Smith, Manning named coaches of the 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team
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by Gary Abbott
John Smith (top) and Mark Manning (bottom) will lend their considerable experience and talent to the 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team coaching staff
USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Mark Manning of Lincoln, Neb. as coaches of the 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team.
They will work with USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo. and the USA Wrestling national coaching staff to lead the team that will compete at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships in Herning, Denmark, Sept 21-27.
Smith and Manning were selected by USA Wrestling's Freestyle Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.
Smith serves as the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University, and Manning is the head wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska. Their programs are annually among the most successful in Div. I college wrestling.
Both have coached past U.S. World and Olympic teams in freestyle wrestling. Smith was the coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the 1998 and 1999 U.S. World Team Coach. Manning was head coach of the 2001 U.S. World Team, the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. World Team, and a staff member of numerous other U.S. World and Olympic teams.
The athletes competing on the 2009 U.S. World Team will be determined at the World Team Trials, presented by the U.S. Marines, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 30-31.
Quotes from the coaches
National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones, Colorado Springs, Colo.
"John Smith and Mark Manning bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to the team. They have both been successful college coaches, but they are also very successful international coaches for a long time. Both have produced champions for a long time. With them working with our National Coaching staff, we have a quality coaching team. We are certain that they will help us restore our program to where it once was. There is a lot of work to do, and they will help us get it done."
"Our goal is to be the best team we can be. When we met as a national freestyle program at our summit, we determined that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to lay the building blocks properly. If we do that, we will get to where we want to be. It will be up to the athletes on the team how quickly we will get there."
John Smith, Stillwater, Okla.
"I look forward to restoring our status in the world. I am excited about the opportunity to help the next world champions step up on the podium. It is important that everybody works together. We have a great staff and we need to be loyal through it all. It is not about any individuals; it is about our United States wrestling team."
Mark Manning, Lincoln, Neb.
"I am very excited about helping Zeke Jones, John Smith and the rest of the staff. I want to help each team member to become a World champion. This is a very important time for USA Wrestling and the guys who make this team, to set a new standard of excellence. This is a great challenge, but one in which we must work hard. We need to bring the right mindset to the World Championships to take a step toward being dominant in freestyle wrestling again."
Biographies of the World Team Coaches
John Smith, Stillwater, Okla.
Smith served as a co-head coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, which competed in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. won four individual medals, including a gold medal from Brandon Slay.
He also served as coach for the 1999 U.S. World Team, which competed in Ankara, Turkey, placing second in the team standings and winning three medals, including a gold medal by Stephen Neal. As coach of the 1998 U.S. World Team, the U.S. placed third in the team standings in Tehran, Iran with three medals, including a gold medal by Sammie Henson.
He was also the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which captured the team title and featured three individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia. He is a coach with the Gator WC, and previously coached with the Sunkist Kids.
He is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ., one of the most successful Div. I wrestling programs in history. He is the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history, with a 281-42-4 record in his 18th years, and has led the Cowboys to five NCAA team titles (1995, 2003-2006). He has coached 23 NCAA individual champions and five Olympians, including 2004 silver medalist Jamill Kelly. Oklahoma State has won 10 Big 12 team titles under Smith. Seven times, Smith has been Big 12 Coach of the Year.
As an athlete, Smith was considered by many the best freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He claimed gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four World gold medals (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). His six straight World-level titles is unprecedented. He also won titles at the Pan American Games (twice), Goodwill Games (twice) and the World Cup.
Smith won most of the major awards in amateur athletics, including the James E. Sullivan Award, the USOC SportsMan of the Year and the World Trophy. He was FILA Wrestler of the Year in 1991, and won the 1990 FILA Master of Technique Award. He is a member of the FILA International Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with many other major honors.
Smith was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State (1987-88) and a three-time All-American. He originally hails from Del City, Okla., where he won two state high school titles.
Mark Manning of Lincoln, Neb.
