Big men – mainly heavyweights – are the most recognized wrestlers in the United States. There is a stigma that follows them around throughout their lives, one that says that while they are mean, dominant forces on the mat, they are cuddly teddy bears off it.
But recently, athletes such as Kerry McCoy and Steve Mocco have changed that perception somewhat.
Heavyweight wrestlers throughout history such as Chris Taylor, Bruce Baumgartner, Jeff Blatnick and Rulon Gardner have all had the “grizzly bear on the mat, teddy bear off it “glow to their personalities.
Instead of being compared to a bear, McCoy has instead been compared to Greek sculptures, hosting a physique that sports fans are accustomed to seeing in the NFL. While McCoy is definitely approachable off the mat as well, he is not the classic image of what a U.S. heavyweight has looked like in the past.
But since McCoy stopped competing at 264 lbs. internationally, ending with his seventh place finish in the 2004 Athens Olympics, that physique has taken a hit. Now as a head coach at Stanford Univ., he is closer to the lower weight class of 211 lbs., weighing anywhere between 222-228 lbs. on any given day according to him.
“I am actually at my normal body weight. Many people do not realize how hard I had to work to keep my weight up. They forget or don’t know that I wrestled 190 as a freshman in college and 177 as a senior in high school, “McCoy said as he has already begun to prepare for his second season as Stanford’s coach.
“Most of my college career I was about the same weight that I am now, so the main reason I lost weight is that I am not trying to keep it on. I used to lift weights three to six times a week depending on my training and now I think I have lifted three to six times all year.”
That rigorous work ethic during his training days is what made McCoy the unofficial leader of the World Teams and the Olympic Teams he was a part of. But as a coach at Stanford, McCoy’s role has changed.
“As a coach at Stanford I am definitely not ‘the leader.’ There are so many people here that have accomplished so much that I am trying to learn as much as I can, “he said.
McCoy is also changing another perception of heavyweight wrestlers – the one that says they don’t have brains. The big man is a technology whiz, and goes at great lengths to stay up-to-date with the newest products and features. And surely, taking the time to make sure his glasses don’t fog up before he did interviews always surprised the media.
Today, though, McCoy’s job is to change two more perceptions – the ones about West Coast wrestlers and Stanford wrestling.
For years, wrestling fans have considered wrestlers from the west coast as “soft, “a perception that amazingly exists in most any sport.
While McCoy agrees that there is a difference in styles, he is also confident that his wrestlers at Stanford can match the intensity level of any East Coast wrestler.
“I think the west coast style is more slick and funky in general. You see a lot more rolling and scrambling out here. Back east, there was a little bit of that, but most of the east coast wrestlers had more controlled and physical styles, “McCoy stated. “Our guys are hard workers that gave total effort. I think we were in as good of shape if not better than most of our competition and that was something that I always focused on myself.”
That hard work translated into a winning season for a young team, including four PAC-10 placewinners and one NCAA All-American. Nonetheless, developing wrestlers in California and recruiting a would-be surfer to stay in a wrestling room year-long is an enviable task.
But for the man who was raised in Long Island, spent many cold winters training in State College, Pa. and then spent more training others in Bethlehem, Pa., McCoy couldn’t be more pleased as to where he has ended up.
“Stanford is one of the nations best universities as well as one of the most successful athletic programs. I wanted to be a part of that. Also the weather is great and the people are even better, “McCoy said while adding that he does miss his family at times.
He should be more careful what he says. Someone may want to run up and give him a squeeze.
Favorite color – (Standford) red, (Penn State) blue or (Lehigh) brown?
– Blue, covered with brown, and red on top.
What advice would you give prospective college recruits?
– Do as much as you can while you can. On the mat is important, but what you do off the mat is very important as well. Get involved in a few things that will make you a stronger candidate. I think many people wait until their senior year to start preparing for college. I think if you can start as a freshman or even an 8th grader and start finding out what colleges are looking for, you will have a much better experience as the years go by.
You love having the latest technology. What is the latest item you purchased?
– I was in the Verizon store the first day the Treo 700 came out, but I resisted the temptation to buy it. So there have not been many new tech purchases. I did get a mac laptop, so I am still working on learning how to work it, but not much outside of that.
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