Whenever there is a change related to wrestling, one thing is constant. UNI’s head coach is consistently working for the welfare of collegiate wrestling and the wrestlers. A few days after raising $242 million with the help of 27,000 donors, the head coach is moving forward to be a part of another change. 

As it is said, prevention is better than cure, and coach Doug Schwab believes the same. Even though injuries are the by-products of sports, proper safety measures are essential to prevent serious injuries. Recently, Schwab has made it to the spotlight for raising concerns on the safety of collegiate wrestlers following the 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic event. 

Raising safety concerns  

In a recent tweet by Doug Schwab, he wrote, “No shout out to @FloWrestling for the mini mat, it’s a disservice to the athletes and unfortunately, the NCAA does it every March too.” Varied wrestling mat sizes have been the topmost concern not only for the wrestlers but for their coaches as well. 

Compared to basketball and football, which have constant courts and field sizes, wrestling mats are deprived of this facility. In the same tweet, Schwab commented, “I didn’t measure the mat last night to see if it was 32ft; basketball courts and Football fields don’t vary not sure why wrestling mats do, my issue is safety for the athlete and stopping wrestling action that should have mat space and not be impeded by a table like at NCAAs.”

He added, “My bad, I should have asked the size. My issue is with NCAA: no uniform size of mat, (32ft not enough) no apron expansion with edge of mat rule changes it’s dangerous to the athlete and stops wrestling when guys are still in bounds. I call it out at the NCAAs and will every year.”

While in some tournaments, the mat size is perfect, in others, it is a grave matter of concern. It is hazardous for the competing wrestlers as they focus on wrestling performance. They may need to be made aware of the spaces that mats have. Consecutively, there are high chances of getting injured. Despite these issues, team Iowa’s wrestlers are performing exceptionally well on the NWCA all-star classic wrestling mat. 

2023 NWCA All-Star Classic Wrestling Event

The NWCA All-Star Classic Wrestling event has been a massive success as it portrayed exceptional men’s and women’s collegiate wrestling. The event featured 14 nationally ranked wrestling prodigies coming up on the mat. Fortunately, this year, NWCA All-Star was beneficial for team UNI. UNI’s women’s freestyle wrestler Marlynne Deede clinched the showdown and dominated the opponent Latifah McBryde. She won the freestyle bout and secured a remarkable 8-3 in the match. 

Read more; University of Northern Iowa Shocks With Plans for State-of-the-Art Training Facility Following Unexpected Eviction From Historic Wrestling Gym

Overall, the University of Iowa’s wrestling team is in the right hands as the coach is not only helping the team to perform well but is also concerned about their safety. 

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