Black, Wilson named coaches of U.S. Women’s World Team
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by Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Kevin Black of River Falls, Wis. and Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. as coaches of the 2009 U.S. Women's Freestyle World Team.
They will work with USA Wrestling National Women's Coach Terry Steiner 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 23-25.
Black and Wilson were selected by USA Wrestling's Women's Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.
Both coaches have led past U.S. World Teams, with Wilson coaching the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team and Black coaching the 2007 U.S. Women's World Team.
Black is a club coach with the New York AC, and Wilson is a club coach with the Sunkist Kids. Both have worked with numerous athletes who have won national titles and represented the United States on the international level.
The U.S. Women's World Team is currently in training for the World Championships, and Black and Wilson have been helping prepare the athletes for competition.
Quotes from the coaches
National Women's Coach Terry Steiner
"Five of the seven World Team members come from either the Sunkist Kids or the New York Athletic Club. These are the coaches for those teams. They have been involved with women's wrestling for a long time. The athletes are very comfortable with them. That is a big thing with the success of the team. They bring a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm to the team effort."
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
"It is great to have the opportunity to represent Team USA. I am fortunate I have been seen as an asset to the program. It is an honor to live my dream and help Team USA to win gold medals. This is an interesting group. I am intrigued by the dynamics of women's wrestling at this time. We have a good group that will be training together for four years and will have a lot of unity and bonding. I think we can be the best team in the world by 2012. We are at a point where I think women's wrestling in the United States will take off."
Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
"It is always exciting when you get to coach at the World Championships. I am optimistic. We have a mixed group of women. There are some veterans and some talented young athletes. They have a good attitude and are willing to learn. They are all fighters and scrappers. They have been looking like top-level wrestlers. It is an exciting time for the possibilities for this group of athletes. We have a chance to do well at the World Championships. We could surprise some people."
Biographies of the coaches
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
Black was a World Team coach with the 2007 U.S. Women's World Team which competed in Baku, Azerbaijan and placed fifth in the World team standings, led by silver medalist Katie Downing and bronze medalists Sara McMann and Kristie Marano.
He is a club coach with the New York AC, which won the women's team title at the 2009 U.S. National Championships. Three members of the 2009 U.S. Women's World Team compete for the New York AC.
Black has coached USA Wrestling Senior women's tour teams to Russia, Poland and Canada. He has also coached age-group women's teams, taking the U.S. University women's team to compete in El Salvador in 2007 and the U.S. Cadet women's team to China in 2006.
He serves as the commissioner of the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA), the organization that oversees women's college freestyle wrestling. He is also the coach of the women's wrestling club program at the Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls which competes in the WCWA.
Black serves as the women's wrestling liaison and a member of the Board of the Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
He serves as the Women's Director for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation. He has coached the Wisconsin Junior Nationals Women's team since 2003 and the Wisconsin team at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals the last two years.
Black has coached and operated the Victory School of Wrestling in River Falls, Wis. since 2005, where he works with young wrestlers of all levels. He served as an assistant coach for the Univ. of Wisconsin from 2003-05, working with the Div. I program there. He was a wrestling coach at Lodi High School from 2005-06.
He has been the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation State Coach from 2004-06, and coached the state's Cadet Freestyle National Team from 2002-06. He conducted the Black Brothers Wrestling Camps from 2000-06.
Black was a NCAA Div. I All-American for the Univ. of Wisconsin, where he was a NCAA qualifier three times and served as the team captain three times. Black won four Wisconsin state titles for River Falls High School, with a 160-0 career record. He competed on the Senior level in freestyle, wrestling in a number of major international tournaments.
Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wilson was a World Team coach with the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team in Tokyo, Japan, which placed fourth in the World team standings and featured gold-medalist Clarissa Chun and bronze-medalist Tatiana Padilla.
He was also a coach with the 2009 U.S. World Cup Team, which competed in Taiyuan, China. The U.S. was fifth in the standings with a 2-2 team record. He was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team staff, and has also coached at the Pan American Championships.
Wilson is the personal coach for 2008 World champion and 2008 Olympian Clarissa Chun, and has worked directly on a regular basis with a number of other national-caliber women wrestlers.
He has been a club coach with the Sunkist Kids since 2001. The Sunkist Kids placed second at the 2009 U.S. Nationals, led by three individual champions.
Wilson is the owner and a coach at Rough House MMA and Fitness in Colorado Springs, Colo. He opened the club this year, which specializes in wrestling, No-Gi Grappling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai, kickboxing, boxing and personal fitness.
Wilson was a member of the Greco-Roman Team USA four times during his competitive career, placing second in the World Team Trials in 2001, and third in 1994, 1995 and 1997. He was second at the U.S. Nationals twice during his career. Wilson also won a bronze medal at the 1998 Pan American Championships and was fifth in the 1996 World Cup.
He competed for the U.S. Marines for nine years and the U.S. Army for five years during his career. He was third in the 1991 World Military Championships in freestyle, and was a medalist at the Armed Forces Championships a number of times.
Wilson has also competed in No-Gi Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts during his competitive career.
He attended the Univ of Oklahoma for two years under coach Jack Spates, and was a starter on the varsity team. Wilson is originally from Manassas, Va., where he was third in the state for Stonewall Jackson High School.
