Emily Carpenter*
MarylandEmily currently lives in Massey, Maryland and is married to Fred Carpenter. They are the parents of two sons and a daughter and the grandparents of one granddaughter. Emily received a BS in Health and Physical Education from Pennsylvania State University and a MS from Wilmington College, Delaware, in Human Resource Management. Emily recently retired. She was a high school coach of field hockey, softball and volleyball and had been an assistant athletic director for eight years.
Emily has been a pairing master in the Middle Atlantic AAU District for 35 years including eight years as the District Pairing Chairperson. She has been a national wrestling pairing master for twenty-five years. She served on the national wrestling executive committee for ten years, including serving as secretary for eight years. She served as the Wrestling Tournament Director for the Junior Olympic Games for twelve years. Emily is also a life member of the AAU.
Emily’s other professional duties and affiliations include: the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association State Softball Tournament Committee from 1986-2006, President of the Appoquinimink Education Association for six years, Secretary for the Appoquinimink Education Association for ten years, Middletown High School Wrestling Tournament Director for ten years and St. Andrew’s School Wrestling Tournament Director for five years. She is a member of the Delaware State Education Association, the National Education Association, Alpha Delta Kappa, American Association for University Women, Delaware Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and the National Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Emily has been recognized for her hard work and dedication with numerous awards. She received the Walnut Street YMCA (Wilmington, DE) Wrestling Service Award in 1985 and 1989, AAU Wrestling Committee Official of the Year in 1988, AAU Junior Olympic Games Leadership Award in 1991, 1994, 1996, and 1997, AAU President’s Leadership Award in 1996, and the National Wrestling Committee Outstanding Pairing Master in 1999.
Bart Freidenberg
OhioBart has been an AAU member and AAU pairing master since 1977. He is currently the Ohio AAU Wrestling Chairman, a position he started in 1986. He was recognized for his AAU service in Ohio when he was named the Ohio AAU Wrestling Association Volunteer of the Year in 1992 and in 1999. Nationally Bart has served on the AAU National Executive Committee for fifteen years. In 1996 and 1997 he received the AAU National Wrestling Committee’s Willard T Vandiver Award.
Bart is the founder and chairman of the Ohio Tournament of Champions, which started in 1993 and continues today. He is also the founder and chairman of the Ohio All-Star Wrestling Team from 1983 until the present and was the founder and event director of the Ohio Super Tournament from 1987 to 1991. From 1980 until the present, he is the media liaison for the Ohio State High School Championships.
Bart has also organized several all-star meets and clinics, including:
Bart began organizing wrestlers at events when he was the head-wrestling manager at Bexley High School from 1976 to 1978. He was also the head wrestling manager at The Ohio State University from 1979 to 1982.
Bart has also been involved in coaching. He was the head coach at Bexley Middle School from 1998 to 2000, the assistant coach at Olentangy Middle School in 2001, the head coach at Watkins Middle School from 1997 to 2002, the assistant coach at Watkins Middle School in 2003 and the assistant coach at Canal Winchester Middle School from 2005 until the present.
Eric Kopsch
MichiganEric was a high school wrestler at Southfield High School in Michigan for four years. He also wrestled Greco Roman for fifteen years. Eric was one of the founders of the Amateur Michigan Wrestling Club in 1965. He was also a president, director, coach, wrestler and referee for the club which was a premier Greco Roman Club in the United States. In addition he started an age group wrestling program in Berkley, MI. He worked as a volunteer coach with several Detroit area YMCA wrestling programs and several local AAU programs for over 20 years. Eric was the Michigan AAU Wrestling Chairman for five years and the state cultural exchange chairman. He was the head wrestling coach for twelve years at Southfield Lathrup High School and also served as an assistant football coach. He organized and officiated the Macabee Wrestling Games in Michigan.
Eric taught and promoted sports psychology. The use of visualization was a tool developed by Coach Kopsch that was recognized and used by teams worldwide to prep their athletes to peak at just the right time.
Eric was a highly ranked official in the International Officials Association FILA and traveled to many countries as an official for the United States. In 1990, he was named the National Wrestling Officials Association “Official of the Year”. He officiated all age group levels, junior and senior in Michigan, the United States and Canada. He officiated at Olympic Trials, World Championships, Pan American Championships, top tournaments in Europe and around the world. He also officiated at many armed forces and police and fire wrestling championships. In order to help advance and teach wrestling officiating skills, Eric developed films on the techniques and strategies of officiating that have been used for many years.
Jim Meyerhoff
WashingtonJim is currently the Assistant Executive Director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association where one of his primary areas of responsibility is serving as the liaison for the sports of wrestling, football and soccer. He has served as athletic director, physical education instructor and wrestling coach in western Washington since 1970. He has published a class manual for Physical Education classes, and in the past several years has been an instructor for various coaching principles and education courses.
In June of 1976, Jim attended an organizational meeting and was involved in the decision to start an active AAU wrestling program in Washington. By the spring of 1977 he had organized the Pacific Northwest Wrestling Committee, hosted a cultural exchange qualifying tournament and an association championship tournament. He was also elected the committee chairman. Resuming cultural exchanges, which were very popular in Washington, was the driving force behind the establishment of the new wrestling committee. Jim was involved with many of these exchanges as team leader.
Jim began working at the national level of AAU in 1979 when he was asked to be the National Office Liaison at a zone tournament. By summer’s end he had attended so many AAU events that he was home for only four days. That summer was only a start. Jim continued working for the National Wrestling Division for over ten years. Jim’s involvement at the national level decreased as USWF became the national governing body. Two highlights of his involvement with wrestling at the national level include being a co-manager for the pre-Olympic event in 1983 and working at the wrestling competition at the 1984 Olympic Games as a staff member.
In 1985 Jim started coaching at the college level and turned the chairmanship of the Pacific Northwest Association over to others, although he continued to direct the State Cultural Exchange Program in Washington until 1992.
Some of Jim’s honors include: induction into the Washington Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (2003), induction into WSAAA Athletic Directors Hall of Fame (2001); presented the “Dr. William Tomaras Award” by the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association (1989); induction into the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame (1989), named Wrestling USA’s “National Man of the Year” (1984), named AAU-Wrestling Division’s National “Organizer of the Year”(1980 and 1983), and Washington State ‘AA’ Wrestling “Coach of the Year” (1982).
