Now with the 2026 US World Team Trials relegated to mere hours away, it is time to catch up with National Team head coach Herb House to discern how the country’s toughest wrestlers have been preparing for the tournament that they hope will lead them to the World Championships in October.
The first item for Coach House in this pre-Trials report pertains to the most recent camp held at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Commonly referred to these days as “March Camp”, the gathering in Colorado Springs saw most, if not all, of the program’s premier competitors putting in work alongside partners both domestic and foreign. The timing of the camp is also a topic. As most know, a significant portion of Americans had traveled overseas in the winter with some spending nearly a month away from home. That on the front-end, coupled with attempting to stay healthy for this week’s tournament on the back-end, is something upon which House further expounds.
In addition, ’24 U23 World silver Beka Melelashvili‘s (NYAC) move up to 87 kilograms from 82 is part of the discussion. Melelashvili, 24, was injured in the spring and there were fears that he would be forced to miss the goings-on in Vegas. Instead, Melelashvili is not only ready to wrestle, he figures to play a big role in what is a very competitive bracket. To close out, House describes what lies in store for those who do make the World Team once the calendar flips to May.
USNT Head Coach Herb House
Pre-2026 World Team Trials
5PM: How did camp start as far as general morale given that a large percentage of guys had been overseas, the Army had Armed Forces earlier in March, and then there is the timing between the camp itself and this here tournament coming up?
Coach Herb House: Camp was a little bit different this time. We had a different strategy because, like you said, a lot of guys had been overseas and beat up. So for this camp, we had technical training in the morning and we did live situations in the afternoon. We did that everyday except on Wednesday, when we gave everyone the day off. We got a lot of great feedback. Athletes were excited about the way that we handled this camp because they felt that they needed more technical training. We changed it up. A lot less live, a lot more technical training.
5PM: For the athletes who are currently our top guys, guys who most expect to seriously be in the running at the Trials or have already been on the Team, how do you assess their overall condition relative to when this event begins?
House: Our National Team guys have a plan. They are focused and know what they need to do to prepare for the World Team Trials. For those guys there is a lot less we have to worry about because they’ve been in this spot before and they know what’s at stake.
5PM: When it comes to general health and just keeping an eye on any nagging injuries – and because there is so much coordination with personal coaches – how do you go about determining when someone might need a practice off, or even a full day off?
House: We do it on a case-by-case basis. We look at each individual daily and it’s really up to the athlete, as well as our trainers. First off, the athlete has to tell us what is going on with them so that we can advise the training staff and the medical staff. And then once the medical staff informs us as to what the issue is and if the athlete needs to do something different from what we have planned, that is what we go by. We would never overrule our medical staff. What they tell us is what is best for the athlete and we abide by what they say.
5PM: A lot will be made of the Raney twins in this tournament because they are both high-profile wrestlers inside and outside of Greco, and both are committed to a top college program. We also haven’t seen either one compete in Greco this year yet. How did they come into camp as far as their readiness is concerned?
House: I think that they came into camp really great, actually. These two kids love to learn. They are like computers. You feed them information, their programming absorbs it, and then they adapt it. It’s great to have them in the room. They bring a lot of energy. They don’t have “no” in their vocabularies. They don’t say “I don’t want to do this” or make excuses for themselves. They just come in and wrestle as they have been doing for their whole lives. It is great to have them in our room and they bring a lot of energy for us. And even having them go to Oklahoma State has been great. The staff at Oklahoma State has been great as far as working with them, and coordinating with David Taylor to come up with a plan for Jayden and Jordyn throughout the whole year. This way, we will have them for some training and their coaches will have them for training. One thing we were working on was having either Coach (Ismael) Borrero or myself go to Oklahoma State once a month to train the Raneys as well as other Oklahoma State guys who may want to try Greco. Or, even just us helping their program with hand-fighting and other things that we are good at so that Oklahoma State could get even better.
5PM: For those who are on the outside of Greco, how would you describe the difference between a January Camp and a camp in March?
