Cal Poly Co-Head Coach Mark Perry sits with TOM

Published on August 14, 2010 by viratas   ·   2 Comments

This summer Mark Perry was named Co-Head Coach at Cal Poly. TOM recently caught up with Coach Perry to discuss this as well as other things.

TOM: It’s been announced that John Azevedo will be stepping down and you will be taking over as head coach for the 2010-2011 season. What are your goals for the Mustangs, and how long do you think it will take to achieve them?

MP: Actually, John and myself will be co-head coaches for the 2010-2011 wrestling season, and then I will be taking over the following season. Our expectations for this upcoming season are to win the PAC-10 Team Championship and turn in Cal Poly’s best performance ever, at the NCAA Championships. We want NCAA Champions, that is the expectation of the program. As far as long term, our goal at Cal Poly is to be the premier program of the west and contend year in and year out for NCAA trophies. These are high goals, but our motto is believing, knowing, and preforming, and as a coaching staff, if our athletes buy into that, these goals will be accomplished.

TOM: Will Coach Azevedo still play a role in the program? Will he stick around in sort of a Gablesque fashion?

MP: We haven’t talk about that at all, we are just focused on having a great season this year. With that said Coach Azevedo will always be someone I will use for advice. I’m the type of guy that is going to use all my resources to help benefit the athletes. Almost every day I go to my past coaches (Father, Brands, Gable, Buxton, etc.) for advice in different areas to help us move forward and I will do the same with Azevedo.

TOM: Describe your coaching philosophy in twenty five words or less.

MP: I demand our athletes to live the lifestyle of becoming an NCAA champion and that they have a huge amount of passion for the sport.

TOM: At 26 years old, you’re certainly among the youngest head coaches in NCAA wrestling history. With many former teammates and opponents still on the international wrestling circuit and involved in MMA, what went into your decision to pursue a career as a coach?

MP: Coming out of college I was pretty beat up and couldn’t attend the 2008 trails so I had a tough decision to make. I had a lot of different options, but at the end of the day wrestling is my life, and I couldn’t ever leave the sport, I love it too much. I chose to coach because I always saw myself as a leader and coach before an athlete. Plus I am not the most durable guy.

TOM: What do you think your advantages are in being a young head coach?

MP: That is a question I get a lot and even though I am young in age I have been around college wrestling since birth. I have a great understanding for the sport and what makes athletes successful. My advantages are my fanaticism for wrestling, but I am not sure that has anything to do with my age, that’s just how I was raised and the kind of family I come from. I think wrestling 24/7 and love every second of it.

TOM: Has your uncle John Smith provided any advice or mentorship to you as a coach? If so, how has he influenced your coaching?

MP: Whenever we get a chance to speak I am open ears, but I have not lived in Stillwater, OK for 10 years, so I don’t get to see him very often. The one area that he has influenced me the most is my love for technique and understanding the small positions that make huge differences in matches.

TOM: How do you feel about competing against your uncle and brother at Oklahoma State?

MP: It’s no different than when I was a competitor, I want to win no matter who we are competing against and want the same for our athletes.

TOM: It seems like the University of Iowa program is the best training ground for coaches at the collegiate level. What do you think it is it about the Hawkeye program or style of wrestling that translates into coaching success?

MP: Well the main thing is that many coaches talk about a lifestyle, but the athletes only jump in halfway. At Iowa, you are either all in or you will be gone. The coaches at Iowa demand you live up to the legacy and expectation, and when you do that, good things happen. As a former Hawkeye wrestler, I think we take that philosophy and put it into our programs. It works because when you live that lifestyle you eat, breath, and sleep wrestling. You can take the Iowa philosophy and go anywhere in the country and you will see positive results, that’s guaranteed.

TOM: It’s been announced that 3x All-American from Michigan Tyrel Todd will be joining the coaching staff this season. What are his strengths, and what do you think he brings to the program?

