Northwestern University Athletics
Coaches Corner: Matt Storniolo
11/12/2015 11:00:00 AM | Wrestling
After six years as an assistant coach at Northwestern, Matt Storniolo will serve as the interim head coach for the Wildcats during the 2015-16 season. NUsports.com caught up with Coach Storniolo to learn a little about his wrestling background and the appeal of coaching Northwestern student-athletes in this edition of Coaches Corner.
NUsports.com: Tell us about your mustache.
Matt Storniolo: "I'm doing the mustache to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research. This is the third year now that I have participated in the event. My goal for this year is to raise $2,000. Part of the reason why I'm doing it is because I've lost some family members and friends to cancer and it is something that hits pretty close to home for me. I feel like it takes minimal effort on my part and if I can raise a little bit of money to help find a cure then I'd like to do that. If you want to donate to the mustache fund you can go to mobro.co/mattstorniolo. I would like to offer whichever Northwestern faculty or staff member donates the largest amount of money to cancer research to shave the mustache off on December 1 if they would like to do so."
How did you get your start in wrestling?
"It was pretty random actually. I was the first person in my family to ever get involved with the sport. My oldest sister was friends with a boy at the high school that was the big wrestler at the school. One day he asked her how old her little brother was, and she said that I was in first grade. So he told her I was old enough to sign up for the local program. She came home one day and told our mom that this guy said that we should have Matthew sign up for wrestling, and that is how it all started."
When did you know you could wrestle collegiately?
"I started to have that realization once I hit high school. It seemed like that every tier I got to people would say 'You're good right now in the youth program but wait until you get to high school.' I got to high school and I was a little bit better in high school than I was in youth program and I did well enough my first couple years of high school that I started having thoughts about competing in college and hopefully having a successful college career in wrestling."
When did coaching enter your career plans?
"I think coaching is something that I always enjoyed, even when I was younger, when I was in high school and in college. When I was in college I taught at wrestling camps in the summer and our coaches were big on teaching us wrestling to help us learn the sport a little bit better too. It was something that I always enjoyed doing, and I think pretty early on in my college career I felt like that was an attractive career option for me, and I started thinking about it a little bit more seriously."
What has been your favorite thing about coaching?
"My favorite thing about coaching is that you can help give somebody something nobody can take away from them. If a kid becomes an All-American or a national champion, that's something that is going to help them walk a little taller and be a little prouder for the rest of their lives. The rewards of coaching are different than being a competitor. It's nice to be able to sit on the sidelines and see the way it affects a kid when he wins a really big match."
What interested you about Northwestern?
"When I first started coaching after college, I was at a small school, Old Dominion University, and I think that Old Dominion was a perfect place for me to start my coaching career, but it wasn't quite what I was used to. I went to Penn State and Oklahoma, which are both big universities with big time athletic programs. So when I had the opportunity to come to Northwestern it seemed like a no-brainer. It's an opportunity to work with the best athletes in the sport and also work with kids that are well-rounded, respectful, good people."
What is going to be most appealing about coaching Northwestern student-athletes?
"The most appealing thing is the type of student-athlete that you get to coach here at Northwestern. You have very well rounded student-athletes that truly are student-athletes. They are mature for their age, they are focused, they are disciplined and they have a good head on their shoulders."
What are your expectations for the year?
"The expectations for the year are for everyone to give 100 percent, have the right attitude and enjoy the process throughout the year. There are really only a few things you can control, and your work ethic and your attitude are a couple of them. If everybody does a good job taking care of those smaller areas—if they have the right attitude, if they have the right work ethic, then the wrestling goals are going to be accomplished through the process."
NUsports.com: Tell us about your mustache.
Matt Storniolo: "I'm doing the mustache to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research. This is the third year now that I have participated in the event. My goal for this year is to raise $2,000. Part of the reason why I'm doing it is because I've lost some family members and friends to cancer and it is something that hits pretty close to home for me. I feel like it takes minimal effort on my part and if I can raise a little bit of money to help find a cure then I'd like to do that. If you want to donate to the mustache fund you can go to mobro.co/mattstorniolo. I would like to offer whichever Northwestern faculty or staff member donates the largest amount of money to cancer research to shave the mustache off on December 1 if they would like to do so."
How did you get your start in wrestling?
"It was pretty random actually. I was the first person in my family to ever get involved with the sport. My oldest sister was friends with a boy at the high school that was the big wrestler at the school. One day he asked her how old her little brother was, and she said that I was in first grade. So he told her I was old enough to sign up for the local program. She came home one day and told our mom that this guy said that we should have Matthew sign up for wrestling, and that is how it all started."
When did you know you could wrestle collegiately?
"I started to have that realization once I hit high school. It seemed like that every tier I got to people would say 'You're good right now in the youth program but wait until you get to high school.' I got to high school and I was a little bit better in high school than I was in youth program and I did well enough my first couple years of high school that I started having thoughts about competing in college and hopefully having a successful college career in wrestling."
When did coaching enter your career plans?
"I think coaching is something that I always enjoyed, even when I was younger, when I was in high school and in college. When I was in college I taught at wrestling camps in the summer and our coaches were big on teaching us wrestling to help us learn the sport a little bit better too. It was something that I always enjoyed doing, and I think pretty early on in my college career I felt like that was an attractive career option for me, and I started thinking about it a little bit more seriously."
What has been your favorite thing about coaching?
"My favorite thing about coaching is that you can help give somebody something nobody can take away from them. If a kid becomes an All-American or a national champion, that's something that is going to help them walk a little taller and be a little prouder for the rest of their lives. The rewards of coaching are different than being a competitor. It's nice to be able to sit on the sidelines and see the way it affects a kid when he wins a really big match."
What interested you about Northwestern?
"When I first started coaching after college, I was at a small school, Old Dominion University, and I think that Old Dominion was a perfect place for me to start my coaching career, but it wasn't quite what I was used to. I went to Penn State and Oklahoma, which are both big universities with big time athletic programs. So when I had the opportunity to come to Northwestern it seemed like a no-brainer. It's an opportunity to work with the best athletes in the sport and also work with kids that are well-rounded, respectful, good people."
What is going to be most appealing about coaching Northwestern student-athletes?
"The most appealing thing is the type of student-athlete that you get to coach here at Northwestern. You have very well rounded student-athletes that truly are student-athletes. They are mature for their age, they are focused, they are disciplined and they have a good head on their shoulders."
What are your expectations for the year?
"The expectations for the year are for everyone to give 100 percent, have the right attitude and enjoy the process throughout the year. There are really only a few things you can control, and your work ethic and your attitude are a couple of them. If everybody does a good job taking care of those smaller areas—if they have the right attitude, if they have the right work ethic, then the wrestling goals are going to be accomplished through the process."
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