Wes HandYou came into this past season ranked anywhere from third to fifth in the preseason, yet you won the team title by 38.5 points and more than doubled your point-total from 2007. Obviously, the expectations were high coming into this season. But did the team exceed even the coaching staff's expectations?
Hand: I don't think so. I think it's a big credit to the kids. The guys just came together. I don't know if they really exceeded our expectations. I think we knew that they were all very capable of doing well. I think it's just a credit to them on how they came together. I think by the end of the year, I don't think there was much doubt on our team as far as whether we were going to win or not.
You dropped a dual meet on January 5 at home to Oklahoma State. After that loss, you ran the table the rest of the way, won the Big Tens, and the NCAAs. What impact did that loss have on the team?
Hand: I think it was probably a wakeup call for our guys. It was an eye opener. We had a big event coming up the next week, the National Duals, and they responded pretty well. To go into a tournament that we hadn't won in 13 or 14 years and win it, that was big.
At the beginning of the season, Dan Gable stepped down from his coaching position at Iowa and returned to his role as special assistant to the athletic director. How much was Gable directly involved with the wrestling program this past season?
Hand: He's involved with the sport. He's active and involved with the sport. He and Tom have a close relationship. He's as involved as the rules let him be. He's as involved as he can be to give advice and answer any questions when needed.
Was he in the room at times?
Hand: He comes in and watches every once in a while. But the rules don't allow a lot. Within the rules, he will be around.
Wes HandHand: It's always nice to have somebody who comes into a program leave with some credentials. This was his last chance to do that. I think probably sitting here today with him thinking about how he did, I think he probably feels a little bit of a sense of accomplishment. At the same time, I think he probably realizes that he was probably as good as the other guys, the guys who were in the finals and the eventual champion. So I think in some ways, there is maybe some relief for him. But at the same time, I think he probably realizes that he is a pretty good wrestler himself.
Mark Perry capped off a great collegiate career with his second NCAA title. Does he have plans to continue wrestling and competing internationally in freestyle?
Hand: I don't know if he will. I think he should. He's obviously pretty good. I don't know what he will do. He's still recovering from his knee injury. He hasn't trained much this spring, so we'll see. He would do very well if he decided to do that.
Wes HandHand: I think it's a great problem to have. That has been one of the goals of our program since Coach Brands has taken over … to create depth in the room. It will be up to the individuals to see who comes through at those weights. But it's a great problem and we love to have that kind of problem.
Explain the process the coaching staff uses to determine the starting lineup at Iowa.
Hand: There is no process used by the coaching staff. They will earn it. It's pretty simple. They will compete. They will show where they are at in competition. And that's how they will earn the spot.
You came to Virginia Tech before Tom Brands arrived in Blacksburg. What brought you to Virginia Tech?
Hand: That was back in 2002. I had been coaching at Iowa for two years in a lower capacity as a volunteer and strength coach. I was ready to make a move up. The coaching position opened up. We had been out there for camps a couple years before that, so I was familiar with the place. It was just a good opportunity for me. Looking back on it, it was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. Just to pick up and leave. It wasn't about money. It wasn't about anything else except being a coach. It was the best thing I've done so far.
While you were an assistant at Virginia Tech, the program had a lot of success. The Hokies won the ACC regular season title, set a school record for dual meet wins (16), and had a school-record five wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships. Overall, how would you characterize your experience at Virginia Tech?
Hand: A lot of learning. A lot of doing things out of your comfort zone. You come from a program like Iowa and you go out to Virginia Teach … and there are a lot of things that are different. It's an eye opener in a lot of ways as far as finances and fans. To characterize it would be just that it was a learning experience. You realize what else is out there. You go 800 or 900 miles from Iowa City and it's a lot different.
Are there still hard feelings about the Virginia Tech transfer situation? Or is that all in the past?
Hand: I think it's in the past. I think all parties have moved on. It's over. There is nothing anybody can do about it now.
Wes HandHand: I just wanted to coach. My passion is coaching. That's the direction I wanted to take. It's hard to do a couple things well. I wanted to put all my focus into coaching. That was the main thing. My passion wasn't in competing anymore. It was in coaching.
As a competitor, you were coached by Dan Gable, who was the head coach, and Tom Brands, who was an assistant. Now, as a coach, you have worked on the same staff as both Brands and Gable. Brands has said that he soaked up and filed away every word Gable said. How much similarity do you see between Gable and Brands as coaches.
Hand: I will put it to you like this. Their personalities are different. Their goals are identical. Both of them are very driven. Fanatical. Their approach to the sport is almost identical. They just have two different personalities.
Do you personally get more nervous now as a coach or when you were a competitor?
Hand: I really don't know. At times, when you're coaching, you just wish you could go out there and do it yourself and wrestle. Other times, you have so much confidence in your athletes, you just kind of sit back and let them do their work. It just kind of depends. It's definitely an interesting feeling when you're sitting in the corner of a big match in wrestling. It's an experience of a lifetime, really. Just to be able to sit there in the national tournament, in a big match, and watch one of your athletes who has trained his butt off to just go out there and win that match, it's a great feeling.
You have obviously had a lot of success as an assistant coach. Do you have aspirations of becoming a head coach? And if so, would it have to be at the Division I level?
Hand: I think it's just whatever opportunity presents itself to me. Do I have to be a head coach? No. I like my job now. Everything is going well. If an opportunity would present itself to me, I would obviously take a look and see. But I just focus on what I'm dong now and try to do the best job I can.
Brock Lesnar (Photo/Sherdog)Hand: I think he can be real good. I've put my hands on a lot of guys when it comes to wrestling and workouts and he has some things that are going to be real tough for anybody to compete with. I think he probably showed that a little bit in his first UFC fight. It's just that he probably got beat on experience. Once he tightens some of that stuff, I think he's going to be pretty good if that's something he wants to commit to and do well. I would be very surprised if he didn't have a lot of success.
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