MP: Tyrel is a great competitor and has a great deal of passion for wrestling. He will fit in perfect with our philosophy and hopefully his toughness will rub off on our athletes, as he will be training with them in the room. Outside of the wrestling aspect, he will be a huge help in recruiting, fundraising and working with the administration, because he has a great personality that people cling to.

TOM: Will you be adding any new coaches to the roster for the 2010-2011 season?

MP: Absolutely, and it is already in the works

TOM: In recent years, much importance has been placed on “feeder programs,” or youth and middle school programs. What do you think California is doing right in terms of developing young wrestlers? Do you think there’s anything that can be changed or fixed that will benefit our talented up-and-comers later on in their wrestling careers?

MP: I think California does a great job, considering how big the state is, but in the future I would like to see more clubs like Overtime and the Edge created so kids in different parts of the state have the chance to train weekly with the best kids in their area. Having those places available will only help prepare them even more for college. Starting this fall we will be doing something very similar that will be available to kids on the Central Coast to help them develop into better wrestlers.

TOM: How important do you think your experience at Blair was to your success as a wrestler and as a coach?

MP: It was huge for me because I got to go to a program that was more focused on preparing us for college and winning NCAA championships than high school accolades. Growing up in Stillwater, OK, and being the lone soldier with those goals made it more comfortable when I arrived at Blair to see a whole room of guys with the same mindset. As a coach, it just reinforced what my parents had taught me, that the student/athletes that are successful live a lifestyle and don’t see it as a sport.

TOM: Every year many of California’s top high school wrestlers opt to continue their careers somewhere outside of the state. Why do you think California annually loses its top talent? What is Cal Poly as a program doing to keep some of the most talented wrestlers home?

MP: Right now we are recruiting the top wrestlers in the state and painting a vision, that they can get it done in there home state. Bottom line is we have to win at a high level year after year and they will stay.

TOM: UC Davis’ program was dropped this past spring, and Cal State Bakersfield was in danger for a while as well. How has Cal Poly been holding up? What has been done, or what is currently being done to secure the program?

MP: The big question. Well, right now Cal Poly is doing as well as ever. We just added a new coach and the school just granted us another 1.5 scholarships. With that said, we have the backing from our boosters/fans/athletic department to make this program one of the best in the country, and it will happen. We have put a business plan together that will take a lot of effort and eventually endow this program. We are not concerned, but will be extremely proactive until the endowment is accomplished.

TOM: What do you think it will take to reinstate the program at Davis, or any other college that has dropped it’s wrestling program in California?

MP: Well, for some programs it’s going to take a mass commitment from their boosters and wrestling fans in general to raise the money to endow their programs, and for others unfortunately, it’s probably going to have to happen from a higher power. I think all coaches need to be proactive, whether they are in danger or not. If we like it or not, being a wrestling coach requires very good fundraising skills and developing relationships with people that can make an impact.

TOM: Back in the spring Poly hosted the “Fight for Wrestling” MMA event as a fundraiser for the program. Will there be any other similar events like this in the future?

MP: It was great for us and the community, and we will be putting on another one in April. In the future, I am hoping to put on at least two a year, if not

TOM: Do you follow MMA? If so, who is your favorite fighter? Frankie Edgar or BJ Penn in the rematch?

MP: Yes, I love it. I don’t have a favorite fighter, I just cheer for all the wrestlers. I would love to see Frankie Edgar win but I feel he is going to have his hands full in round two. Penn is known to not train the same in every camp and put on poor performances sometimes, but he will be ready for this one. I still want Edgar to win though.

TOM: What’s your fondest memory as a competitor?

MP: Winning my first NCAA title after chasing it since childhood

TOM: What’s your best memory so far in your coaching career?

MP: That’s tough, but I would say seeing how much this team and program has developed in the past year. We were pretty low last summer and now our guys and fans are as excited as any program I have ever been involved with.

Tags: Cal Poly, Coaching Positions, John Azevedo, Mark Perry, TOM Interviews