Springfield Wrestling PrideCast Springfield Wrestling

A 1994 graduate of Springfield College and founder of Journeymen Wrestling, Frank Popolizio joins the PrideCast from Albany, NY! Coach  Popolizio sits down to discuss the wrestling empire he's built, his coaching philosophy, the growth of his wrestling club, and the impact that fellow alumnus and Olympic Gold Medalist, Jeff Blatnick has had on his career.   

Coach Popolizio was inducted into the Upstate New York Chapter of the  National Wrestling Hall of Fame and receive the Lifetime Service Award in 2018. He was also a member of the coaching staff for the 2018 USA Cadet World Team. In this episode, Popolizio unpacks the impact that his events have had on the current landscape and the challenges and rewards associated with running large scale international competitions, and the influence of his younger brother, Pat Popolizio, the Head Wrestling Coach at North Carolina State University, has had on his career.

Frank graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in 1992, and during those two years, Frank successfully reinstated HVCC's NJCAA wrestling  program, as well as being a volunteer coach at Niskayuna HS. He would  later attend Springfield College and graduate summa cum alude in 1994. While at Springfield, he acted as volunteer coach at Cathedral High School in Springfield, and in 1995, Popolizio returned back to Niskayuna and coached with Joe Bena from 1995 to 2003. Fellow Springfield alumnus, Rob Weeks, successfully recruited Frank in 2004 to join him and Shenendehowa High School, and he has been at Shen since. While at Shenendehowa, the team has enjoyed great success, winning multiple Section II titles and garnering multiple New York State Team Championships along with multiple individuals winning NYS titles during his tenure.

In the 2008-09 wrestling season, Frank was selected by the National Wrestling Coaches Association as the NY State Assistant Coach of the  Year. In 1999 Frank launched the "Journeymen Wrestling" in Albany area whose main mission statement was to promote, teach, advocate and  showcase wrestling throughout the northeast. The main concentration of the early Journeymen Wrestling was to bring first class wrestling  clinics and tournaments to the Northeast. Popolizio has brought great coaches as Dan Gable, John Smith, Jay Robinson, Cael Sanderson, the  Brands brothers, Tom and Terry and other great wrestlers to the Albany area, including world champion Jordan Burroughs.

Some of Popolizio's major events include Pop & Flo Mini-Man Nationals, Pop & Flo National Duals held each year in May at Lake Placid and Pop & Flo Wrestling Duals. He also established the Journeymen World Classic--which has brought traditionally powerful wrestling countries Russia, Kazakhstan, Korea and Mongolia to the USA. In addition, he has coached Nick Gwiazdowski, 2018 Senior World team member, and Jesse Porter, 2018 U23 World Greco team member.   

Follow Coach Popolizio and Journeymen Wrestling on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @Journeymenwrestling or at journeymenwrestling.com  

Read more about Coach Popolizio here: https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/4498

This episode was recorded on May 24, 2022.  

**The thoughts and views expressed by the guest on their own social media platforms or in this podcast episode do not reflect those of the host or the Springfield College Wrestling program**  

#WinTheMoment

Colleen O'Connell recently concluded her fourth season as an assistant coach with the Springfield College women's basketball team in the 2021-22 season. While helping head coach Naomi Graves, O'Connell will continue the PhD program in Physical Education with a concentration in Teaching and Administration. She graduated with her Master's degree in Athletic Administration in 2020.    

A native of Maywood, N.J., O'Connell was a four-year captain at Vassar College and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Behavior in 2016. While with the Brewers, O'Connell helped lead her team  to two Liberty League Championships and also earned a pair of berths into the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. O'Connell was also the Liberty League and D3hoops.com All-East Region Rookie of the Year.  O'Connell is no stranger to coaching, as she was the recruiting  coordinator and assistant coach for the Montclair State women's basketball team from 2016 to 2018, where she was involved with all aspects of the program. O'Connell captured two NJAC Championships in her time with the Redhawks, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017, and guided her squad to the Sweet 16 in 2018. 

