Zalesky has OSU on the road back to national prominence

Zalesky A return to the top?

By Brooks Hatch
Corvallis Gazette-Times

CORVALLIS ” Oregon State wrestling coach Jim Zalesky knows there’s no such thing as a free lunch in his demanding sport.

You have to earn what you get, either on the mat, in the workout room or in facilities and institutional support of your program.

Yes, certain things were promised to Zalesky when he came to OSU this past spring to succeed Joe Wells, who resigned in April after 14 years as head coach to join the university’s BRIDGE program. Stuff like a new practice area in the long-proposed Gill Annex to replace the cramped, inconvenient quarters in Langton Hall and ample financial and staff support to enhance what historically is one of the country’s most successful programs.

But he didn’t demand anything. And Zalesky, fired by Iowa last season after more than 20 years as a standout athlete, assistant coach and head coach there, made some promises in return because any successful relationship is ultimately a two-way street.

“I said we’ll come in here and work hard, and try to take this program where it’s never been taken before,” he said in a recent interview, recalling the interview process with athletic director Bob De Carolis and his staff. “As a coach coming in, I don’t want to demand things, and I didn’t.

“You have to earn things by working hard and putting together a good program.”

So far, so good.

The 18th-ranked Beavers completed a Civil War series sweep of Oregon this past Friday with a 35-7 victory at McArthur Court in Eugene. They’re 15-2 overall and

7-1 in the Pacific-10 Conference heading into today’s final regular-season duals against Stanford (noon) and North Dakota State

(2 p.m.) in Gill Coliseum.

Attendance has jumped from 736 per dual last season, to more than 1,100 this year. His forceful, take-charge approach is becoming increasingly second-nature to a team that should challenge for its first Pac-10 title since 1994 at the Feb. 24-25 conference meet at Cal State Bakersfield.

The transformation is obvious to others in the business.

“They’re wrestling a little more aggressively in each match. Guys are getting excited about the program, and believing in themselves more,” UC Davis coach Lennie Zalesky said of the Beavers. “When those things happen, it’s a plus.”

Lennie Zalesky is Jim Zalesky’s older brother, so he might not be a completely objective evaluator. But he’s also coached long enough to put his personal beliefs aside and candidly evaluate an opponent he’ll now compete against every year in a conference dual, at the Pac-10 tournament and at several other tournaments during the season.

He also knows his brother well enough to see how his true personality is re-emerging after several tough, contentious years at Iowa, where political in-fighting led to his dismissal despite a glittering 127-34 dual record, three NCAA and Big Ten championships, numerous other team awards and a legacy of success as a Hawkeyes wrestler from 1981-84.

“I don’t think he could ever loosen up and enjoy coaching (at Iowa) because so many things were going on there,” Lennie said. “Even though you win nationals, it’s hard to celebrate because then you’re supposed to win another one.

“As soon as you go a few years (without an NCAA title), or get beat, it’s set up as a place where it’s hard to fulfill the things that happened there.”

Lennie used a moment from a recent phone conversation as an example.

“I started to say, ‘You’re much better off,’ “ at OSU than Iowa, even if the Hawkeyes still have a superior program, Lennie said. “Before I could even finish the sentence he said, ‘I know, I know.’ He seems to be enjoying himself, laughing a lot, and it sounds like he’s a good fit. He loves fishing, loves the outdoors, that whole mentality of small towns and tough kids, kind of like how we grew up,” back in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“I think it’s a real good fit.”

Accepted by team

The Beavers knew of Zalesky’s competitive and coaching accomplishments before he was hired, and they quickly took to him and new assistants Troy Steiner, Kevin Roberts and Travis Pascoe.

“Once coach Z got hired, everybody was ready for him to come,” because he’d made an excellent impression in the interview process, heavyweight Ty Watterson said. “The coaches he brought with him are big-name, too,” and they all bring what Watterson described as “a new energy they bring into the room every day, with some different little twists they do in training.”

Zalesky said the biggest thing he appreciated was the team’s willingness to listen and be coachable.

“Nobody’s complaining, and they’re enjoying what we’re throwing at them,” he said. “As a coach, you enjoy kids who come ready to learn. That’s fun to be around.

“They’ve responded. To me, it’s what you put on the mat, your product. Win or lose, are you giving good effort? That’s what people want to see. I think we’ve had pretty good effort and the fans have seen we’re working hard.

“We’re gonna wrestle, and be aggressive, because that’s what the staff demands. This program has expectations. People don’t realize the history of this program, what they’ve accomplished.

“The history is there,” and he’s ready to add more chapters.

Watterson said the team also saw Zalesky’s lighter side emerge as coach and wrestlers got better acquainted.

“When he first came here, it was strictly business, and it took a while to get used to,” Watterson said. “Now we all kind of joke around. Right before practice starts, he’ll be joking, but then at 3:30, he just flips and switch and it’s practice time.

“Then when practice is done, he’ll laugh again, you can sit down and talk to him. He’s got a good sense of humor out of the room, but when we’re in the room it’s strictly business.”

A positive change

Collegiate wrestling is a tight-knit community. So even though Zalesky was half a continent away in Iowa, he knew of the OSU tradition established by former coach Dale Thomas and of the Beavers’ recent struggles at NCAA tournaments.

Les Gutches won the last of OSU’s 12 national championships in 1996. No one has finished in the top 3 at NCAAs since 1998, and the team hasn’t placed higher than 18th since 1998.

All-Americans, champions and team titles are the ultimate measuring stick.

“They hadn’t done well nationally,” and Zalesky said. “That’s the biggest things I’ll try and turn around.

“I’m trying to up their expectations. Getting to the tournament and getting some rewards, being an All-American, a national champion. Those are rewards for you individually and for the team.”

The biggest change to the program in the past 60 years will come in early 2008, when the Beavers abandon the pillar-pocked third floor Langton Hall practice room for a new, spacious training area in the new Gill Annex. Construction on Phase I of the building starts next month.

It will feature an approximately 7,600-square foot practice/training area on the second floor. Staff offices will remain in Gill Coliseum, however, and duals will still be held there as well because he expects to draw larger and larger crowds as the program grows and improves.

“I’m a big believer of a positive environment to get the most out of you,” he said. “To me, Iowa had become a very negative environment, for a lot of programs, not just wrestling, because of the leadership.

“One of the things I noticed when I came out here for my interview was a very positive environment, especially with the administration, and that comes from the top.

“I’m very happy here. I’ve got great coaches and athletes to work with, I love the campus and the area.

“It’s been a positive change for me.”