Top men’s coaches are volunteering to coach women’s teams

The development of women’s wrestling marches forward. Every year, more young women are joining the sport. Women’s wrestling became an official Olympic sport in 2004 at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Attitudes are starting to change within wrestling.

One of the signs that the sport is evolving is the fact that many talented and respected coaches who have always worked with men are deciding to coach women’s wrestling teams also.

Today, USA Wrestling released its coaching assignments for women’s wrestling for the 2006 year. Serving as one of the U.S. World Team coaches for the women’s team once again this year is Bill Scherr, a World champion, Olympic bronze medalist and member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Scherr was also one of the coaches of the 2005 U.S. Women’s World Team which placed third in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. For Bill Scherr, it was his first assignment coaching a U.S. women’s team. His experience working with the women wrestlers was positive, and he has once again volunteered to coach the team this year.

In the press release on Scherr’s coaching assignment, he had an interesting comment that showed his respect for the U.S. women wrestlers. “Their level of training and work is the same or higher than the men. It is impressive to be associated with this program. I am impressed by the athletes,” said Scherr.

You can scroll down the press release and will notice that a few other “big-name” wrestling coaches are now helping coach U.S. women’s teams.

The coach of the U.S. women’s team at the 2006 Pan American Championships in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, this summer will be Jim Zalesky, the head coach at the Univ. of Iowa. This is the same Jim Zalesky who has coached the Iowa Hawkeyes to three NCAA Div. I titles, and, like Scherr, is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Another name that appears on the 2006 coaching assignments for women’s wrestling is Sergei Beloglazov, who will coach the Junior World Team in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and a U.S. tour team to Russia during the Winter Tour season. This is the same Sergei Beloglazov who won two Olympic gold medals and six World titles representing the Soviet Union, and is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, a member of the FILA International Hall of Fame. This is the same Sergei Beloglazov who has served as head coach for the Russian wrestling team and the Japanese wrestling team, as well as many assignments coaching American men wrestlers.

The trend of successful and respected U.S. men’s coaches taking on women’s assignments was also very apparent last year. Two of the most respected men’s freestyle and men’s college coaches in the nation, Bobby Douglas and Greg Strobel, were leading the U.S. women’s wrestling team at the World University Games in Izmir, Turkey last summer. Douglas was the women’s team’s head coach, and Strobel served as the Team Leader for the women’s team.

Both of these coaches are very successful NCAA Div. I college coaches, with Douglas at Iowa State and Strobel at Lehigh Univ. Both of these coaches have coached the U.S. Olympic team in men’s freestyle wrestling. Both have made a major impact on wrestling during a long career. Both had very positive experiences working with the University-level women’s team last year, which won four bronze medals and competed at a very high level.

Douglas entered the assignment without much experience working with women athletes, except for some support of women who compete for the Sunkist Kids. When the World University Games was over, Douglas had many positive things to say, including the fact that the assignment was a challenge to him as a coach.

“ I was kind of skeptical at first about how I would come across. I came across the right way. I never dealt with girls before. When they became emotional, I became emotional. I had to treat them just like any other wrestlers. I also had to control the pitch of my voice more. I had to explain things differently than I usually do. It was a great experience for me as a coach to sharpen my coaching skills and my communication skills,” he said.

Another respected men’s coach, Troy Steiner, who is an assistant wrestling coach at the Univ. of Iowa, was also assigned last year to work with Scherr as the Senior U.S. World Team coach. He was unable to attend the World Championships for personal reasons, but his commitment to the program is strong. Troy Steiner was one of the finalists for a coaching position on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, but was not selected. Troy Steiner has coached U.S. women’s tour teams overseas during recent seasons.

The fact that these well-known and talented coaches are giving their time, effort and expertise to the women’s team should not be a surprise. Consider the man who is responsible for the U.S. women’s program in our nation, USA Wrestling National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner.

Just like all of the other coaches, Terry Steiner had never considered coaching a women’s team. He was busy trying to develop a career as a men’s college coach, and worked with wrestlers of many ages as a freestyle coach. When USA Wrestling had an opening for a new Women’s National Coach, Terry Steiner did not apply. He never even thought about the possibility.

USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender knew about Terry Steiner because of his long and successful career within the sport as an athlete and coach. It was Bender who suggested to Steiner that he consider the job, and throw his name into the hopper for an intriguing new opportunity.

Steiner gave the idea some thought, and discussed it with his wife Jodi, who also has a background in athletics. Coaching women wrestlers? Yet, as Steiner went through the process of evaluating things, he came around to one conclusion. “Coaching is coaching,” said Terry Steiner.

Terry Steiner took the USA Wrestling job as the Women’s National Coach. His hiring gave the women’s team instant credibility within the American wrestling community. Since he has come on board, the U.S. women’s program has thrived, and is one of the powerhouses within Olympic women’s wrestling.

People like Bill Scherr, Jim Zalesky, Bobby Douglas, Sergei Beloglazov, Greg Strobel and Troy and Terry Steiner have chosen to support our women athletes. Shouldn’t other wrestling coaches give the women a chance?

Gary Abbott is the Director of Communications and Special Projects for USA Wrestling and is a founder of the National Wrestling Media Association and is a 2005 recipient of the NWCA Meritorious Service Award.

Gary Abbott