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Sedivy chosen for NWCA Coaching Leadership Academy

Coach Matt Sedivy

MITCHELL, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan wrestling head coach Matt Sedivy brought plenty of knowledge and expertise to the Tiger wrestling program in his first year as head coach during the 2009-10 season. In his first head coaching stint, Sedivy guided four wrestlers to the NAIA National Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., in March.

This offseason, Sedivy has been very proactive about bettering himself as a coach.

Sedivy, a Dakota Wesleyan alum, is one of 32 college wrestling coaches from around the country who participated in the Second Annual National Wrestling Coaches Association Leadership Academy in Delray Beach, Fla. The academy started Wednesday and wrapped up Thursday, and will be followed by the annual NWCA Convention Friday through Sunday.

“To be chosen, you had to apply and undergo a program assessment. It’s designed mainly for young, up-and-coming coaches who show potential to become the future leaders of college wrestling, so it’s a great honor to be selected,” Sedivy said. “It’s also very energizing, and I’m sure I’ll come back to DWU excited to start implementing some of the new strategies I learn.”

The purpose of the camp is to start peer group discussions among college coaches, athletic administrators and CEOs to develop the best practices for protecting and strengthening college wrestling programs. Dr. Dan Gould, a nationally renowned coaching development expert from Michigan State, and Central Michigan University Senior Associate Athletic Director Derek van der Merwe will help facilitate the discussions.

At the academy, each coach in attendance was paired with a mentor. Mentors are usually veteran coaches and athletic administrators. The mentors will help teach the young coaches how to align their wrestling programs with educational values. Sedivy’s mentor was Jay Jones, the head wrestling coach at Rhode Island College. He has been the school’s head coach for 11 years.

“It’s exciting to be chosen for this program,” Sedivy said. “I’ve talked with a few people who went through last year’s version, and they all said it was extremely useful. The idea of the program is to become better at running your program like an efficient business.

“There are so many opportunities out there to improve yourself on technical aspects of wrestling, but very few to improve on your CEO skills. There’s a lot more that goes into being a head coach than just practice and competition, so I’m really excited to pick the brains of some of the best veteran coaches in college athletics.”

To read about Sedivy’s experience at the academy, go to the wrestling team’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/dwuwrestling. Also, be sure and check that page, as well as the DWU athletics site, www.dwu.edu/athletics, for schedule updates leading up to the wrestling season.