Coaches Who Prove You Do Not Have To Have Been a Standout Wrestler To Be a Standout Coach

 Without a doubt there are many  coaches in NCAA Division I wrestling today who are having outstanding coaching careers, who had stellar careers as wrestlers themselves.    Four time NCAA champion Cael Sanderson at Penn State and three time NCAA champion Tom Brands at the University of Iowa are more than proving that.   However,  it is most certainly not a prerequisite for coaching success.   There have been, there will be more and there currently are a multitude of coaches that had less than stellar careers as competitors themselves but either have or are making names for themselves as coaches.    Where we as the wrestling community got this inaccurate and funny idea in our head that an individual has to have been a tremendous wrestler in order to turn out as a tremendous coach, is anyone's guess.   All that is certain, is that it is not true. 

Here are a list of current NCAA coaches who are doing an outstanding job as coaches, who they themselves were not standout wrestlers.

Tom Borrelli
Central Michigan


If you look up Coach Borelli's collegiate credentials as a wrestler, you won't find a whole lot to talk about.   He was a varsity wrestler at the Citadel and had a respectable record, but he never won an NCAA title.  Matter of fact, he didn't even qualify for the NCAA championships.   Yet as a coach, he has won 14 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Titles, including 11 in a row.   He has coached 80 MAC champions and won MAC coach of the year honors 12 times.   During his tenure at Central Michigan University, Coach Borrelli's squad has owned the MAC all but the last two years.   With the addition of Missouri, Northern Iowa and Old Dominion to the conference, some adjustments are currently being made.   It'll only be a short period of time before Coach Borrelli has Central Michigan contending for the title again.    Now imagine if you will had he not been given the opportunity to Coach simply because of his lack of credentials as a wrestler?

Rob Hjerling
The Citadel

Coach Hjerling was a two time conference champion while in college, which is an outstanding achievement in its own right, but lets face the truth.  In the world of NCAA Division I wrestling, what fans care about and remember is who did what at the NCAA tournament.  Despite having never been an All American himself, Coach Hjerling was able to do something for The Citadel that had never happened before in program history.   In 2006 he helped lead Dan "Buddy" Thompson to All American honors, to become the schools first ever.   Since then, he's also lead Ugi Kishigynam, Odie Delaney and Turtogtokh Luvsandorj to All American status as well.  

Jay Weiss
Harvard

Coach Weiss quietly qualified for the NCAA tournament his last two years at Franklin and Marshall, and that about sums up his collegiate wrestling credentials.   Yet, when he took over the program at Harvard, he took a team that only had a total of 7 All Americans in 80 years and has since produced 19 All Americans, nearly at least one every year.    He has also coached 17 EIWA champions and been named EIWA coach of the year twice.

Brian Smith
Missouri

Amongst the coaches who contended for an NCAA championship last season and who will contend for an NCAA championship this season, Coach Smith has the least impressive accolades as a wrestler.  He never won an NCAA title as a wrestler.  He qualified for the tournament three times, but he never placed.   Yet, what he has done as a coach at the University of Missouri, is that of legend.  He took over the Syracuse program and left a sinking ship, that finally foundered in 2001.  When he arrived at Missouri, it looked as if he were about to face the same fate.  Administration at Missouri thought of dropping the Tiger wrestling program and if it had not been for Coach Smith, they most likely would have.   Coach Smith took a dying program and year by year built them into a national powerhouse.  Missouri has won the last four MAC conference championships and last year's National Duals title.   Missouri will most likely win a team title before Coach Smith retires.  Not bad for a guy who was never an All American himself.

Jason Borrelli
Stanford

Like father like son, Jason Borrelli is continuously building his resume as a coach at Stanford, the same way his father has built his as Central Michigan.   Considering that Borrelli's best finish in college was a R12 finish his senior year at the 2006, many fans thought that Stanford's hiring of him, was premature.  After all, he himself was never a standout wrestler, how could he coach others to be?  Individuals in the wrestling community often have a way of shutting mouths and proving people wrong, and that is exactly what Coach Borrelli has been doing since his arrival at Stanford.   In seven years as head coach, Borrelli has had 6 All Americans, and 9 PAC-12 champions.   Two time NCAA finalist Nick Amuchastegui was the first in school history.   The 11th place finish in 2011, was the highest in school history.   While Coach Borrelli has yet to upend Jim Zalesky and the Oregon State Beavers for a conference title, he has been right in the hunt.   It is only a matter of time before the Cardinal bring home a team title.

