Duroe, Seay named by USA Wrestling to coach 2005 U.S. Freestyle World Team; 2005 Freestyle coaching assignments announced
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling has made its choice for the World Team Coaches in freestyle that will participate in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 27-Oct. 2.
Selected to join USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson of Colorado Springs, Colo. as World Team Coaches in freestyle wrestling are Mike Duroe of Iowa City, Iowa and Joe Seay of Earlysville, Va.
These coaches, as well as all of the coaching assignments in freestyle for the year, were made by the Freestyle Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling’s Executive Committee.
Duroe has served on the staff of numerous U.S. World and Olympic teams, both in men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle wrestling. He worked at USA Wrestling in two positions, as Freestyle Resident Coach and Freestyle Developmental Coach. As a volunteer, he coached three U.S. Women’s World Teams.
He is currently coach of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the administrative assistant for the Univ. of Iowa wrestling team. Duroe served as head coach at Northern Michigan Univ., and had assistant coaching stints at Northern Michigan, Northwestern and the Univ. of Pennsylvania. He was also a successful prep coach at New Trier High School in Illinois.
Seay was the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, which won five medals, including three individual champions, and captured first place in the medal count. Seay was also the head coach of the 1993 and 1995 U.S. World Team, both of which won the World Team titles. These were the only two times ever that the United States has been World Team Champions in freestyle.
Seay is a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. He is currently a member of the coaching staff at the Univ. of Virginia. He led Oklahoma State to two NCAA Div. I team championships while coaching there between 1985-92. Prior to that, he spent 12 years at Cal State-Bakersfield, where he won seven NCAA Div. II team championships.
Complete biographies of each World Team Coach selection follows, as well as quotes from each of the coaches.
QUOTES FROM THE FREESTYLE WORLD TEAM COACHES
Mike Duroe of Iowa City, Iowa
“I am very excited to be chosen to lead the team, and to help National Coach Kevin Jackson bring our team to the top spot in the world. After a good showing in Athens, and a commitment by some talented wrestlers to continue competing, this gives us a good opportunity to improve our performance. I am extremely optimistic; I think we have tremendous potential. We have some good young wrestlers trying to fill the spots of those who have retired. I am honored to get the chance for a leadership role with the Senior freestyle team.”
Joe Seay of Earlysville, Va.
“I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with the best athletes in the country. When you are the World Team coach, you get to coach the absolute best. I am looking forward to it. My goals never change. I go out there to win. We can do that if we prepare properly. Preparation is the key. Working with Kevin Jackson, Mike Duroe and the other coaches, we have an opportunity to get the championship back. We haven’t won the team title for a few years and it is time to get it back. The Russians have always been strong. To beat them, we have to be better prepared.”
National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson of Colorado Springs, Colo.
(about Duroe and Seay)
“Both of these coaches bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the World Team Coach position. There hasn’t been a summer since I have been in the sport that Joe Seay hasn’t been in our World Team Training Camp. Mike Duroe has been in every World Team camp since 1984.”
“Both coaches have stayed up to date with current techniques and tactics. They have been involved in the national coaching plan. Their relationship with the athletes is strong, and the athletes respect their opinion.”
“We are excited to have Joe Seay on the World Team staff again, because the last two World Teams that he coached, in 1993 and 1995, we won the World Team titles.”
“Our goal is to be the best in the world. That has not changed. It is our goal to win the majority of the medals. On paper, our goal is to win five medals, and to have all of the athletes place in the top six of their weight. Our personal goals are higher than that.”
BIOGRAPHY SKETCHES OF WORLD TEAM COACHES IN FREESTYLE WRESTLING
Mike Duroe of Iowa City, Iowa
Duroe has coached numerous U.S. World-level teams, both in men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle, as a volunteer coach and also as a staff member for USA Wrestling. He was on the staff of the last three U.S. Olympic men’s freestyle coaching teams.
He is currently the coach of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the administrative assistant for the Univ. of Iowa wrestling program. He has extensive coaching experience on the high school, college and international levels.
Duroe served in two professional coaching positions for USA Wrestling, the national governing body. From 1998-2000, he was USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Developmental Coach. In 2001, Duroe served as USA Wrestling’s Freestyle Resident Coach, working with the elite men’s freestyle wrestlers at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
As National Developmental Coach, Duroe was responsible for the responsible for developing age-group freestyle wrestlers. He also managed USA Wrestling’s women’s wrestling programs, including serving as the Head Women’s National Coach.
Under Duroe’s leadership, the United States was successful in age-group World Championships in freestyle wrestling. The highlight of his efforts with the women’s program came in 1999, when the United States won the World Team Title in women’s wrestling.
