080: Eric Morley

Eric Morley didn't grow up as a wrestling phenom.In fact, he didn't start wrestling until high school.His freshman record?0-8.Today, he's the head wrestling coach at Middletown North and has helped build a program producing state champions, state qualifiers and wrestlers who have gone on to succeed at the Division I level.But Morley's definition of successful coaching goes well beyond wins.In this episode of New Jersey Mat Chat: Coach's Corner, Morley gets into the realities of building a high school wrestling program in one of the toughest wrestling areas in the country.00:00 The Godfather of MMA01:07 Meet Middletown North Coach Eric Morley01:20 How He Became Middletown North’s Head Coach02:18 Going 0-8 in His First Year Wrestling03:28 Coaching Soccer AND Wrestling04:07 Why Wrestling Never Really Turns Off05:12 Coaching Soccer Players vs. Wrestlers06:05 Why Wrestling Builds Something Bigger07:05 The Middletown North Wrestling Culture08:12 Coach Morley’s Wrestling Philosophy09:18 Breaking Opponents Mentally09:50 Are High School Wrestlers Competing Too Much?11:02 Why Kids Need More Time in the Wrestling Room12:26 What Makes the Shore Conference Different13:21 Building an Atmosphere at Middletown North14:14 Why Teams Avoid Wrestling Each Other14:37 Taking Middletown North to Beast of the East15:14 The Brotherhood Between Wrestling Coaches16:03 When Should Coaches Start Thinking About Weight?17:38 Team Season vs. Individual Season18:24 Developing State Champions — and Everyone Else19:42 Wrestling Has Very Little to Do With Wrestling20:42 Tyler Klinsky’s Journey to NCAA All-American23:20 The Problems With NJ Wrestling’s Constant Changes25:00 Scheduling Around Districts & Regions26:32 Why Coaches Avoid Tough Competition26:41 Are 100 Career Wins What They Used to Be?27:02 Why Middletown North Schedules Tough28:31 Sometimes You Need to Get Your Butt Kicked29:17 Coaching Two Sports With a Growing Family31:12 The Best Wrestling Gyms in New Jersey32:15 How Many Weight Classes Should Wrestling Have?33:52 Stop Avoiding the Big Matchups34:36 Why Losing Before States Can Make You Better36:44 Finding Tough Matches Within Dual Meets38:13 Why Eric Morley Wouldn’t Let Jackson Fearon Quit40:18 The Victories Nobody Sees42:07 Could Eric Morley Become a Wrestling Official?44:05 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?45:03 What Actually Makes a Wrestler Great?46:33 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro