What is EE Wrestling? Eierman Elite Wrestling is an elite competitive wrestling team coached by Mike Eierman in Millersburg, Missouri. The team is a Missouri USA sanctioned wrestling club. The wrestlers compete in many local and national tournaments. Since 2006 the Eierman Elite wrestling room has produced 123 Missouri USA youth state qualifiers, 82 youth state medalists, 22 youth State Champions, USA Wrestling National Champions and multiple All-Americans, 2 Roller All-Stars, and a Roller Trinity Award Winner. EE has won multiple team state championships and interst in the top three every year since the start of EEW in 2006. Many EEW youth program alumni return to the EE wrestling room during Their high school summers two contine training with Mike and EEW. In 2010, two EE youth wrestling alumni won the Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships as freshman. Since then numerous at EE wrestlers have gone on to win the Missouri State High School Championships includingsuch 4x State ChampionJ’den Cox and 4x State Champion Jaydin Clayton. Who is Mike Eierman? Mike has lived and coached wrestling in Mid-Missouri since 2003. Before coming to Mid-Missouri in 2003, Mike was a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado for more than three years.  From youth wrestling to international competition, for thirty years Mike’s life has revolved around wrestling.  He has trained in many other countries with the best wrestlers from those countries including Russia, Ukraine, and Italy. Mike’s practices and camps are influenced by what he learned while training with some of the world’s elite wrestlers. Mike’s wrestlers will benefit from his international experience and intense training philosophy. Mike believes each wrestler has his own unique style and encourages each wrestler to adapt what he learns and explore variations. Mike knows a one-size-fits-all attitude ultimately fails, because each wrestler’s approach to wrestling is, and should be, different. Some of Mike’swrestling accomplishments include: Coaching:  Head coach and owner of the Eierman Elite Wrestling, 2005 – present Volunteer Assistant Coach for the University of Missouri, Columbia, 2004-2006 Head coach of the Rock Bridge Wrestling Club, 2004 – 2005 Head coach of MO Elite Wrestling Club, 2003 – 2004 Head Assistant Coach for Neosho County Community College, Kansas, 1999-2000 NJCAA National Champions Freestyle:  Resident of U.S. Olympic Training Center, 2000-2003 2-Time Freestyle U.S. Open All American, 2000-2001 Competitor at the 2000 Olympic Trials Medal winner in many International Freestyle Tournaments, including Russia, Ukraine, and Italy Featured in a Freestyle DVD through USA Wrestling, 2003 Featured in two books: Athlete and The Art of an Athlete College:  University of Nebraska 1993 Division 1 NCAA All American 1993 voted Most Exciting Nebraska Wrestler (teammates included Rulon Gardner, Matt Lindland and Corey Olsen) Voted 2nd Team Modern Era (Nebraska), 1970-2002, 142-149 lbsCaptain of the Big 8 Champions, 1995 Record at Midlands for the fastest fall at 157 lbs., 1963-2002 High School:  St. Laurence High School, Burbank, Illinois 3-Time Illinois State Medalist / 2-Time Finalist High School Freestyle State Champion 4-Time Catholic League Champion Recipient of the Tony Lawless Award for being The Outstanding Athlete of the Catholic League in 1990 Member of the 1990 AA Illinois Dual Team State Champions (St. Laurence High School) High School Record: 130-12 MMA:  Professional Mixed Martial Arts record of 2-0-0 What are the benefits of  wrestling with EE Wrestling? Other paid wrestling organizations in the state are businesses only where the wrestlers practice once or twice a week.  These wrestlers are not part of a team.  They do not benefit from having a full-time coach.  They do not benefit from being a member of a team, where they receive everyday support, pride, and motivation from teammates and their coach. Still other clubs have volunteer part-timecoaches (usually club members parents).  These clubs are great places to learn the fundamentals of wrestling. However, Eierman Elite wrestlers are members of an elite competitive wrestling team where they can practice with state and national champions on a daily basis.  Coach Eierman travels with the team to competitions and tournaments.  Wrestlers have the benefit of having a full-time, high quality coach in the practice room and at competitions.  Coach Eierman does not teach a watered-down or simplified version of wrestling.  The techniques Coach Eierman teaches are the same he learned and saw while competing at the highest levels.   The techniques never become stale and are constantly evolving.  EE wrestlers are learning skills they can use throughout their wrestling career, youth through college and beyond. What is Mike Eierman’s approach to wrestling? Everyone’s body is built different which means they may have a different physical approach to wrestling.  As an example a tallslender wrestler tends to have good leverage and may use legs and cradles.  A shorter stockier wrestler will tend to have other strong traits they can tap into. Mike states, “I believe each wrestler should learn the basic positioning and fundamentals of wrestling.  Once those movements become instinctive,  it is time for each individual wrestler to explore their own individual approach.  They should not be discouraged from trying something new or changing a technique to suit their own style.  EE wrestlers are not taught to wrestle with-in a system or pushed to adapt a style.  Rather they are encouraged to expand and take risk in developing their own approach.” Each wrester has their own personal gifts whether it be physical or mental.  