Chandler named National Coach of the Year and Hohman named Developmental Coach of the Year

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Heather Van Peursem (USA Wrestling)
11/14/2000


2000 Greco-Roman Olympic Coach Dan Chandler of Minneapolis, Minn. was named the Wrestling National Coach of the Year and John Hohmann of Bloomsburg, Pa. was named the Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee.    Chandler was the head coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, which finished with three medals and a team third-place finish.  It was considered by many the best performance by a U.S. Greco-Roman team in Olympic history.     Chandler  was named the 1999 Greco-Roman Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling. It was the fourth time that Chandler has received this prestigious award (1994, 1995, 1997, 1999).    Chandler was the head coach of the 1995, 1997 and 1999 U.S. Greco-Roman World teams. The 1995 team placed in a tie for fourth in the team standings. The team featured two medalists, champion Dennis Hall and runner-up Matt Ghaffari. The 1997 U.S. World team placed 12th in the World Championships. The 1999 U.S. World team placed 14th in the final standings, with three wrestlers placing in the top 10 of their weight division.    Chandler also served as the assistant coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, which featured silver medalist Dennis Koslowski and bronze medalist Rodney Smith.  He served on the coaching staff at the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games. Chandler served as head coach of the 1994 Pan American Championships team, which won the team title.     Chandler works as the state coach for Minnesota USA Wrestling, coaching athletes in the state on all age levels. He also coaches the Minnesota Storm club, which features many of the best Greco-Roman athletes in the nation. The Minnesota Storm is among the most successful club teams on the national level, earning team honors on the Senior and age-group levels. He also coached on the college level at St. Thomas Univ.     As an athlete, he was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams (1976, 1980, 1984). Chandler competed in six World Championships, placing as high as fifth in the 1979 World Championships. He won medals in three Pan American Games, including golds in 1975 and 1979. Chandler competed for the Univ. of Minnesota.    Hohmann was named the 1999 USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year. The award recognizes achievements and contributions by a coach who works with USA Wrestling's age-group programs.     Hohmann is the head coach and founder of the Victory Wrestling Club (previously the Bloomsburg WC and the Husky WC). The program began with 12 members and grew to over 115 members at its peak.     He is the State Coaches Director for the Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation, the USA Wrestling state organization. He is the state Cadet Greco-Roman Head Coach and Assistant Coach for the Cadet and Junior Freestyle Teams. Hohmann is an NCEP Silver Level Certified coach, and was one of the original USA Wrestling NCEP instructors.      Hohmann has served as an assistant wrestling coach at Bloomsburg University, and with two local high school programs.     He was named 1999 Pennsylvania Amateur Wrestling Federation Official of the Year. He was selected to serve as 1996 Assistant Coach for the Junior World Greco-Roman team, an assignment he could not complete due to military service obligations. In 1994 and 1995, he was named USA Wrestling's Kids/Cadet Person of the Year for the Northeast Region.