Antonelli, Estrella and Oliver named by USA Wrestling to coach 2005 U.S. World Greco-Roman team; 2005 Greco-Roman coaching assignments announced
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling has made its choice for the World Team Coaches in Greco-Roman who will participate in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 27-Oct. 2.
Selected to join USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser of Colorado Springs, Colo. as World Team Coaches in Greco-Roman wrestling are Jay Antonelli of Dumfries, Va., Rich Estrella of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Dale Oliver of Stanley, N.Y.
These coaches, as well as all of the coaching assignments in Greco-Roman for the year, were made by the Greco-Roman Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling’s Executive Committee.
Antonelli was the assistant coach of the 2003 U.S. World Team, which competed in Cretiel, France. He has been on the Greco-Roman coaching staff at the last two Olympic Games, as well as many other U.S. international tour teams. Included were head coaching assignments with the 2002 World Cup team and four CISM World Military Championship teams.
He served many years as the head coach of the U.S. Marine Corps wrestling team, and tutored numerous athletes who qualified for Greco-Roman Team USA. The Marine Corps team was the overall champions at the 2001 Armed Forces Championships.
Estrella coached the 1996 U.S. World Cup team, which won a record five individual gold medals. He has coached five World Cup teams. He has also coached on numerous U.S. World and Olympic team staffs. He has been coach of three Pan American Championships teams, as well as three CISM World Military Teams. Estrella was assistant coach of the 2003 Pan American Games team that placed second in the standings.
He served as head coach of the 1991 and 1996 Junior World Teams, and was an assistant on the 1993 Espoir World Team. Estrella has served as head coach of the U.S. Air Force team since 1987. The U.S. Air Force won the U.S. Nationals Div. II team titles in 2003 and 2004.
Oliver has coached a number of U.S. teams on international tours in recent years. He has both high school and college coaching experience, as well as serving as a club coach for Team Titan. He has coached top Senior athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Camp, as well as the last two U.S. World Team Training Camps.
As an athlete, Oliver was a member of the 1985 U.S. World Team, and was the runner-up in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Complete biographies of the World Team Coaches follow, as well as quotes from each of the coaches.
QUOTES FROM THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD TEAM COACHES
Jay Antonelli of Dumfries, Va.
“I am honored and extremely privileged to have this opportunity to lead our nation’s best Greco wrestlers and to represent the United States at this year’s World Championships. We have many strong, young, and highly talented wrestlers who on any given day have the ability to beat anyone in the world.”
“There has been a strong precedent of success set by previous World and Olympic teams and the coaching staff has high expectations for this year’s World Championships. We have set the team’s goals at winning the team title, winning a minimum of four medals and placing all of our wrestlers in the top 10. I honestly feel that we have the talent to achieve all of our goals. I am really looking forward to all the hard work and training that lies before us.”
Rich Estrella of Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I am very honored. This is my first Senior World Team assignment. I look forward to working with this team as we go into the new Olympic quadrennium. We have some very talented athletes. Working with the new rules, we will do everything we can to bring back the medals that we are certainly capable of winning.”
Dale Oliver of Stanley, N.Y.
“It is a phenomenal opportunity. I am honored to have received a World Team coaching position. I have worked with Jay Antonelli at the training camps, and we will work well together. I look forward to working with National Coaches Steve Fraser, Anatoly Petrosyan and Momir Petkovic. I am honored to get this position, because we have so many outstanding coaches in this country.”
“It is exciting working with this team. We have some great international wrestlers who are still wrestling, such as Brad Vering, Jim Gruenwald and Dremiel Byers. There are many other talented wrestlers who have a chance to make the team. I don’t see why if we make adjustments to the new rules that we can’t have continued success on the world stage.”
National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser of Colorado Springs, Colo.
(about Antonelli, Estrella and Oliver)
“I am very excited about our coaching staff. We will have a very new, young team. Many of our former top guys have retired. We have a huge challenge this year to prepare some younger guys who haven’t been to the big event before. Our challenge will be to push them and prepare them to really step up. Our goal is to win the team title, with a minimum of four medals and everybody placing in the Top 10.”
“Jay Antonelli has been a staff member on numerous teams in the past. Not only is he a great coach, but he is a great Marine, and will anything for the guys.”
“Rich Estrella is a veteran coach who works daily with the top athletes at the Olympic Training Center. He has produced National Team athletes. I believe he rounds out our coaching team.”
“Dale Oliver is a young coach who has been very involved in training camps for the last few years. He has built great relationships with the athletes. He will add a fresh flavor to our staff.”
BIOGRAPHY SKETCHES OF WORLD TEAM COACHES IN GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING
Jay Antonelli of Dumfries, Va.
Antonelli served as the Assistant Coach of the 2003 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team that competed in Cretiel, France. The U.S. team placed 13th in the standings, led by three athletes in the top 10 of their divisions.
He was a member of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Team coaching staffs. Antonelli has also been a member of three U.S. World Team coaching staffs. Antonelli was the head coach for four CISM World Military Championship teams. He was named USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year in 1998.
