USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Rob Hermann of Pensacola, Fla. and Dan Hicks of Camp Lejeune, N.C. as coaches of the 2010 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team.

They will work with USA Wrestling National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser 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.

Hermann and Hicks were selected by USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.

Both coaches have served as head wrestling coach with a branch of the U.S. military, with Hermann coaching the U.S. Navy team and Hicks coaching the U.S. Marine Corps team. Both have coached a number of U.S. teams at the CISM World Military Championships.

Hermann served as a head coach for the 1996 Olympic Team and assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic Team. He has recently been named as head Greco-Roman coach of the U.S. Olympic Education Program at Northern Michigan Univ.

Both Hermann and Hicks have coached the U.S. Greco-Roman Team at the Pan American Games, with Hermann leading the 1995 team and Hicks leading the 2007 team.

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 Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser

"Coach Rob Hermann brings many years of experience to our World Team this year. He has been successful at every level of the sport and has a wonderful approach when it comes to helping wrestlers achieve their goals. Rob knows what it takes to win at this level and will work non-stop to make it happen."

"Coach Dan Hicks brings a fresh attitude to our coaching staff this year. He has been an athlete in our program in the not too distant past and now is the U.S. Marine Corps Head Coach. His tough attitude, along with his dedicated passion for the sport, will, no doubt, help our team succeed this September in Moscow."

Rob Hermann, Pensacola, Fla.

“I think our team is stronger and more experienced than last year. These guys know what is expected. They are starting to believe they can do it. With Justin Ruiz and Jake Clark back in the lineup, we have some more veteran leadership. This is a good mix. With Dremiel Byers leading the team, he has done it before with three World medals behind him. This is the best team we can put on the mat and we are going to go with it. The tournament in Poland helped them. The coaches know what to work on in the next training camp. We expect some good things from this team.”

Dan Hicks, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“It is an honor to be selected as World Coach for the U.S. Greco-Roman Team. Anything I can do to help our team to win the Worlds, I will do. We have a great team. We are the USA. Our goal is to be No. 1 and to win the World title. It is an important year, with the Olympic Games qualification beginning next year. We have to do well, and we will. This team has many veterans on it. I believe we will do great in Moscow.”

Biographies of the coaches

Rob Hermann, Pensacola, Fla. 

Hermann has recently been named the head coach for USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman program at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University. He will officially assume his duties at Northern Michigan on August 16. 

Hermann served as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which won three silver medals at the Atlanta Olympic Games. Capturing silver medals were Brandon Paulson (52 kg), Dennis Hall (57 kg) and Matt Ghaffari (130 kg). He was also the assistant coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, which won three medals in the Sydney Olympic Games, including Olympic champion Rulon Gardner (130 kg), silver medalist Matt Lindland (76 kg) and bronze medalist Garrett Lowney (97 kg).

He was also head coach of the 1993 U.S. World Team, which was 14th at the World Championships. Hermann also was an assistant coach with the 1994 and 1997 U.S. World Teams.

He was the head coach of the 1995 Pan American Games team which placed second. Hermann also served as head coach of the 1990 Pan American Championships team and the 1992 World Cup team. He was also coach of the 1991 and 1995 U.S. CISM World Military teams. 

Since 1983, he has served the head coach of the All-Navy team, where he has developed a number of nationally ranked athletes. Among the athletes he worked with was 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Adam Wheeler. 

He was named USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year in both 1992 and 1996. Hermann is a gold certified coach with USA Wrestling’s National Coaches Education Program, the highest level of achievement.

As an athlete, Hermann competed on three U.S. World teams and won a bronze medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. He won four U.S. Senior national titles, and competed in five World Cups. During his career, Hermann was a CISM World Military champion, and captured 11 Armed Forces titles. He was named 1984 and 1992 Navy Athlete of the Year. Hermann was a 12-time All-Navy Wrestling champion. He hails from Crystal River, Fla., where he was a 1976 Florida state high school champion.

In his military career, Hermann served in the U.S. Navy from 1976 through 1998, when he received an honorable discharge. A major part of his military service included coaching wrestling at the Olympic level. He was a Ship’s Serviceman from 1976-1987. He was converted to Master at Arms in 1987. Hermann served in the Security Department at NAS Pensacola from 1987-1993. He was assigned to NORU Recruiting Command from 1996-1998.

He received two Navy Achievement medals and one Navy Accommodation medal while on active duty.

Dan Hicks, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Hicks serves as the head coach of the U.S. Marine Corps wrestling team, which is stationed in Camp LeJeune, N.C. He has served as head coach of the All-Marine wrestling team since 2004. 

Hicks has coached a number of Greco-Roman Team USA members during his years as the coach of the U.S. Marine Corps. His teams have placed second in the Armed Forces Championships every year since 2004.

He also served as a coach for the 2007 Pan American Games team, which competed in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The U.S. won six medals, including gold medals from Harry Lester, Brad Vering and Justin Ruiz. Hicks was also a member of the 2006 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team coaching staff.

Hicks has served as assistant coach for the U.S. CISM World Military Championships team three times. He coached the 2007 U.S. CISM team which competed in the CISM Games in Hyderabad, India. He also coached the 2008 U.S. CISM team which competed in Split, Croatia. He is also coaching the 2010 U.S. CISM team which is competing in Lahti, Finland in mid-August.

He has coached numerous U.S. teams in international competition, leading teams which have competed in Sweden, Finland, France, Poland, Serbia and Greece.

Hicks holds a rank of Major with the U.S. Marine Corps. He has served overseas with the U.S. Marine Corps fleet during his military career.

As an athlete, Hicks was a successful international wrestler competing for the U.S. Marine Corps. He qualified for five Greco-Roman national teams, and was second in the 1998 World Team Trials. He was a placewinner in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials three times (1996, 2000, 2004).

Hicks was second in the 1999 U.S. Senior Nationals, and placed third in the national championships three times (1997, 2002, 2004). He was a 1996 World Cup bronze medalist.

Hicks was a five-time Armed Forces Greco-Roman champion during his career. In 2000, he won a bronze medal at the CISM Military World Championships, and in 1999, he placed fourth in the CISM Military World Games. 

He was also successful in freestyle during his career, winning the University Nationals title in freestyle two times and capturing three Armed Forces freestyle titles.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He placed fifth in the 1994 NCAA Championships and was a four-time NCAA qualifier.

Hicks is originally from Vinita, Okla., where he was a three-time Oklahoma high school state champion and was also an all-state performer in football.