Wade Schalles
Encyclopedia
Wade Schalles is an American
amateur wrestler
, a two-time NCAA National Champion who holds multiple records in the sport including holding the Guinness Book of World Records title for most amateur wrestling wins and pins, and is the creator of several of wrestling's most notorious
moves - including the Spladle and the Cement Mixer.
Schalles is easily wrestling
's most accomplished pinner, in his senior year of high school he pinned his way through the season, pinning a two-time State Champ who was 154-0 entering the match in the Pennsylvania
State Finals. The match was recently voted by sports writers, officials, and coaches as the most memorable State Final in Pennsylvania
state history. And for his 100th NCAA pin, Schalles pinned his opponent from Lock Haven
on a tiny masking-tape "X" his fraternity brothers had surreptitiously placed on the mat prior to the match as part of a charity
fundraiser
.
Schalles is also an award-winning writer
, nationally known motivational speaker
, renowned educator, author
, and actor
and has recruited and trained Nation
al, World
, and Olympic
Champions. He has worked for national organizations such as the Amateur Athletic Union
as well as with foreign countries promoting competitive sports, and has an impressive track record of more than 30 years in business development, management, strategic planning, public relations and education. Schalles has a Master's Degree
in Health and Physical Education with additional graduate work in Administration
As a motivational speaker, Schalles has shared the stage with many of the country's best - from Chuck Jones
of Warner Brothers fame to John Wooden
, along with Joe Paterno
and sports psychologist Denis Waitley
, as well as Zig Zigler and the Reverend Robert H. Schuller
,
From 2003-2008, Schalles was a volunteer coach at Oviedo High School
in Orlando, Florida
. During that five-year period Oviedo
won 4 State High School Wrestling Championships and finished third the other year. During two of those seasons, Oviedo
finished the season ranked in the nation's Top 20. During that five year period, Schalles-trained wrestlers received over 2 million dollars in scholarship
aid to continue their educations collegiately.
to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame; was selected during his years in the sport as the country's "Athlete of the Year;" was named "National Coach of the Year"; and also voted "World's Greatest Wrestler" by coaches from around the globe for pinning all of his opponents at the World Championships. Schalles is the National Record Holder for defeating the most NCAA Champions and pinning
the most NCAA Champions, and the World Record
Holder for defeating the most World Champions and pinning the most World Champions.
During his collegiate days at Clarion University, Schalles won 2 NCAA Championships, 1 Collegiate World Championship, and 4 Pennsylvania State College Championships and he was voted Outstanding Wrestler of that tournament all four times - the only PA wrestler in history to earn that distinction. Schalles is the only Division I wrestler to pin over 100 opponents, an NCAA record. For his pinning prowess, WIN Magazinehttp://www.win-magazine.com/, and the National Wrestling Coaches Associationhttp://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/home.aspx, annually presents the Schalles Award
to the top scholastic and collegiate pinners in America. Schalles' schoolboy years were spent wrestling for Holidaysburg High School in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania
, where he finished his senior year with a state title and a 96% pinning percentage - still a record today.
During Schalles' competitive days, Sports Illustrated
said he was "the most exciting wrestler to ever walk onto a wrestling mat." Amateur Wrestling News selected him as the best American middleweight of the 20th Century. Dan Gable
called him, "the greatest pinner he's ever seen!" Currently he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most wins and pins of anyone who has ever competed. Schalles has won 15 national championships and been an All-American in five different combative disciplines: Judo
, Sombo, Freestyle
, Folkstyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Schalles has authored two bestselling books on the sport and his video tape series on wrestling is the best selling instructional tapes on the market today. In 2002 he was named Man of the Year by the Amateur Athletic Union
; in 2003 named Sportswriter of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Associationhttp://www.wrestlingstats.com/NWMA/ and during the 1990s was one of the highest rated wrestling officials in America. In 2005 he was named to the NCAA's 75th Anniversary Teamhttp://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/NCAA/Media+and+Events/Press+Room/News+Release+Archive/2005/Championships/NCAA+Announces+75th+Anniversary+Wrestling+Team, a distinction that only fourteen other collegiate wrestlers share with him. Currently, Schalles is the country's most popular and only syndicated columnist in the sport.
"Creative" is probably the best way to describe Schalles. From the syndicated columns he writes to inventing numerous teaching aids and over a dozen wrestling moves such as the Spladle, the Clemson Roll, the Lazy-Man Cradle, Reverse Ball and Chain and the Cement Mixer - Schalles has made immeasurable contributions to the sport of wrestling
.
.
Four of Wade's five children - Tara, Ryan, Chris, and Adam - are out of college and furthering their own careers. Wade and Deb's youngest son Jacob, the 2009 NCWA 165 lb. national champion, is currently attending and wrestling for the United States Naval Academy
. As a result, Wade and Deb have recently relocated to the greater Washington DC metro area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
amateur wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
, a two-time NCAA National Champion who holds multiple records in the sport including holding the Guinness Book of World Records title for most amateur wrestling wins and pins, and is the creator of several of wrestling's most notorious
Notorious
Notorious is a 1946 American thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation...
moves - including the Spladle and the Cement Mixer.
Schalles is easily wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
's most accomplished pinner, in his senior year of high school he pinned his way through the season, pinning a two-time State Champ who was 154-0 entering the match in the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
State Finals. The match was recently voted by sports writers, officials, and coaches as the most memorable State Final in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
state history. And for his 100th NCAA pin, Schalles pinned his opponent from Lock Haven
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, commonly abbreviated LHU, is a state university in Lock Haven, in central Pennsylvania located along the Susquehanna River, and is roughly from the major towns of Williamsport and State College. Lock Haven University is one of the fourteen members of the...
on a tiny masking-tape "X" his fraternity brothers had surreptitiously placed on the mat prior to the match as part of a charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
.