Prior to joining USA Wrestling’s national staff, he coached U.S. teams on the national and international level in men’s and women’s wrestling. He served as the head coach of three U.S. Women’s World Teams (1995-97). Duroe served as head coach of the women’s team at the 1997 Pan American Championships. He also was an assistant coach for the 1996 Pan American Championships men’s team. Duroe was also the head coach of the 1995 Cadet World Team. He also served as a coach at four U.S. Olympic Festivals (1989-90, 1993-94).
Duroe served as head coach at Northern Michigan Univ. from 1980-85, and assistant coach from 1978-80. During his tenure at Northern Michigan, he tutored 27 All-Americans and three national champions. Duroe was also the coach for the Wildcat Wrestling Club at Northwestern Univ. from 1985-86 and an assistant wrestling coach for the Univ. of Pennsylvania from 2001-2003.
Duroe served as the head coach at New Trier High School in Illinois from 1986-98, where he led his team to four conference and five regional team titles.
As an athlete, Duroe was a two-time regional champion for Drake Univ. He served as captain of Drake’s team for three years and has been inducted into the Drake University Wrestling Hall of Fame. Duroe competed on the national level in freestyle in the early 1980s. He was a three-time national freestyle placewinner, and was the 1983 AAU National champion.
Joe Seay of Earlysville, Va.
Seay has been head coach of numerous major U.S. international freestyle teams. He served as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, which claimed the most freestyle medals of any nation with five, including three Olympic champions.
Seay served as head coach of the United States freestyle teams which won World Team Titles in both 1993 and 1995. Seay led Team USA to the 1993 World Championships title in Toronto, Canada, and the 1995 World Championships title in Atlanta, Ga. The United States had four individual champions both years.
He also served as the head coach for the 1985 U.S. World Team, which placed third in the standings and featured two individual champions at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Seay was the assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic freestyle wrestling team, which won six medals at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Seay also served on the coaching staff for the 1988 Olympic team.
Seay was the head coach of the 1990 Goodwill Games team, where the United States scored a historic victory over the Soviet Union in Seattle, Wash. He also coached the United States to team titles at the 1986 and 1991 World Cups. He was also the head coach of the 1995 Pan American Games team in Mar del Plata, Argentina, which won the team title and included seven individual gold medalists.
Seay currently works as the coach of the Charlottesville Wrestling Club, and on the wrestling staff at the Univ. of Virginia.
He has an extensive college coaching background. At Oklahoma State Univ., Seay led his team to two NCAA Div. I team championships, coaching the Cowboys between 1985-92. Prior to that, he spent 12 years as head coach at Cal State-Bakersfield, where he won seven NCAA Div. II team championships. Seay won National Coach of the Year awards five times. He also had a 137-12-2 record at Bakersfield South High School (Calif.) over eight years.
For many years, he has served as a coach with the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, based in Phoenix, Ariz. The Sunkist Kids has won 22 straight U.S. Nationals men’s freestyle team titles, and has placed numerous athletes on U.S. World and Olympic teams. In 1988, Seay was elected as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Seay was a national Greco-Roman champion as an athlete and was a nationally ranked wrestler in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He wrestled for Kansas State Univ., and was a state wrestling champion for Wellington High School in Kansas.
2005 INTERNATIONAL COACHING ASSIGNMENTS IN FREESTYLE WRESTLING
World Championships
Mike Duroe, Iowa City, Iowa
Joe Seay, Earlysville, Va.
World Cup
Steve Knight, Parker, Colo.
Mike Duroe, Iowa City, Iowa
Pan American Championships
Tim Cysewski, Evanston, Ill.
Cliff Laughlin, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Junior World Championships
Head Coach “Sean Bormet, Naperville, Ill.
Assistant Coach “Sergei Beloglazov, Colorado Springs, Colo.
World University Games
Head Coach “Bruce Burnett, Annapolis, Md.
Assistant Coach “Lou Rosselli, Edinboro, Pa.
Russia Tour
John Peterson, Comstock, Wis.
Ed Giese, Wooddale, Ill.
Cuba Tour
Dan Chaid, San Jose, Calif.
Joe Seay, Earlysville, Va.
Cadet/Junior Tours
Mark Reiland, Iowa City, Iowa
Mike Hagerty, Blue Springs, Mo.
Bobby DeBerry, Tucson, Ariz.
Randy Baker, Lakefield, Minn.
Steve Marianetti, Elmhurst, Ill.
Brendan Rogers, New City, N.Y.
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