Coach, I hope this email finds you doing well. I am emailing you to pass along a story (and an interview) about one of my wrestlers who just completed his senior year at Virginia Tech. Chris Penny attended one of our Camps in the Summer of 2009 and we were very impressed with him. He was very raw but looked to have great potential. He left our camp that summer to start his senior year at Cox HS in Virginia Beach. He was ranked first in state however he was upset in the semi finals and finished third in his final year of HS. That was his top finish as a HS wrestler - Third Place! We signed Chris his senior year to wrestle at VT. We weren't very good when Chris arrived at Virginia Tech. We had just taken over a program that had been through a rough time. Chris started as a freshman at 197 lbs. His record as a freshman was 2-18! I am going to fast forward to this year. Chris had a very good senior season, winning almost 80% of his matches. Chris Penny finished his career at Virginia Tech with a 56-59 record but more importantly Chris finished the season on FIRE! Chris won an ACC title in early March and kept that toughness at the NCAA tournament. Chris Penny finished his career as an ALL AMERICAN finishing sixth at 197 lbs. In this day and age when kids want to be INSTANT super stars, Chris Penny is proof that persistence is key.
I encourage you to forward this to any of your wrestlers who might not have had the season they wanted to have. As you can see by the attached interview, believing in your athlete will help them believe in themselves. We ALWAYS believed in Chris Penny and more importantly, Chris believed in Chris! Good luck and in closing, I encourage you (and your athletes) to check out the following sites about our program and our camps! I strongly recommend our TEAM camp this summer. We will have a COACHES only session at this camp titled "PEAKING YOUR TEAM AT THE RIGHT TIME". I look forward to sharing FIVE or SIX key things on how to be at your best at tournament time! Thanks for your time and enjoy this interview! Chris Penny Kevin Dresser, Head Coach - Virginia Tech Wrestling www.kdressercamps.com Go to VIRGINIA TECH WRESTLING on our Facebook Page! www.hokiesports.com and click on WRESTLING |