Shawn Charles and his fellow coaches hit the ground running.
A four-time All-American wrestler during his college years at ASU (1990-93), the now-Sun Devil coach, who took the job at his alma mater on May 8, 2009, watched his first season go by in a bit of a blur.
“Me and my coaching staff are really excited about this upcoming season, because when we got to the Pac-10 tournament and the NCAA Tournament [last season], we'd only been with these guys for seven months,” said Charles, who has an assistant coach at Missouri for three seasons before returning to ASU. “Now we've been with them for 11 months and we still have two or three months before we have to put them back out on the mat.”
With a year under his belt, Charles is confident his team will improve upon a 30th-place finish at last season's NCAA Championships, with only then-junior Anthony Robles earning a top-eight finish (seventh) and the subsequent All-American distinction that goes with it.
Robles became the first ASU wrestler since 2005-06 (Brian Stith, Cain Velasquez) to earn All-American status in back-to-back seasons.
Charles has little doubt others will join Robles in the winners circle frequently this season, noting a palpable excitement in the wrestling room for a program on the rise.
“I really think in the seven months we had those guys [last season], we really got this thing turned around,” Charles said. “I think it's headed in the right direction and now we're picking up a head of steam and just really trying to charge forward.
“Just knowing the amount of time we get to spend with these guys in the offseason to get them better, and the time we're going to have with them again when we start our season [in the fall], I'm excited about how good these kids are going to get.”
Though the team loses one of its top grapplers in Chris Drouin, who has transferred to Iowa State, it returns a number of players with NCAA Championship experience, including Te Edwards, who made the national tournament as a freshman a season ago.
“I think he's built a pretty good excitement,” said Bubba Jenkins, who joins the team this season after transferring from Penn State. “Getting the guys he's got in the room, we've got a lot of athletes and a lot of raw talent that his coaching can touch and do some really good things.”
Charles has noted a dedication to the weight room from his wrestlers this off-season, a large number of them hungry after falling short of their own expectations a season ago.
“We have half our team that didn't go to nationals last year, so these guys are coming in the room and trying to get better, and this is the time where you can close that gap,” the coach said. “Yeah, there might be guys in our own conference or across the country that are better than our guys right now, but this is the time where you can close that gap between them being a little ahead of you so that next time we meet them we can get our hand raised.”
Another big goal on Charles' plate as he begins to get his feet settled into his new post is continuing to search for financial support for a program that was on life support when it was dropped in May 2008. Thanks to private funding that came largely from ASU wrestling alum Art Martori, though, the program was reinstated shortly thereafter, in time for the 2008-2009 season.
Charles is now hoping other alumni can spread the wealth.
“Right now we're trying to get the community on board, the alumni and the Arizona community at large, to contribute to a yearly donation to keep this program going, so that not all the pressure is on Art Martori,” Charles said. “It has to mean something to them and not just one person.”
