A Moment with Coach Davis

A moment with the Coach!

University of Wisconsin Coach Barry Davis

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
Season’s over, banquet is all wrapped up, so what’s next on your plate?

Coach Davis:
Right now Donny is getting ready to wrestle in Vegas as a first step towards qualifying for the Olympic games. We are starting to look at High School Juniors for next year’s recruiting class. We are preparing for summer camps. But the most important thing we are doing is getting our athletes ready for the next wrestling season. The guys come in 3 days a week to lift and 2 days to be on the mat.

Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
Are you busier now, or during the wrestling season?

Coach Davis:
During the season it is more intense because you are constantly thinking about your athletes, watching films, and keeping track of where each athlete is from a training and mental point of view and trying to stay on top of all of that.

In the off-season, it’s more daily routine~ More administrative type of duties that have to be taken care of year round.

Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
What about the recruits coming in next fall? Do you have much contact with them between now and when school starts in the fall?

Coach Davis:
We call them once a week to get a feel on what kind of training they are doing, if they are going to be at Jr. Nationals this summer, when training camps start, etc. because we like to watch them compete. It also gives us a chance to look at upcoming recruits for the following year. Along with that you have to line up the incoming recruits to come in for SOAR (Student Orientation and Registration) and we need to stay in touch to make sure they are getting all their NCAA Clearinghouse paperwork in order.

Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
If you were to predict next year’s line-up, what would you say?

Coach Davis:
Things could pan out like this:
Either Hammen or Reeve at 125 – or possibly Tyler Graff (new recruit)
Tanelli – 133
Ruschell – 141
Vogel – 149
Andrew Howe – 157 (new recruit)
Felling or Stoppelmoor – 165
Sarbacker – 174
Peterson or Bugenhagen – 184 (Brandvold Redshirting)
Herbst – 197
Massey or Hein – HWT

Wisconsin Wrestling Online:
One last question. I hear that the tentative schedule that you are planning is much different from the past couple of years.

Coach Davis:
Yeah. We’re planning on going to the Midlands in Evanston, IL on December 29-30 this year as well as the National Duals that will be held in Cedar Falls, IA the second week in January. We are looking forward to these two events as it will give us just that much more competition and the match ups that we need in preparing for later in the season.

A Moment With Coach Davis: Looking Ahead!