Having a high caliber wrestling coach like USM’s Ted Reese around has many benefits. The man has made a gigantic impact on wrestling in the state of Maine, starting programs at three high schools and bringing his passion for wrestling to the state. Last week Reese brought U.S. national team captain Kerry McCoy to Gorham.
Twenty-eight-year-old McCoy is a two-time national champion and a three-time All-American. In the 2000 Olympics McCoy finished fifth in the heavyweight class of 120 Kilograms (265 lbs). Due to the tension in the Middle East the U.S. team did not participate in the World Championship this season held in Iran.
The USM team and other wrestlers from local high schools gathered in Gorham to listen to McCoy speak about wrestling.
McCoy is a giant. His presence dominated the room amongst about forty other wrestlers. Before he began talking about fundamentals, McCoy gave a motivational speech about his career: about defeat and triumph and about how to follow through with your goals and dreams.
McCoy talked about his first year in college and how he had only a 19-17 record. He told how he went on to set the seemingly insurmountable goal for himself, to never lose in college again.
“It is not enough to write down your goal and to put it up on the wall in your room,” said McCoy. “You have to work everyday toward your goal. You have to approach everyday with the mentality that you are going to get better.”
He continued in saying that if you give it your all, you will have no regrets. After the inspirational introduction he proceeded to talk about the fundamentals of wrestling and how to gain control of your opponent, demonstrating several holds and explaining the mechanics of using leverage against the weight of an opponent.
Reese tries to get a representative from the national team to put on a clinic for his players every year. He has been a wrestling coach since 1958 and has coached at the national level.
“The wrestling family is tight,” said McCoy.
Reese having been involved in the sport for so long is something of a patriarch in that family, especially in Maine where he is a member of the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
In 1975 Reese coached Maine’s wrestling team and toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He has received Maine’s Coach of the Year honors six times and was named Wrestling USA’s National Coach of the Year in 1996.
Reese has invented his own workouts. He spoke about the wall drill that he conjured to train his players and said, “I had New England Patriots football players-300 pound guys-and after they were done not one of them could lift his arms.”
Reese admits, though, that this year’s team lacks experience and technique. There are already many players down with injuries and it is a small squad to begin with. Reese is very impressed with the team’s spirit, regardless of what they may lack in other areas.
McCoy was impressed with the hard work he saw from the wrestlers too. “The intensity level is great at USM. There are big guys wrestling small guys and small guys wrestling big guys. That intensity is what sparks a team to the next level.
The tutelage of Reese, supreme intensity, and the visit from the captain of the U.S. national team are three things that USM wrestling has unique to the program heading into the season. Not to mention the horrible punishment they are forced to endure daily while executing Reese-designed drills. Sounds like a hefty dose of preseason, to contribute positive energy to a young squad.