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MatChat: Head Coach Brian Smith on Monday!

 Head Coach Brian Smith

MatChat: Head Coach Brian Smith Transcript

On Monday, March 12, Head Coach Brian Smith answered several questions in advanced of the 77th annual NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The event will take place Thursday through Saturday, March 15-17, at the Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit.

The chat session was the 10th and final one in a season-long campaign (Monday Mat Chat) in which fans had the opportunity to communicate with various members of the Missouri coaching staff and team. Thanks for your support and interest this season!
Moderator: Welcome everyone! We'll start our chat with Brian Smith in about two minutes. Be sure to get your questions in early.
Clay (Liberty, MO): Coach Smith, First of all, congratulations on an outstanding year! The program has experienced tremendous improvement under your tutelage, and you are to be royally commended! I attended the Big 12 Championships with 8 men from my family, and we had a great time. I would like to know if you stress weightraining as much as Iowa State and Oklahoma State? From appearances, they looked to be overall physically stronger than our wrestlers which at times seemed to give them an advantage. (obviously, Ben Asren is the exception since he has such a unique style) Please comment on your observations in this regards, and good luck at nationals!! I will be following it round-by-round.
Brian Smith: Keith Caton is our strength coach. The team lifts lift year round. They're tested regularly. I'd say every year our wrestlers are gaining strength. We do a good job with it and our injury factor is reduced. .
fULTON,MO: This is the second time in a row we haVE COME IN SECOND IN A CHAMPIONSHIP HONESTLY DO YOU THINK OUR TEAM IS READY TO CONTEND FOR A nATIONAL TITLE
Brian Smith: Yes. I think we have, for a major tournament with 330 wrestlers competing, the eight wrestlers were taking all have a shot of contending and becoming All-Americans. There are only a few teams that can content and hopefully we're one of them. We've won the major tournament out in Vegas down in the Scuffle and we competed toe-to-toe at the National Duals so I feel this team is prepared.
Stuart, Iowa: Hey Coach, Good luck at Auburn Hills on Thursday. I hope everyone is healthy and ready for a very successful weekend. Tear em up.
Brian Smith: Stuart, everyone is healthy and ready to go. Thanks for your support.
Mike (Ofallon, MO): Coach Smith, First off: congrats on the unbelievable job you have done with the wrestling program. Question: Did you and you and your coaching staff ever give serious consideration to moving Askren to 165 and Pell to 174?
Brian Smith: At this time of the year it really doesn't matter. We're going in with two quality wrestlers at 165 and 174 and they both have a shot of winning the national title.
Columbia,Mo: Did you think illness has been the reason for the late season slump.
Brian Smith: Illness did affect or team for about three weeks but we're over it and better now. We don't look at it as a slump but adversity that we had to overcome and we did. I thought overall we gave great effort at the Big 12's.
Marcelo: Coach, What makes Ben Askren such a great wrestler? I'm assuming he does everthing really well, but what is it about his game/style that sets him apart from other eliete wrestlers? Thanks
Brian Smith: Ben is a great wrestler because of his passion for the sport and his drive that makes him wake up every day and want to get better. He wants to invent new moves and improve every day. If you were at the Big 12's you could see that. Ben was constantly looking to score and always looking to put his opponent on his back. He wrestles to score points where as a lot of times you'll see elite wrestlers hold back some. He lays it all out on the mat.
The Bannings (Wildwood, MO): Coach, Congrats to you on the team's strong finish at the Big 12s and to the wrestlers who will represent Mizzou at the NCAAs. Mizzou did a great job hosting the Big 12s and we look forward to watching them in Columbia again some time soon. How do your wrestlers prepare for the NCAAs? Is there any difference from this most important event vs. any other dual or tourney? Good luck to the Askren Bros, Raymond, Chandler, Matt, Josh, T-Mac, and Ellis at Auburn Hills!
Brian Smith: We peak two times during the season. One, we do a peak for the National duals. We see how the team responds to how we taper or pull back in practice. We thought they responded well so we used the same format for a week or so before Big 12's and again heading into Nationals. We focus on the mental side now more than the physical. They've been preparing physically for eight or nine months. Now it's a matter of going in and believing in themselves.
