Sam Barber (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Wrestling has announced Sam Barber as the head coach of Team USA's youth wrestling team who will compete at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Barber enters his fifth season as head coach for Air Force, and was an assistant coach at the Academy for five previous years. Barber is a former Manager of Coaches Education for USA Wrestling. He has been a head coach for Augsburg College (Minn.) and Upper Iowa University (Iowa). Barber has coached numerous international teams for USA Wrestling, including Cadet and Junior Pan American teams.
Wrestling is one of 32 sports which will be featured at the Youth Olympic Games, an elite, multi-sport event for athletes between the ages of 15-18 that is organized by the International Olympic Committee and held every four years. This is only the third Summer Youth Olympic Games, and competing in this event is a major honor.
Barber will lead four athletes representing Team USA. Emily Shilson of Maple Grove, Minn. at 43 kg/94.5 lbs and Tiare Ikei of Honolulu, Hawaii at 49 kg/108 lbs, will compete in women's freestyle. The U.S. athletes in men's freestyle wrestling are Robert Howard of Cranford, N.J. at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Carson Manville of Kingston, Pa. at 65 kg/143 lbs.
"I am extremely honored and humbled to lead and coach our Olympic hopefuls," exclaimed Barber. "As the head coach at the United States Air Force Academy, I am thrilled to represent our outstanding Academy and our nation at the Youth Olympic Games."
"The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of amateur athletics," continued Barber. "I am excited for the opportunity to represent the United States of America with the goal of hearing our national anthem being played and our flag raised as our athletes bring home gold medals."
The Youth Olympic Games will be held Oct. 6-18, with the wrestling competition to take place Oct. 12-14 in Argentina.
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