Q and A with U.S. Assistant National Freestyle Coach Terry Brands
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by Craig Sesker
BEIJING, China - Terry Brands is one of the greatest wrestlers in United States history.
He was a two-time World champion and an Olympic bronze medalist. He was a two-time NCAA champion and a three-time NCAA finalist for the University of Iowa.
The Sheldon, Iowa native is USA Wrestling's Assistant National Freestyle Coach and Head Resident Coach.
Two of the wrestlers Brands coaches at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs are Olympians Henry Cejudo and Steve Mocco.
He also coached Olympian Doug Schwab when Brands was an assistant coach at Iowa. Brands is working with Schwab here in Beijing.
The U.S. freestyle team is scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games on Aug. 19-21 in Beijing.
Brands, twin brother of Iowa coach and Olympic champion Tom Brands, sat down for a short interview with USA Wrestling communications manager Craig Sesker after Sunday morning's practice at Beijing Normal University.
How has Henry Cejudo looked in training camp and what will be the key to his success here?
Henry had a pretty good training camp in Arizona and followed it up with a good camp in Colorado Springs. He needs to have patience with a mission. He needs to keep working on staying in good position. He has to stay on his opponent and keep moving. He still has a lot of room to get better before he competes here.
It's all about mindset and tenacity, and what he believes. He's wrestled in the World Championships and he's won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Whether it's his first time in a World Championships or an Olympics or not, you can win. It's all about mindset and tenacity.
How does Henry stack up with the best guys at 55 kg/121 lbs.?
He does have a win over (2007 World champion Besik) Kudukhov of Russia. Henry's 1-3 against Kudukhov. Henry is 3-0 against a very tough Cuban (2007 World bronze medalist Andy Moreno). Then you have (2006 World champion Radoslav) Velikov of Bulgaria in there as well. Henry's capable of beating anybody.
What does Steve Mocco need to do to be a contender at heavyweight?
Mocco's put in 10 times the work most people have. He does a great job training. The big key for Mocco is he can't stand around and he has to move guys. He can't stand around and let his matches go to a coin flip.
What are Mocco's chances of winning a medal?
Only one medal matters to me, you know that. I know what he's capable of.
How much has Schwab progressed since making his first World Team in 2007?
Schwab has done an unbelievable job. He's gotten so much better. His poise on the mat and the way he wrestled at Nationals and Trials was a big deal. I have tremendous respect for him. He needs to be physical and not give up positions. When he does that, look out.
What did you learn from your 1996 Olympic Trials loss to eventual Olympic champion Kendall Cross and how much do you think about that match?
Wrestling teaches you so many life lessons and everything happens for a reason. I've dealt with that adversity of 1996, but I still think about that match a lot just like I think about what happened at the Olympics in 2000. When the Olympics come around, you think about it more. Those setbacks still drive me to be successful. You try to learn from adversity and you hope it makes you stronger.
How different is it wrestling in the Olympics compared to a World Championships or an NCAA tournament?
It's obviously a big, big stage. But that mat is still the same diameter and it's still wrestling. It's still just you and your opponent. It's kind of like the movie 'Hoosiers' when they got out the tape measure at the state tournament to show the baskets were the same height and the court is the same size.
When I wrestled in the Olympics, it felt exactly the same way it did when I wrestled in a state tournament, an NCAA tournament or a World Championships. I had been on a lot of big stages and wrestled in front of a lot of big crowds, so the Olympics didn't feel overwhelming at all to me. I just kept my focus and treated it as another big match.
You and your brother are known for your intensity and hard-nosed approaches. Have you guys mellowed at all over the years?
Tom has evolved a little more where he's more level-headed than I am sometimes. The fire is still there and he's as intense as he's ever been. I don't think I'll ever mellow. Mentally and emotionally, the fire is still there. I still feel exactly the same way about things that I did 20 years ago. I'm a lot more rigid about some things than Tom is. I believe there are certain ways to do things. Tom may be more willing to compromise than I am.
Are you and your brother competitive in everything you do?
Pretty much. During the last camp in Colorado Springs, Tom and his family were here and we were playing darts at my house. It got pretty intense. I was on a team with Mocco, Schwab, my son Nelson and Tom's daughter Kinsee. The other team was Tom, Mike Zadick, my daughter Sydney, little Tommy and Tom's daughter Madigan. The first team to win 12 games was the winner. It was tied 11-11 and then everything went to hell.
All the food had been done for a half hour and the wives came down when it was 11-11 and said, 'That's it.' Tempers were flaring and they heard some voices. I said, 'No way, nobody quits until we're done.' So we played the last game and we won. They were not happy about losing. It was pretty ugly, that's all I'm saying. Everybody on their team was mad. You know how we are, we don't like to lose at anything.