Manning was the Head Coach for the 2001 U.S. Freestyle World Team and trained the team for the event. After the attack of September 11, the World Championships were moved from New York to Bulgaria and Manning could not attend the World Championships due to college coaching responsibilities.
He was also a coach with the 2000 Pan American Championships team, which claimed the team title. Manning was head coach of the 1994 and 1996 Junior World teams, and also coached the 1992 Cadet World team. He was an assistant coach for the 2008 U.S. Junior World Team. He also coached at two U.S. Olympic Festivals.
He served on the coaching staff of the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams. He served as the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed sixth in the team standings in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The team featured one gold and one silver medalist. Manning was also on the coaching staffs of the eight other U.S. World teams.
He served as USA Wrestling's National Developmental Coach during early 1993, managing the organization's age-group national team programs.
Manning currently works as the head wrestling coach for Div. I wrestling power Nebraska. Manning is the winningest coach in Husker history with a record of 126-45-3 record at Nebraska.
In his nine years at the helm, he has coached 31 NCAA All-Americans. Manning has mentored three NCAA individual champions, Jason Powell, Paul Donahoe and Jordan Burroughs. He has led the Huskers to five top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships. He was the 2008 and 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year. NU was second at the Big 12 and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2008, and was the Big 12 champion and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2009.
Prior to taking over the Cornhusker program this year, Manning was the head coach at the Univ. of Northern Iowa, helping revive the program during his three seasons there. The Panthers were 11th at the 2000 NCAA Championships, and he coached individual NCAA champion Tony Davis. Manning also served assistant coaching stints at the Univ. of Oklahoma for four seasons and the Univ. of North Carolina for eight years.
As an athlete, Manning was an Olympic Trials finalist in 1988, and placed in the U.S. Nationals four times. He was a two-time NCAA Div. II national champion and three-time All-American for the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha. Manning has been inducted into the NCAA Div. II Hall of Fame. He was a three-time South Dakota high school state champion from Vermillion, S.D.
USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Mark Manning of Lincoln, Neb. as coaches of the 2009 U.S. Freestyle World Team.
They will work with USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo. and the USA Wrestling national coaching staff to lead the team that will compete at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships in Herning, Denmark, Sept 21-27.
Smith and Manning were selected by USA Wrestling's Freestyle Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.
Smith serves as the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University, and Manning is the head wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska. Their programs are annually among the most successful in Div. I college wrestling.
Both have coached past U.S. World and Olympic teams in freestyle wrestling. Smith was the coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the 1998 and 1999 U.S. World Team Coach. Manning was head coach of the 2001 U.S. World Team, the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. World Team, and a staff member of numerous other U.S. World and Olympic teams.
The athletes competing on the 2009 U.S. World Team will be determined at the World Team Trials, presented by the U.S. Marines, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, May 30-31.
Quotes from the coaches
National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones, Colorado Springs, Colo.
"John Smith and Mark Manning bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise to the team. They have both been successful college coaches, but they are also very successful international coaches for a long time. Both have produced champions for a long time. With them working with our National Coaching staff, we have a quality coaching team. We are certain that they will help us restore our program to where it once was. There is a lot of work to do, and they will help us get it done."
"Our goal is to be the best team we can be. When we met as a national freestyle program at our summit, we determined that this is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to lay the building blocks properly. If we do that, we will get to where we want to be. It will be up to the athletes on the team how quickly we will get there."
John Smith, Stillwater, Okla.
"I look forward to restoring our status in the world. I am excited about the opportunity to help the next world champions step up on the podium. It is important that everybody works together. We have a great staff and we need to be loyal through it all. It is not about any individuals; it is about our United States wrestling team."
Mark Manning, Lincoln, Neb.
"I am very excited about helping Zeke Jones, John Smith and the rest of the staff. I want to help each team member to become a World champion. This is a very important time for USA Wrestling and the guys who make this team, to set a new standard of excellence. This is a great challenge, but one in which we must work hard. We need to bring the right mindset to the World Championships to take a step toward being dominant in freestyle wrestling again."
