By Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling

Tom Brands of Iowa City, Iowa, Mark Manning of Lincoln, Neb. and Lou Rosselli of Columbus, Ohio have been named as the volunteer freestyle coaches for the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The freestyle wrestling competition will be held August 19-21 at the Carioca 2 Arena in Rio. 

They will work with National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett and Assistant National Freestyle Coaches Bill Zadick and Brandon Slay in the preparation of the team and the coaching of the athletes at the Olympic Games. These assignments are subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee.

Brands was a 2004 Olympic coach in Athens, Greece, where the USA won three medals including a gold medal. He also coached the 2015 U.S. World Team which had three medalists, including two champions, and the 2014 U.S. World Team, which had two medalists. He has been on the coaching staff of numerous other U.S. World Teams. He is a coach with the Hawkeye WC, and was named 2002 Freestyle Coach of the Year. He is personal coach for 2016 Olympian Daniel Dennis. Brands is head coach at the University of Iowa, where he has coached the Hawkeyes to three NCAA team titles and has mentored nine NCAA individual champions. He was a 1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at 62 kg, and won a gold medal at the 1993 World Championships. He also won three NCAA titles as a student-athlete at Iowa.

"When you have a responsibility like this, you keep your ears open. You want your athletes to be open minded and that's the way I am. We have a Team Leader named Andy Barth, who reminded the coaches that there is still a lot of work to do. That was pretty profound. I listened because it is hard-hitting. There is a lot of work to do and a short time to get there. We have six guys who are looking for the same thing. They are looking for the same thing that 19 to 20 others in their weight class are looking at. The time is short. Zero hour is upon us. We want to get in that mode of staying sharp. Coaches Burnett, Zadick and Slay are doing a good job conveying that to these guys. It's up to the individual coaches and the volunteer coaches to march with that message loud and clear," said Brands.

Manning was a 2012 Olympic coach in London, England, where the USA won three medals including two gold medals. He coached with the 2011 U.S. World Team, which was third in the World Championships, as well as the 2009 World Team. He has been on the coaching staff for two other U.S. Olympic Teams. He is a coach for the Nebraska Wrestling Training Center and with the Sunkist Kids, and was 2011 and 2015 USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year. He is head coach at the University of Nebraska, where he has coached 42 All-Americans and led the Huskers to six top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships. 

"It is a great opportunity. I am honored because I am representing Team USA. We are putting our effort and energy into these guys, doing everything they can do to reach their goal as Olympic champion. We have six guys who are very driven. Their preparation is with a purpose. I am excited that I am a part of that and I will do everything I can for these guys," said Manning. 

Rosselli was a a 2012 Olympic coach in London, England, where the USA won three medals including two gold medals. He has coached numerous U.S. World Teams, including most recently at the 2015 World Championships, where the USA won three medals, including two champions. He is a personal coach for 2016 U.S. Olympians Kyle Snyder and Tervel Dlagnev. Snyder became the youngest U.S. World champion in 2015 at age 19. Rosselli serves as Associate Head Coach at the Ohio State University, where he has worked 10 years and helped lead the Buckeyes to the 2015 NCAA team title. He was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team which competed in Atlanta, Ga., and was a two-time NCAA All-American as a student-athlete at Edinboro.

"I am always excited to help the Olympic team. I was fortunate enough in 2012 to help out. Being selected by Coach Burnett is a great honor. I am pleased to be helping. I believe we have a good team and it will go really well," said Rosselli.

The three Olympic coaches believe the U.S. men's freestyle wrestlers are capable of great things in Rio.

"We have the potential and we have the talent. It is a matter of going out there and doing it. I always feel good about the United States of America. A lot of people like to say college wrestling and folkstyle hurts our international effort. Not me. I believe in being American. I believe in American ingenuity, American know-how and American independence. It's an edge that these other countries don't have, and they don't even know what it's like. I believe that. Add the individuals we have, those six wrestlers, to the American independence. Now you have American know-how and some pretty talented guys that can get the job done," said Brands.

"I think we should have every guy on the podium. We would love to have six gold medals but the reality is to just get them on the podium. Getting them a medal is huge for our country. We are not only capable of doing it, but I think these guys believe they belong there. That is exciting. I don't think we have had that mentality for awhile. They are a tight team, too. Their unity and the spirit about them really separates this team. Hopefully, from August 19-21 they are shining and are at their best," said Manning.

"Our goal should always be the same, to win six medals and hopefully, they would be gold. We know the world is tough. We have to do everything in our power to give them their best chance, from training them correctly to their recovery to tapering them down right, to scouting their opponents. Our chances are good. I think every guy in every weight class has a chance to be successful. As we come down the stretch, we have to make sure we flip every rock and we do our part to give them the best chance to win," said Rosselli.

National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett is pleased to work with these Olympic coaches, who have made a big difference in the preparation for Rio.

"I couldn't be happier having the coaches that we have. I had the opportunity to coach and work with Tom Brands when he was an athlete and also as a coach. I worked with Mark Manning when we were both on staff at USA Wrestling. I got to coach Lou Rosselli at the 1996 Olympic Games. They have been to all of our training camps. This is a crew that has been involved and made the commitment to help get their athletes better and help the USA get better. It is hard for them to get to all the camps and events and still take care of business at home. These guys have made the commitment to make the USA great, and I couldn't be more proud of the coaches we have," said Burnett.