Kurt Angle :: Tyler's New Angle on Wrestling

Tyler with Kurt on November 9, 2001.

Last updated: March 16, 2003

Welcome to Tyler's "New Angle on Wrestling", hosted by Pittsburgh's Tyler Manion. Here you can follow Tyler's progress in the youth wrestling program in which he participates. You will be able to read his journal entries and view photos from his practices and matches. You also have the opportunity to ask Tyler questions about amateur wrestling.

Tyler appears in Bodysport Magazine!

February 23, 2003 - An article about Tyler appeared in Bodysport Magazine. Click here to read the article at bodysport.com!

January 11, 2003:

I went to Hopewell for my second match of the season. I was supposed to wrestle 3 matches, but 2 of the kids were sick, so I only wrestled 1 match. I wrestled a kid from West Allegheny. He was 10 years old, but 60 pounds. I pinned him in 24 seconds.

January 09, 2003:

I practiced at South Fayette. I only go for half of the practice on Thursdays because I have karate until 6:30 p.m. My partner when I got there was J.J. First Coach Carr talked about not putting the Half Nelson on high. Then we split the team in half. Half ran to the wall and back 5 times while the others did neck bridges on wall. Then we played King Of The Mat. I won against Brad Haney and Monte Lyons and lost against Nick Carr.

January 08, 2003:

I went to Quest. My partner was J.J. First we practiced a Single Leg Takedown. Next we did live wrestling, take our partner down and let them back up. I took him down 25 times, he took me down 21 times. We did that for 1 whole hour.

January 07, 2003:

I practiced at South Fayette. First we practiced when the other guy Sprawls and Cross Face's you. Then we practiced a Wizard. Then we practiced a Cross Face Cradle.

January 05, 2003:

This is my fifth tournament. It is at my school, South Fayette. It was held at our new high school.

I saw my bracket and I wanted to have revenge on a kid from East Liverpool. He pinned me at South Side Beaver when we wrestled back for true 2nd.

I want to win this tournament because this will be the last tournament we do until February 15th. We have 4 weeks of WAWA (Western Area Wrestling Association) matches next.

I was seeded number 1 in my weight bracket. The kid Michael from Raccoon Wrestling was in J.J.'s bracket. There were 19 kids in my bracket, 7 & 8 year olds/60 pounds, so they put 9 in my bracket and 10 in J.J.'s bracket. There were 7 South Fayette kids in the 7/8-60 pounds class. 4 were in J.J.'s bracket, including him, and 3 were in my bracket, including me.

First I wrestled a kid from South Side Beaver. I had him on his back 3 times. I won by a Technical Fall. The score was 16-0.

Next I'm wrestling a 1st year kid from South Fayette. I really don't like wrestling kids from my own school in tournaments. His name is Jeremy. I pinned him in the 1st period.

Now I'm wrestling for 1st and 2nd place. I am wrestling the kid from East Liverpool. I really want to win this match. He took me down 1st, then I got mad and escaped and took him down.

Then in the 2nd period I reversed him, then he escaped and I took him down and I almost pinned him. If I had 5 more seconds I would've pinned him. He then threw a fit on the mat. In the 3rd period I escaped and that's it. I won 11-3. I was so excited because it was the 1st time I ever placed 1st!

Mr. Bustinger, father of a kid named Danny from Hopewell that I wrestle a lot. He showed my dad a counter to a move called the Cement Mixer on Saturday night at weigh-ins. That helped me win the match because Danny wrestled the East Liverpool kid before and knew how he wrestled. So when the East Liverpool kid put it on me, I was able to counter it and that helped me a lot to win the match. And a coach from Weirton, Mr. Busick, told me to control the hands from any position, which also helped me a lot to win against the East Liverpool kid.

My mom didn't get to see any of my matches because she was working in the bout room for the whole tournament. I really wanted my mom to see me wrestle and win 1st place.

The tournament was good because there were 18 other placers from my school besides me.

Tyler with his cousin Anthony
Amelio, a varsity wrestler for
his high school.

January 02, 2003:

I went to Quest again. My partner was a kid named Cody. First we just practiced a Single Leg Takedown. Then we did the same move that I did the last time I came here. Then we learned the Ankle Pick.

First you push on one arm and pull on the other. Then you hop step back and put your right arm on their neck. Next you put your left hand on their left ankle and your right hand is still on their neck. You pick up their leg and spin until they are on their back.

We finished with live wrestling from the top and bottom. I didn't escape. Cody didn't escape.

