Tech Notes: Adam Coon vs Gable Steveson

Tech Notes: Adam Coon vs Gable Steveson

Gable Steveson and Adam Coon could very well meet up at the U.S. Open... in the quarterfinals!

Apr 24, 2018 by Michael Malinconico
Tech Notes: Adam Coon vs Gable Steveson

The senior men's 125kg weight class is getting more interesting by the second heading into this week's U.S. Open in Las Vegas. Among the notable entries, Jake Varner is back and wrestling up with the big boys (not that he's not big himself). However, one potential quarterfinal piqued my interest as soon as the pre-seeds came out: Gable Steveson vs. Adam Coon.

We have been hearing about Steveson for some time now. Though we've seen other overachieving high school senior's hype train get derailed in the past, all accounts on and around Team Steveson point to him being as advertised.

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As long as we are all drinking the Steveson Kool-Aid, then we can all agree that he is going to be a heavyweight the likes of which we’ve never seen in this country. He can move. Well. Like, REALLY well. Like, really well for a middleweight. So there’s that. His technique is pretty spotless, and there's not an area of the sport that he is insufficient in at this point. And one thing that may not get brought up enough is how powerful Steveson is at just 17 years old. Powerful enough to get Adam Coon to the ground? We shall see on Friday. 

Coon Can Walk Anyone Down

Lest we forget that Coon has a win over three-time world and Olympic champion Kyle Snyder just a few short months ago. The Michigan senior and NCAA 285lb runner-up did so through some lumbering hand fighting. Coon has the ability, through no shortage of size and strength, to move anyone around a wrestling mat. While this skill set is important in folkstyle (ask Captain America), it is invaluable in freestyle.

The ref in a folk can always bail a defensive wrestler out of trouble with an “action call” on the edge, but in the international styles, the rule is cut and dry. If you take a step backward out of bounds, that’s a point.

Greco Could Be The X Factor

First, allow me to tip my cap to Mr. Coon for going Iron Man this weekend—I love when guys enter both styles. Apart from the kudos, the fact that Coon is going Greco can mean a few different things. First, fatigue. The U.S. Open is a meat grinder, and it's a bit ignorant to think that he’s not going to be feeling it when he hears the first freestyle whistle. 

However, I don’t think that this will play as big of a factor in a potential Coon/Steveson bout as a lot of people think. The real key to me is Coon’s Greco skill set. That could pose a major problem for a guy like Steveson who, up until now, has probably not had too much experience wrestling guys of Coon's caliber (mostly because there aren’t many guys like Coon). Don’t get confused, just because I think that Coon is the superior Greco wrestler doesn’t mean that I think that he's going to go out there and chuck Steveson on his head. In fact, I’d be surprised if Coon went big against anyone this coming weekend—it’s just not a major part of his game.

Coon wrestles a much more control-based style of Greco, using undercooks to make his opponent bail on the position and give up an easy takedown. Another example of Coon's Greco acumen is how comfortable he is finishing a thwarted leg attack to the body. If you feed him hips on a double, he'll wrap up the body and sag for a takedown. P.S. the action below is worth four this weekend.

Timing Is Key

It’s not easy to get past the head and hands of Coon. One thing that Steveson happens to be incredible at is timing people’s hands. 

If you look at the clip below, you can see Steveson hand fight with Jordan Wood to the point where he gets his hands down to the mat. Just when Wood thinks Steveson is going to go back upstairs and start hand fighting again, he hits him with an effortless outside-step Hi-C. 

That specific series of techniques could spell disaster for Coon for a couple of reasons: 1) It gets past the first and best couple of lines of Coon’s defense. 2) He doesn’t go to a knee on the leg attack. 

I don’t know if you realize this, but Coon is a pretty big dude. If you take a shot on him, you had better not allow him to get weight on you. By not touching a knee when he attacks, Steveson can lessen the effects of Coon’s size and weight advantage.