patacsil will take his funky moves to the mat when he tries to tilt his way to a title at the Midlands.
“We’re excited to see how he does,” Van Kley said. “It’s a neat opportunity for our guys to see someone they work out with every day wrestle at that level. It’s kind of fun.”
Central’s season resumes Jan. 2 at the Menlo (Calif.) Invitational at Atherton, Calif.[This story was written by Larry Happel of Central College, and submitted to Ron Maly].
By Ron MalyAn e-mail from Mark Robinson [pictured at the right]:
"Hi, Ron;"Looks like Marshalltown basketball isn’t going to be very good for quite a while. You posted the Valley beat-down of the Bobcat varsity, but did you see the score of the freshman game played at the old Lenihan gym in Marshalltown? It wasn’t in the online edition of the Times-Republican.
"That score was 70-29 in favor of Valley. The MHS Roundhouse, which is scheduled for a welcome renovation soon, will be lucky to see any 5.000-seat sellouts any time soon.
"Al Schallau wrote to you about Hawkeye football coaches. It seems he is concerned that none of the coaches has been offered a head coaching job in this century. I understand his concern as we Hawkeye fans got used to Hayden Fry's assistants moving on to greater things with regularity. As much as we all would like to think we know what goes on behind the scenes, we may never know how many head coaching offers have been turned down by Iowa coaches under Ferentz.
"Keep writing."Mark Robinson
Iowa City *
[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I think Al Schallau was referring to former Hayden Fry assistants such as Bill Snyder, Dan McCarney and Barry Alvarez--all of whom went on to prominent head coaching jobs. Indeed, Alvarez is now Wisconsin's athletic director after a very successful term as the Badgers' football coach. McCarney turned a terrible Iowa State program into a winner when he was the head coach there. McCarney now is the head coach at North Texas. Snyder made a success out of what once was thought to be the worst football program in America at Kansas State. Snyder is back for a second term with the Wildcats now. Mark Robinson is correct when he writes that no one is aware of how many coaching offers Kirk Ferentz's assistants have received, other than the assistants themselves. We do know that Ferentz's assistants are paid well, which is a compliment to Ferentz [who also is very well-paid] and to the Hawkeye football program he has built in recent years. As I pointed out in an earlier column, coordinators are usually the assistant coaches from successful programs who are given considerable attention by athletic directors who are looking for new head coaches. Norm Parker, the Iowa defensive coordinator who comes with very strong coaching credentials, obviously isn't going to be considered for a head coaching job anywhere. He's 68 years of age and not in good health. Ken O'Keefe, the offensive coordinator, has never been a favorite of Hawkeye fans. But only O'Keefe knows how many job offers, if any, he has received since he's been at Iowa].*
TWO FINE PEOPLEAn e-mail from Jay Davidson of Des Moines:"Ron, "Nice words about two worthy coaches and two fine people, Lisa Bluder and Amy Stephens. I could not agree more about those two.
"Best,"[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Jay was referring to my column about Bluder and Stephens following Iowa's 75-71 victory over Drake's women Monday night at the Knapp Center. Both Bluder, a former Drake coach, and Stephens exhibited a lot of class following a basketball that was very well-played by both teams]. Jay*
ONCE A WRITER, ALWAYS A WRITERI wrote to Steve Malchow the other day to tell him how much I was enjoying his writing in the "2:00 Timeout" feature on Iowa State's sports website, www.cyclones.com
I've known Steve for many years, going back to when he was a student at Iowa. He later was a hard-working assistant in the sports information office at Iowa, and later was in the SID office at Wisconsin.
He's now the senior associate athletic director for communications at Iowa State. I see his name frequently in newspapers. He appears to be the man reporters contact whenever athletic director Jamie Pollard isn't in the office, or doesn't want to respond to questions pertaining to matters within the Cyclones' athletic department.
Malchow, a native of Sioux City, obviously has a strong writing background. "Once a writer, always a writer," I told him in my e-mail to him, regarding the "2:00 Timeout" segments he writes.
"As my wife (a former SID) says, 'You’ve got a lot of useless knowledge and now you have an outlet for it,'” Malchow told me.*
DUCKY LEWIS REVISITEDI've attended a couple of basketball games at the Knapp Center this week following the Drake-Iowa men's game last Saturday. While there, I've talked to a number of fans about this, that and whatever.
It was after the Iowa-Drake game that I complimented Fran McCaffery, the Hawkeyes' first-year coach, for how he handled himself in the postgame interview. He lauded Drake's Mark Phelps for how well he coached, and the Bulldogs' players for how well they played after falling behind, 14-0.
However, two Drake fans whose season tickets are in the front row, close to the visitors' bench at the Knapp Center, say McCaffery was anything but mild-mannered throughout the game.
They told me McCaffery showed considerable anger and used plenty of four-letter words while being critical of his players during timeouts. A Hawkeye fan from Iowa City also told me in an e-mail that she has noticed McCaffery uses a shocking amount of profanity around his players--profanity that can evidently be heard by fans near the Iowa bench.
Well, I couldn't hear what McCaffery was saying to his players during the game against Drake because I was sitting at press row on the opposite side of the Drake and Iowa benches. I did notice that McCaffery was angry with his players at times, but he had reason to be after they blew a 14-point lead.