Tyler attended the first-ever Kurt Angle Classic and GNC/Physical Magazine Show of Strength and World Expo, and we are happy to present photos and journal entries from his trip.

Tyler and Brock Lesnar

Click here to view Tyler's Kurt Angle Classic page.

All Photos in Tyler's section by J.M. Manion

Introduction from Tyler (September 2002):

My name is Tyler Manion. I am an 8 year old student at South Fayette Elementary School. I am in third grade. This will be my third year of wrestling. I started when I was 6 years old.

During my second year of wrestling, my record was 24 wins and 24 losses. I wrestled in the 7 & 8 year old, 55 pound weight class. I will wrestle in the same age group this year, and I will move up to 60 pounds.

Tyler and Kurt filming at the Mellon Arena for the Pittsburgh Sports Fun House.

I went to the Tournament Of Champions last season. I won 1 match, I lost 1 match and I got injured in my third match. Qualifying for the Tournament Of Champions was one of my goals last season. I want to qualify again this season.

I went to the Quest School Of Wrestling to practice in the summer. I also went to the PITT Wrestling Camp, (University Of Pittsburgh), this summer. This year, I will have more experience than a lot of the other wrestlers in my age group, because of my extra wrestling and because I will be 8 years old. I am excited for the new season.

If you participate in a youth wrestling program and have a question about wrestling, please send email to Tyler at: tyler@kurtanglewwe.com

What do you mean when you say that a match was a "bye"? I was wondering about that... Keep up the hard work and congratulations.
Adela

Dear Adela,
A bye is when your kid doesn't show up so you automatically win the match. A bye only happens at a tournament and when there is not enough kids to fill the bracket, so you just get a bye and be one step closer to wrestling for 1st and 2nd place.
Sincerely,
Tyler (01/15/02)

Tyler,
Was reading through your journals. Congratulations on starting wrestling at such a young age. What's the difference between a tournament and a match? Aren't they all matches? You stated you had a tournament on a Saturday, but a match on a Sunday.
Chris

Dear Chris,
At a tournament, you wrestle for trophies and it can have 300 to 500 kids entered from any schools in the area. We wrestle according to random seeding by the tournament.

At a match, it is set up between our school and 2 or 3 other schools, so there might just be 4 schools there and the coaches set up the matches against other kids close to our weight and age. And we don't win any trophies at matches.
Sincerely,
Tyler (12/28/01)

Tyler,
Hi, I am 12 years old from South Carolina. I am one of Kurt Angle's biggest fans and maybe become one of yours. Do you know if I can get in the wrestling program like you in South Carolina.
Keenan

Dear Keenan,
Yes, you can, if they have a program at your school. If not, you might want to look up some local wrestling clubs.
Sincerely,
Tyler (12/28/01)

Tyler,
If my nephew Kyler, who is 8 yrs old, has to choose to start wrestling or football (he's not allowed to do both), which sport would you recommend and why? Good luck, you're truly an inspiration.
Jen Hendershott

Dear Jen,
I would pick wrestling, because when you win or lose it's your fault. On the mat if you do something, it is you. In football it is a team effort. If you lose it's your teams fault.
Sincerely,
Tyler (12/01/01)

Was it fun to meet Kurt Angle? - Katie

Dear Katie,
Yes it was fun to meet Kurt Angle.
Sincerely,
Tyler (12/01/01)

My name is Ashley. I think it is cool that you are beginning to pursue wrestling at such a young age. I'm 12 years old and want to become a wrestler. Do you have any advice?

Dear Ashley,
I would see if your school has a wrestling program. Check if it is a youth wrestling program. If it isn't, see if there's a wrestling club near your school.
Sincerely,
Tyler (11/23/01)

Hi! My name is Melissa Sollars from Terre Haute,Indiana. I have a question for you! What is your favorite thing about wrestling? And what do you think was your best match and opponent so far?

Dear Melissa,
My favorite thing about wrestling is that you get to express your feelings on the mat. My best opponent was a kid from Hopewell. My best match was my first match this year because I almost pinned him and almost won.
Sincerely,
Tyler (11/23/01)

IronMan Magazine - August 2002

In the August 2002 issue of IronMan Magazine, The "News & Views" section on page 258 features a piece about Tyler's section here at Kurt's website.

Quest School of Wrestling

South Fayette Takedown Club - Youth Wrestling

WrestlingReport.com The Heart of Amateur Wrestling

J.M. Productions Photo Studio

To have your Youth Wrestling Program's website added to "Tyler's Links", send email to Tyler at the address above and we will review your site.