Wrestling is the world's oldest sport. In Arkansas, it's the newest.
Follow the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as it starts up a brand new sport in a place that hasn't seen major college wrestling in half a century. Rocked up follows the fledgling wrestling program as it begins from scratch with a start date of November 2019.
Produced by the Mat Talk Podcast Network.
Jan 22, 2021
This is a special bonus episode of #RockedUp that's actually the January 21 episode of the Short Time Wrestling Podcast. It's plugged into the feed to give subscribers an update on the program since the whistle blew on Conner Ward's first match.
Little Rock hosted its first home event of the year on January 17 at the Jack Stephens Center against Oklahoma State and SIUE. The tri-meet launched the second season of Little Rock wrestling on the mats. Coach Neil Erisman, an Oklahoma State alum, sat down to talk about the progress of the program in the second year of competition, what it’s like to bring in new wrestlers with something tangible to show rather than just a vision, and the investment a coach feels when they lose an athlete who doesn’t want to compete anymore.
Erisman also explains some of the things that aren’t taught, but learned on the job, such as working with mentors from the community, giving back with community outreach as well as his relationships with assistant coaches Javier Maldonado and Chandler Rogers.