Wade Schalles: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 19:33, 20 December 2012
| Stephen Wade Schalles | |
|---|---|
| High school | Hollidaysburg Area High School |
| State championships | 1 (Pennsylvania) |
| College | Clarion University |
| NCAA championships | 4 |
| Olympic team | United States of America |
| Status | Director of EagleHawk Academy |
Wade Schalles (born September 9, 1951, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American amateur wrestler, a two-time NCAA National Champion who holds multiple records in the sport including holding the Guinness Book of World Records title for most amateur wrestling wins and pins, and is the creator of several of wrestling's most notorious moves - including the Spladle[1] and the Cement Mixer.[2]
Schalles is easily wrestling's most accomplished pinner, in his senior year of high school he pinned his way through the season, pinning John Chatman of Trinity in the 154-pound Pennsylvania State Finals. Chatman had a 49 match winning streak entering the bout and would eventually become a two-time State Champ, finishing with a 74-1 record his final three seasons[3]. The match was recently voted by sports writers, officials, and coaches as the most memorable State Final in Pennsylvania state history. And for his 100th NCAA pin, Schalles pinned his opponent from Lock Haven on a tiny masking-tape "X" his fraternity brothers had surreptitiously placed on the mat prior to the match as part of a charity fundraiser.[4]
Schalles is also an award-winning writer, nationally known motivational speaker, renowned educator, author, and actor and has recruited and trained National, World, and Olympic Champions. He has worked for national organizations such as the Amateur Athletic Union as well as with foreign countries promoting competitive sports, and has an impressive track record of more than 30 years in business development, management, strategic planning, public relations and education. Schalles has a Master's Degree in Health and Physical Education with additional graduate work in Administration
As a motivational speaker, Schalles has shared the stage with many of the country's best - from Chuck Jones of Warner Brothers fame to John Wooden, along with Joe Paterno and sports psychologist Denis Waitley, as well as Zig Ziglar and the Reverend Robert H. Schuller,
From 2003-2008, Schalles was a volunteer coach at Oviedo High School in Orlando, Florida. During that five-year period Oviedo won 4 State High School Wrestling Championships and finished third the other year. During two of those seasons, Oviedo finished the season ranked in the nation's Top 20. During that five-year period, Schalles-trained wrestlers received over 2 million dollars in scholarship aid to continue their educations collegiately.
Accolades and Accomplishments
Wade Schalles was the first Pennsylvanian to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame; was selected during his years in the sport as the country's "Athlete of the Year;" was named "National Coach of the Year"; and also voted "World's Greatest Wrestler" by coaches from around the globe for pinning all of his opponents at the World Championships. Schalles is the National Record Holder for defeating the most NCAA Champions and pinning the most NCAA Champions, and the World Record Holder for defeating the most World Champions and pinning the most World Champions.
During his collegiate days at Clarion University, Schalles won 2 NCAA Championships, 1 Collegiate World Championship, and 4 Pennsylvania State College Championships and he was voted Outstanding Wrestler of that tournament all four times - the only PA wrestler in history to earn that distinction. Schalles is the only Division I wrestler to pin over 100 opponents, an NCAA record. For his pinning prowess, WIN Magazine[4], and the National Wrestling Coaches Association[5], annually presents the Schalles Award to the top scholastic and collegiate pinners in America. Schalles' schoolboy years were spent wrestling for Holidaysburg High School in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where he finished his senior year with a state title and a 96% pinning percentage - still a record today.
During Schalles' competitive days, Sports Illustrated said he was "the most exciting wrestler to ever walk onto a wrestling mat." Amateur Wrestling News selected him as the best American middleweight of the 20th Century. Dan Gable called him, "the greatest pinner he's ever seen!" Currently he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most wins and pins of anyone who has ever competed. Schalles has won 15 national championships and been an All-American in five different combative disciplines: Judo, Sombo, Freestyle, Folkstyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Schalles has authored two bestselling books on the sport and his video tape series on wrestling is the best selling instructional tapes on the market today. In 2002 he was named Man of the Year by the Amateur Athletic Union; in 2003 named Sportswriter of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Association[6] and during the 1990s was one of the highest rated wrestling officials in America. In 2005 he was named to the NCAA's 75th Anniversary Team[7], a distinction that only fourteen other collegiate wrestlers share with him. Currently, Schalles is the country's most popular and only syndicated columnist in the sport.
"Creative" is probably the best way to describe Schalles. From the syndicated columns he writes to inventing numerous teaching aids and over a dozen wrestling moves such as the Spladle, the Clemson Roll, the Lazy-Man Cradle, Reverse Ball and Chain and the Cement Mixer - Schalles has made immeasurable contributions to the sport of wrestling.
Family life
Schalles has two children; Tara and Ryan from a previous marriage and three others, two of which are adopted, Chris and Adam, with his current wife Deb. Deb Schalles, a graduate of UC Berkley, works for Walt Disney World in information technology.
Four of Wade's five children - Tara, Ryan, Chris, and Adam - are out of college and furthering their own careers. Wade and Deb's youngest son Jacob, the 2009 NCWA 165 lb. national champion, is currently attending and wrestling for the United States Naval Academy. As a result, Wade and Deb have recently relocated to the greater Washington DC metro area.