It’s about winning medals at the Olympic Games and the World Championships. It helps give clarity to the mission. Secondly, we continue to integrate all of our resources. When a sport has a high performance plan, we must deploy our resources directly to that plan. We must make sure they are deployed to the plan, not deployed independently, which was perhaps the case in the past. Next we want to customize the programs, so the resources available to USA Wrestling are exactly what it needs in their situation. Every sport has different challenges.
USA Wrestler: For the London Olympic cycle, USA Wrestling developed a four-year High Performance Plan in 2008. This plan was updated annually. How effective was this planning process when the U.S. wrestlers hit the mats in London? Ashley: It was really effective. There was a clear focus on high performance in their planning. The process was about put- ting the right athletes in the right kind of training programs. I again refer to men’s freestyle. The program was centrally based, but they were doing much more with personal coaches, training camps and integrating the training centers at the col- leges into the system. They also did this in how they managed the weigh in process. That process of incorporating the plan and reviewing it each year worked very well. For this to happen, it takes lots of hard work from everybody. But in the end, it made a big difference.
USA Wrestler: Wrestling has three disciplines at the Olympic level, men’s freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle. How important is a unique plan for each style to achieving high performance internationally? Ashley: It is crucial. Each pipeline is different. Each style has
a different way that athletes evolve through the high school, col- lege and club programs to the National Team. We use a cus- tomized approach to each National Governing Body. We need that within the different disciplines of each sport. We must learn from success and learn what has worked for that discipline. We have to make sure we are training at a level where our competi- tion is, and beyond that. We have to ask: how do we bring the best athletes to the top of their sport?
USA Wrestler: Specifically, what are some key factors which would lead to a resurgence in the Greco-Roman wrestling pro- gram within USA Wrestling? Ashley: Greco is so competitive internationally, and our pipeline is so different in Greco-Roman than in freestyle. After these Games, a little like men’s freestyle did after the last Olympics, there will be a reset. We will have an honest and complete assessment of why we are not winning medals at the Olympic and World level. Part of it is internal, within the Greco- Roman program, and part of it is external, from the USOC and other resources. In Rio, let’s say our objective is to win a certain number of medals. We must ask where we need to be one year, two years and three years before Rio. We have to identify what must be put into place now to have the system in place to do just that. That is part of the reset process. By Rio, we have to have our athletes in the mix internationally and ready to go when it is time to perform.
USA Wrestler: One of the ways that the USOC helps USA
Wrestling, and all other NGBs, with their Olympic program, is with financial support. Explain how this resource is developed by the Olympic Committee, and the process of deciding how funding is distributed. Ashley: All of the resources come out of funds from broad- casting, marketing or private fundraising. We do not get govern-
ment support. It is true that Americans send Americans to the Olympics. In terms of allocation, it is about looking at investing in programs with the highest likelihood of success for our mis- sion. Our resources and the NGB resources must combined to put us where the athletes can be at a level to be internationally successful. We ask this. What does it take to win at the World Championships and Olympics? What are the correct competi- tions and training opportunities to help the athletes win? The funding must be directed to supporting the right athletes, their coaches and leadership in this effort.
USA Wrestler: How can the USA compete with other nations which have government funding, while we must rely on private and corporate sources of funding? Ashley: Our system is unique. Most nations are supported by their governments. That piece is something a lot of people talk about. I look at it like this. It makes it incredibly hard for us. Everyone has to be super wise in how the resources are deployed. It creates an urgency and high intensity that actually makes us better. It is hard. You see it most in the emerging ath- letes who have not reached the top yet and just don’t have the resources they need. That is the most difficult place that we don’t have completely covered. But through that process, you see people emerge. They have worked incredibly hard and sac- rificed so much to get where they are. They would not stay with it if they were not so passionate about success.
USA Wrestler: USA Wrestling has been very active in utiliz- ing the U.S. Olympic Training Center and its resources for the development of its international program. How can centralized training opportunities impact performance in wrestling? Ashley: It varies. In wrestling, men’s freestyle has been somewhat centralized, but they use training camps very effec- tively. It is about utilizing the resources to maximize the training and preparation for the athletes. In a sport where it makes sense to bring athletes together in an environment that they can’t get anywhere else, the training centers play a key role. You have to look at every discipline in every sport and see how their pipeline works. That again goes back to customization. You determine how to use the training centers to customize training to get the results you want on a consistent basis.
USA Wrestler: What other ways does the USOC work with
USA Wrestling is the quest for high performance at all levels? Ashley: One of the things I’ve seen is a shift, especially in
men’s freestyle, is the use of sports science more aggressively. Nutrition is one of those areas. How do you train for maximum output in a sport where you must make weight? The program has taken the stress out of weigh ins, and helped athletes be ready to roll when the competition starts. You must continue to look at strength and conditioning. Wrestling is such a physical sport. How do you use this resource for the unique needs of wrestling? How do you find new ways to get the athletes pre- pared? Outcomes are a piece of this process. You have to mon- itor this. You’d like to know that the training is doing what you want it to achieve.
USA Wrestler: You have said that your first priority is creating an environment where athletes capable of winning medals can succeed. What are the key elements that create the kind of atmosphere where success can be nurtured? Ashley: The No. 1 piece I have found over the years, as ath- letes have been more successful, that we are more sensitive to their specific needs. It doesn’t mean they are not part of the
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