Ken Chertow has competed, taught and analyzed some of the best wrestlers in the area and the world. This weekend, he is opening up his knowledge to anyone interested in learning from him.
A former U.S. Olympic wrestler, Chertow is holding a two-day camp on Saturday and Sunday this weekend..
The camp, being held in the State College area at the Home Training Center in Boalsburg, will have four components: Technique Instruction, Intense Drilling, Live Wrestling and Sports Science.
Chertow’s camp “Weekend Warrior Training Camp Tour” kicked off last month, and will be holding one-, two- and three-day camps across the nation now through December.
Chertow has a storied history as a wrestler, coach, and broadcaster. A Penn State graduate, Chertow was a three-time academic All-American while in school, graduating with a 3.6 GPA.
After competing in the 1988 Olympic games, Chertow switched his focus to coaching and training, where he has been ever since. He has had stints as wrestling coach at both Penn State and Ohio State. While at Penn State, Chertow helped lead the wrestling team to finishes as the National Dual Meet Champions, and second place overall in the NCAA championships.
Since the former three-time NCAA All-American wrestler last competed, a lot has changed in the sport.
“Video replay has totally changed sports in general in terms of training,” Chertow said. “Wrestlers are learning and being taught technique now at a much younger age than before”.
Chertow trained Zain Retherford, a recent 2013 Penn State commit, whom he described as “one of the best wrestling recruits in the nation.”
“Zain is a guy who’s trained with me once a week for over a decade” Chertow said. “[He’s] been training hard since he’s been 11 or 12 years old.”
Retherford is just a small piece of the big puzzle that Nittany Lions’ wrestling coach Cael Sanderson is continuing to build after last year’s national championship.
“He’s done a great job. “ Chertow said. “He gets those guys a real sense of camaraderie.”
Chertow also moonlights as a TV analyst for wrestling events, appearing on the Big Ten Network, and CBS Sports Network, both as an expert college wrestling analyst. The National Wrestling Media Association voted him Broadcaster of the Year.
Chertow’s wrestling camps have helped to produce more than 500 state champions during the past decade.
Chertow said in an email he would be expecting anywhere between 30 and 80 participants, ages 8 through 18 at his camp this weekend. He hopes the camp will be “intense and challenging, but fun.”
