Stephen Abas Named Valley RTC Head Coach

Stephen Abas Named Valley RTC Head Coach

Stephen Abas has been named head freestyle coach of the Valley RTC at Fresno State

May 18, 2017 by Wrestling Nomad
Stephen Abas Named Valley RTC Head Coach
When Fresno State resurrected its program last year, it only made sense that Stephen Abas should somehow be involved. The most decorated wrestler in school history will be coming back to be the full-time freestyle coach for their Valley RTC.
I was already interested in being a part of this, so I called coach Troy Steiner and told him, hey I'm in the area and I would love to come back and help out.
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Abas was an Olympic silver medalist after winning three NCAA titles during his time with the Bulldogs. He is one of the most decorated lightweights America has had in the past 20 years, and now will be focusing his time developing Valley RTC athletes. Fresno St. coaches Troy Steiner and Izzy Silva will be working closely with him as well.
It was obvious very quickly that Troy is someone I wanted to work with. I love his vision and the way he approaches coaching, the way he teaches pressure and the mental side of things. I think it will be a huge asset to our wrestlers.
The Valley RTC currently has two athletes qualified for the world team trials in Jason Chamberlain and Nikko Reyes. They will be sending a number of athletes to this weekend's last chance qualifier, and Abas will be there in their corners.
I'm really proud of the progress these guys have made. I've only been working with them for a few months, and a lot of these guys have never wrestled freestyle before. It's an amazing feeling to be able to help these young men achieve their goals.
Though it is still new, the regional training center anticipates being able to bring wrestlers in for training camps, particularly on the women's side. Troy Steiner is the brother of USA Wrestling head women's coach Terry Steiner, and Fresno assistant Izzy Silva frequently travels to coach the women, as recently evidenced by his trip to Brazil with the Pan Am team. 

Abas expects to continue to add senior level athletes and bring money in to the program, in addition to his coaching duties. Be sure to check out Valley RTC athletes like Blaize Cabell and Anthony Abidin LIVE on Flo this weekend.


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