Northwestern University Athletics
Matt Storniolo: Teacher and Technician
12/15/2015 11:13:00 AM | Wrestling
By Chris Hayre
Walk into Northwestern's Ken Kraft Wrestling Complex and interim head coach Matt Storniolo could be mistaken for a fifth-year senior.
At 31 years old, Storniolo is the youngest coach in the nation's premier wrestling conference, the Big Ten. He was a Pennsylvania state champion in high school, a two-time All-American in college, a coaching fixture on the youth wrestling camp circuit and an eight-year collegiate assistant. He has devoted 25 years to the sport, and his ability to relate to and mold a young Wildcat team may turn out to be his most satisfying victory yet.
"I still understand what it's like to be a college kid," Storniolo said. "It's fresh enough in my mind. I know the struggles that they go through on a day-to-day basis and I am still sensitive of that."
Several Division I wrestling coaches were once exceptional competitors and Storniolo is no different. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Penn State University before transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where he won the Big 12 Championship his senior season.
Elite competitor, though, doesn't always equate to excellent coach. Some have trouble relating to today's generation of wrestlers. Others lack the personality conducive to making one of the most physically taxing and mentally draining sports on the planet also enjoyable and fun.
Storniolo doesn't claim to have all the answers, but he's spent most of his wrestling life teaching, encouraging and mentoring. His exceptional wrestling mind is something Mike McMullan, a four-time All-American at Northwestern, witnessed up close.
"He is far and away the best technician I've ever been around," said McMullan, now an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania. "He sees the sport in a different light. He can break down the most complex situations and just talk about them with such clarity and make it easy for you to understand very intricate situations."
Storniolo also has an affable disposition off the mat. His Twitter feed features pictures of the team bonding. There are notes of encouragement and light-hearted jokes for his wrestlers. He's proud of his guys. He cares about them, and the feeling is mutual.
Redshirt junior and NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis called Storniolo a bigger brother and a father figure to the team. Senior Jameson Oster said his new head coach brings a blend of fun and competitiveness to the wrestling room not common in other collegiate programs.
"He has this great, strong, hard work ethic and then at the same time he is not too high strung or too high stress," said Ryan Kracaw, 32, a longtime friend of Storniolo's. "He's very approachable, amiable, a good guy to come talk to if you need help."
Storniolo has experienced the euphoric highs and excruciating lows that come with any storied wrestling career. The Big Ten is a grind; he will be challenged. The young coach reminds his team of the opportunities in front of them, but he doesn't subscribe to the notion that tireless effort and fun are mutually exclusive.
"It is a long season and wrestling is enough hard work and torture without having somebody making it less enjoyable for you," he said.
Walk into Northwestern's Ken Kraft Wrestling Complex and interim head coach Matt Storniolo could be mistaken for a fifth-year senior.
At 31 years old, Storniolo is the youngest coach in the nation's premier wrestling conference, the Big Ten. He was a Pennsylvania state champion in high school, a two-time All-American in college, a coaching fixture on the youth wrestling camp circuit and an eight-year collegiate assistant. He has devoted 25 years to the sport, and his ability to relate to and mold a young Wildcat team may turn out to be his most satisfying victory yet.
"I still understand what it's like to be a college kid," Storniolo said. "It's fresh enough in my mind. I know the struggles that they go through on a day-to-day basis and I am still sensitive of that."
Several Division I wrestling coaches were once exceptional competitors and Storniolo is no different. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Penn State University before transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where he won the Big 12 Championship his senior season.
Elite competitor, though, doesn't always equate to excellent coach. Some have trouble relating to today's generation of wrestlers. Others lack the personality conducive to making one of the most physically taxing and mentally draining sports on the planet also enjoyable and fun.
Storniolo doesn't claim to have all the answers, but he's spent most of his wrestling life teaching, encouraging and mentoring. His exceptional wrestling mind is something Mike McMullan, a four-time All-American at Northwestern, witnessed up close.
"He is far and away the best technician I've ever been around," said McMullan, now an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania. "He sees the sport in a different light. He can break down the most complex situations and just talk about them with such clarity and make it easy for you to understand very intricate situations."
Storniolo also has an affable disposition off the mat. His Twitter feed features pictures of the team bonding. There are notes of encouragement and light-hearted jokes for his wrestlers. He's proud of his guys. He cares about them, and the feeling is mutual.
Redshirt junior and NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis called Storniolo a bigger brother and a father figure to the team. Senior Jameson Oster said his new head coach brings a blend of fun and competitiveness to the wrestling room not common in other collegiate programs.
"He has this great, strong, hard work ethic and then at the same time he is not too high strung or too high stress," said Ryan Kracaw, 32, a longtime friend of Storniolo's. "He's very approachable, amiable, a good guy to come talk to if you need help."
Storniolo has experienced the euphoric highs and excruciating lows that come with any storied wrestling career. The Big Ten is a grind; he will be challenged. The young coach reminds his team of the opportunities in front of them, but he doesn't subscribe to the notion that tireless effort and fun are mutually exclusive.
"It is a long season and wrestling is enough hard work and torture without having somebody making it less enjoyable for you," he said.
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