SYRACUSE – Wawasee’s wrestling program made a splash last winter, moving to an elite status among the state’s programs after a campaign filled with on-mat success stories. Last weekend, the team brought in some people to help with its summer camp that know all about what it takes to win at the highest level.

Enlisting the coaching chops of a pair of University of Nebraska coaches in Mark Manning and Bryan Snyder, Wawasee raised the game for its young and impressionable campers. Nearly four dozen campers worked with the two guests in the two-day session this past weekend, Manning the head coach for the Cornhuskers, and Snyder, a decorated Nebraska wrestler and now assistant with the program who has gone on to also coach some of the top wrestlers in the world.

If you weren’t looking, you might have missed the two guests among the taller campers. Neither stood more than 5-8, but their words silenced the Hardwood Teepee, and both were right in the middle of the demonstrations showing moves and instructing on proper technique and sportsmanship.

“I just try to keep it simple. I have young boys myself so I know the demeanor to have, good patience,” Manning said between sessions Saturday morning. “These kids learn in small steps, keep it simple for them and keep it fun. Just make sure they are getting it down and we have to take time with them. Some of these guys have only been out here for maybe a year or two, so let’s keep it relevant for them.”

Manning has led his programs to 257 wins, 234 of which have come at Nebraska. He has guided wrestlers to five national championships and 46 All-American awards. The two-time Big 10 and FILA Freestyle Coach of the Year was also voted a Dan Gable Coach of the Year.

“We usually don’t get out much and do this kind of stuff because we have our own camps at Nebraska,” Manning said. “This is kind of a rare trip for us. I want to teach what the sport teaches people. Wrestling is very demanding. It’s like life. Sometimes you struggle, sometimes you’re on top. Life teaches you to persevere, be persistent. The work ethic is needed, and rewards come from how much you want to put into it. To be able to teach that to young people makes these things worthwhile for us.”

Snyder, who was a four-time All-American in Lincoln, was a two-time national runner-up at Nebraska and won 93 percent of his matches, the top winning percentage in Nebraska program history. He has also guided wrestling legends Jordan Burroughs and James Green to a combined seven world medals.

“It’s neat, but it’s also something where we level out the status early on,” Snyder said about being celebrity status at the camp. “We make a couple jokes early on, and you can see the kids are comfortable, but it’s about having fun and learning at the same time. We try to flatten out the status quickly so we can get into the wrestling which is why we are here in the first place.

“As coaches, we are challenged to be able to share our experiences and knowledge with kids at this level, but that is just part of it. It’s good, it makes us better coaches. It gets us back to the fundamentals on what works. We gameplan a little bit, and Manning is already in camp mode, so he took the little guys to start and I had the older group. Instead of just showing the stuff you see all the time, I wanted to show some series on my feet and have them make sense of it.”

Wawasee head coach Frank Bumgardner couldn’t have been more happy to bring in the two from Nebraska. After guiding his team to a dream season of sorts, including a 27-1 dual record with a sectional and team state championship, Bumgardner didn’t have to do much over the two-day session other than sit back and watch. The growth of the future, led by two of the best in the business, was the payoff.

“The character these two guys have, that impressed me right away,” Bumgardner said. “They want to grow the sport of wrestling internationally. So getting them to come wasn’t a problem. Coach Manning is a world coach of the year, and he’s here coaching seven-year-old kids, that speaks to their character and the passion they have for the sport. They might not be the biggest names like a John Smith or Cael Sanderson, names people know, but these guys are world class.”