Alan Ashley GARY ABBOTT’S MATSIDE CHAT WITH...
Alan Ashley is the Chief of Sport Performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee. He is responsible for competitive results of American athletes at the Olympic Games. Ashley works with the team of professionals from the USOC involved in performance and with the National Governing Bodies for each Olympic sport to maximize U.S. competitive excellence. Ashley has served two years in his current role with the USOC, and has served the organization for six years in its high performance program.
Ashley works closely with USA Wrestling, supporting the quest for international success. We spoke with Ashley shortly after the 2012 London Games, where Team USA had the most medals with 104 and the most gold medals with 46.
USA Wrestling: Overall, how do you assess the performance of the U.S. Olympic Team in all sports at the London Olympics? Ashley: It was a really good effort by our athletes and we got great results. We walked in unsure of exactly what we would get from China and Russia and they proved to be fierce competi- tors. But we were able to have outstanding performances. Everybody came in really well-prepared.
USA Wrestler: What do you believe helped develop the posi- tive attitude for success which was displayed by the American Olympians in London? Ashley: It is through the leadership in our programs, espe- cially at the National Governing Body level. It is about setting a tone of high expectations and creating a positive environment to achieve. Sure, we push people hard. But that creates a mission and a focus that can pay off. We are able to maintain that in a positive direction. It’s having the right coaches and right athletes focused on doing the best preparation for success.
USA Wrestler: In your mind, how did the wrestling program perform in London, with four medals including two Olympic champions? Ashley: Wrestling performed well. I look back to after 2008, when the wrestling community came together to put together a good four-year plan. The sport was organized and focused, and took advantage of the opportunity they had to improve. All of these things came together, and it showed we are going in the right direction. A great example is how men’s freestyle came together and how its leadership approached the four-year process of preparing for the Olympics.
USA Wrestler: What qualities did Olympic champions Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner display in London that gave them the edge in their performance under pressure? Ashley: Physically, both of those guys were where they had to be in terms of strength and power. On the mat, they exuded a level of confidence and expertise in their wrestling. They had a belief that they would win. The results coming in were also a part of that. With Jordan, who had won the World title, he had been there and done that. But even with Jake, just his demeanor showed that he was ready to win. Everyone tries to do that, but these wrestlers did it exceptionally well.
24 USA Wrestler
Alan Ashley, Chief of Sport Performance for the USOC, with USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.
USA Wrestling: What are the biggest takeaways from London, moving forward to 2016 in Rio de Janeiro? Ashley: If you look at men’s freestyle wrestling, diving, archery and others, ultimately there were some big changes made to evolve and to create a high performance environment. We need to work in that way and learn from those experiences. Where we are strong, let’s continue to be strong. We must pro- vide the resources and support to allow us to maintain and improve in those areas. But let’s also take a few lessons learned about creating the high performance environments and apply that to areas we can see improvement in the future. In men’s freestyle, it was real apparent they did this. They made a shift and continued to evolve. The changes they made were positive factors that contributed to their success in London.
USA Wrestler: How important is the close partnership between the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling to the success of our wrestling athletes at the Olympic Games and World Championships? Ashley: From our perspective, it is really important. USA
Wrestling is the machine behind the system. Every single day, they are out there building the pipeline and working with the ath- letes and coaches who are in their program. Our part is also very important. We are doing everything we can to share ideas and help them achieve success. We are able to carry forward best practices, look at areas where other countries and other sports are doing very well. Our relationship with the National Governing Bodies needs to be customized. We need to look at what specific areas in that sport must be addressed in their spe- cific situations. We have to listen very carefully and apply the resources correctly as part of the plan.
USA Wrestler: What are the four guiding principles for high performance and what makes them effective? Ashley: First is the focus on medals and high performance.
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