USOTC Freestyle Developmental resident Earl Hall after winning a match at the 2012 Dave Schultz Memorial International. Larry Slater photo

It has been a little more than a year since USA Wrestling announced that some of the nation’s best high school graduates would hold off going to college in order to train full-time in freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The idea was to give these talented stars a year to focus completely on freestyle wrestling. They would train alongside the Olympic-level wrestlers, compete on the Senior and age-group levels, get a firm foundation in the international style, and win World medals for the United States on the FILA Junior level (ages 17-20).

“We believe to develop our Cadet and Junior guys, they have to be wrestling Senior guys,” said Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay. “It is a benefit to our Senior guys to be wrestling the younger guys, but it clearly a benefit to our Junior guys to wrestle the Senior guys.”

Three past Junior National champions jumped at the opportunity, led by the athlete many felt was the nation’s top college recruit, Destin McCauley of Minnesota. The other Junior National champions who signed up were Tanner Hall of Idaho and Patrick Downey, who hailed from Maryland and Florida. The program also added talents such as Earl Hall of Florida and Nathan Burak of Colorado.

A year ago, it all looked good on paper. A year later, there is proof shown on the mat that this really was a great idea.

“The plan a year ago was to bring some Junior guys here to train fulltime and to put multiple guys on the Junior World Team and win more medals. That was a plan a year ago. Thankfully, that is where we are at now,” said Slay.

The 2012 U.S. FILA Junior World Team will feature four full-time Freestyle Developmental Resident athletes: Earl Hall at 60 kg, Destin McCauley at 66 kg, Patrick Downey at 84 kg and Tanner Hall at 96 kg. 

A local high school athlete, Adrian Cordova from Coronado High School in the Springs, who trains often at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, also made the team at 50 kg. Cordova is a state champion and is nephew of Olympic champion Henry Cejudo.

This level of success did not happen without some tough times, hard work, sacrifice and a steep learning curve.

“It’s tough,” said Tanner Hall. “You go from being the number one wrestler in your weight class in high school, then you come out here and get beaten up. It wasn’t fun for the first little while. Gradually, you get used to it and you start to do better. I enjoy it now. I am glad I made the decision to come here.”

“It was a huge shock to me, coming here and wrestling these guys,” said McCauley. “Coming out of high school, I didn’t have too much competition. I just went out there and did my thing. I thought I’d do the same thing here. It was a shock. These guys are the real deal. They are trying to be the best in the world. They want to be Olympic champions. I want to be an Olympic champion. That is what you come out here to do.”

Slay, along with the other USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coaches Zeke Jones and Bill Zadick, worked closely with the young athletes during the difficult transition they needed to make in such a competitive environment.

“They improved dramatically and the program did work,” said Slay. “It was for sure a process. When they first got here, they got beat up a little and got a lot of points scored on them. It was a sink or swim mentality, and they decided to swim. They decided to continue to work hard and stick with it. After five, six and seven months, you could see all that time pay off for them.”

In addition to being able to handle the higher level of competition, the wrestlers also needed to improve their basics and learn many new skills.

“When I first got here, I thought it was all about speed, speed, speed,” said Earl Hall. “Now I realize it is all about technique, about getting the moves down pat. I had a bad stance. I had to correct that.”

In addition to working with Senior athletes, the wrestlers had access to USA Wrestling’s National Coaching staff as well as many other coaches who came through Colorado Springs during the year.

“I have had plenty of coaches my whole life,” said McCauley. “I have developed a close and amazing relationship with all of the freestyle coaches here. They want the best for me. You believe everything they are talking about and give it 100%.”

The progress began to be apparent when the young wrestlers started winning in Senior competitions against tough opponents. Tanner Hall earned a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials field by placing third at the Olympic Trials Qualifier in Las Vegas. Earl Hall joined the Olympic Trials field with an impressive fourth place at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. The other wrestlers also starting to win bouts against their older opponents.

“I have to credit my success to being here,” said Earl Hall. “Training freestyle has benefitted me a lot. Working out with the boys has been a good experience for me.”

Throughout the process, the young athletes formed a group identity, taking pride in their shared journey.

“We are a bunch of goofballs hanging out together. We do a bunch of silly stuff all the time. We are well bonded, a band of brothers. We enjoy each others company and are excited about our performance at the Junior World Team Trials,” said Tanner Hall.

“We have a team feel, a Team OTC with all the guys here. Inside of that, they have their Junior team feel. They hang out, encourage each other, and they push each other,” said Slay.

When it was time to compete against athletes their own age, the OTC wrestlers were both confident and well prepared. Their performance at the Junior World Team Trials proved that their decision to take a chance at the OTC was well worth it.

“It shows how well we are doing here,” said McCauley. “We are doing all the right things. We are at a different level than the other kids.”

Of the group going to the Junior Worlds, only Tanner Hall had been on a previous Junior World Team. People had high hopes for McCauley, which made his success not surprising to some. The progress shown by Earl Hall and Patrick Downey in just one year was impressive. Slay uses Downey as an example of why the program was created.

“Downey jumped in wrestling our top 84 kg and 96 kg Senior guys. He won the FILA Junior Nationals, then made the Junior World Team and he is truly poised to do some damage at the Worlds.”

In addition to working out with the Senior-level resident athletes, the FILA Junior World Team members now have access to the Olympic Team Training Camps.

“When the Olympic Team comes in the practice room, you can feel the intensity in the air,” said Earl Hall. “You know what they expect. It is a blessing for us to train with them.”

The FILA Junior World Championships is the next challenge for these young stars.

“The goal is to come back here with gold medals for all of us, and to win the World Team title too,” said Tanner Hall. “We have the ability to do it. We are stacked. We have kids with a lot of experience. Things are looking up for us.”

“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Destin McCauley. “It is something I have been trying to reach, to make a Junior World Team for the last two years. I am pleased I finally made it and I have high expectations for myself. I am looking to win it. We have a strong team this year. All of us together are Team USA. If we perform the way I think we can, I believe Team USA can win it all. I am expecting a lot of medals.”

Slay feels that the Freestyle Developmental Resident program wrestlers, as well as the others who made the team, will have a good showing in Thailand.

“I believe that multiple guys are medal contenders and can come home with gold medals. Last year at the Junior Worlds, we came back with one medal, when Logan Stieber came home with a silver medal. For America, that’s not good, one out of eight medals. We can do better this year,” said Slay.

Tanner Hall looks back at a long, challenging year, and knows that other wrestlers would also benefit in the future with the same opportunity.

“Coming here from high school, it’s a totally different level. They train differently. It is such a great experience. I would recommend it to anybody who gets the opportunity. It has taken me from a good high school wrestler and turned me into a great wrestler overall. Out here, they have taught me how to wrestle and what it takes to get to the next level,” said Tanner Hall.

2012 U.S. JUNIOR WORLD FREESTYLE TEAM

Those training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
50 kg/110 lbs. - Adrian Cordova (Cejudo Athletics)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Earl Hall (New York AC)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Destin McCauley (Sunkist Kids)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Patrick Downey (New York AC)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Tanner Hall (New York AC)

Brandon Slay interview video

Tanner Hall interview video

Destin McCauley and Earl Hall interview video