Takedown and Falls – (DVD) Takedown and Falls tells the story of a group of Pennsylvania teens and their relationships within a high school wrestling team, on a journey to win a state championship. It chronicles a season of the Central Dauphin Rams in Harrisburg, PA and highlights the sacrifice of its athletes, the commitment of their families and the dedication of its coaches. Inspired by their love of the sport and their cancer-stricken coach, this group of teens grows up before our eyes, in an attempt to overachieve and do the impossible. While observing the team’s emotional roller-coaster season, the film subtly explores themes of humility, family, friendship and teamwork via individual and team efforts to win a state title. The film transcends the sport and becomes a story about people overcoming odds. 

The Streak – For 34 years, the Brandon High School wrestling team went undefeated. Its 439-match winning streak was the all-time national record for most consecutive wins by any school sports teams. This documentary chronicles Brandon High School’s 2007-2008 season. It is a riveting film, chronicling three decades of ordinary high school athletes pursuing extraordinary accomplishments.

Four Days to Glory  – (Paperback) Each a three-time state champion, Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere have a chance in their senior year to join the sport’s most elite group: the “four-timers,” wrestlers who win four consecutive state titles. In any state that is a big deal, in Iowa it is legendary. 

The Edge: The Guide to Fulfilling Dreams, Maximizing Success and Enjoying a Lifetime of Achievement (Hardcover) –  The ultimate wrestling book on priorities, goal setting, inspiration, motivation written by infamous St. Edwards coach Howard E. Ferguson. 

“Wrestling makes young people be responsible for their performances. It makes them responsible for putting their lives in order, taking care of their academics, taking care of their wrestling, and working on their weaknesses.   You can’t pass the blame on to anybody.”

American Wrestler – The Wizard – (DVD) In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school’s floundering wrestling team.

Vision Quest – (DVD) – In the original wrestling classic High school wrestler Louden Swain is a man obsessed, trying to shed 23 pounds in a dangerously short time and take on Shute, the undefeated, tough-as-nails 168-pound champion who’s the best wrestler in the state. 

A Wrestling Life – The Inspiring stories of famed wrestler and wrestling coach Dan Gable. He tells engaging and inspiring stories of his childhood in Waterloo, Iowa; overcoming the murder of his sister as a teenager; his sports career from swimming as a young boy, to his earliest wrestling matches, through the 1972 Olympics; coaching at the University of Iowa from the Banachs to the Brands; life-changing friendships he made along the way; and tales of his family life off the mat. 

The Purler Way – (Paperback) – In The Purler Way, Nick shares practical advice, insights, anecdotes, and resources from his nearly four decades of combined experience in the sport as a competitive wrestler, parent of a competitive wrestler, and experienced coach.

Finish Strong –  The Dan Russell Story (Paperback) – For twenty-one years Dan Russell trained for four to six hours a day, six days a week in pursuit of winning an Olympic Gold medal in the sport of wrestling. He pushed his body to the limits, enduring brutal weight loss regimens, shattering injuries, personal tragedy and constant inner battles with the voices from his past telling him that he wasn’t good enough. With his brother and fellow champion wrestler, Joe, by his side, Dan reached the heights of what could be accomplished in the sport. Dan’s Olympic dream was within his grasp. But God had other plans for his life. Finish Strong is the incredible story of a driven man’s pursuit of success and finding purpose when all seems lost. It is the story of a wrestler, struggling not just against his opponents in the ring, but to discover what makes a true champion. 

The Wrestler: A Life of Passion by Michael Fessler –  From the internal struggles of balancing glory and humility, to the mental struggles of confidence and self-defeat, “The Wrestler” brings the reader into the competitive arena.

American Victory – by Henry Cejudo – (Paperback) Henry Cejudo’s remarkable journey follows an unlikely hero, the son of illegal immigrants, from the mean streets of South Central LA to the glory of the Beijing Olympics. The first American in sixteen years to win the gold medal in freestyle wrestling and the youngest American gold medalist ever in this event, Henry’s grit, passion, and resolve on display in China was a culmination of a life spent fighting-both on and off the mat. American Victory is his poignant and powerful memoir of how he rose above the statistics and dangers to become a winner-and a hero that embodies all that’s best and most hopeful in the American dream.

The Fighting Scots of Edinboro –  The Fighting Scots of Edinboro is a behind-the-scenes look at how a small Division II university in northwestern Pennsylvania broke into the big-time world of Division I wrestling and has managed to thrive and become the “Iowa of the East.”

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