Christopher (Naperville): Great job turning the program around. Who do you feel has the inside track on the open 165/174 weight classes next season? Which of your incoming recruits, do you feel, has the highest potential?
Brian Smith: The front runners are Nick Marable at 165 and Joey Garrity at 174. But...they're going to have to continue to improve and work hard. We've got some good incoming freshman that will challenge them. That's a long way off but we're focusing on the NCAA! Thanks for your support.
Nicholas (Ballwin): What happened to Bobby Conn and Dick Hurrin? They hardly wrestled this year.
Brian Smith: They are continuing their studies at Missouri but they've decided to focus on their academics and are no longer competing anymore.
Ryan (St. Louis): Were you expecting to get eight to nationals?
Brian Smith: Obviously we wanted all 10 but the eight we're taking are all going to be hunt to become and All-American and contribute to the team winning a national title.
Adam ( Baltimore, MD ): What tecniques do you use to get the most out of your athletes mentally?
Brian Smith: That's all based on every individual. They're all different on how they respond to things differently. As a whole we use mental imagery with the athletes. We try to have them watch, at this point of the season, their best match of the season. We focus on the positives and all the great things they can do without worrying what the opponents can do.
KT, Columbia: I have been to all of your home matches and several times my children have come down after the match for autographs. Do you spend time talking with the guys about the kids and the impact they can have when talking to them? They all do a great job....even if they have lost a tough match...Good luck this week.....We believe !!
Brian Smith: We have an expectation level, we've set the bar high, for our athletes on how they should act and work on and off the mat. I'm very fortunate to have a team that believes in that and knows the impact they have on youth. Our team does a lot of volunteer work with reading to elementary kids, working with youth wresters and many other tings. They understand by being in those situations what impact they have. We really appreciate your support. Thanks for all of the times you've attended.
Ryan (St. Louis): have only the eight headed to nationals been practicing or have you used other guys for practice purposes?
Brian Smith: Everyone in the program practices in the practice room. The other 25 wrestlers are the future of the program and need to go through the same program that our qualifiers are going through. It helps them learn what it's going to be like when they're in the lineup.
COLUMBIA: IF THINGS PAN OUT LIKE YOU ENVISION--WILL THERE BE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE CARDS FOR THE TIGERS THIS YEAR?
Brian Smith: If everything pans out like I envision....we will have a national championship for the next 20 years. That's been our goal since a week after NCAA's last year...to win as team.
Kc,Mo: What are you most exited about for the wrestling championships
Brian Smith: This is the pinnacle of our season. We've trained our athletes for this weekend and as a coach this is where you go in and sit back and see how your athletes perform and how they deal with the challenges head on.
Hap Whitney: Good Luck coach-Have a great tournament.
Brian Smith: Hap! I got your call. I appreciate your calls each week and continued support of the program.
Shawn in Jefferson City: Coach, I've heard and read that your team is better "suited" to do well at a larger tournament like the NCAAs than a smaller tournament like the Big 12 or a dual. Is that true, and what does that mean? Thanks, and good luck this week.
Brian Smith: We'll have five guys entering the National Tournament seeded among the top eight of their weight class. With that, the higher seeded guys wrestle more consistent and usually end up with more wins. Plus, we did well at a 40-somethig team tournament in Vegas and 30 plus team at the Southern scuffle, winning both team titles. Our team feels confident going into the finals.
Mike (St. Louis): Hi Coach, Are pairings for the nationals released today? If so have any of our wrestlers been seeded?
Brian Smith: The brackets will be released tonight...I think around 6 (ET).
Brian Smith: Thanks again to all the fans who supported our team this year. We set a lot of new records and took fifth in the nation in attendance. We look forward to seeing everyone next year. Can't wait to see everyone at Nationals. For those of you that can't come out...Friday and Saturday will be covered live on ESPNU and ESPN.