KERRY McCOY  2002-03 Team USA Ranking: No. 1 at 120 kg/264.5 lbs.  Years on Team USA: 8 (1994-95, 96-97, 98-2004)  Residence: Bethlehem, Pa.  Club: New York AC  College: Penn State Univ.  High School: Middle Island, N.Y. (Longwood HS)  Born: August 2, 1974 in Riverhead, N.Y.  Height: 6-2    1. You struggled more heading into this national tournament than you have in recent years. Did you at any point doubt yourself heading into the U.S. Nationals this year?  McCoy: No. I never doubt myself. Obviously, after the poor performances that I had this year, I knew I had to make some changes. Once I came to nationals, I knew everything was in the right place and I just had to go out there and perform.    2. What were you struggling with when you lost those two matches at the World Cup?  McCoy: I think the matches that I lost were all on tactical mistakes. I was trying to wrestle my best, but I wasn't thinking. I was just out there kind of wrestling. There are certain things that you do up by a point or down by a point.    3. Do you feel you have corrected those problems?  McCoy: I think it's a work in progress. Every time you step on the mat, it's a different situation, so you can't take anything for granted. Have a game plan and stick to it. As long as I do that, things tend to go well.    4. You have been so close to a medal at the Worlds and the Olympics. This year, you had a surprising 12-0 loss to Artur Taimazov of Uzbekistan, a World silver medalist, before those World Cup matches. Do you think that loss was a true measuring stick of where you are at internationally?  McCoy: Definitely not. It was March, and we were right in the most important part of the college season, and that is my priority then - to help my college team reach the level that they can. In a college room every day, there are only one or two guys that can push you, and they don't have the freestyle background. I didn't have the opportunity to focus on par terre at that time. But it was good for me to see where I was right then. At that time, I wasn't even close to where I needed to be.    5. Are U.S. wrestlers still providing you with challenges?  McCoy: Every day. You can't take anything for granted. Just because you beat one guy this week doesn't mean you will beat him next week. Whether it is a new guy who hasn't wrestled yet or an older guy, everyone has the potential to win, so I have to stay on top of my game.    6. As one of the leaders of Team USA, how difficult was it for you personally to have to call the members of the World Team last year to inform them that they weren't going to the World Championships?  McCoy: It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It was about knowing where all of our goals were, and to hear everyone's reaction was hard. We all kind of knew what the decision would be, but to finally hear it and tell everyone was hard. It was a tough day.    7. This year, like in 2001, you will be competing for a chance to wrestling in your home state at the World Championships. How much of a motivating factor is that for you as the Trials draw close?  McCoy: After Sydney, that was the reason I continued to wrestle - was the opportunity to compete in New York. Obviously, retirement is not as close as it was back then. It's a great opportunity for us to compete on our home soil, but I can't look past the Trials. The driving force of the Trials is to compete in the World Championships no matter where they are. But having them in my home state and home country is going to be sweeter provided I make the team.    8. Being a big man like yourself, it has to be tough to find quality training partners at your weight. Are you able to find people that can push you? If so, who?  McCoy: I'm in a great situation. Through my career, I have always been able to find good coaches to push me. Here at Lehigh, Jon Trenge and Joe Sahl have been really helpful. Out in Colorado Springs, all of the 211-pounders have pushed me. Daniel Cormier has trained with me a bunch. Angelo Borzio has trained with me a lot. I have been fortunate to have so many people that I can call on when the time comes that I need to train.    9. There has been a lot of talk about Steve Mocco wrestling at the Trials. If he did make it to the best-of-three series, would you be a little more pumped up to wrestle him, or would you just be as excited no matter who is facing you?  McCoy: I'm just going to be prepared to wrestle whoever comes out. I am going to be excited no matter what, because this is for a World Team spot. If I start getting caught up in matchups, then I won't be focused on competing my best.    10. As a college assistant coach yourself, what are your thoughts on Mocco taking an Olympic year to train for 2004?  McCoy: As a coach, I would be a little bit more on the negative side of it, because as a college coach you want your best individuals on the mat so your team can do well. On the other side, you want to see the individual develop as much as possible. As an athlete, you have to say why not. What's the worst that can happen? You can always go back to college, but you never know when you will have the opportunity to compete for an Olympic spot.