And I also know plenty of coaches use profanity, both inside and outside arenas and stadiums. I certainly have heard plenty of 'em. Don't forget, I covered plenty of Bobby Knight's basketball games and Woody Hayes' football games.
One other thing. If McCaffery uses a lot of four-letter words, he's not the first coach in Iowa City to do so. He'll have to use plenty of profanity to catch up with what Ducky Lewis, who was an assistant on Frank Lauterbur's football staff, employed on the practice field and in games.
Ducky might have been the Division I champion in four-letter words. At least in football.
Sophomore running back Jewel Hampton [left] has decided to leave the University of Iowa. And, sophomore running back Adam Robinson [right] will not be part of the Hawkeye football team that makes the trip to Arizona for the Insight Bowl.
The announcement was made today by football coach Kirk Ferentz.
“Jewel Hampton has decided to leave the team and plans to transfer to another school to complete his degree and finish his career. We wish him the best of success in the future,” said Ferentz.
“While Adam has been cleared medically, he will not be participating in the upcoming Insight Bowl game as a result of failing to comply with team expectations and policies. Adam will have the option to rejoin the team when classes resume in January.”
Hampton, a 5-9, 210-pounder from Indianapolis, IN, has been plagued by injury problems during his three years at Iowa. He has rushed for 577 yards and scored eight touchdowns as a Hawkeye. He was injured in the Arizona game earlier this season and was lost for the season following surgery.
Robinson, a 5-9, 205-pound back from Des Moines, led the team in rushing with 941 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. [This story was written for Ron Maly by Phil Haddy of Iowa's sports information staff].
Al Schallau, a longtime observer of University of Iowa athletic teams, sounds off on the Hawkeyes' disappointing 2010 football season:"Ron, "Iowa's football offense consists of about seven plays, which the Hawkeyes run over and over and over again. Ken O'Keefe's play-calling is completely predictable. So the opposing teams' defensive coordinators have pretty easy jobs when they go against the Hawkeyes.
"Iowa has no deception, misdirection or trickery in its offensive arsenal. In 2002 and for several years thereafter, the Hawkeyes made some big yardage gains with the 'jailbreak screen pass' play to a wide receiver. C. J. Jones ran that play for some big yardage. The Hawkeyes never use that play anymore. And Iowa does not even have a flea-flicker pass play in their playbook.
"The three brain bruises that stand out most in my mind for the 2010 Iowa Hawkeye football season are:
"1. The last two minutes of the game at Arizona, when Iowa made Brooks Reed, No. 42 for Arizona, into an all-American candidate. He is the kid with very long blonde hair sticking out his helmet, who sacked Ricky Stanzi on four straight plays when the ball game was on the line.
"2. That fake punt by Wisconsin in the late fourth quarter never should have happened. But the punter went down at Wisconsin's own 43 yard-line. The Badgers were still 57 yards from a touchdown. A field goal would not help them. Iowa could not stop Wisconsin from shoving the ball down their throats for those last 57 yards.
"3. Ohio State's final touchdown drive is still painful. The Buckeyes did everything but hand the game to the Hawkeyes (dropped pass in the end zone, intercepted passes, etc.). But Iowa still could not win.
"Iowa's defense is even more predictable than the offense. Hawkeye linebackers and strong safeties never blitz the quarterback on obvious passing downs. Everyone just lays back in coverage and gives the quarterback all the time he wants to throw the ball. Hawkeye opponents convert third down and eight, and third down and twelve with terrible regularity -- particularly in the fourth quarters when the game is on the line.
"Iowa's defense gave up very long fourth quarter game winning touchdown drives to Arizona, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Minnesota. Those account for all five losses that the Hawkeyes suffered. Clutch plays by the Hawkeye defense were non-existent. I kept yelling 'Come on defense. Make a play. Make a play.' But Iowa's defense never did.
"If I lived in Iowa and had to pay big bucks for season tickets for the 2011 Hawkeye football season, I would probably buy tickets to Coe or Cornell games instead."
"Best, AL SCHALLAU"[Al Schallau has been a frequent contributor to Ron Maly's columns. In his writings, he can be brutally frank at times, and he usually calls 'em as he sees 'em. He is extremely popular with many of Maly's readers. Indeed, when his commentaries didn't appear for several weeks in Maly's columns this season, a number of readers asked why he wasn't making his thoughts known. I contacted Schallau to tell him some folks missed reading what was on his mind. For those who enjoy his commentaries, this column is for you. Schallau is a native Iowan, a 1964 graduate of the University of Iowa and a 1968 graduate of the University of Southern California Law School. He was admitted to the State Bar of California on Jan. 9, 1969. He also was admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts, and the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Schallau graduated from Iowa City High School in 1960. He is the fourth of seven children, all of whom graduated from college. He is married to Carol Schallau and they are the parents of three sons and five daughters, who range in age from 26 years to 41 years. Schallau can be contacted at P.O. Box 2220, Palos Verdes, CA 90274. His telephone and fax numbers are (310) 541-0375 and (310) 541-7323. His e-mail address is alschallau@earthlink.net.]
