All posts by keithmanos

About Keith Manos Keith Manos, an adjunct professor in English at Lakeland Community College and a 37 year veteran of public school teaching, has taught writing and literature to students, teachers, and writers for nearly four decades at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. With his guidance, his students’ poetry, fiction, and essays have earned them awards and recognition after being accepted for publication in local and national magazines. In 2000, Keith was honored as Ohio’s English Teacher of the Year by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, was named Who’s Who of American High School Teachers in 2005, and was inducted into the National Honor Roll of Outstanding American Teachers in 2006. In 1993 Keith earned a Master's Degree in English (Creative Writing) from Cleveland State University. He has a Bachelor of Science from Miami University (OH) where he was the winner of the Greer-Hepburn Award for Creative Writing, and as a member of the Ohio Education Association, Keith is committed to teaching English. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of Greenwood Publications and Momentum Media Sports Publications, and his skill as a teacher of writing has enabled him to serve as an editor of various educational newsletters and student publications. He has also conducted many in-service seminars for writers, teachers, and coaches at Lake Erie College, Notre Dame College, and Lakeland Community College. A writer himself, Keith has published eleven books to date and is the author of many articles directed towards teachers and coaches which have appeared in national publications like Scholastic Coach, Wesleyan Advocate, School Library Journal, Teacher Magazine, Strategies, Accent, Athletic Management, Athletic Business, Lutheran Journal, and Wrestling USA, among others. His books Wrestling Coaches Survival Guide (1995) and Writing Smarter (1998) were published by a Prentice Hall, and Coaches Choice published four more books, including 101 Ways to Motivate Athletes. Black Rose Writing published his debut novel My Last Year of Life (in School) in the fall of 2015. Keith is also a speaker for civic organizations, athletic teams, and awards programs in the Cleveland area when he isn't spending time with his wife and three children. He lives in Willoughby.

My Next Novel!

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Take Diana Asher’s ALA Notable and Parent Choice Award Book Side Tracked or the highly acclaimed Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido, change the sport to wrestling, add a mentally unstable parent, and you have my newest novel W IS FOR WRESTLING, which currently is being solicited to several publishers by my agent Tina Schwartz.

My protagonist is Alex Corrigan who joins – almost by accident – the Amherst High School wrestling team. Why?  He sees an opportunity shake off that disappointment label his father has given him. But wrestling? Alex knows nothing about the sport other than that at 104 pounds he’s perfect for the 106-pound weight class. Alex wonders, can wrestling change the tense relationship I have with my dad? Will it start a romantic relationship with wrestling cheerleader Marci Sommers? Will I even survive? Alex seeks answers to those questions as he engages in a wrestling season where he and his father learn as much about themselves as they do each other.

Peer Pressure and the Wrestling Team like a Family

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Coaches may worry about their wrestlers succumbing to peer pressure, but they have to keep in mind that they cannot pick their wrestlers’ friends for them. Even more importantly, they cannot order their wrestlers to abandon certain friends regardless of any worries about the friends’ sleazy backgrounds or immoral intents.  A better approach by a coach is to pose questions to their wrestlers:  How do your friends support you as an athlete?  What are they doing to help you succeed?  How often do they attend your competitions?  Do they encourage or discourage you from breaking training rules?  What are their attitudes toward this team and the coaches?

Elite wrestlers simply must make the right decision when faced with peer pressure. They should encourage teammates to support each other and make reference to the team as a “family.” In this viewpoint, teammates can deal collectively with any type of peer pressure. All wrestlers, to be sure, need to be diligent to resist peer pressure. Here, mental toughness is the key. The unfortunate reality is that most kids will confront peer pressure almost daily, so the elite wrestler and his/her coach must be ready to deal with it frequently. 

Read more suggestions like this in the book The Elite Wrestler, which is available on Amazon and at coacheschoice.com.

Brittny, Ohio’s best yoga instructor!

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Over the course of a year, my daughter Brittny’s guidance as my yoga instructor dramatically improved my physical, mental, and spiritual health. I participated in her virtual Monday morning sessions (a wonderful way to start the week!) where her approach was always welcoming and cheerful. At 65-years-old I struggled to do some poses, but I listened to Brittny’s encouraging talk and at the end left feeling energized and inspired. So did my fellow participants.