USA WRESTLING ANNOUNCES 1998 U.S. WORLD TEAM COACHES; JOHN SMITH AND DONNIE MCPHERSON IN MEN'S FREESTYLE; JOE DEMEO AND DAN MELLO IN MEN'S GRECO-ROMAN; AND JOE CORSO AND DOUG REESE IN WOMEN'S FREESTYLEUSA Wrestling has named its coaching staffs for the 1998 U.S. World Teams in men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling. All of these coaches serve as volunteers, and are considered among the best wrestling coaches in the nation.
The coaching staff for the 1998 U.S. Freestyle World Team will include Head Coach John Smith of Stillwater, Okla. and Assistant Coach Donnie McPherson of Portland, Ore.
The coaching staff for the 1998 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team will include Head Coach Joe DeMeo of Niskayuna, N.Y. and Assistant Coach Dan Mello of Daphne, Ala.
The coaching staff for the 1998 U.S. Women's World Team will include Head Coach Joe Corso of Phoenix, Ariz. and Assistant Coach Doug Reese of Morris, Minn.
The coaching assignments in all three styles were approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee. The men's freestyle coaches were selected by USA Wrestling's Freestyle Coach Selection Committee. The men's Greco-Roman coaches were selected by USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman Coach Selection Committee. The women's freestyle coaches were selected by USA Wrestling's Women's Wrestling Committee.
Smith and McPherson will coach the U.S. team which will compete in the 1998 Freestyle World Championships in Teheran, Iran, Sept. 8-11. The athletes who will compete on the team will be determined at the Freestyle World Team Trials in Waterloo, Iowa, June 12-13.
Smith was co-coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Cup team, which won the team title in Stillwater, Okla. The U.S. team won every match in the team finals against their top rival, Russia, the first time in history. Six U.S. wrestlers claimed gold medals.
Smith has served as the head coach at Oklahoma State Univ. since 1992, he led the Cowboys to the team to the 1994 NCAA Championships and second place at the 1997 NCAA Championships. His teams have also won three Big Eight Championships. He is also a club coach for the Sunkist Kids and the Cowboy Wrestling Club.
Smith is considered by many the greatest freestyle wrestler in U.S. history. He won gold medals at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games at 136.5 pounds, and won four World Championships gold medals (1987, 1989-91). His sixth straight World-level titles is unparalleled in U.S. wrestling history. Smith also won all of the major events in wrestling, including the World Cup, the Goodwill Games and the Pan American Games.
He was a two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State (1987-88) and was a two-time Oklahoma state high school champion. He comes from perhaps the most successful wrestling family in U.S. history, which includes older brother Lee Roy and younger brothers Pat and Mark.
"I look forward to getting involved in freestyle again," said Smith. "It has been tough being away from freestyle since 1992. My expectations are the same as (National Freestyle Coach) Bruce Burnett's - to win the team championship and win as many medals as we can. It is exciting that the Worlds are in Iran. It creates more of a challenge for the U.S. team, but should be motivating for the athletes on the team."
McPherson served as an assistant coach for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, which competed in Atlanta, Ga., and the 1997 U.S. World team., which competed in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
He works as a teacher and coach at Jefferson High School in Oregon. As a high school head wrestling coach, McPherson has had numerous successful teams, including second place finishes in the state tournament in 1990 and 1991 and third in 1992. He was also an assistant coach at Portland State Univ. in 1993 and 1994.
He serves a coach with the Peninsula Wrestling Club, which has produced numerous national champions in both styles. He has also coached a number of U.S. teams in foreign competitions, including both Senior-level and age-group squads. McPherson has also coached many Oregon state-level teams.
As an athlete, McPherson competed at Portland State Univ. for four years, and was an Oregon state high school champion.
Smith and McPherson have also been assigned to coach the U.S. team at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, N.Y., which will be held July 25-26.
DeMeo and Mello will coach the U.S. team which will compete in the 1998 Greco-Roman World Championships in Gavle, Sweden, August 27-30. The athletes who will compete on the team will be determined at the Greco-Roman World Team Trials in New Orleans, La., June 25-27.
DeMeo was the head coach of the 1994 U.S. Greco-Roman World Team, which tied for seventh in the team standings and featured one medalist. He was the assistant coach of the 1991 Pan American Games team, which placed second in the team standings, and included four champions and 10 medalists.
He was the coach for the U.S. Greco-Roman World Cup teams in 1980, 1984 and 1987. DeMeo was the head coach of the 1989 Pan American Championships team, which placed second in the team standings. He also coached the U.S. Junior World Teams in 1977 and 1983.
He was on the coaching staff of four Olympic teams (1976, 1980, 1988, 1992) and has been an assistant coach with a number of U.S. World teams. He coached at the 1985 U.S. Olympic Festival and has taken numerous U.S. teams on tours to foreign nations.
DeMeo has been coaching on the national level since 1971, and is currently a club coach with the New York Athletic Club on the Senior level, and with the Adirondack Three-Style Wrestling Association on the Junior level. He has coached eight Olympians.
His club teams have been first or second in the nation 23 times, including 12 national champion teams. DeMeo has coached over 200 national champions on all age levels, including 60 Senior national titles. His athletes have won World medals on the Senior, Espoir, Junior and Cadet levels.
DeMeo coached at the State University of New York at Albany for 18 years. He was previously the head coach at Stanford University for seven years (1970-77). DeMeo also served as an assistant coach at Michigan State from 1967-70. He coached over 35 All-Americans on the college level.
He works in real estate sales. He attended Cornell Univ., where he was an Eastern placewinner for the wrestling team. DeMeo also wrestled both freestyle and Greco-Roman on the national level in the early 1960's.
"I am thrilled and honored to be named World Team Coach," said DeMeo. "It is a very serious undertaking, which I'll take very seriously. We have great athletes, and if we can help them prepare, our performance should be solid. I think we can improve as a team and have a great performance. The United States is capable of placing in the top six in the world every year."
Mello served as the head coach of the 1997 U.S. Pan American Championships team, which placed second in the team standings in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
He was the head coach of the U.S. Marine Corps team for six years, stationed in Quantico, Va. Mello coached a number of nationally ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers on the Marine team. He is currently promoting wrestling development in Alabama and surrounding southern states.
Mello was on the coaching staff of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. He was assistant coach for the 1994 and 1996 U.S. World Cup teams. He also coached the winning team at the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival.
He has served as head coach of a number of U.S. age-group World teams. Mello coached the 1991 Cadet World Team to the World team title. He also was head coach of the 1990 Cadet World team, the 1992 Espoir World Cup team, the 1993 Cadet World Team and the 1994 Junior World Team and the 1996 Junior World Team.
Mello was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman team. He won 14 national titles as an athlete, competing in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, and competed on four U.S. World teams.
Corso and Reese will coach the U.S. team which will compete in the 1998 Women's World Championships in Poz