COACHES CORNER
Burroughs made huge gains after committing to Nebraska
By Mark Manning
Six years ago, I recruited Jordan Burroughs to the University of Nebraska. Not a highly recruited young man, Burroughs won a New Jersey state title as a senior before winning the National High School Championship at 135 pounds. We thought Jordan would be a 141- pounder for a few years before grow- ing, maturing, and developing. Wow, we were wrong! He came in at 141, but he did not have much of a grasp for the nutritional aspects of the sport,
Manning
and had never been in a serious strength and conditioning pro- gram.
By the end of November 2006, he was competing at 149 pounds as a true freshman. And bumping heads against some tough competition (Brent Metcalf, Adam Hall, and others) - not winning them all, but sticking his nose in there and getting a taste for what college wrestling was all about. His high school coach, Rick Koss, was very good for Jordan, and had a great read on him as a person and as a competitor. Jordan's technique was raw, but his willingness to develop was spurred on by his desire to win and be the best. Like any great champion, his priorities started falling in place due to the expectations he had for himself. Jordan ended his freshman year only 16-13, but by the Big 12 and NCAA tourna- ments we knew he had turned the corner mentally. And he start- ed to understand the physical demands within our program. We train hard and demand a lot out of our guys, and some- times they don’t even recognize their workload until they get through the first year. Jordan started to recognize it sometime in January of his true freshman year. Things started to come together, and he figured out how his style of wrestling could be successful. I speak a great deal about this time period for Jordan because of how much of a commitment, effort and intestinal fortitude he demonstrated in order for him to be GREAT, rather than to settle for good. Most people in wrestling know the rest of his story, but an interesting statistic was pointed out by someone in the wrestling world who sent this to Jordan. Out of his 148 matches in col- lege, 28 were against NCAA finalists! Those guys challenged him to better himself. That is one of the reasons why he could go from being a two-time NCAA champion to a 2011 World champion and a 2012 Olympic champion.
It hasn't always been easy for Jordan - he wrestled in four dif- ferent weight classes in college, while going through a major knee operation that could have been career-ending. The mental adjustments Jordan has made, and is still making, allow him to continue to develop as a competitor. He under- stands how important it is to listen, and to not get too confused about winning. Most people involved with wrestling in the U.S., see the work ethic and intensity at which Jordan trains at. Most
26 USA Wrestler
Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs celebrates with his coach, Mark Manning. John Sachs photo.
people two years ago never BELIEVED this guy had that type of ability to push, grind and perform at that level. It was developed from his first year in college at the National Duals, where he made his FULL commitment to be more than just another wrestler. Now, coaches, athletes and wrestling fans have seen what we've known for quite some time. Jordan Burroughs has a tremendous work ethic and competitive great- ness that is driven by his desire to be the best. My wrestlers here at Nebraska, as well as my coaching staff of Bryan Snyder, Tony Ersland, Jason Powell, Craig Brester and Raymond Jordan, have all contributed to Jordan's daily devel- opment and success.
For me, I believe Jordan has another level to reach with his wrestling. He is going to keep evolving as a wrestler because of his fierce competitiveness.
As a coach, I look forward to helping him achieve goals and dreams in the next four years!
Mark Manning is the head coach at the University of Nebraska. He also is the personal coach for Jordan Burroughs and was one of the U.S. Olympic coaches in London.
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