Cael described the team as "a little more focused, a little more intense," and said the energy level was high. Ironhead asked about the guys who are helping the starters get ready for Big Tens and nationals. He singled (well...doubled?) out Vincenzo Joseph ("looking really good") and Anthony Cassar, who is doing well at freestyle and NLWC practices He said the backup guys have more energy now too, because they know their time is coming. Said the coaches mainly work on the mental game at this point. It's their job to bring energy and passion to practices, and make sure the wrestlers are "feeling good,..feeling confident" going into the tournament. (Apparently, the coaches' efforts to have the team feeling good and confident don't extend to their choices of music played at practice. "A lot of repeat music...obnoxious stuff" with a particular number by Adele mentioned as a prime offender, and blamed on Cunningham.)
Cael mentioned that all 10 wrestlers are seeded, but noted that three will have to wrestle above their seeds to qualify automatically for nationals. He said he thought Gulibon and Morelli should make it in on a wild card bid, if necessary, but that we don't want it to come down to that.
On Gulibon: "You get what you earn. He's gotta wrestle and win some matches. He's gotta have that fighting spirit, enjoying the battle. He's been looking good; good enough to get in there and win it. We're going to need points from him at nationals."
On Morelli: "He's had some nice wins over some decent guys, and close matches with some really good guys. It's all up to him."
On Nevills: "He looks a whole lot better today than he did the week going into the Lehigh match. He has steadily gotten stronger, steadily gotten better, and he moves well. He's a winner, mentally tough." He said they've been trying to push him hard, then rest him, so that he's not worn down for the tournaments.
On McCutcheon: "He's not going to be wearing a brace. He's been moving a lot better, feeling a lot better without it."
He said he has changed over the years since his early days coaching at Iowa State. He used to hope the opposing teams would lose matches or suffer upsets, but that now he has learned not to worry too much about what the other guy is doing. "Focus on your team; if the other guy does well, we have to go out there and do better." When asked how the coaches decide which coaches sit in a wrestler's corner, said he'll usually take the more inexperienced kids, or that some of the kids might connect better with one coach than another, and that would help make the decision. Said at the Scuffle, he was in the corner for a few losses, so....."who doesn't want to sit in Zain's corner or Nolf's corner?"
On scouting individual opponents: "We're aware of the tendencies of our opponent. The better the opponent, the more you're aware." Said he doesn't watch as much film as Cody and Casey do. "We do want to know 'What's their attack?'...'Does he have a turn we need to be aware of?' ", but he's more concerned with having our guys continue to improve in all areas "and make them adjust to us. If you're a little bit outmanned, you need more of a plan."
Frank Molinaro was then interviewed. Said these guys are "really special kids, all of 'em. They're a different level of maturity. We have kids who are freshmen who live their lives like adults." Mentioned Nolf and Zain who would do anything the coaches asked them to do. Nolf is willing to make himself vulnerable in practice. Most wrestlers don't like to change much during the season; he changes day-to-day. "He tries to get me tired; I gotta get physical with him. He gets better every week. I gotta survive somehow." With Zain, "I have to warm up an extra 30 minutes and cool down an extra 20, or I won't be able to pick up my son later." Said "nobody wants to lose...even in practice."
As for himself, he was happy to get the chance last minute to wrestle in the Pan Am Games, taking the gold against a guy who had beaten him 10-0 a couple years ago ("I didn't even know what happened."). Said he's mainly working on improving his conditioning and sharpening his nutrition. "There's still a lot left for me."
SR/BHF
Cael mentioned that all 10 wrestlers are seeded, but noted that three will have to wrestle above their seeds to qualify automatically for nationals. He said he thought Gulibon and Morelli should make it in on a wild card bid, if necessary, but that we don't want it to come down to that.
On Gulibon: "You get what you earn. He's gotta wrestle and win some matches. He's gotta have that fighting spirit, enjoying the battle. He's been looking good; good enough to get in there and win it. We're going to need points from him at nationals."
On Morelli: "He's had some nice wins over some decent guys, and close matches with some really good guys. It's all up to him."
On Nevills: "He looks a whole lot better today than he did the week going into the Lehigh match. He has steadily gotten stronger, steadily gotten better, and he moves well. He's a winner, mentally tough." He said they've been trying to push him hard, then rest him, so that he's not worn down for the tournaments.
On McCutcheon: "He's not going to be wearing a brace. He's been moving a lot better, feeling a lot better without it."
He said he has changed over the years since his early days coaching at Iowa State. He used to hope the opposing teams would lose matches or suffer upsets, but that now he has learned not to worry too much about what the other guy is doing. "Focus on your team; if the other guy does well, we have to go out there and do better." When asked how the coaches decide which coaches sit in a wrestler's corner, said he'll usually take the more inexperienced kids, or that some of the kids might connect better with one coach than another, and that would help make the decision. Said at the Scuffle, he was in the corner for a few losses, so....."who doesn't want to sit in Zain's corner or Nolf's corner?"
On scouting individual opponents: "We're aware of the tendencies of our opponent. The better the opponent, the more you're aware." Said he doesn't watch as much film as Cody and Casey do. "We do want to know 'What's their attack?'...'Does he have a turn we need to be aware of?' ", but he's more concerned with having our guys continue to improve in all areas "and make them adjust to us. If you're a little bit outmanned, you need more of a plan."
Frank Molinaro was then interviewed. Said these guys are "really special kids, all of 'em. They're a different level of maturity. We have kids who are freshmen who live their lives like adults." Mentioned Nolf and Zain who would do anything the coaches asked them to do. Nolf is willing to make himself vulnerable in practice. Most wrestlers don't like to change much during the season; he changes day-to-day. "He tries to get me tired; I gotta get physical with him. He gets better every week. I gotta survive somehow." With Zain, "I have to warm up an extra 30 minutes and cool down an extra 20, or I won't be able to pick up my son later." Said "nobody wants to lose...even in practice."
As for himself, he was happy to get the chance last minute to wrestle in the Pan Am Games, taking the gold against a guy who had beaten him 10-0 a couple years ago ("I didn't even know what happened."). Said he's mainly working on improving his conditioning and sharpening his nutrition. "There's still a lot left for me."
SR/BHF
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