Wiltz

Gable: Iowa program on its way back
By Steve Batterson | Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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Dan Gable senses a different attitude when he walks around the Iowa wrestling room.

The longtime Hawkeyes coach and second-year assistant to coach Tom Brands believes Iowa is positioned to “make a pretty good jump’’ this year nationally.

“I’m seeing signs, all summer I’ve seen them, that things are beginning to turn,’’ Gable said Monday during an appearance at the Davenport Grid Club.

He said he didn’t see those signs much of last season.

During a season of transition after Brands’ arrival from Virginia Tech, Iowa was 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten duals last year.

The effort preceded a third-place finish in the Big Ten meet and an eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championships, where 165-pounder Mark Perry became Iowa’s first NCAA titlist since 2004.

“It took nearly the whole year for the mindset to begin to change. It took five or six months before I saw anything that even remotely resembled change, and honestly I was really concerned,’’ Gable said.

“I didn’t know if it was going to happen, but late in the season I started to see signs, and they have continued.’’

Gable views Perry’s national title as a significant achievement.

“It’s a start. It’s something that indicates that at least one wrestler in that room got it, that the message was starting to sink in,’’ Gable said.

The signs have continued.

Returning Hawkeyes Ryan Morningstar and Matt Fields won championships at the University National Championships last April. Redshirt freshman Jake Kerr won his weight class at the FILA Junior World Team Trials in May, and former Hawkeyes Mike Zadick, Doug Schwab and Joe Williams earned spots on the U.S. freestyle team that will compete in the World Championships beginning next week in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Zadick and Schwab train in Iowa City and work as a strength training coach and volunteer assistant, respectively, with the Hawkeyes program.

“Those are all signs that things are getting back to normal around our program,’’ said Gable, who coached the Hawkeyes to 21 Big Ten titles and 15 NCAA championships during a head coaching career that ran from 1977 to 1997.

“And, I think as long as coach Brands is here, and coach (Cael) Sanderson is at Iowa State, the sport is going to stay strong in this state for quite a few years.’’

Gable said Brands taught the Hawkeyes to listen, believe and apply last season, elements that can equate to success, wins and domination when implemented.

“Right now, we’re starting to get into the success part and starting to have some wins. The domination will follow, but that can only happen as the wrestlers buy into what is being taught and dedicate themselves to making that happen,’’ Gable said.

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

goferphan

Thats great for collegiate wrestling if that is actually the case but I am a "show me don't tell me" guy.

I wanna see guys like Falck and Morningstar continue to show great improvement as well as Fields.

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R.I.P. Adam Frey, You left us far too soon.

headshuck

Hey gopherfan, never doubt the age-old "listen, believe and apply" approach to coaching.

ODH

“Those are all signs that things are getting back to normal around our program,’’ said Gable, who coached the Hawkeyes to 21 Big Ten titles and 15 NCAA championships during a head coaching career that ran from 1977 to 1997.
The arrogance of Hawkeyes believing that their streak of dominance is normal makes it easy to root against them.

Also, that their belief that the major problem is that guys are not buying into the program is why the do not dominate anymore:
“Right now, we’re starting to get into the success part and starting to have some wins. The domination will follow, but that can only happen as the wrestlers buy into what is being taught and dedicate themselves to making that happen,’’ Gable said.
How about other teams have more talented guys and can work just as hard?

Johnnythompsonnum1

You know, I'm beginning to wonder that as well. I'm a huge Dan Gable fan and see him as perhaps the greatest motivator of all time, but is wrestling really, "all in the head"?. Gable had to start somewhere and had to start from scratch to be one of the best, but 1981-1997 he was also dealing with the absolute very best the nation had to offer of high school wrestler's. Today, not everyone of the greatest wrestlers wants to wrestle for Iowa. Some of them want to wrestle for Oklahoma State, some want to wrestle for Iowa State. Iowa isn't getting all of the best anymore.

Then again maybe I'm wrong. Some say that if Mario Galanakis had wrestled during the Gable era, he would have been a couple time All American.

To me it's a lot more logical seeing Brent Metcalf and Mark Perry, "buying" into the Iowa System than it is seeing Luke Lofthouse and Phil Keddy. I'm willing to bet it is because Metcalf and Perry are God gifted in ability and talent beyond belief, because I highly doubt Lofthouse and Keddy are slacking off in practice.

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"Within all of us there burns a passion of fire. Forever feel the heat from the flames of your desire"

headshuck

Brands said all last season that Perry wasn't buying in.... then he figures out how to pull off the championship and they take the credit "Perry finally bought in!" It's just silly.

Johnnythompsonnum1

Beating Johny Hendricks was the final deal on the purchase I guess.

__________________
"Within all of us there burns a passion of fire. Forever feel the heat from the flames of your desire"

Trusty

I don't think that is all true..... ("dealing with the absolute very best the nation had to offer of HS wrestlers"). I can't go back to the early 80's, but the mid/late 80's teams were made up of more "hard workers" than "blue chippers"...Penrith, Brands, Steiners, Uker, Weber, Simpson, Ostendorph,Fiser, to name a few that were far from "very best HS wrestlers"
Don't get me wrong, UI did have their share of top talent, but I think Gable made more champions out of hard workers than anything else.
You have to remember, back then very few teams trained like UI, and many wins were on heart and wind. Nowdays most programs train this way (Gable has 20+ UI wrestlers in the coaching ranks). Just my thoughts.

Johnnythompsonnum1

I agree, but could Gable take the talent of a team like East Stroudsberg or Wagner, and if those guys were willing to put in the hard work and dedication, make them into a team to be reckoned with?

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"Within all of us there burns a passion of fire. Forever feel the heat from the flames of your desire"

Wiltz

Gable took guys with some talent, and tons of heart and turned them into champions. Brands, Whitmer, Fiser, Weber ect... Terry and Tom both freely admit coming out of HS they weren't the most talented guys around.