If you'd like to reach out to Coach O'Connell, you can email her at coconnell3@springfieldcollege.edu or follow her on Twitter @colleen_oc

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Mike Cunningham is a 1989 Springfield College Wrestling Alumnus and serves as the Head Wrestling Coach at New England Wrestling Power, Xavier High School.   
Cunningham is a 2022 inductee to the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and joins the PrideCast fresh off of leading the Falcons to a runner-up team finish at the 2022 New England Championships.  
Since graduating from Springfield College, Mike has been coaching for 26 years at the high school and collegiate level. He spent four years at Wesleyan including one year as head coach of the Cardinal. He was the head wrestling coach at Rocky Hill for four seasons (1998-2002) and has been at Xavier since 2002. Under Mike’s leadership, the Falcons have won four state championships (2011, 2012, 2020, 2022) and two State Open titles in 2012 and 2022. Both his sons, Tyler and Colin, wrestled under Mike at Xavier and are among more than 30 wrestlers to win individual state championships. At Xavier, Mike has also been head coach of the boys lacrosse and boys soccer coach programs. In 2019, Mike was named the recipient of the Theodore Ryken award for commitment to Xavier. Mike will join his father, Jim, a long-time coach at Holy Cross in Waterbury, in the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Jim was inducted in 2010.   
News Releases Cited: 
Seven to be inducted into Connecticut Chapter 2022
Augieri: Xavier's Cunningham to join Father in wrestling Hall of Fame

Springfield College graduate alumnus, John Sutyak joined the PrideCast to rehash his time on Alden Street, his views on leadership, current events and issues in Division III, and the value of hosting the 2023 DIII Men's Wrestling Championships at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, VA. 

Sutyak joined the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) Membership Committee in September of 2021 and will begin a four-year term on the NCAA Nominating Committee in January 2022.  Sutyak's career began in a dual role as the assistant sports information director and area coordinator in residential life at Wheaton College (Massachusetts) in 2002. He then spent three years working in varsity sports operations and athletic facilities at Yale University before returning to Wheaton in July 2006 as the assistant director of athletics. At Wheaton, Sutyak was promoted to the associate director of athletics and interim director of athletics, before eventually assuming the permanent role of director of athletics and recreation in April 2012. He became just the second director of athletics in Wheaton’s coeducational era, which began in 1988.  

Off campus, Sutyak served six years on the NEWMAC Executive Committee, including a two-year term as president which made him the first, and only, former NEWMAC student-athlete to also serve as conference president. Sutyak also served as the New England Chair for the NCAA Division III Softball Committee from 2009 to 2012. Outside of collegiate athletics, he worked at Gillette Stadium during New England Patriots home games from 2002-2019, both with the Patriots media relations team and the National Football League on its Player Participation crew.  

A native of Scarborough, Maine, Sutyak received his Bachelor of Arts in history from Wheaton College (Massachusetts) in 2000 and a Master of Education in athletic administration from Springfield College in 2002. During graduate school, he served as an assistant baseball coach at Western New England University during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, where he played a part in the team's first Great Northeast Atlantic Conference (GNAC) championship and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001. At Scarborough High School, he was a two-sport athlete (baseball and basketball) and a finalist for the Maine Mr. Baseball Award in 1996. As a four-year member of the baseball team at Wheaton, he was a member of the college's first varsity team in 1997, the program's first two NEWMAC championship teams in 1999 and 2000, and a part of its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000. He also tied the NCAA record for home runs in one inning (2) against the University of Southern Maine in 1998. 

 #WinTheMoment

Known for his passion, drive, and enthusiasm for excellence in coaching, Dr. Adam Feit has over 15+ years of experience in the areas of strength and conditioning, performance nutrition, and sport and exercise psychology coaching. A former NFL and NCAA Division-I strength and conditioning coach, Adam now serves as an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Springfield College.

