7 Minutes with Stanfords Zack Giesen
Nov 16th, 2009 | By viratas | Category: Open Mat Originals, Stanford
Fresh of a 3 match sweep at the Northwestern Duals and a red-shirt year Zach Giesen is looking to make some noise this year for Stanford. In 2006-07 he was named the PAC-10 freshman of the year. He is also a 2-time NCAA qualifier.
TOM: To date what is your most memorable match and why?
ZG: For starters, I always remember bad losses and very rarely remember wins. My sophomore year of high school I was winning a match by several points against a returning Cadet Freestyle national runner up when I got caught and pinned in the last 15 seconds. I had dominated the whole match and to lose like that really impacted me. It taught me to always keep wrestling and I don’t think I will ever forget that match.
TOM: What brought you to Stanford?
ZG: It sounds cliché, but the unique combination of academics and athletics. I have high goals for myself, both in wrestling and outside and I thought that Stanford provided me with the opportunity to achieve those goals.
TOM: What are you most looking forward to this upcoming season?
ZG: The idea of competing on what should be a very competitive team is exciting for me. In the past we have had teams with good individuals but I think that this years team could be very solid all the way around and that idea is exciting for me. On a more personal level, it has been a long time since I have wrestled for the school and I am looking forward to getting out on the mat and representing Stanford.
TOM: Three styles Freestyle, Folkstyle and Greco which do your prefer and why?
ZG: Freestyle. I like the fact that it is a little more explosive and easier to score. Also conditioning isn’t as big of a factor, which makes training for it a little more fun.
TOM: What advice would you give to an up and coming wrestler?
ZG: Set your goals too high. Looking back on it, it was too easy to settle for something that seemed attainable at the time, but when I really set a goal that seemed unrealistic I forced myself to work harder and to push the limits of what I thought I could do. Also, make wrestling fun. If wrestling is not fun your life is going to be miserable and you probably won’t achieve the goals that you, or somebody else, set for yourself.
TOM: What person has had the biggest impact on your wrestling career and why?
ZG: My parents without a doubt have had the biggest impact on my wrestling career. I have had some awesome coaches who mentored me not only as a wrestler, but also as a person, but ultimately, the root of my wrestling success has come from my parents. They always supported me in whatever I wanted to do and made sure that wrestling was fun for me. They also helped motivate me through the times where I didn’t want to push myself, and this is what has made the difference in my wrestling career. I guess my parents taught me that a person has to make sacrifices in order to achieve their goals and this has helped me keep everything in perspective.
TOM: What are your long term goals in wrestling?
ZG: I have no long-term goals for wrestling. For me wrestling has been a great tool to put me in situations that I would probably never get to experience otherwise and to mold me as a person, but I have goals outside of wrestling that I want to accomplish. I plan to attend medical school once I am done with my wrestling career so it will be difficult to give up a sport that I love and gave me so much, but I see myself coming back and coaching in the future.
TOM: List three things fans may not know about you but should?
ZG: I grew up on a farm in Southern Oregon. I enjoy to hike, hunt, camp, shoot and do pretty much anything else outdoors. I don’t like big cities; they scare me, I like small towns where I know everybody and I don’t have to worry about traffic.
TOM: As a recruit what were the main things you considered when picking a school?
ZG: As a recruit, academics where a huge part of my decision. I had an idea that I wanted to go to medical school after I was done wrestling so I wanted to go to a school that would put me in the best position to achieve my goals in wrestling, but also my goals outside of the sport. Another big part of the decision was the distance from my family. My family is really important to me and I wanted to be somewhere where I could go home and visit if I had a weekend off. That being said, I like to be independent and make my own decisions so I didn’t want to be so close to home that they would be at school all the time.
By: The Open Mat Staff
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Sweet interview, but what and where is Standford?
Thanks for the catch, I have corrected this.