Rob Hermann GARY ABBOTT’S MATSIDE CHAT WITH...
Rob Hermann is the head coach for the U.S. Olympic Education Center program at Northern Michigan University. A high school wrestler in Florida, Hermann joined the U.S. Navy, where he became a three-time World Team member and one of the nation’s best Greco-Roman athletes. He also became one of the nation’s top coaches, leading the U.S. Navy program for many years and also helping with other club programs. Hermann was head coach of the 1996 Olympic Team, which
had three medalists at the Atlanta Olympics, and was assistant coach of the 2000 Olympic Team, which had three medalists in Sydney, Australia. He is completing his first year with the USOEC program, which is developing talented young Greco- Roman wrestlers. USA Wrestler interviewed Hermann as his team is preparing for the U.S. World Team Trials.
USA Wrestler: How did you get involved in wrestling as a
youth, and who were some of your early influences in the devel- opment of your career? Hermann: I started when I was in the third grade in Chicago,
Ill. I joined the Park District program with my older brother Gary in Oak Lawn, Ill. Gary was my earliest influence in wrestling. Jim Craig was my brother’s wrestling coach. Jim helped run the wrestling at the Atlanta Olympics. I joked with him at the 1996 Olympics that we came from different paths to get there, but we came from Oak Lawn. My brother wrestled for him for four years in high school, but I moved to Florida after the eighth grade.
USA Wrestler: What do you consider the highlights of your
high school wrestling career? Hermann: I was second and first in the state. What I will
always remember is that I won the state meet with just six sec- onds to go. I was losing, and I did a front headlock, what I called a copa, and I pinned the guy. That will always be with me as one of the biggest highlights of my career.
USA Wrestler: Why did you join the U.S. Navy after high
school, and how did you get involved in the All-Navy wrestling team?
Hermann: I joined in August of 1976, right after high school. I
knew that they had wrestling there. I was in the junior ROTC with the Navy for a few years and I knew what my career path would be. I could have gone to college to wrestle folkstyle, but I did what I wanted to do. I was fortunate to be based in San Diego, where the wrestling team was stationed. I went on an eight-month cruise on the ship my first year in the Navy. When I got back in 1977, I was with the wrestling team from then on.
USA Wrestler: Explain the wrestling rivalry between the dif-
ferent branches of the U.S. military, and what it means to the athletes who compete in the Armed Forces Championships? Hermann: It was a tradition prior to when I got there. All four services excel in Greco-Roman. It starts with the coaches and trickles down to the athletes. Each year, we spend up to two months training for those three matches. If you are on a service team for a few years, you really get into the rivalry. The four services are a feeder program for USA Wrestling and Greco is
24 USA Wrestler
Rob Hermann is the head coach of the U.S. Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman program.
the thing. It’s great competition. It has history and a lot of great athletes came from these programs. When I wrestled, the coaches from the services got along and the athletes in all four branches were friends, not when we are wrestling, but once we got off the mat.
USA Wrestler: You were a very successful Greco-Roman wrestler, making three U.S. World Teams and winning a CISM World Military title. What was the key for you in developing your Greco-Roman wrestling? Hermann: Back then, the Navy team and the Marine team buddied up, and we trained with them in Quantico. We would spend three months with the Marines team. I feel that you have to wrestle with the best to get better. That is why I trained with the Marines. At the time they were the top team. When you do that, you get to their level and pass them. You also have to go to the USA World Team camps. Now these camps are more than just with the USA, because you have foreign athletes there. We used to have dual meets with the foreign teams when we trained with them. Getting the right training partners and being in the best training atmosphere really helped.
USA Wrestler: What is your favorite memory from your
career as an international Greco-Roman wrestler? Hermann: One of my old rivals was Benni Ljungbeck of Sweden, who is now their coach. We wrestled in the World Cup one time when it was in Sweden. It was on TV and was a big deal there. I felt I won the match. I lifted him a few times. It was one of my better matches. Benni might tell you differently. At the
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