Pat Popolizio
North Carolina State

Much like Jason Borrelli, Coach Pat Popolizio's lack of wrestling credentials as a wrestler caused him to face an amplitude of doubters when he took over the head coaching position at Binghamton.  He quickly silenced them as he began breaking records at Binghamton left and right, including winning the 2010 CAA team title and being twice named the CAA head coach of the year.  If that weren't impressive enough, he took hold of the wrestler's academics and produced the highest GPA that the wrestling team had ever had.  Now, he is over at North Carolina State doing the exact same thing.    This past season he lead the Wolfpack to it's highest finish since 1993.  It's only a matter of time before North Carolina State more or less owns the Athletic Coast Conference.  Look for Coach Popolizio to win the 2016 Coach of the year.   Not bad for a guy who's best finish was a R12 his senior year in 2002.




THE FUTURE

Tony Ersland
Purdue

Ersland is still a rookie head coach at Purdue, so he hasn't quite had time to show off what he's made off, but it'll only be a matter of time before he does.  At one time the boilermakers contended with Indiana and Michigan State to see who slept in the basement of the BIG 10.  Under coach Ersland, look for Purdue to instead fight for top four finishes year in and year out.  While he himself fell short of All American honors, he'll coach plenty during his time as coach.

Sam Barber
Air Force

There's not a whole lot to say about Coach Barber's wrestling career.  He wrestled at Upper Iowa University and I do not believe he ever made All American during his time there.  However as a coach he's more than proven himself.   In Division III he coached Augsburg to a DIII NCAA title in 2007.  In 2006 he was named assistant coach of the year.   He's now trying his hand at coaching Division I, at Air Force.  Look for coach Barber to have many NCAA qualifiers in the years to come.

Kevin Ward
Army

Add to the list of those who were doubted, Coach Ward.   Another wrestler who only qualified for the NCAA championships twice, Coach Ward took the Ouachita Baptist to a tremendous showing from scratch.    He coached 10 All Americans and two NCAA DII finalist in just three years.  He was named the 2014 DII coach of the year.   Now, Coach Ward is taking his coaching talents to the Army.  Look for the Black Knights to likely have some of the best over all seasons, EIWA finishes and NCAA finishes they ever had. 



Wrestling's One Hit Wonders

We see them in the entertainment field all the time.   A band or a solo artist will come out with a popular song and then never have a hit again.   A director will direct a box office hit and then never make another great film.   Many are able to recreate the magic that they found in their initial success, to succeed again.  However, sometimes people seemingly come out of no where, get to the top of the mountain for a split second and then never reach it again.    We call these people, "One Hit Wonders" and the world of amateur wrestling has them too. 

Chris Rodrigues


It'd be unfair to say that North Carolina's Chris Rodrigues came out of nowhere at the 2002 NCAA tournament.   He was after all a four time Georgia state champion and a well sought after blue chip recruit.   However, entering the tournament unseeded with a 28-11 record, no one was expecting him to do what he did.   After losing first round to Edinboro's Shawn Bunch, Rodrigues fought his way back through the consolations to upset #10 A.J. Grant of Michigan by fall, who had placed 4th the previous year and #2 seed, three time All American Leroy Vega of Minnesota by a score of 3-2.   Rodrigues ending up placing 8th.   The next year as a sophomore Rodrigues continued his head scratching, inconsistent ways with a  28-13 record.  He took NCAA champion Travis Lee of Cornell into overtime losing a 6-4 battle and he pinned future four time All American Nick Simmons of Michigan State in the first period.   It is the only time in Simmons entire career, high school, college and international that he has been pinned.   At the NCAA tournament, it was up in the air as to whether Rodrigues would have another unseeded miracle run, or not.  Unfortunately, he finished out the 2003 NCAA's with a 1-2 record.     In the 2003-2004 season Rodrigues entered the season as a junior and once again had some very impressive wins amongst some very questionable losses.   Towards the second half of the season Rodrigues left North Carolina and discontinued his wrestling career.   As unpredictable and inconsistent as he was, its hard to tell if he ever would have made the award stand again or not.   We can't know the unknown. What we do know is that he shocked the whole world with his miracle run during the 2002 NCAA's and he never did it again, thus making him a one hit wonder.