He was a two-time World champion and an Olympic bronze medalist. He was a two-time NCAA champion and a three-time NCAA finalist for the University of Iowa.
The Sheldon, Iowa native is USA Wrestling's Assistant National Freestyle Coach and Head Resident Coach.
Two of the wrestlers Brands coaches at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs are Olympians Henry Cejudo and Steve Mocco.
He also coached Olympian Doug Schwab when Brands was an assistant coach at Iowa. Brands is working with Schwab here in Beijing.
The U.S. freestyle team is scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games on Aug. 19-21 in Beijing.
Brands, twin brother of Iowa coach and Olympic champion Tom Brands, sat down for a short interview with USA Wrestling communications manager Craig Sesker after Sunday morning's practice at Beijing Normal University.
How has Henry Cejudo looked in training camp and what will be the key to his success here?
Henry had a pretty good training camp in Arizona and followed it up with a good camp in Colorado Springs. He needs to have patience with a mission. He needs to keep working on staying in good position. He has to stay on his opponent and keep moving. He still has a lot of room to get better before he competes here.
It's all about mindset and tenacity, and what he believes. He's wrestled in the World Championships and he's won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Whether it's his first time in a World Championships or an Olympics or not, you can win. It's all about mindset and tenacity.
How does Henry stack up with the best guys at 55 kg/121 lbs.?
He does have a win over (2007 World champion Besik) Kudukhov of Russia. Henry's 1-3 against Kudukhov. Henry is 3-0 against a very tough Cuban (2007 World bronze medalist Andy Moreno). Then you have (2006 World champion Radoslav) Velikov of Bulgaria in there as well. Henry's capable of beating anybody.
What does Steve Mocco need to do to be a contender at heavyweight?
Mocco's put in 10 times the work most people have. He does a great job training. The big key for Mocco is he can't stand around and he has to move guys. He can't stand around and let his matches go to a coin flip.
What are Mocco's chances of winning a medal?
Only one medal matters to me, you know that. I know what he's capable of.
How much has Schwab progressed since making his first World Team in 2007?
Schwab has done an unbelievable job. He's gotten so much better. His poise on the mat and the way he wrestled at Nationals and Trials was a big deal. I have tremendous respect for him. He needs to be physical and not give up positions. When he does that, look out.
What did you learn from your 1996 Olympic Trials loss to eventual Olympic champion Kendall Cross and how much do you think about that match?
Wrestling teaches you so many life lessons and everything happens for a reason. I've dealt with that adversity of 1996, but I still think about that match a lot just like I think about what happened at the Olympics in 2000. When the Olympics come around, you think about it more. Those setbacks still drive me to be successful. You try to learn from adversity and you hope it makes you stronger.
How different is it wrestling in the Olympics compared to a World Championships or an NCAA tournament?
It's obviously a big, big stage. But that mat is still the same diameter and it's still wrestling. It's still just you and your opponent. It's kind of like the movie 'Hoosiers' when they got out the tape measure at the state tournament to show the baskets were the same height and the court is the same size.
When I wrestled in the Olympics, it felt exactly the same way it did when I wrestled in a state tournament, an NCAA tournament or a World Championships. I had been on a lot of big stages and wrestled in front of a lot of big crowds, so the Olympics didn't feel overwhelming at all to me. I just kept my focus and treated it as another big match.
You and your brother are known for your intensity and hard-nosed approaches. Have you guys mellowed at all over the years?
Tom has evolved a little more where he's more level-headed than I am sometimes. The fire is still there and he's as intense as he's ever been. I don't think I'll ever mellow. Mentally and emotionally, the fire is still there. I still feel exactly the same way about things that I did 20 years ago. I'm a lot more rigid about some things than Tom is. I believe there are certain ways to do things. Tom may be more willing to compromise than I am.
Are you and your brother competitive in everything you do?
Pretty much. During the last camp in Colorado Springs, Tom and his family were here and we were playing darts at my house. It got pretty intense. I was on a team with Mocco, Schwab, my son Nelson and Tom's daughter Kinsee. The other team was Tom, Mike Zadick, my daughter Sydney, little Tommy and Tom's daughter Madigan. The first team to win 12 games was the winner. It was tied 11-11 and then everything went to hell.
All the food had been done for a half hour and the wives came down when it was 11-11 and said, 'That's it.' Tempers were flaring and they heard some voices. I said, 'No way, nobody quits until we're done.' So we played the last game and we won. They were not happy about losing. It was pretty ugly, that's all I'm saying. Everybody on their team was mad. You know how we are, we don't like to lose at anything.
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