Cody SandersonAs a competitor, Sanderson was a four-time state champion for Wasatch High School (Utah) and a two-time NCAA runner-up for Iowa State.
RevWrestling.com recently caught up with Sanderson to discuss the upcoming dual against Iowa State, his wrestling program, Cam Jones, how Cyler (his youngest brother) is rehabbing from his ACL injury, and whether or not he thinks Cael will ever return to the mat again.
Prior to taking the head coaching position at Utah Valley State, you were the administrative assistant at Iowa State. What was attractive about the UVSC position?
Sanderson: For a couple of years there wasn't any college wrestling programs in Utah. I just wanted to have the opportunity to be involved with the building of a new program and the establishment of a new NCAA Division I program. It was also a chance to be back home and close to family.
UVSC is not yet eligible to compete in postseason competition. What's the reason for that?
Sanderson: Well, what happened is … the college here used to be a junior college athletic department. They made the transition to NCAA Division I. There is a series of steps that has to be taken to gain full NCAA status. One of the restrictions is that our teams are not allowed to participate in postseason competition until we meet those requirements. It's actually a seven-year process. We're starting the fourth year. So, until that time is up, they don't allow us to compete in the postseason.
Is there any chance that something could change before the seven years that would allow you to compete in postseason competition?
Sanderson: We've talked around some ideas. We're hoping that there would be a way to get a change. But as of yet, it's been kind of difficult to really find a way to go about doing that. The NCAA is fairly strict with those regulations. If there is a way, we're trying to find it. So far we haven't had a lot of luck.
Talk about the recruiting process at UVSC. How tough is it to convince a kid to come into your program -- with the understanding that he will not be able to compete at the NCAA Tournament?
Sanderson: Most of the athletes come here because they want to be a part of what we're doing. What we're doing here really hasn't been done in such a long time. It's so important. Those athletes come here because they want to be part of that. They want to be a part of reestablishing college wrestling in the state.
Utah has great high school wrestling. The state has produced numerous collegiate stars. Is that where you do most of your recruiting?
Sanderson: Yeah, I mostly recruit kids from around the state. Most of the guys on my team are from Utah, but there are a few other guys from the surrounding areas. But most of the team is from here.
You wrestle an extremely challenging schedule. You have duals against a number of highly ranked Division I programs, including Iowa State. You also compete at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Lonestar Duals. Why such a challenging schedule?
Sanderson: The only way to be able to compete against those teams is to actually compete against them. I like the guys to get as good of competition as they can, because that's what it's going to take eventually to get this team where we want it to be. It's another way to let my guys know that I have confidence in them, and that they can compete with anybody. It doesn't matter if we're a new program or not. We're a wrestling team. We'll go out there and fight against anybody.
I read something a while back about your team not having a wrestling room. Is that still the case?
Sanderson: We have space which we can turn into a wrestling room, but we're in the process of trying to raise some money to do that. We've done most of our training out of some local high schools. There are some obvious difficulties with that. But to the guys credit, they come in and work hard. It doesn't matter where we are, or what mats we're on, they come in to work.
Dallin Norton Sanderson: He has made tremendous progress. He has a great deal of potential. The next step now is just getting him more mat experience. I'm very excited to see how he'll do this weekend.
Without a conference or national tournament on the horizon -- does it make it difficult to set specific goals?
Sanderson: Well, our goal is to be the best that we can be. We're just going to get in here and work as hard as we can at that. Everything else just kind of takes care of itself.
Aside from recruiting, what's the biggest difference from coaching in a top-five Division program, like Iowa State, to coaching at UVSC?
Sanderson: The biggest change is that now I'm working with a lot of young athletes with less experience. What I'm trying to do is get them as many good competitions as possible, so that we can continue to increase the competition level of our team.
There were discussions this past summer about a new wrestling conference being formed, with UVSC being a part of it, along with schools like North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and Northern Iowa, among others. What's the status of the new conference? Is it a real possibility?
Sanderson: It is a real possibility. It hasn't been named. We're still in the process of reviewing what the bylaws and regulations would be and making sure that all of the teams are committed. The next step would be getting the actual athletic directors of the schools to say that it's OK go forward with it.
Sanderson: You know, some people are throwing around some ideas. That's not really our main focus, though. If something were to happen, that would be fine. But right now, we're just working on getting this conference established. Not just established, but making it one of the top conferences in the country.
You'll be back in Ames to wrestle Iowa State this Friday -- against your alma mater and your brothers. What do you think that is going to be like for you?
Sanderson: I think it will be a lot of fun. It's fun to compete there. It's fun to compete against such a great team. Also, for me, I spent a lot of time there. I have a lot of friends. I know a lot of guys on the team personally. It's just good to get back and watch them and talk to them again. It's even more fun to compete against them.
A lot of wrestling fans are excited about the possibility of Greco star Cam Jones wrestling in your program. What's his current status?
Sanderson: He's just working on some eligibility issues right now. What we're looking at is that he'll be fully cleared to compete next season. He won't compete this season. Next season is what we're shooting for. He's enrolled here as a full-time student right now.
Will he continue to wrestle Greco as well?
Sanderson: That's his plan. His plan is to train Greco. He had surgery this fall. He is really working hard to be ready to compete in the tournaments during the spring.
Cyler Sanderson, now a freshman at Iowa State, won a Junior Nationals freestyle title over the summer, but tore his ACL in the Greco portion of the event.Sanderson: Yeah, I did. I talked to him about coming here. At this point, I just didn't have quite enough to offer him. It's kind of a tradition for my family to wrestle at Iowa State. With Cael out there coaching, it was the perfect fit for him at this time.
Cyler tore his ACL this past summer at Junior Nationals while wrestling Greco. How is his rehab going?
Sanderson: His rehab is going really well. I don't think the doctors will clear him to actually be on the mat for at least a few more months. But they said that if he continues to do what he's doing, he'll be have a one-hundred percent recovery.
Your father, Steve, had a lot of success coaching at the high school level. He built Wasatch High School into a national powerhouse. What have you learned about coaching from your father?
Sanderson: I frequently talk to him about different ideas for coaching -- different philosophies and things I should be doing here to build a program. He went through a lot of the similar things at the high school level, where he built a program into one of the top teams in the country. In a way, I would like to kind of mimic that -- just at the college level.
With Cael now serving as the head assistant coach at Iowa State -- does he ever consult you for advice on different coaching aspects. You have obviously been in the coaching game longer.
Sanderson: We chat back and forth quite a bit about how things are going and what we're doing with our teams. It's nice to be able to get a different perspective from … well, from him … in a way, I guess he's an opposing coach. So we spend some time sharing things back and forth.
What was it like seeing Cael win his gold medal at the Olympics?
Sanderson: It was just an incredible experience for me and my family. We knew how much work he put into it and how many difficulties he had along the way. To see him excel at the end, at the Olympic Games when it mattered, it was one of the best experiences that we've been able to have as a family.
Were you in Athens for the Games?
Sanderson: Yeah, I was able to go out there a little bit early. I spent quite a bit of time with Cael and watched him get ready. It was a great experience, not just watching him get ready, but also being able to sit and watch the rest of the team get ready to compete in the Olympics.
Everyone in the wrestling world wants to know whether or not Cael is done wrestling. Do you think we'll ever see him compete again?
Sanderson: I'd say that I'd like to watch him compete again, but that's completely up to him now. He's spending a lot of time coaching. He'll just sit back and see. It would be fun, though.
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