Grant Hoerr

Hoerr would be the first to tell you that he had the tournament of his life in 2001.    Some good luck put him in the quarterfinals against #3 seed Eric Larkin of Arizona State and somehow he was able to get past the talented Sun devil with a 3-2 decision.   Oklahoma's returning NCAA champion would then blank Hoerr 8-0 in the semi-finals, but Hoerr's success story wasn't over quite yet.   In the consolation semi-finals, Hoerr would take it to Navy's Mark Conley 10-4, before facing Larkin again in the third place bout.   This time, the Sun devil would dominate the match, taking full control and putting Hoerr to his back for an 8-2 decision.    The next year as a senior,  Hoerr's performance is best described as a bit above mediocre.   He did have an early season victory over the year's NCAA champion, Aaron Holker of Iowa State, but that was about his only notable accomplishment in 2002.   At the BIG 10's, Hoerr barely qualified with a 7th place finish.   At the NCAA's Hoerr would ironically face Conley (who was seeded #1) in the first round.  This time Conley would prevail 2-0.   Hoerr would come back to win his first consolation match and then be knocked out of the tournament by Ohio State's Robert Sessley, who would eventually go on to capture his third All American honor himself.    Before the 2001 tournament, Hoerr had not qualified for the NCAA's.   His run in 2001, was most certainly a one hit wonder.

Luke Eustice

When Jody Strittmatter graduated in 2001, Hawkeye fans were worried that it might be difficult to replace the two time All American and NCAA finalist.  Luckily for them Blue Earth, Minnesota native Luke Eustice was there to take the position.   If you would have told the black and gold faithful that the sophomore with 9 losses was going to make the NCAA finals, they'd have probably taken you down to Mt. Pleasant and thrown you in the loony bin.   Yet, that's exactly what he did.   He entered the tournament, and with a handful of luck in his back pocket found himself in the finals challenging two time NCAA champion Stephen Abas for the title.   A respectable 8-4 loss to the seasoned veteran, Hawkeye fans expected big things out of Eustice in his final two years.   Only, that never happened.   Various injuries got the best of him during his junior year, hurting his shoulder, his pectoral muscle and his ankle.   He came back strong as a senior, earning himself the #2 seed at the NCAA tournament, but lightning was not meant to strike again.   He ended his career with a tiebreaker loss to Pennsylvania's Matt Valenti, who finished out his last two years as a two time NCAA champion.  

Matt Coughlin

It's hard to know what to make of the career of Indiana's Matt Coughlin.   The Evansville, Indiana native started off with such a strong start and progressively regressed throughout the remainder of his career.   Entering the NCAA tournament unseeded, Coughlin not only wound up in 7th place, but he got there with a 2-1 decision over #2 seed Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma and an 11-6 decision over future NCAA champion Jordan Leen of Cornell.    Coughlin was poised and ready for a career of greatness, but what was meant to be, never happened.   By the time Coughlin was a senior, he was rarely winning matches.  Making All American status again was pretty much out of the question and he didn't even qualify for the tournament.   He ended his season with a losing record.   What exactly caused this?  The truth of the situation is unknown and only speculation remains.   It could have been injuries.   It could have been personal problems, or a burn out or a variety of reasons.   Regardless of the reason, the record books show Matt Coughlin as one of our one hit wonders.

Brandon Mason

Three time Iowa state champion, Brandon Mason of Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, shocked the wrestling world when he left the Hawkeye state to go and wrestle for rival Oklahoma State.  While wearing the orange and black, Mason had a respectable career full of ups and down, with no greater moment than that of the 2007 NCAA tournament his sophomore year.   Entering unseeded, Mason used his superior riding skills to upset #3 seed Steve Luke of Michigan in the first round and then score two more victories to find himself in the semi-finals.  He only lost 3-2 to NCAA finalist Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh.   Finishing in 5th place, with another victory over Luke, Mason was a for sure title contender in his last two years.  Unfortunately for Mason, his junior year would end with a Round of 12 finish, one match shy of All American status.   As a senior, Mason moved down to 165 lbs from 174, thinking that the move would be beneficial to his career.   Regrettably the move instead proved to be detrimental as the cut seemed to drain both the strength and energy out of his performance.  He went 0-2 at the NCAA's.

