USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Dan Chandler of Minneapolis, Minn. and James Johnson of Phoenix, Ariz. as coaches of the 2011 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 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 12-18.

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

Chandler has extensive experience serving as official coach for Olympic and World Championships Team. Chandler was the head coach of the 2000 U.S. Greco-Roman Olympic Team. He was also coach for the 1995, 1997 and 1999 and 2009 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams. 

Chandler was named the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year five times (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000).

This will be Johnson’s first official World Team coaching assignment. He coached U.S. Senior Greco-Roman teams on almost a dozen international tours in the last six years.

Both coach major Senior club programs in Greco-Roman, Johnson with the Sunkist Kids and Chandler with the Minnesota Storm.

The athletes competing on the 2011 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team were determined at the World Team Trials held in Oklahoma City, Okla., June 9-11.

Quotes from the coaches

National Greco-Roman Coach Steve Fraser

“Needless to say, I’m very excited to work with Dan Chandler and James Johnson. Dan is a veteran and has been involved with the program for many years. He is a big reason for the success we have had and it is great to have him in the mix this year. James Johnson has dedicated a lot of time and effort over the last few years to help our national program. We all work real well together.”

“The official goals for our team is to win three golds, five medals and to qualify everybody for the London Games. A lot of people may think those goals are steep. I believe this team can do it. We have to come to play and it is no easy task. We have the potential to do that well. Why not aim for that? That is what has made our program successful.”

Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn.

“It’s an experienced team. The only guy who hasn’t wrestled in a World Championships yet is Cheney Haight. We have three medalists on the team. We have high expectations. There is a lot of pressure because we want to qualify all of our weight classes for the Olympic Games. He had a good training camp. We are optimistic. We are looking forward to a nice final camp in Greece, to rest up, get strong and go to Istanbul to get some medals.”

“It is important for you to attend this high level of competition if you wish to improve as a coach. Every time I go there, I come back as a better coach. You learn so much. Just like as a competitor, you have to keep going to the World Championships. It is a very important part of my development as a coach.”

James Johnson, Phoenix, Ariz.

“I think we have an incredible group of athletes. I believe we can compete with all of the countries. If everybody steps up, we can win medals and battle for a World Team title. It will take a complete group effort and strong commaraderie from our athletes and coaches to make it happen. I am always honored to be part of our program, first as an athlete and then as a coach. I have a lot of experience which I believe can help our team performance.”

Biographies of the coaches

Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn.

Chandler was the head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team in Sydney, Australia, which finished with three medals and a team third-place finish. It was considered by many the best performance by a U.S. Greco-Roman team in Olympic history. The U.S. medalists were Rulon Gardner (gold), Matt Lindland (silver) and Garrett Lowney (bronze).

Chandler was the head coach of the 1995, 1997 and 1999 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams. The 1995 team placed in a tie for fourth in the team standings in Prague, Czech Republic. The team featured two medalists, champion Dennis Hall and runner-up Matt Ghaffari. The 1997 U.S. World team placed 12th in the World Championships. The 1999 U.S. World team placed 14th in the final standings, with three wrestlers placing in the top 10 of their weight division. He was also a World Team Coach in 2009 in Herning, Denmark.

Chandler also served as the assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, which featured silver medalist Dennis Koslowski and bronze medalist Rodney Smith. He served on the coaching staff at the 1988, 1996, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.

Chandler was named the USA Wrestling Greco-Roman Coach of the Year five times, the most by any coach (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000). 

He was the coach of the 2003 Pan American Games team which competed in the Dominican Republic. Chandler served as head coach of the 1994 Pan American Championships team, which won the team title. He also coached the 1990 and 1993 World Cup teams. 

Chandler works as the state coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaching athletes in the state on all age levels. He also coaches the Minnesota Storm club, which features many of the best Greco-Roman athletes in the nation. The Minnesota Storm is among the most successful club teams on the national level, earning team honors on the Senior and age-group levels. He also coached three years on the college level at St. Thomas Univ., and as an assistant at the Univ. of Minnesota.

As an athlete, he was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams (1976, 1980, 1984). Chandler competed in six World Championships, placing as high as fifth in the 1979 World Championships. He won medals in three Pan American Games, including golds in 1975 and 1979. Chandler competed for the Univ. of Minnesota.

Chandler is part of the inaugural class for the Anoka High School Hall of Fame, which recognizes achievement in all aspects of life. Among those who are also in the induction class are entertainer Garrison Keiler, television host Gretchen Carlson and Greco-Roman Olympic medalist Brandon Paulson.

He has been married for 24 years to his wife Cindy and has two children.

James Johnson, Phoenix, Ariz.

Johnson will serve as a World Team coach for the 2011 U.S. World Team in Istanbul, Turkey. Johnson was also on the 2009 U.S. World Team coaching staff in Herning, Denmark.

He has coached U.S. Senior Greco-Roman teams on almost a dozen international tours in the last six years, including coaching at the Hungarian Grand Prix the last three years. Other nations where he has coached U.S. tour teams include Bulgaria, Serbia and Finland.

Johnson has served as the head Greco-Roman coach for the Sunkist Kids for the last eight years. The Sunkist Kids has won the USA Wrestling Div. II national title in Greco-Roman the last three years and four of the last five years. He has helped mentor a number of U.S. World and Olympic team members, as well as national champions.

He has an extensive coaching background on the college level. He has coached the heavyweight wrestlers for Grand Canyon University the last two years. For 10 years, he was an assistant wrestling coach at Arizona State, working with head coach Bobby Douglas. He was also on the coaching staff at Arizona State when Tab Thacker was the NCAA heavyweight champion.

 Johnson won two Pan American Championships gold medals, and won a silver medal at the 1991 Pan American Games. He was second in the World Cup three times. Johnson won three U.S. Nationals titles in Greco-Roman during his career, and was second in the 1992 Olympic Trials.

He was an NCAA qualifier for the University of Kentucky, competing for Fletcher Carr. Johnson was the first wrestler from D.H. Conley High School to win a state wrestling title when he won the North Carolina state meet in 1976. He was also the first athlete from North Carolina to be an All-American at the USA Wrestling Junior Nationals. Johnson was elected to the North Carolina Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007.