TopCat moves to Camden County College

I have accepted the Head Coaching position at Camden County College starting with the 2014-2015 wrestling season. The college dropped the wrestling program back in the 1980's. I am excited to be part of CCC's reinstatement of the intercollegiate wrestling team. We will compete in Division III of the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association. We will not be able to offer a TopCat Fall Session at this time, as our wrestling facility is under construction and not yet available. When complete, we will have over 3500 square feet of mat space. Our next session will be our Winter/Spring session that will start in late February. Please check back here on Feb. 1st for details. Coach Papa

Last Month of TopCat Fall 2013

Wrestling season is only a little over a month away! We will be stepping up the intensity over these last four weeks of TopCat. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, we will be having a classroom, work session with our sports psychologist, Dr. John Diepold. On Thursday, Oct 31,we will be giving out t-shirts. Please remember to bring in $5.00 for your t-shirt, if you have not already done so. See you Monday. PS Only 12 workouts left. Make the most of them!

Hall of Fame

I am honored to announce that on August 4th, 2013 I was officially inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, New Jersey chapter along with Harold Dow(posthumously), Jerry Nisivoccia, Bernie Reider, Dave Kinney, and Ken Bernabe. It is pretty cool to think my lifetime service award to wrestling will be hanging in the Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I guess I will have to go back there and see it sometime. It was great to share this with my family and colleagues along with some former wrestlers. I am especially grateful to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for this recognition.

Clinics this summer

I've been threatening to do a Tough on Top Clinic for years. So this summer, I finally decided to do it! Wrestlers attending these clinics will be taught the techniques that made all of the teams I coached Tough on Top. I can't wait.

I'll be in Virginia next week

I will be teaching at the Summer Sizzler in Norfolk, Virginia on June 26, 27, and 28 with Bubba Jenkins, and Gray Simons, both former NCAA champions. This should be fun!

Winter Sunday at TopCat

Here we go again. This Sunday, Dec. 23rd, will be our second free workout for TopCat members only. We should have lots of time to work with you on any individual technique or questions you may have. Coach Papa

Winter Sundays

Our first Sunday workout will be this Sunday, tomorrow night, 12/9 from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. As previously announced, these Sunday workouts will be free to TopCat Fall wrestlers only. Our schedule will be every other Sunday. 12/9, 12/23, 1/6, 1/20, 2/3. We may add some additional Sundays, depending on our coaches schedules. Our plan is to have a short workout for guys who neet it, and also to have question and answer time for individuals who need help with technique. Please note: I will not let parents have this time. It will be up to the wrestlers to seek this help. Thanks for your understanding. Coach Papa

The "Bone Collector" comes to TopCat

Eduard Aliakseyenka aka "The Bone Collector" was the guest clinician on Monday 11/5. Coach Aliakseyenka was a three time Division III finalist and won a national title while attending Monclair State University. He was trained in the former Soviet Union and was a member of the Belarus National Team. While competing for Team Belarus he placed 6th at the World Championships in freestyle wrestling. On Monday, Coach Aliakseyenka showed some slick technique out of the russian tie up. We learned several finishes along with other moves. Everyone enjoyed his teaching and we thank him for spending time with us.

Thanks to my past assistant coaches and wrestlers.

And thanks also to my past parents of wrestlers, fans and friends who supported me and sent congratulations upon my induction into the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday evening, October 25. Thank you also to those who attended the banquet on my behalf. The South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame Executive Committee was well represented as was the Executive Committee of the South Jersey Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. I was truly honored to represent the sport of wrestling. It was a wonderful evening spent with family and friends.

Great first night at TopCat

Almost 50 guys showed up tonight to the first workout at TopCats Get Ready to Rumble Fall Session. It's great to have Coach Adam Derengowski back this session and as always he did a great job tonight. Other coaches were Gary Papa, Nick Papa, Ed Giosa and Anthony Trongone. It was a fun night. You can expect high energy at every workout this preseason. I can already tell this group is ready to go hard! As expected, this session fills up fast so if you know someone who should be here, they better show up soon. Remember to look good and feel good! Coach Papa

What I've been up to

We did not have a summer camp this year because I was working on a special "bucket list" project. I started training in late March for an attempt to summit Mt. Rainier in Washington state in mid July. Mt. Rainier is one of the highest mountains in the continental United States. This training took up much of my time and was very intense. I am proud to announce that I was successful. I started my climb on July 12 and reached the summit at 14,410 feet above sea level on July 14 just after sunrise. We then descended on the same day. I was accompanied by my friend and ex wrestler, Dennis Angeline (PVI 1980)who organized the trip,his friend Barrett Johnston, and my brother-in-law Nick Mazziotto. The experience was a once in a lifetime (maybe). In any event, it's back to wrestling and TopCat Fall - at least until the next big adventure. Coach Papa

Winter/Fall session is almost full!

