Monday, September 13, 2010

Letter from new assistant coach Manny Rivera

Dear Friends,

As many of you may have heard by now I have been given the honor of coaching at the University of Virginia. I couldn't be more excited to be here in Charlottesville. I am learning more and more about this amazing University and student athletes here daily. Please allow me to present you with some background information on myself and the road that brought me to UVA.

I am a California native, where I competed for Rosemead High School. I was a one-time state place winner (3rd) and not highly recruited until I captured a High School National Title. In a weekend I went from a virtual unknown to highly recruited prospect. I decided to attend the University of Minnesota where I qualified for the NCAA Tournament 3x, was an All American in 2008, a member of the 2007 NCAA Championship team and a team Captain. After Graduating and finishing my eligibility I stayed at Minnesota as a Graduate/Administrative Assistant. I learned a great deal in a short time from a great support staff at Minnesota. I also competed  internationally and attended graduate school. As dual citizen, I competed for the Mexican national team and won a bronze medal at the 2010 Pan-American Championships. Because of complications with the Mexican team however, I decided to part from competition and started looking into the next avenue I could take in wrestling.  The most sensible idea was to pursue a career in coaching.  I was hungry for more responsibility and wanted to be involved in a higher capacity than Minnesota had available. I looked into various programs that had coaching opportunities but ultimately decided that The University of Virginia was the best place for me.

 My plan is to bring to UVA the components and experiences that I learned while being a part of a National Championship program. My main goal is to contribute into making UVA Wrestling a consistent National Championship contender, while mentoring the young men around me. I am excited to be a part of the UVA wrestling family and look forward to meeting you soon.

 
Sincerely,
 
Manny Rivera













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