Continued from page 10 Steiner provides instruction to two-time World Team member Deanna Rix during a match. Larry Slater photo.
knows she has a long climb back after being out with an injury. She has to work extremely hard and be extremely disci- plined and do the right things. She’s a great competitor and I know making the Olympic Team is something that is very important to her.
What kind of plan will you follow in the four months between the Open and the Trials? We can gain a lot during that time. We are not going to train as much as we have with foreign teams as we have in past years. We are zeroing in on our focus areas in our training here in the U.S. We have some great battles at all four Olympic weight classes. The girls are working hard and doing the right things. We have a chance to have a really good year. We want to be the best team in the World. I really believe in this group. We have to get this job done. It will be dictat- ed by how hard we work and how focused we are. You still need to qualify for the Olympics at 48 kg. Canada is the only
Pan American country that has quali- fied in that weight class. How do you see that playing out? Hopefully, we can get the job done at the Pan Am qualifier in Florida. We think we have a good chance to do that. We obviously don’t want to have to go over- seas to have to qualify. Will Adeline Gray drop back down to 63 kg this season? Yes, that’s the plan. Adeline will be in the mix at 63. All four of our Olympic weights have real quality people in them. There are going to be some great battles at the Olympic Trials for those four spots. How is girls wrestling progressing and developing at the youth and high school levels in the U.S.?
Never fast enough, but it is progress- ing. Massachusetts added it as a state high school competition now, and another college program was added this year. The skill level has improved, as it should, especially at the top level. Once it became an Olympic sport, that obviously helped women’s wrestling. It was an important piece to give it Olympic status.
We still need more numbers and participants. USA Wrestling has provided a lot of opportunities for girls to compete, but we still need to see girls have more opportu- nities to wrestle for high school and col- lege programs. You see a country like Canada that has bought into women’s wrestling way more than a lot of people in the U.S. have. That’s frustrating. Women’s wrestling will be in the Olympics for the third time next year in London. How exciting is it to see that?
Obviously, the Olympics are what everyone is shooting for. It is an exciting time. I want to get the results that we are capable of. We are capable of four medals at the Olympics, and capable of winning some championships. We have the girls who can do it. It would be great for USA Wrestling and women’s wrestling in this country to have a great perform- ance in London. We are expecting big things at the Olympics. Hopefully, we will walk away with a lot of hardware.
11 USA Wrestler
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