Penn Wrestling Excellence: Cultivating Leadership from Within

This week, Wrestling Mindset founder Gene Zannetti sit downs with his former college wrestling coach and former teammate, University of Pennsylvania head coaches Roger Reina and Matt Valenti.

Together, they discuss the Penn Ecosystem, cultivating leaders, the 5 core values of Penn Wrestling, the impact of Jordan Burroughs, Brandon Slay and the PRTC, building confidence and resilience in young athletes and much more.

Timestamps:

5:35 – Amazing wrestlers in the room- Jordan Burroughs, Brandon Slay, Joey Mckenna, etc.

8:33 – The Penn “Ecosystem”

10:03 – Beat the Streets Philly founded by Brett and Clint Matter

16:35 – What makes Penn distinct from other wrestling programs

18:30 – Promise to recruits and Penn wrestlers

19:35 – Penn in transfer portal

20:19- 5 Core Values for Penn Wrestling

23:22 – Matt Valenti’s story “Do you Believe Yet?

29:50 – Resetting yourself after setbacks

32:24 – Unique Coaching Transition Plan

35:59 – Penn Success at U23 and U20

37:56 – Unique Programs at Penn (Wharton & Psychology)

38:40 – Developing Wrestlers Mentally & Teaching Resilience

41:36- Penn’s influence on Wrestling Mindset

43:28- Matt Valenti’s strengths and assets to Penn wrestling

46:27- Impact of Jordan Burroughs at PRTC

52:00 – Bringing Back Olympic Gold Medalist Brandon Slay

54:25 – Why is Wrestling the Best Sport

59:30 – 5-Year Program Expectations

1:02:17 – Impact of Penn Wrestling