Two weeks from tonight (November 19, 2010) I’ll be in seat 1 of Row 12 in section GG in Carver Hawkeye Arena as the Hawkeyes kick of the 2010/2011 wrestling season. For the first time in four years Brent Metcalf will not be in the lineup for the home opener.
Brent will be wrestling that night 935 miles from his former teammates at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He’ll be joining other American freestyle stars Angel Escobedo, Shawn Bunch, Trent and Travis Paulson, Jake Herbert, J D Bergman and Tervel Dlagnev in a dual meet against a team from Russia.
Last year I was lucky enough to attend a similar event in Mount Vernon, Iowa on the Cornell College campus. The gym was packed and the crowd was boisterous. It was heartening to see so many young wrestlers there. I sat just a few feet away from the North Cedar kids club and, boy, did they seem to be enjoying the action.
It may seem strange, but kids in Iowa have far more opportunities to wrestle and attend wrestling events than kids in New York City. Al Bevilacqua, Michael Novogratz and the rest of the folks at Beat the Streets are working to change that. They firmly believe that the surest path for the growth of wrestling is to make it an urban sport. It’s hard to argue with their logic.
Al wants to take as many Beat the Streets kids as possible to the USA vs Russia freestyle dual. Why shouldn’t they have the same opportunity as youngsters from Stanwood, Lisbon, Solon and Mount Vernon? To help Al meet his goal, we’ve made this meet a Tickets for Kids event.
Thanks to the kindness of Eric Betterman of theopenmat.com Tickets for Kids now has a website and is capable of receiving online donations. Here is the link to the USA vs Russia page. If you have any questions email me at jim@dmsolutions4u.com. If you are a traditionalist like me and prefer to send a check, please make it to Tickets for Kids and mail it to:
Tickets for Kids
c/o Jim Brown
130 24th St NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-4936.
There’s no time to waste so please act today.
Have a look here at some of the kids you’ll be helping.
Showing posts with label Brent Metcalf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent Metcalf. Show all posts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
The battle for your wrestling dollar.
“Brother, can you spare a dime?” That iconic song from the Great Depression might just be the theme for American wrestling in the 21st century.
I’ve earned my living in the direct marketing business for about 30 years. For the last 20 I’ve owned my own consulting business. I’ve helped companies sell you magazines, pizza, jewelry and cell phones. I’ve also gotten you to donate to several worthwhile non-profit organizations.
Fund raising is a tough business. You have to battle for every dollar and – frankly - most wrestling organizations are pretty wimpy at it. Over the years I’ve contributed to individual Olympic wrestlers, national organizations and schools trying to save their programs. The associations I’ve built through this blog have also put me on a number of wrestling-related solicitation lists. Folks – you’ve got to work harder – get tougher.
Rule one is “keep asking”. It’s a fact that the top 15 – 20% of your past donors will donate 80% of the money to a new or follow-up campaign. Roughly 15% will come from the rest of the past donors and 5% or less will come from new donors. BUT – those past donors won’t give anything IF YOU DON’T ASK. Of the organizations that I’ve supported, only Cal State Fullerton and Save Oregon Wrestling have ever asked me directly for a second donation. Come on – ask me again. I know from years of research that if you get a second donation from me, I am twice as likely to donate a third time.
Speak directly to me, tell me a good story and then “make the ask”. People don’t give to causes or organizations. One person gives to another person. Last week I received an attempt to get me to attend a fund raiser for a local wrestling club. I cringed. There was no letter – just a reservation form. They gave me no reason to attend. It was a lot like going to the middle of the mat, getting into your stance and then hoping that your opponent falls to his back.
Use all of your weapons. How successful are wrestlers who can only execute an outside single to get a takedown? Take a guess why charities continue to tick you off by calling you at home. BECAUSE IT WORKS! Telephone calls have a higher return on investment than any other fund raising method. In general, wrestling relies far too much on the internet to raise money. Yes – it’s cheap and should be a part of your arsenal – but don’t use it exclusively.
What does the Republican National Committee have in common with the Democratic National Committee? The NRA with the World Wildlife Fund? And those four with US Olympic Committee? All use direct mail as a primary fund raising medium. Get your story down on paper and tell it to me just as if we’re sitting across from each other having coffee. Motivate me to give.
Be proactive. Yes - emergency needs will draw your best response, but, you must have a regular plan that meets your needs. Don’t wait until the elimination announcement comes before you try to raise the money to save the program. If you’re a coach, wrestler, alumnus or fan of a particular college team – just assume that your team is on the chopping block and start raising the money now. Start a campaign to endow a scholarship or the head coach’s salary. Buy the team a van or new mats. Show the administration that important people (donors) care about wrestling and you’ll reduce your chances of being dropped.