Coach Herb House: January Camp is all-out. People are trying to figure out where they’re at, how their conditioning is, and for some it is overseas preparation. Guys aren’t worried too much about getting hurt. In March, the first thing is that many athletes are working on mistakes they had been making in their previous winter competitions and comparing those from January to March. Guys are also a little more cautious about who they want to wrestle in the March camps because, again, the World Team Trials is coming up and that is a big event for us. It’s a one-shot process. So, everyone is pretty cautious. January is about getting physically and mentally-prepared, and then March tends to be about fixing mistakes and dialing it in for the Trials.
5PM: What was the foreign element involved in March camp?
House: We had a couple of Egyptian athletes come in, one Canadian, one Russian, and one Iranian who lives in the US.
5PM: How do you want our athletes to approach going with foreigners in a camp that is close in timing to a domestic selection tournament? I ask this because the style foreigners have is by and large different from how Americans compete, and so the tactics may differ, as well.
House: I think that there is a big difference. There shouldn’t be one, but there is. I really try to tell them to wrestle how they would if they’re getting ready for the World Championships. Don’t change up or try to do too much. Just continue to find your strategy and feel the difference. I will have guys tell me, There is a big difference between how I would wrestle a foreigner compared to how I would wrestle a guy from the US. I just try to tell them to get the most out of it, regardless of who they are wrestling.
5PM: How was energy maintained throughout this one?
House: It was good. The energy level was really high. I think that everyone loved it. There was no negativity in the whole room. It was very positive. Everyone was cheering. It was funny because I had put up a sign that said “Winners find a way to win. Losers find an excuse”. It was right up there in the room. So anytime someone would complain, all of the coaches would just point to that banner. It was funny because everyone would stop and be like, Okay, I get it. Because, there is no excuse. You have to find a way. Your body is hurt. Well, your body is going to hurt all year long. You cannot make that become an excuse for why you won’t wrestle because you’re never going to be 100% healthy. You are always going to have aches and pains in your body.
5PM: Speaking of, there was talk a couple of months ago about Beka (Melelashvili) being injured and likely out for the Trials. Now he is not only getting ready for the Trials, he is also up at 87 kilograms. That is a pretty big story given his ability level.
House: Right.
5PM: What did those conversations entail, and what do you like about him going up to the Olympic weight class?
House: It was really a health issue for us. We talked to the nutritionist and to the trainers, and got body fat tests done on him. It was very odd how every time he competed, he just had no energy on the first day of a tournament. He was always dead, dead, and dead. We decided that we were going to move him because we felt that it was the best move for him health-wise. It was a great decision and he said that he felt comfortable doing it. He also knew that the Olympics were right around the corner and that he was going to have to do it, anyway. It was an easy decision for him. He wanted to do it.
5PM: How do you think he has looked so far?
House: He looks tough. He has filled into the weight class very quickly.
5PM: One thing that makes this Trials different compared to other recent editions is that there are more weight categories which appear up in the air as far as who might win them. How do you think that might play itself out competitively?
House: I think that it is going to be great for us. We haven’t had a long pipeline, but now I see that the pipeline is getting longer and more competitive. Everyone has to push themselves. There is no easy path for anyone to make the World Team. No one can train halfway. They have all had to train at 100% because they do not know if the guys behind them can turn it up and beat them. I love that we are building our pipeline and that a lot of young guys are going to be testing our veterans and pushing them to their limits.
5PM: When this tournament wraps, the next thing of course is going to be the Pan-Ams. But from a training perspective, what do the guys who make the Team have to expect?
Coach Herb House: We’re getting down to business. It’s going to be hard, it is going to be intense, and it is going to be consistent. As soon as we get done with selecting our World Team, we are going to get ready for the Pan-Am Championships and we’ll be out there around May 5th. After that, some of the guys will go home for about eight days and then we’re splitting the Team up this year. Guys from 55 kilos to 72 will go to Uzbekistan to train, and 77 to 130 will go to Budapest to train with the Hungarian team. Everyone will be gone until the end of May and then after that we have our June camp. This year we have Hungary, Ukraine, and Georgia coming. Big camp. It is going to be a big camp and we’re very excited about it. It’s going to be intense and help us get prepared for the World Championships.
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