Coach of the Year: Jay Weiss, the Master Builder

In a school entrenched in years of tradition, it isn't easy to start your own. But that is exactly what wrestling Coach Jay Weiss has done.

In his six years at the helm, Weiss has created a winning tradition, raising the standards and taking the team to an entirely new level of competition. With a passion for the sport and for his wrestlers that goes unmatched, Weiss epitomizes the dedication and enthusiasm of this team. He is the heart of this growing Harvard program, and he is the driving force behind its unprecedented success in recent years.

"The success of the program has not been by chance--it is definitely a testament to Coach Weiss," said co-captain Ed Mosley. "He is a great motivator and has brought the program into the national scene."

Indeed, when Weiss first arrived at Harvard in 1994, he was faced with a struggling team that was not very competitive within the conference, let alone on a national scale. Yet since he's been here, the team's rise has been exponential.

The team has moved up the ranks within the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) conference and the NCAA. Up until 1997, there had been a total of six All-Americans in Harvard history. In the past three years, there have been five. Last season, Dustin DeNunzio '99 placed fourth and co-captain Joey Killar sixth at NCAAs, marking the first time that two Crimson grapplers earned All-American honors in the same season.

The team repeated the historic feat again this year as Killar and Mosley both grappled to a pair of eighth-place finishes to secure All-American accolades.

As a whole, too, the team has risen dramatically in the standings, placing either third or fourth in the EIWA in the past few years, and ranking among the top 30 teams in the nation.

Last year, the Crimson had its best finish in school history when it finished third in the EIWA and 20th at NCAAs--ahead of six Big Ten schools. This was on the heels of a 1997-98 season in which Weiss was named the EIWA Coach of the Year, the first time a Harvard coach had earned that distinction. In 1997-98, the Crimson finished fourth in the EIWA and 29th at Nationals and brought home its first All-American in fifteen years with DeNunzio's sixth-place finish.

One of the keys to Weiss' success has been his ability to recruit and develop a group of extremely talented grapplers. For three of the past four seasons, a Harvard wrestler--freshman Max Odom, Killar and Mosley--has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. In addition, Weiss has brought in a top-notch coaching staff that has helped make the Crimson a formidable foe.

For the past four seasons, the team has benefited from the help of former Soviet National Coach Granit Taropin as well as former Harvard All-American Andy McNerney '83. Joining the staff this year was DeNunzio, Harvard's second two-time All-American. Former Olympic Gold Medalist Kendall Cross also volunteers his time to help the team, and has proved an invaluable asset these past few years.

"Coach Weiss isn't just a great coach, but he is a great head coach," said senior Nate Ackerman. "Whoever is part of the staff, Coach Weiss does an excellent job of using them to help the team and providing a wonderful atmosphere of friendship among the coaches. I have a huge amount of respect for his ability to use all the great talent that he has on staff."

Coach Weiss has also added a new dimension to the team by creating a tough schedule each season to prepare the wrestlers for Easterns and Nationals. In the past few years, the team has competed in prestigious tournaments such as the Cliff Keen Invitational, the Virginia Duals, the Midlands Tournament and the Aloha Classic, all of which feature some of the top teams in the nation. Weiss' confidence in his wrestlers has allowed the team to prove that it really can compete with anyone in the country.

But most of all, Weiss is known for inspiring his team both on and off the mats, encouraging each wrestler to develop his own style and personal goals.

"He is a great person and a really good motivator," Killar said. "He is there for both the ups and downs and helps keep you focused."

"Coach Weiss does every facet of his job extremely well," DeNunzio said. "His greatest quality though is that he does not try and conform the team to a particular view of wrestling. He wants the guys to learn from the entire staff and then choose which style best suits their own. That type of selflessness is a coaching quality that is rare and one that has helped to really bring the best out of each wrestler."

Six years and five All-Americans later, Weiss has certainly brought out the best in the many wrestlers who have been under his wing. A former wrestler for Franklin and Marshall, where he was an EIWA runner-up and NCAA qualifier, Weiss has experience and a love of the sport that has been invaluable to this Harvard squad. With a fierce determination to see the program grow accompanied by complete faith in his wrestlers, Weiss has been able to achieve great success in such a short time.

"Regardless of both his and our personal circumstances, coach Weiss never stops believing in his wrestlers or our program," sophomore Brandon Rhoades said. "This is much of the reason for the success of our team. He can take a very difficult time and use it as a lesson or even transform it into a stepping stone toward something much greater."

After many stepping stones, there is no doubt that Weiss has reached something greater. Finishing this 1999-2000 season with seven top-six finishes at EIWAs and two All-Americans, Weiss has firmly established a winning tradition for Harvard wrestling, one that is sure to continue for many seasons to come.