A competent professional S&C Coach could help mold the team into a more predictable weight range coming into the season. As it stands now, does the staff have an accurate read on what these guys are weighing in the off-season and what EXACTLY they are doing to "hit" a desired range when they step into the room in the Fall? Is it a casual email or talk at season's end or is it a highly structured, highly monitored individualized plan? In other words, is the plan --if one exists-- being monitored closely by the staff? If not, this is exhibit A as to why a professional S&C Coach needs to be a priority. Have a plan: maintain weight while increasing quickness, strength, flexibility; substantially increase strength with potential weight gains or cut weight while retaining strength, and increase quickness. Brands and Company need to dictate these goals for each individual wrestler who is a potential starter and the S&C coach needs to craft a workable plan and be responsible for monitoring and adjusting the program in the off-season as results dictate.
If Brands and Company are not comfortable micro managing the weight scuffling needs, a solid S&C coach would perhaps unlock the highest potential for the overall team. In what weight classes are we vulnerable and where do we need an upgrade? Where is our competition perhaps vulnerable? Which guys on the roster could potentially fill those spots with the right amount of off-season tweaking and still be a viable option? Which wrestlers need reality checks, and who needs a rigid, micro-managed off-season program?
The S&C coach could be a former wrestler (preferable?), but he must make S&C his priority above all other duties. He must be able to stand up and go against the status quo, and also be forceful enough to get the team to buy in and follow the plan. He must also be highly organized. Brands and Company must find the right guy and let him do his job and give him the means and authority to do it-- no second guessing his decisions mid-stream. Have a strategic plan, work it rigorously, monitor results religiously and demand maximum effort to reach the stated goals. I believe the right guy could be worth 15 points at NCAAs. The position, if filled correctly, is that important.