USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Link Davis of Oklahoma City, Okla. and Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. as coaches of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Freestyle World Team.

They will work with USA Wrestling National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner of Colorado Springs, Colo. and the USA Wrestling national coaching staff to lead the team that will compete at the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 6-12.

Davis and Wilson were selected by USA Wrestling's Women’s Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.

Wilson has served as a World Team Coach for the U.S. women’s freestyle program for the last three years (2008-2010).

Davis serves as the assistant wrestling coach at Oklahoma City University, where he has helped lead the Stars’ women’s wrestling program to the WCWA women’s college national title the last two years.

Both are club coaches with major U.S. wrestling clubs, with Wilson coaching with the Sunkist Kids and Davis coaching with the Gator WC. 

The athletes competing on the 2010 U.S. World Team were determined at the World Team Trials held in Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 11-12. 

Quotes from the coaches

National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner

“Keith Wilson has put a lot of time into this program and these athletes. Our wrestlers are very comfortable with him and have confidence in him. He is a great addition. This is his third straight World Team assignment. Our National Team has trust in him. From a National Coaching perspective, Keith knows what I want from the team and the coaching staff. We have good continuity there.”

“Link has been very active with the Oklahoma City program, our premier college program right now. They have had a lot of success there. Because of that, he will feel very comfortable with our World Team athletes. His personality is laid back and he is easy to get along with. Link is willing to help the team and the program however we need him.”

Link Davis of Oklahoma City, Okla.

“It is a great opportunity to coach with some of the best coaches in the world, and to work with some of the best athletes in the world. Our expectations for the team is that we expect seven medals. I believe that we can do it. We have a good young group of athletes who are hungry for success.”

Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.

“It is always a pleasure and honor to coach our women’s team. This could be a breakthrough year for us. The women are wrestling well in all positions. By the Olympics, we will be a force to be reconned with. I hope that this year they step forward and make a name for themselves. This year, our athletes have been beating World champions and medalists in competitions. We have to get them wrestling consistently. They all have a good attitude. We hope this year we will be recognized as a power within women’s wrestling.”

Biographies of the coaches

Link Davis, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Davis serves as assistant wrestling coach for Oklahoma City University, where he has helped build its women’s wrestling program into a national power. He works in all aspects of both men’s and women’s programs.

With Davis’ guidance, OCU has won two consecutive WCWA Women’s national team titles and was second at the nationals the previous season. In three seasons, OCU women’s wrestlers have won eight individual WCWA national titles. Four OCU women’s wrestlers qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials. 

Davis has helped coach the U.S. Senior team which competed at the 2010 Canada Cup, as well as the 2010 Junior World team which competed in Hungary. He also helped coach a WCWA college team which competed at the Spanish Grand Prix. Davis has coached a number of other teams that have competed in Canadian tournaments.

Previously, Davis was a high-school assistant in El Reno, Okla., in 2005-06. Davis had been a head coach at Broken Arrow, Okla., from 2002-05. Davis coached four-time state champion Brandon Tucker and three-time state champ Shane Vernon at Broken Arrow. Before then, Davis was also a head coach at Poteau, Okla.

Davis was named Oklahoma Coaches Association assistant coach of the year in 2002 after helping Broken Arrow win the dual state championship. With Oklahoma USA Wrestling, Davis was also an assistant for Oklahoma’s three-time Junior National Dual champion and 2001 runner-up teams.

As a college wrestler, Davis was a member of Central Oklahoma’s 1996 NCAA Division II runner-up squad.

He is married to Kristie Davis, a two-time World champion and nine-time World medalist in women’s freestyle wrestling, and a member of the 2010 U.S. World Team. 

Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Wilson served as a World Team coach with the 2009 U.S. Women’s World Team in Herning, Denmark, which placed sixth in the team standings, with three athletes who placed fifth in their weight class.

Wilson was also a World Team coach with the 2008 U.S. Women's World Team in Tokyo, Japan, which placed fourth in the World team standings and featured gold-medalist Clarissa Chun and bronze-medalist Tatiana Padilla.

He was also a coach with the 2009 U.S. World Cup Team, which competed in Taiyuan, China. The U.S. was fifth in the standings with a 2-2 team record. He was a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team staff, and has also coached at the Pan American Championships.

Wilson is the personal coach for 2008 World champion and 2008 Olympian Clarissa Chun, and has worked directly on a regular basis with a number of other national-caliber women wrestlers. 

He has been a club coach with the Sunkist Kids since 2001. The Sunkist Kids captured the women’s freestyle team title at the 2010 U.S. Nationals, led by six individual champions. 

Wilson is the owner and a coach at Rough House MMA and Fitness in Colorado Springs, Colo. His club specializes in wrestling, No-Gi Grappling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay-Thai, kickboxing, boxing and personal fitness.