Ohio coach Joel Greenlee's focus, both at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season and now at its end, has always been in one place: the future.
With a fourth-place finish at the Mid-American Conference Tournament this weekend, Greenlee and company ' with the exception of NCAA-qualifying freshman Germane Lindsey ' finally have an opportunity to reflect on a season of a few ups, but mostly downs.
The Bobcats finished with a 6-16 mark in dual meets, with four of those wins coming at the Hoosier Duals on Nov. 24 ' the first competition of the season. While the record might have dropped from there, Greenlee said a major theme of Ohio's season was one of improvement.
Obviously
it was a rough year for us he said. But I feel good about the fact that we were a lot better at the end of the year than the beginning. We had a lot of fun coaching these guys because they wanted to get better and they did.
That theme culminated in Lindsey's at-large bid to the NCAA Championships following a third-place finish in the MAC Tournament. Greenlee cited Lindsey's victory over Central Michigan's Eric Kruger, whom he had lost to in a dual meet two weeks before, in the tournament as a sign of the team's improvement.
Greenlee also named Lindsey, who led the team with 17 wins in dual competition, as one of the hardest workers in the practice room and hoped the rest of the team would take a cue from their teammate.
It's important for every other guy on the team to see
'Hey
that's the way it's done
' he said. If you keep your nose to the grindstone and do the right things
it's going to pay off at the end.
For his part, Lindsey ' whose self-expressed goal for his career at Ohio is to win a national championship ' said the bid felt like a proper ending to his successful freshman season.
I'm just really glad I gave myself this opportunity
he said.
One might be surprised to see Lindsey, a true freshman, as a premier performer on a college varsity squad, but a glance at Ohio's roster during the year quickly explains that oddity. He was one of 16 freshmen to join the team this year after the athletic department increased the number of wrestling scholarships from 4.5 to 9.9 for this year's recruiting class. Five of Ohio's 10 starters at the MAC Tournament were either true or redshirt freshmen.
The addition of youth came with a price, however. Only seven Bobcats from a 2006-2007 roster of 30 contributed to the team this season, and only three of those 30 were lost because of graduation. Just two starters returned from last season ' 157-pound Clay Tucker and 174-pound Jacob Ison ' but both of them wrestled in a heavier weight class this time around, and the year quickly became a self-prescribed transition period for Greenlee and his team.
Greenlee was quick to note that he felt no hard feelings toward the individuals who left the team in the past off-season but added that he hoped their departure would serve as a learning tool for his young team.
A lot of our younger guys saw the commitment it takes to be on a good team and keep making the team better
he said.
The team's attitude heading into this off-season seems much more optimistic than last year, Greenlee said. Some of the wrestlers are making an effort to wrestle in open tournaments or Greco-Roman competitions during the spring and summer to prepare them for 2008-2009 season.
Our guys are excited. They've seen the improvement
Greenlee said. That's going to make us better
just the excitement and looking forward to next year.
Lindsey took Greenlee one step farther, making a guarantee that the Bobcats will be a team to watch in the 2008-2009 campaign.
Next year
