Black, a four-year letterwinner, took third at the 2002 Big Ten Championships and fourth at the NCAA championship that same year. He then sustained an injury in 2003 and was unable to participate at the Big Ten or NCAA championships. Black has been coaching ever since.
The World Team Coaches were chosen by the Women's Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee.
Black has coached a number of USA Wrestling age-group women's teams overseas, and has been active as a coach and leader with women's wrestling programs in Wisconsin. He has coached on the college and high school levels, and currently operates the Victory School of Wrestling. He was a NCAA Div. I All-American at the Univ. of Wisconsin, and competed in international freestyle wrestling for a number of years.
Steiner is the head assistant coach at Oregon State Univ., and has had assistant coaching positions at the Univ. of Iowa, the Univ. of Wisconsin and Oregon State. He has coached a number of U.S. women's teams overseas and was a finalist for the U.S. Olympic Team women's coaching position in 2004. Steiner was a 1992 World Cup champion in freestyle wrestling and won the 1996 Pan American Championships. He was a NCAA Div. I champion at the Univ. of Iowa, and a four-time All-American.
Complete biographies of the U.S. World Team Coaches follow, as well as quotes from each of the coaches.
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
Black has coached USA Wrestling age-group women's teams for the last two years, taking the U.S. University women's team to compete in El Salvador in 2007 and the U.S. Cadet women's team to China in 2006. He has participated as a coach in a number of Women's Team USA training camps in recent seasons.
Black serves as the Women's Director for the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation. He has coached the Wisconsin Junior Nationals Women's team since 200e and has coached Wisconsin athletes at the USGWA Nationals for the last two years. Black has started a new women's wrestling club program at the Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Black has coached and operated the Victory School of Wrestling in River Falls, Wis. He served as an assistant coach for the Univ. of Wisconsin from 2003-05, working with the Div. I program there. He was a wrestling coach at Lodi High School from 2005-06.
He has been the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation State Coach from 2004-06, and coached the state's Cadet Freestyle National Team from 2002-06. He conducted the Black Brothers Wrestling Camps from 2000-06.
Black was a NCAA Div. I All-American for the Univ. of Wisconsin, where he was a NCAA qualifier three times and served as the team captain three times. Black won four Wisconsin state titles for River Falls High School, with a 160-0 career record. He competed on the Senior level in freestyle, competing in a number of major international tournaments.
Troy Steiner, Corvallis, Ore.
Steiner enters his second season as an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State Univ., where he helped head coach Jim Zalesky lead the Beavers to the Pac-10 title in their first year there. Steiner worked the two previous seasons as an assistant coach under Zalesky at the Univ. of Iowa.
He also served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 1997-2001 and Minnesota in 1996-97 and at Oregon State under Joe Wills for the 1995-96 season. Steiner also owned and operated the ADVANCE School of Wrestling in Madison, Wis., for four years.
Steiner has coached a number of U.S. teams in international competition and has participated in Women's Team USA training camps. He was selected as a finalist for the U.S. Olympic Team women's wrestling coaching position in 2004. He is the twin brother of USA Wrestling National Women's Coach Terry Steiner.
Steiner was a four-time all-American at Iowa from 1990-93 and a NCAA champion in 1992. He won three Big Ten titles at Iowa, compiling a 148-13 career record at 134 and 142 pounds. He was part of three national and four Big Ten championship teams. Steiner shares Iowa's school record for best season winning percentage for the 42-0 record he compiled during his junior season.
He was a top freestyle wrestler, winning gold medals at the 1992 World Cup and the 1996 Pan American Championships. He was third in the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and fifth in the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., Steiner was inducted into the North Dakota Hall of Fame in 1998.
QUOTES FROM THE WOMEN'S WORLD TEAM COACHES
Kevin Black, River Falls, Wis.
"I think this is a great opportunity. Since I have been involved in women's wrestling, I have found that I enjoy coaching women very much. Their personalities, the way women communicate, I really enjoy that side of coaching. This is the highest assignment I can have as a coach. We need people who have been around wrestling at all levels to step up for the women's program. Having coaches who stay involved and stay consistent is important to the program. We need more good wrestling people to be involved with women's wrestling. Overall, our entire team, all seven athletes, will be very competitive. The goal is to win the overall World team title in all three styles, and winning is our goal for the women's team."
Troy Steiner, Corvallis, Ore.
"Right now, we are looking at Japan, China and Russia as some of the teams we have to beat. There may be some things we have to change as a team. I hope to add to what Terry is doing, and help the women in any way they need. I hope to bring a different perspective to help them reach their goals. We have a good core group of athletes. They have the ability to be near the top of the world again."
National Women's Coach Terry Steiner of Colorado Springs, Colo.
(about Kevin Black)
"Kevin brings some new energy to the team and to the program. He is very excited. Kevin is a wrestling junkie. He grew up with wrestling and loves wrestling people. He has been involved as an athlete, a coach and an administrator. He truly knows USA Wrestling, which is good for the organization. He has the right personality to coach our women. They can trust him immediately. The most important thing about Kevin as an athlete is he can find the good in every situation. He finds a way to learn from every experience and walk away with a smile. That attitude is contagious, and I think he will bring that to our program."
(about Troy Steiner)
"We have talked about having more team unity in the program. The comfort for me with having Troy in this position is that we will be on the same page. Having the same message and philosophy is important. Troy has a good rapport with the women. They believe in him and trust him. We need to get back on track as a team where we are respected in the world as a power. We have the same people from when we were second in the world and won the World Cup. I expect to be back to that, where we are in position to win the team title and individual titles."
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