MSU Open Preview: Coaches Conversation
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The University of Michigan wrestling team will send 29 wrestlers -- 22 attached and seven unattached -- to Sunday's (Nov. 2) informal season kickoff at the annual Michigan State Open at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Mich. The Wolverine coaching staff -- Joe McFarland, Sean Bormet, Josh Churella and Kellen Russell -- took some time to discuss the team's preseason preparation and look ahead to this weekend.
Q: It's been several months now since the end of last season, and these guys have been working hard through the spring, summer and fall. Are you pleased with their preparation? How has preseason training been?
Josh Churella: We had a great preseason phase then transitioning to our 20-hour week, I think the guys have done a great job. They are ready. Our guys came into the school year in great shape. We had 20-plus guys all summer working their tails off, making those sacrifices; that pays dividends.
Sean Bormet: I think it was our best lifting schedule that we've had to date, just in terms of the way we laid out the workouts in conjunction with our freestyle training and then moving back into folkstyle. They were really consistent and worked really hard, and when the freshmen came in at the end of August, they hit the ground running.
Q: What have the freshmen added to the team dynamic?
Kellen Russell: I think it's their attitude. They all expect to be really good, and they all expect to push the other guys in the room every day. That's good to see, because the other guys have to push them back. That raises the level of competition up for everybody.
JC: When you have guys that come in with the drive and the passion and the same goal, there is usually no separation there. The freshmen are doing a great job and forcing our upperclassmen to continue to work hard. I think last year's class did a great job with that as well.
Q: Are the upperclassmen still setting the tone?
SB: The veterans are setting the tone high, but because the freshmen are so talented and competitive, they've immediately vacuumed up higher. They're right in there right away.
Joe McFarland: I think everybody is setting the tone as a group. We have really good chemistry, so it's not necessarily one class setting the tone. They're doing a great job of pushing each other, and they're working really well with each other and elevating each other. But you can definitely pick out the veterans. They've been through the grind before, they're adjusted, and I think they're really helping our younger guys out.
KR: They're setting a good example for the younger guys to follow. It makes our job a lot easier when the older guys are in there pushing them during those grinds and long goes. The older guys know what they need to do to prepare for the season, so the freshmen have someone to look up to; they respect those guys. But they're also not going to back down from them.
Q: Do you think some of our returning wrestlers are coming back especially hungry after being so close last year?
JC: You have guys like Rossi [Bruno], who has been a starter for a few years and got a good taste of it. Last year, he was a match shy of being an All-American, so I think he is very eager to showcase his talents this year and get on that podium. The young guys who had to step in as true freshmen last year did a great job. They got a good taste of it, especially experiencing the Big Ten grind, traveling with our hard competition schedule and getting to NCAAs and seeing that big stage. Guys like [Brian] Murphy, [Adam] Coon and [Domenic] Abounader are very excited for the year, and they know what to expect.
Q: After a long summer and a couple months of hard preseason training, are you all anxious to finally get out and compete?
SB: I think at this point in the fall, everybody that's been training -- staff included -- is excited to see our guys get ahold of someone from a different school in a different singlet.
JC: These guys have been putting the work in. I think they are eager to get out there and showcase their hard work from the past couple months on the mat, running and lifting. They are ready to wrestle other people, and we're all excited about that.
Q: You'll have a lot of guys competing on Sunday, and they'll all have several matches. Is this a good place to start the season?
JM: You get a lot of matches under your belt and get into the groove of the season. It's what I was used to as a competitor, and I always liked it as a starting point. Our young guys get a lot of experience. You find a lot of things for the guys to work on, and you can work on them match to match. I think anytime you can spend that much time on the mat, it's a great thing.
SB: It's also a great environment. We've been doing a lot as a team throughout the spring, summer and fall, and we've had a really unified group. It's a great way to start the season, being able to bring everyone up there and to have everyone in the same gym competing hard.
Q: What are coaches looking for? What do you want to see?
JM: I want to see an aggressive style of wrestling. I want to see our guys focus on scoring points, continuing to score, dominating in every position and just working hard. That's the style of wrestling that we want and stress, and that's what we'll be looking for.
KR: We want guys to make sure they are setting the pace, winning the third periods and winning all those tough scrambles. No giving up center mat. No easy points. No giving up easy ties. Hand fight hard and set the pace.
SB: Gritty, hard-nosed wrestling from whistle to whistle.
Q: Do you have high expectations for this team and this season?
SB: Absolutely. We definitely have high expectations for these guys. I think they have high expectations for themselves, because they're putting the time in, working really hard, and they're extremely talented.
