So Thomas has now spent time at Iowa, Penn State, and OkSt, and has left each time, but ultimately he came back to Happy Valley… hmmm 🤔🧐😎
Thomas Gilman returning to NLWC
- Thread starter Chickenman Testa
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Bingo. Anybody whose peer has become their boss knows it's an awkward situation for a while.
I'm interpolating a bit here, but when you find yourself in a work situation where you are bringing a certain amount of expertise to the table, you want your advice and opinions to be considered. It's possible that Gilman may have had different ideas than DT regarding how to coach and train the lightweights on the team and he felt he wasn't being given proper consideration for his input.
Gilman vs the HOA was funny stuff
Or, TG wanted to train the kids and not manage the kids. There is value in both types, but I think there was an "expectations" miss between them.
In fairness, he only beat Nico 83% of the time.
Yeah, and I don't think this is on Gilman. You can clearly see his maturity and the influence the Penn State coaching staff has had on him. Great, re-addition to NLWC. He clearly missed the room, as did his wife.
...I have gone from Gilman "...fingering the crowd..." at an OSU match while wrestling at Iowa to gratitude for his joining the team as a coach...I wish him the best on his future travel......he sure looked grand in the black hat on arrival in Stillwater..........best to all.....rs
You think he's got a plan or somethin'?
Never work for friends or family and never rent to friends or family.. it usually ends on a bad note!
I’m sure the new coaching staff will continue to learn with each little failure, if it was easy every staff would do it.
Actually, to the best of my knowledge, Gilman only beat Nico once - in freestyle at either the US Open or one of the team trials.
Do me a favor. I'll give you my wife's email. Tell her that also applies to honey do's. 😖
He ended up very wealthy and just sat on a park bench eating chocolate all day waiting for junior to get home from school. Why do you ask?
That was quite an open interview. I don’t think I have heard Gilman so self-deprecating and humbled. Welcome back TG!
I don't see him decommitting.
Although the jury is still deliberating, I think that there is a good indication from DT's first year at Ok State that he can deliver, at least with regards to individual wrestlers. I believe he has established enough credibility to convince any new recruit to stay with his program. If Forrest finds he's not improving to his own satisfaction under DT's coaching, then he might reconsider. But that's going to take one or two seasons to find out.
DT's attempt at Cael's stoicism comes across as anger.
Obviously has a special relationship with and a ton of respect for Cody.
Good interview. I’m stoked to have Thomas back in HV. It sounds like David made a late push for Blaze. I have a feeling we’re going to see a lot more of that going forward.
Fantastic interview! I rarely listen to an entire interview like this, but I did. Thomas is definitely unique, impressive, and authentic. Thrilled to have him back in Happy Valley! Basch is a great interviewer, and while I wished he would have pushed him a bit on TG's rub with the OSU staff (because I am so nosey 
) , I appreciate his sensitivity to the situation and don't think TG would have spilled anyway.
) , I appreciate his sensitivity to the situation and don't think TG would have spilled anyway.
McPat is talking to himself again….
I’ve been team Thomas since before it was cool. This new humbleness is the latest development in a really remarkable growth arc.
He had me when I heard Tom stepped in dog do do in his yard on a recruiting visit.
Genuinely asking for insight so don’t attack me… please explain to me why this is a huge deal for PSU and/or OK State. Seems to me there are dozens of world class wrestlers who are likely only a takedown or two behind Gilman as far as freestyle chops, have the same years of experience to be very good coaches and training partners, etc.
Why is Gilman head and shoulders above making Zain a NLWC coach or any of the other lightweight coaches around the country who are / were recent Top 10 freestylers?
Just curious how much the excitement is simply over done by the PSU vs OkSt / Iowa rivalry, thanks.
Why is Gilman head and shoulders above making Zain a NLWC coach or any of the other lightweight coaches around the country who are / were recent Top 10 freestylers?
Just curious how much the excitement is simply over done by the PSU vs OkSt / Iowa rivalry, thanks.
I don’t care where he came from - that’s just noise. I care about his effect on those he works with and it seems to be uniformly positive. The respect he has from Cael and crew and the raves he gets from wrestlers with personalities as diverse as Carter, Roman and Nick are good enough for me.
I think he fits in well with the “Speak softly” (on social media) and Carry a Big Stick approach our staff takes. I’ll leave the flash, superficiality and needy marketing to other coaching staffs.
I may be mistaken, but I think Zain is a NLWC coach. As far as why Gilman, I think he has demonstrated that he is a man of integrity, faith, and character. These traits are the foundation upon which Cael and company have built their program.
I think Gilman is the perfect fit for this role and will have a huge positive impact with the NLWC lightweights, as well as the team. A+ hire.
I think it's because he's very good at coaching but most importantly he's relatable.
He's brutally honest about himself and I'd assume with his athletes as well but not to be a dick about it but to help them own it and be better with the info.
He seems like one who is in a constant battle with himself to be better and I think the guys gravitate to that with him being selfless.
Zain is an NLWC coach already, and is close friends with Thomas. I agree with all the prior reasons related to Gilman‘s growth & character playing a huge role in the hire, but let’s not discount his accolades. There are no other 57kg world champs out there in the coaching pool that I know of. One other Olympic medalist, but I don’t think Spencer is ready to come to Happy Valley just yet (give it time!). Those kinds of things help tremendously with recruiting.
The impact he had on Spratley was immense, but 2 Carter stories i think tell a lot of TG's significance.
1. Carter's freshman year and as the team is gathering around Carter is lying on his hip and elbow. TG kicks his arm out from underneath him and says, sit up we don't lie down in this room. Carter retaling this story says he initially thought to himself "Oh no way little man, you did not just do that", but reading the rest of the room Carter realized he needed to sit up.
2. On the Monday after Kemerer beat Carter in the Big10s TG walked up to Carter and said I can show you how to stop that hi-crotch if you want. Less than 2 weeks later Carter won the first of five.
TG has left a huge footprint at State College and Stillwater.
The are a lot of really talented wrestlers that are now coaching, just my opinion but there are only a few who can match the significance per time involved as TG.
I think it is a great reget
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Well said. I think TG hurt the most of the OK state exodus. Glad he’s back home
125/133 wrestlers are different from 149/157 wrestlers which are different from HWT wrestlers. No subsitution for having a 125/133 with Gilman’s pedigree in the room. Not just his Olympic and World results, but also his knowledge of what some of the most successful coaches in different programs teach.
This part isn't true. In the past 3 years, the only ones have been Lee, Forrest, and Richards. In the same period, he beat Fix 6-0, and teched both Cruz and Arujau multiple times. If we want to go further back, then we could add Gross and Colon, and note that he wrecked Tomasello and Perrelli.
Granted that's not everybody in the 57/61 kg range, but guys who can tech World Champ Arujau don't grow on trees.
To me the bigger story is that 2022-2024 Gilman is not remotely the same wrestler he was in college. Light years better. He has a lot to share with the current and next crop of athletes, if he's capable of that -- and by all accounts, he's more than capable.
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