We have two groups this session. The second group, 6th grade through 12th grade, is very large. We will probably close registration after this week. Thanks to all the guys that have signed up and are attending. As usual they are working very hard, but more importantly, they are learning valuable technique. Stay tuned to this site for the schedule of guest clinicians.

This group works really hard!

We just finished our third week and I have to say these guys are truly inspiring! What a hard working group. I am also impressed with the way these guys pay attention and learn. This TopCat class will surprise their opponents this season. Thanks for choosing TopCat and thanks for being such "Animals!" p.s. Coach Brian Farnham will be in next Thursday.

Get Ready To Rumble 2011

Are you going to be ready for a " breakout" season in wrestling this year? If your answer is yes, then let's make it happen! My committment to TopCat wrestlers is second to none! I truly want you to succede and I will work tiresly toward that goal! At TopCat wrestling we go THREE nights a week not two like most clubs. We are the foremost club using the latest techniques in mental preparation. We are years ahead of other clubs in that regard and we are the ONLY club to have a clinical Sports Psychologist on our staff. Our Get Ready To Rumble Fall session starts September 8, and ends on November 21. This session will feature extremely hard work in drilling,conditioning,technique,mental preparation,and live wrestling. I hope to see you at our fall session, As always, "Look good and feel good" Coach Papa

Big Week at TopCat

Dr. John Diepold, sports psychologist, will be lecturing at our Wednesday session. Please report to the wrestling room as usual but we will be going to a classroom (No workout gear is necessary). *BE ON TIME* No late admissions. No parents, siblings, or non topcat members will be able to attend this lecture. We will return to the wrestling room at 8:00 pm.



Thursday practice will be more physically demanding, as will all practices from now until Thanksgiving.



Eduard Aliakseyenda, three time All American and former member of Team Belarus will be instructing on Thursday.



It's an exciting week to be a TopCat!

Good Numbers - Great Group

Week #2 just started. 32 guys attended tonight and everyone is working really hard. Congratulations to these guys - you have taken the first step in being the best that you can be this coming season. Please remember to keep up with your schoolwork and budget your time wisely.
Coach Papa

Dr. John Diepold - Lecture - Wednesday, Oct. 28

Widely renowned sports psychologist Dr. John H. Diepold Jr. will be lecturing at TopCat Wrestling on Wednesday, October 28 starting at 6:30 and ending approximately 7:45 (in time for the Phillies Baseball game.)

Please be on time. Workout gear is not necessary since there will be no workout.

This lecture is strictly for TopCat members only; parents may not attend.

Our regular wrestling workouts will continue Thursday, October 29 at 6:30.

Coach Papa

First week is in the books!

TopCat wrestlers already have more than three and a half hours of workout time completed. It was great having former state champ Ed Giosa in the room along with 2 time state runner-up, Randy Moore assisting me. This year's group of wrestlers is hard working and enthusiastic. You guys rock! Have a great weekend and I'll see everybody on Monday. Remember to "Look Good And Feel Good" Coach Papa

Welcome to Fall '09 Wrestlers

Welcome to a new season of TopCat Wrestling.

I hope you had a great summer and that you are "psyched" for a successful year in our favorite sport. Our TopCat wrestlers all improved immensely last year, and this year should even be better. I'm hoping to be able to work with more individual needs of our team members, helping them to build on their strengths while vastly improving on their weaker points. Again, we will stress all areas of wrestling, three nights a week.

Tell your friends and High School teammates to come out and "Get Ready To Rumble".

Coach Papa

Summer Camps Start Next Week

I was recently informed about an injury to Coach Mark Manchio that will prohibit him from attending camp. The TopCat staff has him in our prayers and wishes him a speedy recovery.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone that has pre-registered and welcome anyone registering the first day. Please be ready to learn a lot of technique.

Coach Papa