Schalles is also an award-winning writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, nationally known motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
, renowned educator, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and has recruited and trained Nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
al, World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
, and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Champions. He has worked for national organizations such as the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
as well as with foreign countries promoting competitive sports, and has an impressive track record of more than 30 years in business development, management, strategic planning, public relations and education. Schalles has a Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Health and Physical Education with additional graduate work in Administration
As a motivational speaker, Schalles has shared the stage with many of the country's best - from Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
of Warner Brothers fame to John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
, along with Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...
and sports psychologist Denis Waitley
Denis Waitley
Denis E. Waitley , is an Americanmotivational speaker and writer, consultant and best-selling author.Waitley is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and claims to have counseled leaders in many fields: Apollo astronauts, Fortune 500 top executives, Olympic gold medalists, Super Bowl...
, as well as Zig Zigler and the Reverend Robert H. Schuller
Robert H. Schuller
Robert Harold Schuller is an American televangelist, pastor, speaker, motivator and author. He is principally known for the weekly Hour of Power television program which he began in 1970. He is also the founder of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, where the Hour of Power program...
,
From 2003-2008, Schalles was a volunteer coach at Oviedo High School
Oviedo High School
Oviedo High School is a grade 9-12 public secondary school set on a campus in Oviedo, Florida, a growing community situated in southeastern Seminole County operated by Seminole County Public Schools. The “Oviedo School” was established in 1932 as a comprehensive K-through-12 educational facility; ...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. During that five-year period Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
won 4 State High School Wrestling Championships and finished third the other year. During two of those seasons, Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
finished the season ranked in the nation's Top 20. During that five year period, Schalles-trained wrestlers received over 2 million dollars in scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
aid to continue their educations collegiately.
Accolades and Accomplishments
Wade Schalles was the first PennsylvanianPennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain...
to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame; was selected during his years in the sport as the country's "Athlete of the Year;" was named "National Coach of the Year"; and also voted "World's Greatest Wrestler" by coaches from around the globe for pinning all of his opponents at the World Championships. Schalles is the National Record Holder for defeating the most NCAA Champions and pinning
Pinning
Pinning may refer to:* Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down* Pinning ceremony, a symbolic welcoming of newly-graduated nurses into the nursing profession...
the most NCAA Champions, and the World Record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
Holder for defeating the most World Champions and pinning the most World Champions.
During his collegiate days at Clarion University, Schalles won 2 NCAA Championships, 1 Collegiate World Championship, and 4 Pennsylvania State College Championships and he was voted Outstanding Wrestler of that tournament all four times - the only PA wrestler in history to earn that distinction. Schalles is the only Division I wrestler to pin over 100 opponents, an NCAA record. For his pinning prowess, WIN Magazinehttp://www.win-magazine.com/, and the National Wrestling Coaches Associationhttp://www.nwcaonline.com/nwcawebsite/home.aspx, annually presents the Schalles Award
Schalles Award
The Schalles Award is annually presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and WIN Magazine to the top scholastic and collegiate pinner in the United States....
to the top scholastic and collegiate pinners in America. Schalles' schoolboy years were spent wrestling for Holidaysburg High School in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where he finished his senior year with a state title and a 96% pinning percentage - still a record today.
During Schalles' competitive days, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
said he was "the most exciting wrestler to ever walk onto a wrestling mat." Amateur Wrestling News selected him as the best American middleweight of the 20th Century. Dan Gable
Dan Gable
Dan Gable is an American amateur wrestler. He is famous for having only lost one match in his entire Iowa State University collegiate career—his last, and winning gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany while not giving up a single point...
called him, "the greatest pinner he's ever seen!" Currently he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most wins and pins of anyone who has ever competed. Schalles has won 15 national championships and been an All-American in five different combative disciplines: Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
, Sombo, Freestyle
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
, Folkstyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Schalles has authored two bestselling books on the sport and his video tape series on wrestling is the best selling instructional tapes on the market today. In 2002 he was named Man of the Year by the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
; in 2003 named Sportswriter of the Year by the National Wrestling Media Associationhttp://www.wrestlingstats.com/NWMA/ and during the 1990s was one of the highest rated wrestling officials in America. In 2005 he was named to the NCAA's 75th Anniversary Teamhttp://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/NCAA/Media+and+Events/Press+Room/News+Release+Archive/2005/Championships/NCAA+Announces+75th+Anniversary+Wrestling+Team, a distinction that only fourteen other collegiate wrestlers share with him. Currently, Schalles is the country's most popular and only syndicated columnist in the sport.
"Creative" is probably the best way to describe Schalles. From the syndicated columns he writes to inventing numerous teaching aids and over a dozen wrestling moves such as the Spladle, the Clemson Roll, the Lazy-Man Cradle, Reverse Ball and Chain and the Cement Mixer - Schalles has made immeasurable contributions to the sport of wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
.
Family life
Schalles has two children; Tara and Ryan from a previous marriage and three others, two of which are adopted, Chris and Adam, with his current wife Deb. Deb Schalles, a graduate of UC Berkley, works for Walt Disney World in information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
.
Four of Wade's five children - Tara, Ryan, Chris, and Adam - are out of college and furthering their own careers. Wade and Deb's youngest son Jacob, the 2009 NCWA 165 lb. national champion, is currently attending and wrestling for the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
. As a result, Wade and Deb have recently relocated to the greater Washington DC metro area.