Nick Marable

Considering that Marable actually made All American twice during his collegiate career, some wrestling fans may think that his placement on this list is unfair.  However, the reasoning for his placement is quite justified, when you take a look at the reasoning.  Wrestling as a backup his freshman year, when he took to the mats as a sophomore and began winning match after match, many fans thought they were looking at a possible three time NCAA champion.  He entered the NCAA tournament in 2008 and gave returning NCAA champion Mark Perry all he could handle in the semi-finals, before finishing a very impressive third.   To the Missouri faithful, he was a king that was all but crowned.   Yet, for some unknown reason, his final two years with the Tigers were drastically different than what expectation had called for.   He finished in 7th place as a junior and didn't even place as a senior.   To call the end of his collegiate career a disappointment, is an understatement, when considering his potential.    The spirit of a wrestler isn't one to give up though.   The spirit of a wrestler is to take a disappointment and make the most out of it.   To take an unpleasant memory and use it to fuel a fire that burns for victory and success.   Marable, a U.S. Champion and the only American to own an international victory over Olympic gold medalist Jordan Borroughs, is potentially on his way to a World championship and an Olympic championship.   He may be a one hit wonder in the world of collegiate wrestling, but if he wins a world championship and an Olympic medal, that is what people will remember and that is what people will care about.

Cashe Quiroga

Is it an oxymoron to say that unfortunateness of Quiroga's position was due to too much good luck at the same time?  Entering the 2010 NCAA tournament as a unseeded true freshman,  no one had any money laid down in a bet to say that Quiroga was going to make the semi-finals and end up in sixth place.    Yet, a major upset, knocking three time All American Troy Nickerson into the consolations, put Quiroga in the perfect position to do just that.   You can work your tail off, and do everything in your power to succeed, but the truth of the matter is, sometimes luck is on your side and sometimes it isn't.    Why was Quiroga unable to find his way on to the award stand again? Injuries played their part, as they often do.  Growth was another contributing factor.  Quiroga had grown to big for the 125 lbs weight class and had trouble adjusting to 133.   By the time he was a senior, he had figured out how to be successful at 133 lbs, but it wasn't enough to quite get him over the hump.   The highlight of his season was a third place finish at the BIG 10's and perhaps giving NCAA champion Tony Ramos his most competitive match of the season.  He came close to getting another hit, with a round of 12 finish, but this isn't horse shoes, it's wrestling.  He's a one hit wonder.

Justin Gaethje


Current MMA star Justin Gaethje fits the description of "one hit wonder" about as good as anyone.  Wrestling for Northern Colorado, he entered the 2010 NCAA tournament as a wildcard having placed 5th at the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) tournament.  Considering that only a few years prior, the idea of qualifying a 5th placer out of the WWC would have been completely asinine, what he did at the NCAA tournament was unbelievable.  Wins over the #8 and #9 seed to advance to the quarter-finals and then wins over the #10 and #12 seeds to finish in 7th place.   Fans held their breath awaiting another miracle performance out of Gaethje at the 2011 tournament, but he was unable to make magic happen again and he went 1-2.

Mario Stuart

Lehigh's Mario Stuart is the bonus, because he DID make lightning strike twice.  He WAS able to make magic happen a second time.  Fans talk about "tournament" wrestlers, and the poster child, is Mario Stuart.  Entering the NCAA tournament as a freshman with a  5-9 record Stuart turned a lot of heads when he found himself in the semi-finals and going home with a 5th place finish.   Having a mediocre sophomore campaign and being injured most of his junior season fans had all but completely given up on Stuart, chalking his 2001 performance as a one hit wonder.    The writing on the wall, called for the unseeded Stuart to most likely not place.  Yet, Stuart must have figured that he had made the impossible happen once before, why not do it again?    First round Stuart had Wisconsin's Tom Clum, the #4 seed who had easily major decisioned him three weeks prior.  This time Stuart won 8-2.   Despite two losses to Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkle, Stuart wrestled a beautiful tournament finishing in fourth place.    Seeing how some fans had already penciled his name in as a "one hit wonder" he was more than happy to go up and erase his name off the list.