It isn’t all bad. Beat the Streets has come up with two disparate, but powerful, concepts to market their annual fund raising gala. First, they are holding it on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and honoring wrestlers who have served our country. Then they are holding the “Battle on the Intrepid” – a series of “undercard” matches featuring young Beat the Streets athletes and some of America’s top freestyle and Greco Roman wrestlers – followed by the “Main Event”.
Take a guess – what two athletes would most American fans want to see face each other? Bingo! Brent Metcalf and Darrion Caldwell will do battle as the highlight of the evening. It’s a stroke of genius by the organizers and a credit to these two young men that they are willing to participate. Here’s a link to make your reservation. If you can’t be there you can still make a donation at the site.
I’ve earned my living in the direct marketing business for about 30 years. For the last 20 I’ve owned my own consulting business. I’ve helped companies sell you magazines, pizza, jewelry and cell phones. I’ve also gotten you to donate to several worthwhile non-profit organizations.
Fund raising is a tough business. You have to battle for every dollar and – frankly - most wrestling organizations are pretty wimpy at it. Over the years I’ve contributed to individual Olympic wrestlers, national organizations and schools trying to save their programs. The associations I’ve built through this blog have also put me on a number of wrestling-related solicitation lists. Folks – you’ve got to work harder – get tougher.
Rule one is “keep asking”. It’s a fact that the top 15 – 20% of your past donors will donate 80% of the money to a new or follow-up campaign. Roughly 15% will come from the rest of the past donors and 5% or less will come from new donors. BUT – those past donors won’t give anything IF YOU DON’T ASK. Of the organizations that I’ve supported, only Cal State Fullerton and Save Oregon Wrestling have ever asked me directly for a second donation. Come on – ask me again. I know from years of research that if you get a second donation from me, I am twice as likely to donate a third time.
Speak directly to me, tell me a good story and then “make the ask”. People don’t give to causes or organizations. One person gives to another person. Last week I received an attempt to get me to attend a fund raiser for a local wrestling club. I cringed. There was no letter – just a reservation form. They gave me no reason to attend. It was a lot like going to the middle of the mat, getting into your stance and then hoping that your opponent falls to his back.
Use all of your weapons. How successful are wrestlers who can only execute an outside single to get a takedown? Take a guess why charities continue to tick you off by calling you at home. BECAUSE IT WORKS! Telephone calls have a higher return on investment than any other fund raising method. In general, wrestling relies far too much on the internet to raise money. Yes – it’s cheap and should be a part of your arsenal – but don’t use it exclusively.
What does the Republican National Committee have in common with the Democratic National Committee? The NRA with the World Wildlife Fund? And those four with US Olympic Committee? All use direct mail as a primary fund raising medium. Get your story down on paper and tell it to me just as if we’re sitting across from each other having coffee. Motivate me to give.
Be proactive. Yes - emergency needs will draw your best response, but, you must have a regular plan that meets your needs. Don’t wait until the elimination announcement comes before you try to raise the money to save the program. If you’re a coach, wrestler, alumnus or fan of a particular college team – just assume that your team is on the chopping block and start raising the money now. Start a campaign to endow a scholarship or the head coach’s salary. Buy the team a van or new mats. Show the administration that important people (donors) care about wrestling and you’ll reduce your chances of being dropped.
It isn’t all bad. Beat the Streets has come up with two disparate, but powerful, concepts to market their annual fund raising gala. First, they are holding it on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and honoring wrestlers who have served our country. Then they are holding the “Battle on the Intrepid” – a series of “undercard” matches featuring young Beat the Streets athletes and some of America’s top freestyle and Greco Roman wrestlers – followed by the “Main Event”.
Take a guess – what two athletes would most American fans want to see face each other? Bingo! Brent Metcalf and Darrion Caldwell will do battle as the highlight of the evening. It’s a stroke of genius by the organizers and a credit to these two young men that they are willing to participate. Here’s a link to make your reservation. If you can’t be there you can still make a donation at the site.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hometown heroes
The Iowa wrestling program features “Hometown Heroes” at every home meet. It’s a simple concept – they mention wrestlers from the same or neighboring communities in Eastern Iowa and thank the fans from those communities that support their “hometown heroes” and Iowa wrestling.
According to an Andy Hamilton article in Saturday’s Iowa City Press-Citizen dozens of people drove 50 miles from Davison, MI Friday night to watch their hometown hero – Brent Metcalf – wrestle. There were autographs and photo sessions. Brent did not let them down – winning by fall.
They weren’t the only fans driving Friday night to see a local favorite compete. The entire middle school wrestling team from Aledo, IL traveled over 100 miles to Cedar Rapids to see Division III #2-ranked 125 pounder, Clayton Rush, wrestle for Coe College against arch rivals, the Cornell Rams. They got to see Clayton score 6 points for the Kohawks, but not in the manner they hoped. Cornell forfeited at 125.
