House, Steiner and Blanc named Pan Am Games coaches

Photo (L to R): Herb House, Troy Steiner and Obe Blanc. 

At this week’s Pan American Games, Team USA will be led by a trio of successful volunteer coaches that were handpicked by USA Wrestling. They will guide the American athletes alongside the U.S. National Team Coaches.

Wrestling at the Pan Am Games begins Wednesday with Greco-Roman at 10 a.m. CT live on ESPN3.

Herb House, Greco-Roman

Herb House, who was named the 2017 USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year, is the assigned Greco-Roman coach for this week.

House is one of the most respected and active Greco coaches on the scene.

He served as an official 2017 U.S. World Team Coach, helping lead the U.S. team at the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France. He has also served on the staff for Team USA at other major events, including the 2015 and 2016 World Championships and the 2016 Olympic Games. This will be House's fourth Pan Am event as he coached on the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Pan Am Championships staffs. 

House is the personal coach to rising Greco talents Kamal Bey, a 2017 Junior World champion, G’Angelo Hancock, a 2016 Junior World bronze medalist and three-time Senior World Team member and 2017 Cadet World champion and 2018 Junior World bronze medalist Cohlton Schultz.

In addition to the many international tours that he has coached, House, who lives in Castle Rock, Colo., regularly volunteers his time to coach the resident athletes at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Also, House is a coach for one of the top Greco-Roman clubs in the nation, New York Athletic Club.

As an athlete, House was a successful Greco-Roman wrestler, winning a Junior World bronze medal in 1992 and a bronze at the 1993 Senior Pan American Championships. In 1997, he took fourth at the CISM Military World Championships, competing for the U.S. Army WCAP program.

On the domestic level, House won four University National titles, two Armed Forces titles and secured six top-five finishes at the U.S. Open. He is originally from Illinois, where he was successful in Greco-Roman in USA Wrestling’s age-group programs.

Troy Steiner, women’s freestyle

Troy Steiner is a two-time recipient of USA Wrestling’s Women’s Freestyle Coach of the Year award, winning it in 2007 and 2018.

Full time, Steiner is the head coach of the Fresno State University men’s wrestling program, which just wrapped up its second season since being reinstated. Additionally, he is one of the coaches at the Valley RTC and serves as a personal coach to 2018 Senior World bronze medalist Joe Colon.

Twin brother to U.S. National Women’s Freestyle Head Coach Terry Steiner, Troy has been active as a coach in women’s wrestling for many years. In 2018, Troy hosted and coached the U.S. Women’s National Team in Fresno for one of its training camps prior to the World Championships. The U.S. Women’s World Team went on to place third at the 2018 World Championships, led by four medalists.

Troy has made four trips to the Senior World Championships as a women’s freestyle coach, helping lead squads in 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2018. He also coached the Junior men’s freestyle World Team in 2003. 

Prior to his stint at Fresno State, Steiner made several stops, coaching at Oregon State, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, where he had a part in helping 22 All-Americans, 10 Big Ten champions, seven Pac-12 Championship teams and six NCAA champions. He also coached one Junior World champion.

During his athletic career, Steiner was a four-time All-American and 1992 NCAA champion for Iowa and went on to be a freestyle National Team member. He won the 1992 World Cup as well as the 1996 Pan American Championships.

Obe Blanc, men’s freestyle

Obe Blanc, who was recently named the newest assistant coach at North Dakota State University, will help lead the men’s freestyle squad in Lima.

Prior to making the move to NDSU, Blanc spent four years at North Carolina State as an assistant coach under the direction of Pat Popolizio.

While at NC State, Blanc mentored a pair of NCAA champions, 10 All-Americans, and 10 ACC champions, as well as 18 NWCA Scholar All-Americans. Under his watch, NC State placed fourth at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships and also captured ACC tournament titles in 2016 and 2019.

Blanc was also heavily involved in coaching the Wolfpack Wrestling Club, which put multiple athletes on World Teams across several age-groups. He played crucial roles in helping Nick Gwiazdowski win Senior World bronze medals in 2017 and 2018 and Sean Fausz win a U23 World silver medal in 2018.

As an athlete, Blanc had a successful freestyle career that included making five consecutive U.S. National Teams from 2009 to 2013. He was a three-time Pan-American finalist, two-time U.S. Open and U.S. World Team Trials Champion in 2010 and 2013, and an alternate for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

At the 2010 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Blanc finished ninth in the world at 55 kg.

Collegiately, Blanc wrestled at both Lock Haven and Oklahoma State. In 2007 at Lock Haven, he earned All-America honors after finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships. And in 2009, Blanc fell in the round of 12 at the NCAA tournament competing for Oklahoma State.