They Call Me, "The Wrestling Fan"

Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling Painting

Luther College (Division III Iowa)

2009 NCAA championships

Air Force Falcons

BIG 12 Wrestling championships

Oklahoma Sooners

Iowa State Cyclones shorts

William Penn (NAIA Iowa)

Princeton Tigers

Nebraska Cornhuskers

VMI Keydets

Oklahoma State Cowboy Wrestling Shorts

Northwestern College (NAIA Iowa)

Iowa Hawkeyes

Miss Peanut who helped me with this Project

Iowa State Wrestling Painting

Central Michigan Poster signed by one of my all time favorite wrestlers David Bolyard, with a personalized note from him as well.

Poster signed by my favorite wrestler ever, Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State.

Poster signed by the last UC Davis Wrestling team.

2015 Iowa State Cyclone wrestling poster

Huntingdon College Wrestling (DIII Alabama)

Huntingdon College (DIII Alabama)

Stanford Wrestling

Boston Wrestling

The Ohio State Wrestling

Purdue Wrestling

Adam Frey T-shirt

Andy Hrovat T-shirt.  2008 Olympian

Northwestern College (NAIA Iowa)

Iowa Wrestling T-shirt from 12 day intensive camp.  Camp counselors were Tyler Nixt and Ben Shirk.

San Francisco State

Oregon State

Northern Iowa

Indiana

Golden Hawk tournament.  The only high school tournament I ever won.   2004 champion @ 145 lbs.

2004 NCAA's

Oklahoma State

Army

The Citadel

American

Dan Gable Classic (Bought in Cedar Rapids when USA wrestled the Ukraine)

Iowa State Cyclones

Rosebush Wrestling Club (Was given this T-shirt once at the NCAA tournament.  I believe it is a kid's club in Michigan)

Iowa State Cyclones (from 2003 camp)

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa Hawkeyes

Wyoming

Wartburg (DIII Iowa)

Michigan State

Michigan

Cliff Keen

Oklahoma State

College of New Jersey (DIII)

Central Michigan

Clarion

Arizona State

Cal State Bakersfield

Iowa Hawkeyes

Hall of Fame from Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Mark Ironside wrestling champ t-shirt 2003.

Asics Wrestling

Northern Colorado

Iowa State Wrestling

This could be Oregon State, Oklahoma State or Ohio State.  I'm not positive.

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State

Cornell University

Missouri

Coe College (DIII Iowa )

Ohio Northern (DIII)

Rhode Island

Central Michigan

Hofstra

Virginia Tech

Oklahoma State rain jacket

Iowa Wrestling

2003 NCAA tournament

2001 Wrestling camp, University of Iowa. 

Slippery Rock

UC Davis

Iowa Hawkeyes

Stanford

Iowa Hawkeyes

Boston

Sigourney Savages (my high school)

Sacred Heart

Edinboro

Cal Poly

West Virginia

Navy

Oklahoma State

Harvard

Penn State

Hofstra

Iowa Hawkeyes

Oklahoma State

Stanford

Northern Iowa

Sigourney Savages (my high school)

Northern Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes

Southern Illinois - Edwardsville

Cleveland State

Duke

Iowa Hawkeyes

Adam Frey T-shirt

Wyoming

Midwest Nationals (High school tournament in Normal, Illinois)

Virginia Tech

My letter jacket from High school. 

Iowa Hawkeyes

Eastern Illinois

NCAA championships 2005.

Central Michigan

Signed David Bolyard shirt.

Buffalo

Oklahoma

Sigourney Savages (My High School)

Boise State

Sigourney Savages (my high school)

Binghamton

Lehigh

Oklahoma State

UT-Chattanooga

Iowa Hawkeyes

NCAA wrestling

NCAA wrestling

Iowa State

Lehigh

Sigourney Savages (my high school)

Iowa Hawkeyes

Northwestern College (NAIA Iowa)

Lehigh

Maryland

Joe Williams

Oregon

Utah Valley, signed by Ben Kjar

Iowa State

Iowa State 1999, signed by whole team.