Troy Steiner coaching U.S. star Nick Simmons at the 2011 World Championships. Both will participate in the NWRTC training camp in January. Larry Slater photo. 

 As the clock ticks closer to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, many athletes are taking advantage of quality competition and practice sessions.  At the Northwest Regional Training Center (NWRTC) in Corvallis, Ore. U.S and international men’s freestyle athletes are participating in a training camp in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Year. 

There are 22 athletes participating in the camp from Jan 9-20, run by Oregon State coaches Jim Zalesky, Troy Steiner, Kevin Roberts and Chad Lamer. In addition to the OSU staff, Canada’s Dave McKay and the U.S Army’s Jason Kutz will be involved in the camp as coaches.

Wrestlers representing Canada, Mexico and South Africa will also be joining the U.S. wrestlers at the NWRTC.

“Being out here, it’s a different environment for them and it’s good to hear a different voice at practice and be around different people to push you,” NWRTC coach Troy Steiner said. “They are able to wrestle different partners and see some different styles and being in a different environment can really help you to focus.”

Wrestlers like Philip Simpson (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army), who usually trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado was one of the many athletes who travelled to Oregon to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the NWRTC. 

“Sometimes you get stagnant in your training and it’s good to change it up and get a fresh perspective and see other kids and how they train. To be able to work with a different partner and to be able to have access to these coaches is great, too,” Simpson said. 

With the Olympic Trials less than four months away, Steiner and his fellow coaches aim to prepare the U.S. athletes as best they can. 

“The guys come here to get a chance to wrestle different partners and train hard. We’re here just to help them train and get them prepared. They have the Olympic Trials in sight and we want to do well preparing them so they look good going into the Trials and are fully prepared,” Steiner said. 

2011 U.S. World team member Nick Simmons (Corvallis, Ore./Sunkist Kids) trains full time in Corvallis and is focused on preparation for the Olympic Trials. Simmons finished fifth at the 2011 World Championships in Turkey, qualifying the U.S. at his weight class. His next challenge is making the U.S. Olympic team for London.

“I look at the Trials as any other tournament,” Simmons said. “With this being an Olympic year, everything is bigger. I go in thinking I’m going to win, as any athlete would. Any competition I enter I believe I’m going to win, that’s how I do it. With this, I have to believe I’m going to win not only the Trials but the Olympics.” 

Like Simmons, Simpson is focused on the Trials and taking advantage of every opportunity to train against top competition. Despite coming off an injury, Simpson says he’s feeling healthy and is excited for the coming months.

“It’s an exciting time of year with the Trials so soon and the Olympics later in the year,” Simpson said. “Being here, (at the NWRTC) is a great opportunity to develop and get better as a wrestler and I’m really looking forward to April.”

This camp will also help Simpson and the other athletes fine tune their wrestling for competition in the next few weeks. Simpson plans to compete at the Dave Schultz Memorial in Colorado Springs, Colo. in early February, as well as at an international event in Turkey.

The international nature of this camp is also helpful. Heinrich Barnes of South Africa and Israel Silva of Mexico, both U.S. college stars, train fulltime in Corvallis. The Canadian delegation includes some of the nation’s best athletes including Matt Gentry, an NCAA Champion for Stanford, who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games. 

Four of the Canadians in camp won the Canadian Olympic Trials in December: Gentry at 74 kg/163 lbs., John Pineda at 60 kg/132 lbs., Haislan Garcia at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., and Arjan Bhullar at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. This camp will assist their preparation to qualify their nation for the Olympic Games in their weight class. 

During the two-week long camp, the wrestlers will stick to a solid training regimen of working hard for three straight days with one day off, and then repeating the cycle. 

“They go hard for three days, have one day to regroup and recover a bit to get back at it for the next three days and push hard again,” Steiner said. “We are looking for this to be a hard training phase, getting in high volume of training and working hard.”

USA ATHLETES: 
55 kg/121 lbs. - Nick Simmons, Corvallis, Ore. (Sunkist Kids)
60 kg/ 132 lbs. – Matt Valenti, Philadelphia, Pa. (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Derek Moore, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Joe Johnston, Columbia, Mo. (Gator WC)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Todd Meneely, Colorado Springs Colo. (Team OTC)
66 kg/ 145.5 lbs. - Dustin Schlatter, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Kevin LaValley, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
66 kg/ 145.5 lbs. - Johnny Koepp, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Philip Simpson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Joe Schumacher, Bismarck, N.D.
74 kg/163 lbs. - Moza Fay, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Patrick Downey Colorado Springs, Colo. (Team OTC)
96 kg/ 211.5 lbs. - Wynn Michalak, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
121 kg/264.5 lbs. - Chad Hanke, Dayton, Ore. (NWRTC)

SOUTH AFRICA:
66 kg/ 145.5 lbs. - Heinrich Barnes

MEXICO
96 kg/ 211.5 lbs. - Israel Silva

CANADA:
55 kg/121 lbs. - Aso Palani
60 kg/ 132 lbs. - John Pineda
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Haislan Garcia
74 kg/163 lbs. - Matt Gentry
96 kg/ 211.5 lbs. - Manjot Sandhu
120 kg/ 264.5 lbs. - Arjan Bhullar