KOLL INTERVIEW, Continued from page 25 compete for an NCAA team title.
USA Wrestler: Travis Lee, who entered college a bit unknown, won two NCAA titles for the Big Red. What made Lee such a successful wrestler at such a high level? Koll: I never actually saw Travis get tired in a match. In my
23 years of coaching, I cannot say the same thing about any other wrestler. He was also an intelligent, gifted athlete with an unmatched work ethic. With these attributes it is no surprise he was successful. Had he not injured his neck, I believe he would have been our Olympian. Fortunately his time at Cornell was spent wisely. He earned a Masters of Engineering from Cornell and is doing very well in California.
USA Wrestler: Cornell has been very successful at the EIWA Championships in recent years, winning the last four titles. However, you have said repeatedly that the national tournament is the main focus for your program. What do you do to help your team peak at the most important event of the year? Koll: I learned after a few years of futility that more is not
always better. Each year we would have a great dual meet team and then fade at the EIWA and NCAA tournaments. I did notice that the kids who were injured during the year, and had to take time off, tended to fare better in the home stretch. It is hard for a coach to not push but I forced myself to reduce our volume. I also stopped having morning practices. This might work at some schools but it was counterproductive at Cornell. Our staff to has to work harder because we knew that our wrestlers still had to get the extra workouts. In order to accomplish this, we set up numerous mini-workouts throughout the day. If you ever visit the Friedman Wrestling Center, you will see wrestlers work-
ing out from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Our afternoon practice is obvi- ously mandatory but our guys can get their extra workouts and lifts in at almost any time of the day. A side effect of this new system is that almost no one ever leaves the team. They get to spend much more individual time with our coaching staff and become much more connected to our program.
USA Wrestler: How was Kyle Dake able to become so suc-
cessful so quickly, and win the NCAA title as a true freshman? Koll: Other than the fact that he is a freak of nature, I would
have to say it is his love of competition. While his competition gets nervous, he gets excited.
USA Wrestler: Last year, Cornell had its best NCAA Championships finish by placing second. What about that team made them perform at that level? Koll: I was proud of last year’s accomplishments, but no
more so than many other teams that placed lower. This team wrestled up to its potential despite many physical and emotional hurdles that they faced. This was a very tight-knit group who pulled together to achieve an amazing result. I see the same qualities in this year’s team, with the addition of more balance.
USA Wrestler: Cornell enters the 2010-11 college season
ranked No. 1. Does that add a new level of pressure on the pro- gram? Koll: We have been flirting around the top three long enough
that the guys have become used to very high expectations. USA Wrestler: What would it mean to the sport of wrestling if
Cornell was able to win a NCAA Division I team title? Koll: We are going to find out in March!
31 USA Wrestler
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