Update Interview with Ken Chertow

Ken, our last interview took place quite a few years ago. Update us on your life and your wrestling camps.

Camps are going great. We have steadily expanded our Gold Medal Training Camp System. This summer we successfully conducted camps in 20 different states in addition to our 5 weeks of summer camp in Pennsylvania. We are now preparing for our 10 state Weekend Warrior Pre-Season Camp Tour and then Winter Break Training Camp. Our Winter Break Camp has become large and we have moved it out of State College to the King of Prussia Mall Crowne Plaza Convention Center.

What are the top 3 things that a wrestler comes away with after attending one of your camps.

Motivation, Intensity, and a wide array of High Percentage Techniques that will work at the highest levels.

What do you do when you are not working?

The little bit of free time I have is spent with my super wife Laurie and our children Emily and Alex. Emily is a freshman in high school and her favorite sport is basketball. Alex is in 7th grade and loves both baseball and wrestling. Laurie is also a Penn State graduate. We met while I was coaching at Penn State and she was working in the Athletic Department with Tim Curley. Laurie works full-time with me overseeing our camp operations.

Do you follow any sports besides wrestling?

If I watch sports it is almost always wrestling. I study video constantly, always watching the NCAA Championships DVDs and studying the scoring techniques on the edited highlight videos over and over. I do also watch the 11pm Sports Center a little to wind down before falling asleep, but I do not make time to watch entire games. I read the newspaper and Sports Illustrated, and I like to read articles about coaches who have been very successful like Joe Paterno, Bill Belichick, and Phil Jackson. I also watch and study MMA.

What person living or dead would you want to spend an hour with?

John Wooden. He demanded excellence from his athletes. He didn't care what other people, including his athletes, thought, and he stayed true to what he believed and implemented it to his athletes and team successfully. Coach Wooden had a very supportive wife like my wife Laurie. That is critical to achieving maximum success and maintaining high levels of commitment over time.

Ken, looking back on your on life, is there anything you would have done differently knowing what you know now?

During college I took a lot of science classes and studied very hard to get A's. The good grades and knowledge got me into medical school, but I decided to focus on coaching. In retrospect, I would have taken more diverse classes and spent even more time in the video room during college. I trained very intensely, but all my free time was spent studying. I did not become a total student of the sport until towards the end of my college years and then, once I started coaching full time, I engrossed myself in the study of technique and focused on coaching.

What are your long term life goals?

I have already accomplished many of my goals. Looking forward I want to see my children and my wrestlers to be very successful in all aspects of their lives. I want to see Penn State Wrestling thrive. I want to travel more with my wife once our children graduate from college.

Why is wrestling such a great sport?

Wrestling is training for the rest of your life. It prepares young people to succeed and excel in our society better than any other sport. Penn State Wrestling is great because the fans understand our sport, appreciate the wrestlers and take pride in the program.

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