Biographies of the World Team Coaches
John Smith, Stillwater, Okla.
Smith served as a co-head coach for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, which competed in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. won four individual medals, including a gold medal from Brandon Slay.
He also served as coach for the 1999 U.S. World Team, which competed in Ankara, Turkey, placing second in the team standings and winning three medals, including a gold medal by Stephen Neal. As coach of the 1998 U.S. World Team, the U.S. placed third in the team standings in Tehran, Iran with three medals, including a gold medal by Sammie Henson.
He was also the head coach of the 1998 U.S. Goodwill Games team, which captured the team title and featured three individual gold medalists. He was a co-coach of the 1997 U.S. World Cup team that won the team title and made history by winning every bout in the gold-medal match against Russia. He is a coach with the Gator WC, and previously coached with the Sunkist Kids.
He is currently the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ., one of the most successful Div. I wrestling programs in history. He is the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history, with a 281-42-4 record in his 18th years, and has led the Cowboys to five NCAA team titles (1995, 2003-2006). He has coached 23 NCAA individual champions and five Olympians, including 2004 silver medalist Jamill Kelly. Oklahoma State has won 10 Big 12 team titles under Smith. Seven times, Smith has been Big 12 Coach of the Year.
As an athlete, Smith was considered by many the best freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He claimed gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games, and won four World gold medals (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). His six straight World-level titles is unprecedented. He also won titles at the Pan American Games (twice), Goodwill Games (twice) and the World Cup.
Smith won most of the major awards in amateur athletics, including the James E. Sullivan Award, the USOC SportsMan of the Year and the World Trophy. He was FILA Wrestler of the Year in 1991, and won the 1990 FILA Master of Technique Award. He is a member of the FILA International Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, along with many other major honors.
Smith was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State (1987-88) and a three-time All-American. He originally hails from Del City, Okla., where he won two state high school titles.
Mark Manning of Lincoln, Neb.
Manning was the Head Coach for the 2001 U.S. Freestyle World Team and trained the team for the event. After the attack of September 11, the World Championships were moved from New York to Bulgaria and Manning could not attend the World Championships due to college coaching responsibilities.
He was also a coach with the 2000 Pan American Championships team, which claimed the team title. Manning was head coach of the 1994 and 1996 Junior World teams, and also coached the 1992 Cadet World team. He was an assistant coach for the 2008 U.S. Junior World Team. He also coached at two U.S. Olympic Festivals.
He served on the coaching staff of the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams. He served as the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed sixth in the team standings in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The team featured one gold and one silver medalist. Manning was also on the coaching staffs of the eight other U.S. World teams.
He served as USA Wrestling's National Developmental Coach during early 1993, managing the organization's age-group national team programs.
Manning currently works as the head wrestling coach for Div. I wrestling power Nebraska. Manning is the winningest coach in Husker history with a record of 126-45-3 record at Nebraska.
In his nine years at the helm, he has coached 31 NCAA All-Americans. Manning has mentored three NCAA individual champions, Jason Powell, Paul Donahoe and Jordan Burroughs. He has led the Huskers to five top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships. He was the 2008 and 2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year. NU was second at the Big 12 and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2008, and was the Big 12 champion and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2009.
Prior to taking over the Cornhusker program this year, Manning was the head coach at the Univ. of Northern Iowa, helping revive the program during his three seasons there. The Panthers were 11th at the 2000 NCAA Championships, and he coached individual NCAA champion Tony Davis. Manning also served assistant coaching stints at the Univ. of Oklahoma for four seasons and the Univ. of North Carolina for eight years.
As an athlete, Manning was an Olympic Trials finalist in 1988, and placed in the U.S. Nationals four times. He was a two-time NCAA Div. II national champion and three-time All-American for the Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha. Manning has been inducted into the NCAA Div. II Hall of Fame. He was a three-time South Dakota high school state champion from Vermillion, S.D.
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