The 1979 Gilbertville Don Bosco team will be honored at this year’s Iowa high school wrestling championships on the 30th anniversary of becoming the only team in Iowa history to qualify an entire team for the state individual tournament. The Dons are famous not just for their long history of success (producing Iowa NCAA champ, Daryl Weber and multiple time All-American from the University of Minnesota, Mack Reiter), but for the support they receive from Gilbertville and the other small towns that feed the school. Undoubtedly hundreds of Don Bosco fans will attend this year’s event – both to honor the 1979 team and to cheer on the qualifiers from this year’s top-ranked 1A squad.
All across America there are rural and suburban communities that are famous for their wrestling traditions – Lakewood, OH; Waterloo, IA; Brandon, FL; Davison, MI and right now – Monroeville, OH. Towns, neighborhoods and schools rally around their wrestlers, past and present. This is how the sport continues to thrive in those areas.
This is great for the, roughly, 40% of American middle and high school students who have the opportunity to wrestle interscholastically. For the 60% who don’t – primarily in our largest cities – something more is needed. Beat the Streets has succeeded in bringing middle and high school wrestling to many of the schools in all of the boroughs of New York City. Yes – this has largely been done through the hard work of Al Bevilacqua and Michael Novogratz and with public school system support. However, I wonder if their isn’t a neighborhood unity feeling that contributes as well.
Let’s look at Detroit. They have no varsity high school wrestling – and they are facing financial challenges that are among the greatest in the country. Is there a city in America whose youth have a greater need to learn the lessons of wrestling? Couldn’t we find one local Boys and Girls Club or other neighborhood-based youth organization that would start a kids wrestling program? And couldn’t that organization have the kind of leadership that would work to get the closest 2 or 3 middle schools to develop teams and compete with each other? And couldn’t those neighborhoods rise up and demand varsity high school wrestling? And couldn’t someone from those neighborhoods convince someone like Mitch Albom to contribute to the growth of wrestling in Detroit? If we work at it couldn’t we get high school wrestling participation up to 500,000 kids – one urban neighborhood at a time? And if we did that – how could our colleges and universities ever consider eliminating their wrestling teams?
According to an Andy Hamilton article in Saturday’s Iowa City Press-Citizen dozens of people drove 50 miles from Davison, MI Friday night to watch their hometown hero – Brent Metcalf – wrestle. There were autographs and photo sessions. Brent did not let them down – winning by fall.
They weren’t the only fans driving Friday night to see a local favorite compete. The entire middle school wrestling team from Aledo, IL traveled over 100 miles to Cedar Rapids to see Division III #2-ranked 125 pounder, Clayton Rush, wrestle for Coe College against arch rivals, the Cornell Rams. They got to see Clayton score 6 points for the Kohawks, but not in the manner they hoped. Cornell forfeited at 125.
The 1979 Gilbertville Don Bosco team will be honored at this year’s Iowa high school wrestling championships on the 30th anniversary of becoming the only team in Iowa history to qualify an entire team for the state individual tournament. The Dons are famous not just for their long history of success (producing Iowa NCAA champ, Daryl Weber and multiple time All-American from the University of Minnesota, Mack Reiter), but for the support they receive from Gilbertville and the other small towns that feed the school. Undoubtedly hundreds of Don Bosco fans will attend this year’s event – both to honor the 1979 team and to cheer on the qualifiers from this year’s top-ranked 1A squad.
All across America there are rural and suburban communities that are famous for their wrestling traditions – Lakewood, OH; Waterloo, IA; Brandon, FL; Davison, MI and right now – Monroeville, OH. Towns, neighborhoods and schools rally around their wrestlers, past and present. This is how the sport continues to thrive in those areas.
This is great for the, roughly, 40% of American middle and high school students who have the opportunity to wrestle interscholastically. For the 60% who don’t – primarily in our largest cities – something more is needed. Beat the Streets has succeeded in bringing middle and high school wrestling to many of the schools in all of the boroughs of New York City. Yes – this has largely been done through the hard work of Al Bevilacqua and Michael Novogratz and with public school system support. However, I wonder if their isn’t a neighborhood unity feeling that contributes as well.
Let’s look at Detroit. They have no varsity high school wrestling – and they are facing financial challenges that are among the greatest in the country. Is there a city in America whose youth have a greater need to learn the lessons of wrestling? Couldn’t we find one local Boys and Girls Club or other neighborhood-based youth organization that would start a kids wrestling program? And couldn’t that organization have the kind of leadership that would work to get the closest 2 or 3 middle schools to develop teams and compete with each other? And couldn’t those neighborhoods rise up and demand varsity high school wrestling? And couldn’t someone from those neighborhoods convince someone like Mitch Albom to contribute to the growth of wrestling in Detroit? If we work at it couldn’t we get high school wrestling participation up to 500,000 kids – one urban neighborhood at a time? And if we did that – how could our colleges and universities ever consider eliminating their wrestling teams?
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