He was the head coach of the 2002 U.S. World Cup team. Antonelli has coached a number of other U.S. teams on international tours. He has been active in coaching youth Greco-Roman teams in the past, including working with the New Jersey Junior National team.
Antonelli, who is a major in the Marines, worked as the head coach of the U.S. Marines Corps team through the end of the 2004 season. Numerous members of the U.S. Marines team have made U.S. World Team, or qualified for Greco-Roman Team USA during Antonelli’s tenure. The Marine Corps was the overall champion at the 2001 Armed Forces Championships, and claimed the Greco-Roman team title in 1998. Antonelli has coached dozens of individual Armed Forces champions in both styles.
Currently, Antonelli is deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, where he serves as the Media Chief for Multinational Forces in Iraq, working daily to coordinate press coverage. He will return this winter to the United States when his assignment in Iraq is completed. While in Iraq, Antonelli has provided wrestling clinics to top Iraqi wrestling hopefuls.
As an athlete, Antonelli was a nationally-ranked Greco-Roman wrestler for the U.S. Marines team. He placed eighth in the 1995 U.S. Nationals, and was fifth in the 1994 World Team Trials. He competed in college for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Antonelli also received a masters degree in Exercise and Health Fitness Promotion from George Mason Univ. He competed for the Pingry School in New Jersey in high school.
Rich Estrella, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Estrella served as head coach of the 1996 U.S. World Cup team, which won a record five gold medals in the competition. Team USA I placed third and Team USA II was fifth in the standings. He has been a coach on five U.S. World Cup teams.
He was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic coaching staff. Three times, Estrella has been coach of the U.S. CISM World Military Team three times. He has also coached at three Pan American Championships, including the 1994 Pan American team that was the first U.S. Greco-Roman team to win the team title since 1978.
Estrella was assistant coach of the 2003 Pan American Games team that competed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The U.S. team placed second in the standings and featured six medalists.
He served as head coach of the 1991 and 1996 Junior World Teams, and was an assistant on the 1993 Espoir World Team. In 1993, he was one of the winners of the USA Wrestling FILA Junior/University Person of the Year award.
He has served as head coach of the U.S. Air Force team since 1987, and has coached many National Team members and nationally-ranked athletes. The U.S. Air Force won the U.S. National Div. II team titles in 2003 and 2004 and was the runner-up in Div. II in 2001 and 2002. The All-Air Force team is based at Peterson AFB in Colorado. Estrella has been one of the coaches working with the Greco-Roman resident-athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs since the program was created in 1993. He works for Home Depot and is an Olympic Job Opportunities Program member.
Dale Oliver of Stanley, N.Y.
Oliver has coached a number of U.S. teams on international tours in recent years. He coached top Senior-level athletes at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Training Camp, as well as the last two U.S. World Team Training Camps.
He has extensive high school and college coaching experience. He coached two seasons as an assistant coach at Appalachian State Univ., over six years as an assistant coach at SUNY-Albany and five years as an assistant coach at SUNY-Brockport. He has over 15 years of experience coaching at the high school and junior high levels. He is employed as a teacher at the Marion Central School district, and served as Marion High School wrestling coach for six years.
Oliver is the club coach for Team Titan, teaching international-style wrestling to athletes in his community. He also does private coaching, and has been a frequent clinician at wrestling camps.
As an athlete, Oliver was a member of the 1985 U.S. World Team which competed in Kolbatn, Norway, and was the runner-up in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He won the 1988 Final Olympic Qualifier, which placed him in the final series of the 1988 Olympic Trials. He placed 11 times at Senior National Greco-Roman tournaments, including an AAU National title. Oliver also has a number of place finishes at international competitions in Europe.
Oliver competed in college for Monroe Community College, then on the Div. I level for Appalachian State Univ.
2005 INTERNATIONAL COACHING ASSIGNMENTS IN GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING
World Championships
Jay Antonelli, Dumfries, Va.
Rich Estrella, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Dale Oliver, Stanley, N.Y.
Greco-Roman World Cup
Dan Russell, Gresham, Ore.
Chris Saba, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Pan American Championships
Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn.
Junior World Championships
Andy Seras, Sandy Hook, Conn.
John Matthews, Phoenix, Ariz.
World University Games
Jim Speelman, Mansfield, Ohio
Danny Struck, Jeffersonville, Ind.
Greco-Roman Tour to Cuba
Dan Russell, Gresham, Ore.
Chris Saba, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Greco-Roman Tour to Hungary/Poland
Jay Antonelli, Dumfries, Va.
Shawn Sheldon, W. Palm Beach, Fla.
Cadet/Junior Tours
Kennon Englemann, Gansevoort, N.Y.
Bob Empey, Stoughton, Wis.
Matt Clark, Park Rapids, Minn.
Richard Fergola, Blair, Neb.
Darren Petty, Indianapolis, Ind.
Dave Curby, LaGrange, Ill.
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