WRESTLING: Gold standard of blogs
February 17, 2009
Cael Sanderson is an Olympic gold medalist, the ISU wrestling coach, a husband and the father of a two-year old son.
The title of “author” can also be added to his identity, because the 29-year-old has picked up the knack for blogging on his Web site, CaelSanderson.com.
Naturally introverted by nature, Sanderson has embraced the chance to share personal stories, parables and advice.
“I’ve never been a very good writer. It’s been one of my least favorite classes,” said Sanderson, who is in his third year as head coach. “I did get an A once — English 105. But the professor was real easy.”
Unlike his term papers, Sanderson doesn’t consistently spell-check what he puts on the blog. He said he writes about things that are on his mind and things that he feels are important.
Sanderson usually holds back his full opinion, he said, because he doesn’t want to “create news or anything.”
“Religion and politics, right? They’re the two things you’re not supposed to discuss,” Sanderson said, chuckling. “But I cover both.”
Recent posts have touched on his spiritual beliefs and government bailouts. Sanderson said he’ll never “call anyone out, obviously,” but he thinks that he’ll probably offend somebody at some point.
“I probably will, and I probably have,” Sanderson said.
“I start talking about something and then I end up talking about a whole different subject by the end of the blog. But yeah, I don’t know. I’m not too worried about that. I’m sure people get offended pretty easily. That’s one of the “How to be Totally Miserable” ideas [which he blogged about]. Be too easily offended.”
A change in Web design enabled Sanderson to easily post to the blog, which was created last October to drive traffic to his wrestling camps and merchandise.
What resulted, however, isn’t a marketing gimmick. Most of Sanderson’s blog entries discuss ways to think.
“I think as humans we try to complicate pretty much every process. We’re just making it tough on ourself,” he said. “That’s why my mind set has been the same. It’s real consistent. Just take out the garbage and leave what’s left. Focus on the good stuff. And really, that blog is just ways to do that.”
Sanderson said he hopes the Web site promotes the program, though he said he’s not sure exactly what he’s trying to accomplish with it.
During the past four years, he has written the “Ask Cael” question-and-answer section on his Web site. Only recently has he opened up about personal struggles in his own wrestling career.
For example, the parent of a discouraged high school senior wrote in asking for advice. Sanderson responded by saying that the wrestler’s story reminded him of the last year he competed, in which he lost five matches.
“I had quit wrestling in mind for several months because I didn’t know how to deal with the pressure that I put on myself to win,” he wrote. “I hadn’t enjoyed wrestling really since I finished my NCAA career. My confidence was weak. I learned that confidence is not necessary…
“It wasn’t easy, I had to retrain my mind to think like that again. Seven months before I won the Olympics I was planning on quitting wrestling forever.”
In an interview, Sanderson said he was “ready to do something else,” but knew “that was the wrong thing to do.” He said that going 159-0 in college “didn’t make [his] international career any easier at all.”
Dealing with pressure was the major challenge of Sanderson’s late career, but he discussed his struggles in high school.
In the “Ask Cael” section, Sanderson wrote that he could only do eight pull-ups as a high school senior.
“And I think I cheated I cheated on a couple of those. Didn’t quite go all the way up, either,” he said.
Sanderson also wrote about when he was beat out for the varsity spot as a freshman in high school.
“The kid’s name that beat me out was Landon Bonner,” Sanderson wrote. “He ended up being a two-time state champ I think. When I look back, it was moments like this that prepared me for bigger obstacles down the road.”
Sanderson said he’d like to write a book someday, but for now he admits that his writing is often unfocused. Many of his blog topics have resulted from personal reading, which has centered on famous coaches in collegiate and professional sports.
“I enjoy reading their experiences, because I know I gotta keep learning and figuring things out,” Sanderson said.
“I know I kind of jumped into this role kind of young. I was only an assistant for a couple years. So I’m just trying to figure things out, I guess.”
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