TheMat.com interview with Kerry McCoy, the 2002 U.S. Nationals men's freestyle champion at 120 kg

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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
06/17/2002


Kerry McCoy has slowly become one of the most dominating forces on the international circuit. Now wrestling at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., McCoy's career has included  three freestyle World Cup titles, two spots on the U.S. World Team and he was a member of the 2000 Olympic Team.    TheMat.com spoke with McCoy about his preparation for the upcoming World Team Trials, the absence of Stephen Neal from his weight class and the affect his new, lighter weight class has had on him.    TheMat.com: You placed fifth in the 2000 Olympics and fourth at last year's World Championships. Do you feel that you now have the experience to move forward in your international career and win a medal?  McCoy: The only reason that I have continued to compete is to try and improve on my performances. I wouldn't be competing if I didn't feel like I could win, but I still have to make the team. That's the most important part.    TheMat.com: In 2000, you lost to the Olympic Silver Medalist and last year you lost the Gold and Bronze Medalists at the World Championships. What have you done to close the gap with them?  McCoy: I've been pretty much doing the same things. Both times, in 2000 and last year, I didn't wrestle my best at the tournament. Last year was a difficult situation with the World Championships moving and having to wait so long. My head wasn't into it. In Sydney, I was on a roll, and didn't lose a match all year. My first bad match was at the quarterfinals of the Olympics. You can't have a bad match in a competition like that. I was just trying to concentrate on wrestling well and wrestling well every time I stepped on the mat. If I can do that and limit my mistakes, everything else will fall into place.    TheMat.com: You have had pretty good battles with Stephen Neal throughout your career. How much did his presence help motivate you to become better?  McCoy: I had to be on my A-game to wrestle him. He was a World Champion and we battled back and forth quite a bit. He definitely made me that much better, knowing that he was going to be one of the guys I was going to have to face to even make the World team. In our weight class, if you make the U.S. team, you have a good chance at winning a medal and he was one of the guys that added to that mix.    TheMat.com: The last two years, not many people picked you to beat Stephen Neal. With him in the NFL now, does that give you more room to prepare for more international opponents?  McCoy: No, because I don't think I can overlook anybody in my weight class. Tolly (Thompson) has been wrestling well through the years. He is always someone I have to be prepared for. Plus these younger guys are coming up - guys I have to be aware of. Then there are other guys like Angelo Borzio and Brian Keck who have been around throughout the years and been knocking on the door. I can't just say that this guy is gone and now I have an easy shot because there is always someone out there who is training to be the next number one guy. If I am not careful, I will be sitting back wondering what happened, so I have to be ready for everybody.    TheMat.com: For guys like you, who have always been used to being somewhat smaller than your opponents, do you feel that the new weight class (120 kg/264.lbs.), which is about 20 pounds lighter than last year, is an advantage to you?  McCoy: I'm not going to say it is an advantage, but it doesn't hurt to have guys that can only be 5-10 pounds heavier than me as opposed to guys who are 20-30 pounds heavier. Most of the best guys in the world aren't really that big. There are only a couple of guys that are 280 or 285. Most of the guys I have competed with over the years have been 260 or 265. It really hasn't affected me that much because the Russian, the guy from Uzbekistan and Tolly are all between 250 and 260.    TheMat.com: At Lehigh, who are you able to train with?  McCoy: Our heavyweight, Joe Sahl. Last year, Shawn Laughlin, our heavyweight, was my training partner. Those guys have been a real strong support group for me. Jon Trenge has been around. He is good to help me work on things while I am helping him. The energy he brings to the table is really nice. It's always good to have someone just as fired up about getting ready as you are. Those three guys have really been helpful in my time here.    TheMat.com: Lehigh had one of their best seasons in the school's history this year with an NCAA champion at 184 and an NCAA runner-up at 197. How gratifying was that for you on a coaching level?  McCoy: I think my actions might have spoken for me. Some people say 'you were more excited for Rohn than you were when you won your own title.' I was. Rob Rohn had an interesting road to the national championship. We were questioning whether he was going to actually wrestle this year. Last year, he was plagued by injuries, so for him to get there and to win the way he did was incredible. We had a real big disappointment with Jon last year with his eye and not being able to compete at the NCAA Tournament. For him to come back in his first year in the tournament was nice. Of course we would have liked to have seen him win, but some things aren't meant to be. We definitely did get the most out of those two guys and it was an incredible weekend for us. It was also bittersweet, though. We had two returning All-Americans not place. Unfortunately Chris Vitale was a senior. At least Mario Stuart has two years of eligibility left. Just to have guys challenging for national championships is a great thing for this coaching staff and one of the reasons why I'm glad to be a part of this program.    TheMat.com: Do you think about becoming a college head coach at all?  McCoy: Definitely. I think in the years past, when coaching opportunities opened up, my competitive career took a front seat. Now I am kind of in that transitional stage where my competitive career is starting to come to an end, whether it is this year, next year or three years down the road, I know I'm not going to be competing in 10-15 years. Now the coaching aspect is starting to come a little more to the forefront. Once I am done competing and satisfied in what I have done in my career, then I will look to move on and hopefully get a good job where I can impact the program and challenge for some national championships and All-Americans.    TheMat.com: When is the last time you played the cello?  McCoy: I haven't played the cello in about five years. I played it all through high school, but in college I didn't play it that much. My senior year, I took a one-credit class. Since then, I haven't picked it up. Contrary to rumors, it is not something I do in my spare time.