Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: OSU Athletics
David Taylor Discusses Victory at World Team Trials
September 18, 2024 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head wrestling coach David Taylor met with the media Wednesday in Stillwater to discuss his victory at the U.S. Senior World Team Trials this past weekend. Here are some of his comments:
Head Coach David Taylor
On why he chose to compete at the Trials:
"We talked about getting in the room and wrestling with the guys. In doing so, I started to get more excited about wrestling… A lot more enthusiasm to be in the room. When you're teaching guys that this is the way we are going to wrestle, you're teaching them a lot of things that made me very successful."
On the benefits the room has seen from choosing to compete:
"I just did the workouts with the guys. They got to see a different level from me, and it raised their level. All the guys that I was wrestling, Dustin (Plott), DJ (Hamiti), Cody (Merrill), Kyle (Haas), Wyatt (Hendrickson), Konner (Doucet), Brayden (Thompson), their level started to increase. Once I said 'Hey, I'm thinking about wrestling,' they showed a different level when they came in... It's creating a really cool environment, and I think that is what has been the most beneficial and unique about this process. Nothing I did was different than what they're doing and that's what we talked about when coming here. We want to wrestle with the guys and we're not going to ask them to do anything that we aren't doing."
On his passion for wrestling:
"It gives you a different perspective coming into practice. It just created an energy and excitement that I hadn't felt in four years. Sitting and talking to guys, you're talking about when you have that fire to do something. It's such a small window in wrestling and I started to feel that again. If I have it, I think this is a really good opportunity for OSU wrestling. It's a great opportunity for our RTC."
On representing Oklahoma State as a competitor for the first time:
"It was pretty fun. I've been down here for a short period of time, but I take a lot of pride in the program and what it represents. It's an honor. Orange is a color that you should earn the right to wear, it's not just a given thing. A lot of tradition comes with those colors, and I was just excited to be able to represent the university and the people that had done it before me."
Head Coach David Taylor
On why he chose to compete at the Trials:
"We talked about getting in the room and wrestling with the guys. In doing so, I started to get more excited about wrestling… A lot more enthusiasm to be in the room. When you're teaching guys that this is the way we are going to wrestle, you're teaching them a lot of things that made me very successful."
On the benefits the room has seen from choosing to compete:
"I just did the workouts with the guys. They got to see a different level from me, and it raised their level. All the guys that I was wrestling, Dustin (Plott), DJ (Hamiti), Cody (Merrill), Kyle (Haas), Wyatt (Hendrickson), Konner (Doucet), Brayden (Thompson), their level started to increase. Once I said 'Hey, I'm thinking about wrestling,' they showed a different level when they came in... It's creating a really cool environment, and I think that is what has been the most beneficial and unique about this process. Nothing I did was different than what they're doing and that's what we talked about when coming here. We want to wrestle with the guys and we're not going to ask them to do anything that we aren't doing."
On his passion for wrestling:
"It gives you a different perspective coming into practice. It just created an energy and excitement that I hadn't felt in four years. Sitting and talking to guys, you're talking about when you have that fire to do something. It's such a small window in wrestling and I started to feel that again. If I have it, I think this is a really good opportunity for OSU wrestling. It's a great opportunity for our RTC."
On representing Oklahoma State as a competitor for the first time:
"It was pretty fun. I've been down here for a short period of time, but I take a lot of pride in the program and what it represents. It's an honor. Orange is a color that you should earn the right to wear, it's not just a given thing. A lot of tradition comes with those colors, and I was just excited to be able to represent the university and the people that had done it before me."
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