Adam’s journey into strength and conditioning started off with a season-ending injury in high-school. During that time, he learned about Springfield College and eventually completed his Bachelor’s degree in Applied Exercise Science while garnering all-consensus All-American football honors as a captain of the Springfield College football team. He later attended The Citadel and California University of Pennsylvania to finish his Master’s degree in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention.

Before coming back home to Springfield College, Adam recently worked as the Head Strength & Sport Psychology Coach for Precision Nutrition, Inc., the largest nutrition coaching, certification, and software company in the world. Prior to Precision Nutrition, Adam was the Co-founder and Director of Sports Performance for Reach Your Potential Training (RYPT), helping mentor and train over 5,000 youth athletes over the course of five years. Adam also served as a college and professional Strength and Conditioning Coach and Nutrition Coordinator for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, Eastern Michigan University, University of Louisville, and The Citadel.

Adam is certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He is also a certified Strength and Conditioning Coach and Mentor from the Collegiate Strength  and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa). In addition to his  strength and conditioning certifications, he is also a certified Level 2 Master Nutrition Coach from Precision Nutrition.

He is the co-author of the Coaches Guide to Jump Training, Complete Guide to Training the Female Athlete, and recently completed his Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Adam and his wife, Mary Kate are the co-owners of TF Performance and provide training services, sport psychology coaching, nutrition consulting, and more!

If you'd like to reach out to Dr. Feit, you can email him at afeit@springfield.edu or follow him on Instagram and Twitter: @aefeit

For episode 20, we welcome back a familiar face and voice to the PrideCast and check-in with former co-host and former Springfield Assistant wrestling Coach and graduate alumnus, James Kaishian.

Jimmy Kaishian is a 2017 graduate of Perennial Power Ithaca College. With the Bombers, Kaishian strung together an incredibly consistent college wrestling career as a four year starter at 125lbs. Kaishian earned 126 wins in four years, four berths to the national tournament and was a 2016 All-American finishing his junior campaign with a seventh place finish on the national podium in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Following his impressive career with the Bombers, Kaishian began his coaching career at Springfield College where he served as an Assistant Coach for the Pride for four seasons from 2017-2021. In his tenure with the Pride’s wrestling program, Kaishian coached 22 NWCA Scholar All-Americans and six national qualifiers.

In addition to the instrumental role he played in the Pride’s Wrestling program, Kaishian established himself as a leader, scholar, and educator on Springfield’s campus. In his first two years on Alden Street, Kaishian earned a Master’s in Sport and Exercise Psychology and served as a teaching fellow in the Physical Education and Health Education Department. After completing his Master’s, Kaishian transitioned into the Teaching and Administration Doctoral Program. Amidst this transition, Kaishian wore several hats to stretch his impact beyond the wrestling room - He served as an adjunct faculty teaching Sport Psychology, and served as the President of the Graduate Student Organization. In his role with the Grad Student Organization, Kaishian served on several campus committees including the Campus Program Planning Committee on Race, Alumni Committee, and the Graduate Faculty committee. For his efforts and contributions, Kaishian won the 2021 Springfield College Campus Voice Award.

He is a product of Yorktown Heights, NY and formerly Iowa Style Wrestling Club, now known as Empire Wrestling Academy. Kaishian has come full circle and is currently back in his hometown of Yorktown, NY and serving as a coach at Empire Wrestling Academy in Somers, NY and the Head Wrestling Coach at his alma mater, Yorktown High School.

Jimmy is the first author of an article recently published in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology titled, The Prevalence of Mental Health Conditions Among High School and Collegiate Student-Athletes: A Systematic Review

We hope you enjoy this conversation with Coach Kaishian as he discusses his growth as a coach, mental health in sport, his mindset in training as a college wrestler, and the value of the win the moment philosophy.

If you’d like to contact Jimmy, you can email him at jkaishian@springfieldcollege.edu, reach him on Twitter @JKaishianMS, connect with him on LinkedIn: Jim Kaishian, https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-kaishian/