What Coach Eierman trys to do is guide the wrestlers and help them tap into their individual strengths. Each wrestler’s mind is also different and needs to be developed just like the physical skills. What can I expect at an EE practice? EE wrestlers donot do robotic drilling or touch drills where one person stands still and the other person simply drills a technique.  Instead in the EE room wrestlers are placed in realistic positions and scenarios which will happen in every match.  Drilling looks much more like live wrestling where both partners are wrestling at about 60%.  This means drilling is a physical and mental workout. Wrestling live is done at every practice.  Most cardio workouts happen on the mat during these intense drilling and live wrestling sessions.  Wrestlers are expected to concentrate on wrestling while on the mat.  There is very little talking among the wrestlers during practice. Parents are encouraged to watch practices but are expected to remain as observers only.   Coaching from the side of the mat during practice by parents is strongly discouraged. Come to a practice and check it out! What is scrambling?  Will a wrestler learn the “basics” in the EE wrestling room? Scrambling is really just another word forwrestling…do not be intimidated! Champion wrestlers at any level all have a few things in common. One of those things is they keep good position and never willingly concede points. They fight for every point. Ignore whatever you may have heard about EE wrestlers. In the EE wrestling room, wrestlers are taught the basics…and more. For instance, EE wrestlers are encouraged to sprawl and spin when their opponent takes a shot. Mike does tell his wrestlers to “protect your legs!” and “don’t let him touch your legs!” and “sprawl…spin!” Sounds like every other wrestling room right? Well, Mike knows there can be much more to wrestling and takes his wrestlers on that journey. What happens when a wrestler is caught out of position? What happens when his opponent gets to his legs and the first option, sprawl and spin, does not work? Here is why Mike and EE wrestling consistently creates champions. They have options from this “bad” position. Mike teaches the wresters to stay in there and fight forthe points. EE wrestlers can score from any position and never stop wrestling… moving… fighting… scrambling. Mike originally came to mid-Missouri to coach wrestling at the University of Missouri. Ben Askren is a two-time NCAA Div 1 Champion from Missouri. Ben’s freshman year was Mike’s first year coaching. Mike and Ben and several other Missouri wrestlers wrestled together almost every day for three years. Ben’s junior year the Missouri wrestling team placed third in the nation; their highest team finish in school history. Mike had a large influence on Ben’s wrestling style and taught Ben the exact same philosophy and techniques he teaches his youth wrestlers. Mike can create champions. Mike has created champions. You want to be a champion? Come to the EE wrestling room and check it out. Is mental preparation important to be a successful wrestler? Wrestling is the toughest, most grueling sport, both mentally and physically, because it consumes all of the athlete’s strength and demandsall of his attention the entire time he is competing on that mat. While the majority of wrestling clubs focus primarily and, in some cases, exclusively, on the physical aspect of wrestling, Coach Eierman knows there are two sides to winning, physical and mental.  Without attention to both sides, a wrestler will not wrestle to their full potential. A wrestler must always remember that even if he knows all the moves and techniques and trains rigorously every day, he will ultimately fail in serious competition unless he honestly believes in himself. All the sweat and hard work will count for nothing unless every fiber of a wrestler’s being exudes self-confidence and a winning attitude. Is proper nutrition important to be a successful wrestler? Nutrition has a huge influence on a wrestlers performance.  Proper nutrition plays a vital role in all aspects of wrestling including, conditioning, stamina, recovery time, and mental toughness.  Everyday wrestlers should pay attention to what theyeat.  Proper sleep and plenty of water are also very important for proper muscle recovery.  Mike Eierman’s wrestlers will benefit from his personal experiences and lessons learned while being a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center for three years. What does Coach Eierman think about youth wrestler’s cutting weight for wrestling? Youth Wrestlers are not encouraged to lose weight.  Coach Eierman believes wrestlers should spend their time and energy improving in the practice room.  Time spent losing weight is time wasted.  Mike Eierman’s practices are very demanding and physically draining.  Without the proper nutrition your body will not recover as quickly.  If a wrestler or parents feels a wrestler would be more competitive at a lower weight, the advice given is to work harder and improve at the wrestler’s natural weight. However, there is a distinct difference between losing weight and watching what you eat while observing your body’s natural weight fluctuations.  Wrestlersare expected to eat three meals and hydrate themselves with plenty of water even on competition days.   Wrestlers are also encouraged to monitor their weight and learn how their weight reacts to strenuous workouts and healthy, sensible meals. Can a wrestler workout with Eierman Elite if he/she is not a club member? Yes.  Many of the practices are open practices.  See the page for details.  There are also Eierman Scrambling camps.  Check the page for details. How do I get to EE Wrestling?  Where is it? Take I-70 to EXIT 137 (Millersburg exit MO-DD / MO-J) Turn south towards Millersburg Go approximately 2.8 miles on Rt. J Facility will be on the left – Look for the EE Wrestling sign! 4180 State Road J, Fulton, MO 65251