USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling in the United States, has named Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Kevin Black of River Falls, Wis. as coaches of the 2011 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 2011 World Wrestling Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 12-18.

Wilson and Black 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 four years (2008-2011). This will be Black’s third World Team coaching assignment (2007, 2009, 2011).

Both have been selected as USA Wrestling’s Women’s Coach of the Year, with Black receiving the award in 2009 and Wilson in 2010.

Both are club coaches with major U.S. wrestling clubs, with Wilson coaching with the Sunkist Kids and Black coaching with the New York AC.

The athletes competing on the 2011 U.S. World Team were determined at the World Team Trials held in Oklahoma City, Okla., June 9-11 and the Non-Olympic Women’s World Team Trials held in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 1.

Quotes from the coaches

National Women’s Coach Terry Steiner

“Both have been very involved in the preparation of this team. I think everybody is on the same page about the direction for the team to go and the direction for each individual athlete. The athletes are getting a clear message about where we need to go to be successful.”

“We have made a lot of progress in the last 2 ½ weeks, both as individuals and as a team. The World Team Coaches, along with our staff coaches Izzy Izboinkov and Erin Tomeo, and with our other volunteer staff members, have done a great job preparing this team.”

Keith Wilson, Colorado Springs, Colo.

“I see a lot of changes in the women’s attitudes and it is all good. This is the best women’s team we’ve seen since I began helping the program in 2001. They are focused and have a good idea what they need to do. They do the little things that lead to success. They are motivated and the coaches are motivated. It’s an exciting time. The girls are where they need to be. If they wrestle the way they are capable, incredible things can happen for them at the World Championships.”

“It is always an honor to do this. I am always here to help. I like to give back to the athletes. You establish a rappoire and you help them achieve their goals. It is a good fit. Everybody works well together. It is a good situation for me and it is fun.”

Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.

“It is always an honor to be recognized and selected by your peers and the athletes to represent the United States. It is a great opportunity. This is my third time in this role. Each time, I feel more equipped and better suited for my role. Having worked with these athletes for the last four or five years, I have a better idea how to help, which has also been in my growth as a coach.”

“We are there to win medals. Our team has a lot of international experience. They have all proven they are winners, that they can win on the international level and on the Senior level. Our optimism is valid. Every year, we believe we can do well as a team. This group has a lot of reasons to expect themselves to do well.”

Biographies of the coaches

Keith Wilson of Colorado Springs, Colo. 

Wilson served as a coach for the 2010 U.S. Women’s World Team in Moscow, Russia, which featured two medalists and earned a fifth place finish,

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 was named 2010 Women's Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.

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. 

The Sunkist Kids had five 2010 World team members in women’s wrestling – Alyssa Lampe, Jessica Medina, Tatiana Padilla, Kelsey Campbell and Stephany Lee.

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. 

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.

A native of Virginia, Wilson was a Greco-Roman Team USA member competing for the U.S. Marine Corps. He also later competed for the U.S. Army. Wilson wrestled on the college level for the University of Oklahoma.

Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.

Black was a 2009 U.S. World Team coach, helping lead the U.S. to a sixth place finish at World Championships, with three athletes placing fifth and five placing in the top 10.

Black was also a World Team coach with the 2007 U.S. Women's World Team which competed in Baku, Azerbaijan and placed fifth in the World team standings, led by silver medalist Katie Downing and bronze medalists Sara McMann and Kristie Marano.

Black was named 2009 Women's Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.

He is a club coach with the New York AC, which won the women's team title at the 2009 U.S. Open and was second at the 2010 U.S. Open. Two members of the 2011 U.S. Women’s World Team are from the New York AC.

Black has coached a number of USA Wrestling Senior women's tour teams, including trips to Russia, Poland and Canada. He has also coached age-group women's teams, taking the U.S. University women's team to compete in El Salvador in 2007 and the U.S. Cadet women's team to China in 2006.

Black represents the Northern Plains Region on USA Wrestling’s Women’s Age-Group Council.

He served one term as the commissioner of the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA), the organization that oversees women's college freestyle wrestling. He is also the coach of the women's wrestling club program at the Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls which competes in the WCWA.

Black has served as the women's wrestling liaison and a member of the Board of the Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

He serves as the Women's Director for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation. He has coached the Wisconsin Junior Nationals Women's team since 2003 and the Wisconsin team at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals the last four years.

Black has coached and operated the Victory School of Wrestling in River Falls, Wis. since 2005, where he works with young wrestlers of all levels. He served as an assistant coach for the Univ. of Wisconsin from 2003-05, working with the Div. I program there. He was a wrestling coach at Lodi High School from 2005-06.

He has been the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation State Coach from 2004-06, and coached the state's Cadet Freestyle National Team from 2002-06. He conducted the Black Brothers Wrestling Camps from 2000-06.

Black was a NCAA Div. I All-American for the Univ. of Wisconsin, where he was a NCAA qualifier three times and served as the team captain three times. Black won four Wisconsin state titles for River Falls High School, with a 160-0 career record. He competed on the Senior level in freestyle, wrestling in a number of major international tournaments.