Aug. 13, 2010
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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named University of Iowa Associate Head Coach Terry Brands and Oklahoma State University Head Coach John Smith as coaches of the 2010 U.S. Men’s Freestyle World Team.
Brands and Smith will work with USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, CO, and the USA Wrestling national coaching staff to lead the team that will compete at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 6-12. Former Hawkeye wrestler and Assistant Coach Bill Zadick currently serves as USA Wrestling’s Men’s Freestyle Resident Coordinator. Both coaches were selected by USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling’s Executive Committee.
“I think we have a good group of guys who can score offensive points and do things that some other teams did not do,” said Brands. “I am always fired up to be involved with the World Championships. It is not about me. It about them. As a staff, we will do whatever we have to do to have them as prepared as they can be.”
Current Iowa Interim Assistant Coach Mike Zadick (60 kg/132 lbs.) and former Hawkeye two-time NCAA champion Brent Metcalf (66 kg/145.5 lbs.) earned spots on the World Team by winning individual titles at the World Team Trials in Council Bluffs in June.
“John Smith and Terry Brands are on the cutting edge of wrestling in the world,” said Jones. “They’ve won at the highest levels of wrestling as coaches and wrestlers and there aren’t two harder workers in the sport. These coaches are on a mission to help America win medals. With Coach Smith’s superior technical ability and Terry Brands’ fire and passion, we’re going to be are hard to beat. My confidence grows, and I know our team’s confidence grows, with them in our corner.”
Both have coached past U.S. World and Olympic teams in freestyle wrestling. Prior to taking the Iowa position, Brands worked as USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Resident Coach from 2005-2008, and coached with the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and three U.S. World Teams (2005-07). Smith was the coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the 1998, 1999 and 2009 U.S. World Team Coach. Both have coached individual World and Olympic champion wrestlers for the United States. Their programs are annually among the most successful in Division I college wrestling, with Oklahoma State and Iowa having won the most NCAA team titles of any other programs.
Both are among the greatest freestyle wrestlers in history, and have been elected as Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Brands was a two-time World champion (1993, 1995) and won an Olympic bronze medal in 2000. Smith won two Olympic gold medals (1988, 1992) and four World titles (1987, 1989-91), stringing his six gold medals in consecutive years.
Brands, who is the twin brother of Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands, is in his first season as an associate head coach with the Hawkeyes after serving as an assistant coach for 10 seasons. During his tenure at Iowa, Terry has helped the Hawkeyes win nine NCAA and Big Ten titles, while crowning 22 NCAA and 30 Big Ten Champions. The Hawkeyes have a dual record of 162-12-1 with Terry Brands on staff.
Brands was a two-time NCAA champion, three-time all-American and three-time Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes (1989-92) at 126 pounds. He ended his career at Iowa with a 137-7 record. He still ranks fourth in season wins (43 – 1990-91) and career record, fifth in career wins (137), sixth in career pins (48) and ninth in season pins (18 – 1990-91). He is one of 18 Hawkeyes to post an undefeated season record, going 35-0 in 1991-92.