USA WRESTLI N G SUCCESS ST ORI E S


“My earliest memory of learning about my grandpa was around four. I knew I wanted to have


a future in wrestling and continue to grow this legacy that has been built before me.”


—WILL KOLL COACHING IN THE BLOOD


Though coaching seemed like it had become the Koll family trade, it was actually Rob’s wife, Rachel, that first led Rob into that ca- reer. Right after the couple got married—and with Rob not yet out of college—Rachel picked up a call one day from then Cornell head coach Jack Spates in 1989. He told her about an opening he had for assistant coach. Without hesitation—or asking Rob—she ac- cepted on his behalf. While Rob was still finishing up his fi- nal college course, he began to transform the Big Red program, much like his father had done at Penn State. But it wasn’t easy, he says,


recalling the lone, decades-old,


beat-up wrestling mat that he found upon arrival at Cornell. “It was a tough place to coach that first year, and it took us a couple years to turn things around,” he says. But turn it around he has. Since joining Cornell, first as an assistant until taking over the helm in 1993-94, the program has captured 20 Ivy League titles, crowned 12 national champions, and has produced 56 All-Americans. “We had one state champion when I started and this year we have 45 to 50,” he notes, proudly. “That’s the difference in tal- ent from when I started to where we are now. “I thought I would coach until I decided


what I really wanted to do,” Rob says. “And 27 years later, I’m still here.”


THE TRADITION CONTINUES After years of watching his dad coach other wrestlers at Cornell, this year Will finally got to experience it first-hand for himself. “He’s a very talented student, and truthfully


I’m more proud of him [about that] than any- thing,” says Rob.. “I wasn’t that kind of student and he has a much better grasp on reality than I did when I was in college.” How does Will handle calling his dad


‘coach?’ “It’s a lot of pressure but it feels kind of fit-


ting because it’s something I have envisioned for myself for so long,” Will explains. “I look at him as coach when we are in the same room just as everyone on the team does, which can be hard. But the assistant coaches are there for me so I can see him as my dad, too.” And despite the added pressure that comes


from his last name, Will knows that it’s his choice to carry on his proud family legacy when he steps on the mat. “My dad always reminded me that I don’t have to follow in their footsteps,” Will says. “I’m my own wrestler. If I could be as good as my grandfather or my dad, great, but I need to find my own way in life to do it.”


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