NO HOLDS BARRED

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the head wrestling coach at the University of Maryland, Kerry McCoy.

Now in his seventh season as head coach, this season he has not only faced the challenge of the graduation of 2014 NCAA Div. I runner-up Jimmy Sheptock, who was one of the most successful wrestlers in Maryland history, but also the move from the ACC to the Big Ten, arguably the strongest wrestling conference in the U.S.

We spoke with Coach McCoy Saturday in New York.

Speaking about the team's first season in the Big Ten, he said, "It's been pretty good. The level of competition that we face on a regular basis is definitely higher."

While they have had a tough schedule in years past, facing teams from many conferences, "Now we get more of the higher level of competition on a regular basis."

He noted, "It really prepares us for the end of the season. So once we hit the conference tournament, once we the NCAA tournament, we've faced 10, 15, 20 ranked guys, and our guys are just ready to go out there and get it done. So it's been a challenge, but we really look at it as an opportunity for us to get better and build for the end of the year."

We also discussed why he considers every year a rebuilding year, which wrestlers on his team have the greatest chance of becoming All-Americans and national champions this season, the values of wrestling even when one loses a match, why his program is in good shape even with the issues facing college athletics in light of the O'Bannon decision, the advantages of having their matches shown on the Big Ten Network, coaching Maryland against Penn State where he had wrestled, the itch to compete again, and much more.

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Labels: Big Ten, coach, college, Eddie Goldman, Kerry McCoy, Maryland, NCAA, No Holds Barred, wrestling