They will work with USA Wrestling National Women's Coach Terry Steiner 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 23-25.
Black and Wilson were selected by USA Wrestling's Women's Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.
Both coaches have led past U.S. World Teams, with Wilson coaching the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team and Black coaching the 2007 U.S. Women's World Team.
Black is a club coach with the New York AC, and Wilson is a club coach with the Sunkist Kids. Both have worked with numerous athletes who have won national titles and represented the United States on the international level.
The U.S. Women's World Team is currently in training for the World Championships, and Black and Wilson have been helping prepare the athletes for competition.
Quotes from the coaches
National Women's Coach Terry Steiner
"Five of the seven World Team members come from either the Sunkist Kids or the New York Athletic Club. These are the coaches for those teams. They have been involved with women's wrestling for a long time. The athletes are very comfortable with them. That is a big thing with the success of the team. They bring a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm to the team effort."
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
"It is great to have the opportunity to represent Team USA. I am fortunate I have been seen as an asset to the program. It is an honor to live my dream and help Team USA to win gold medals. This is an interesting group. I am intrigued by the dynamics of women's wrestling at this time. We have a good group that will be training together for four years and will have a lot of unity and bonding. I think we can be the best team in the world by 2012. We are at a point where I think women's wrestling in the United States will take off."
Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
"It is always exciting when you get to coach at the World Championships. I am optimistic. We have a mixed group of women. There are some veterans and some talented young athletes. They have a good attitude and are willing to learn. They are all fighters and scrappers. They have been looking like top-level wrestlers. It is an exciting time for the possibilities for this group of athletes. We have a chance to do well at the World Championships. We could surprise some people."
Biographies of the coaches
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
Black was a World Team coach with the 2007 U.S. Women's World Team which competed in Baku, Azerbaijan and placed fifth in the World team standings, led by silver medalist Katie Downing and bronze medalists Sara McMann and Kristie Marano.
He is a club coach with the New York AC, which won the women's team title at the 2009 U.S. National Championships. Three members of the 2009 U.S. Women's World Team compete for the New York AC.
Black has coached USA Wrestling Senior women's tour teams to Russia, Poland and Canada. He has also coached age-group women's teams, taking the U.S. University women's team to compete in El Salvador in 2007 and the U.S. Cadet women's team to China in 2006.
He serves as the commissioner of the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA), the organization that oversees women's college freestyle wrestling. He is also the coach of the women's wrestling club program at the Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls which competes in the WCWA.
Black serves as the women's wrestling liaison and a member of the Board of the Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
He serves as the Women's Director for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation. He has coached the Wisconsin Junior Nationals Women's team since 2003 and the Wisconsin team at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals the last two years.
Black has coached and operated the Victory School of Wrestling in River Falls, Wis. since 2005, where he works with young wrestlers of all levels. He served as an assistant coach for the Univ. of Wisconsin from 2003-05, working with the Div. I program there. He was a wrestling coach at Lodi High School from 2005-06.
He has been the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation State Coach from 2004-06, and coached the state's Cadet Freestyle National Team from 2002-06. He conducted the Black Brothers Wrestling Camps from 2000-06.
Black was a NCAA Div. I All-American for the Univ. of Wisconsin, where he was a NCAA qualifier three times and served as the team captain three times. Black won four Wisconsin state titles for River Falls High School, with a 160-0 career record. He competed on the Senior level in freestyle, wrestling in a number of major international tournaments.
Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wilson was a World Team coach with the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team in Tokyo, Japan, which placed fourth in the World team standings and featured gold-medalist Clarissa Chun and bronze-medalist Tatiana Padilla.
He was also a coach with the 2009 U.S. World Cup Team, which competed in Taiyuan, China. The U.S. was fifth in the standings with a 2-2 team record. He was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team staff, and has also coached at the Pan American Championships.
Wilson is the personal coach for 2008 World champion and 2008 Olympian Clarissa Chun, and has worked directly on a regular basis with a number of other national-caliber women wrestlers.
He has been a club coach with the Sunkist Kids since 2001. The Sunkist Kids placed second at the 2009 U.S. Nationals, led by three individual champions.
Wilson is the owner and a coach at Rough House MMA and Fitness in Colorado Springs, Colo. He opened the club this year, which specializes in wrestling, No-Gi Grappling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai, kickboxing, boxing and personal fitness.
Wilson was a member of the Greco-Roman Team USA four times during his competitive career, placing second in the World Team Trials in 2001, and third in 1994, 1995 and 1997. He was second at the U.S. Nationals twice during his career. Wilson also won a bronze medal at the 1998 Pan American Championships and was fifth in the 1996 World Cup.
He competed for the U.S. Marines for nine years and the U.S. Army for five years during his career. He was third in the 1991 World Military Championships in freestyle, and was a medalist at the Armed Forces Championships a number of times.
Wilson has also competed in No-Gi Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts during his competitive career.
He attended the Univ of Oklahoma for two years under coach Jack Spates, and was a starter on the varsity team. Wilson is originally from Manassas, Va., where he was third in the state for Stonewall Jackson High School.
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