Chris Bono is looking for a new assistant coach. Nate Gallick, who has held the position the past two years, resigned that position with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s wrestling program Monday.
“We’re losing an important part of the program, but Nate is going back home and I can’t fault him for that,” Bono said.
Gallick will be a volunteer assistant at Iowa State, where he will be able to continue working toward his goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. A 2007 ISU graduate, he was a three-time All-American and 2006 NCAA champion with the Cyclones.
“It was a good choice for me and for the team,” Gallick said. “Chris was good about letting me travel and train, but I don’t think I was being fair to the team or myself. I was in Russia preparing to compete, and I was worrying about our guys as they prepared to wrestle Oklahoma.
“I don’t want anybody to take it personally. I guess I’m being a little selfish for my own goals. I only have a few competitive years left, and I need to focus in an environment for freestyle (wrestling) with post-college training partners and a full-time freestyle coach.”
Gallick said Iowa State is putting together an Olympic training site with a full-time coach funded through USA Wrestling. He said as a volunteer assistant he will have fewer responsibilities and more time to train.
“In order to reach my goals I need to put myself in the best position with coaches and partners at the freestyle level,” he said.
He can leave knowing that UTC is a better place, especially with regard to its academic standing.
The Mocs have been recognized for making major strides to improve their academic progress rate.
According to a release from the National Wrestling Coaches Association, Bono’s program is fourth among most improved wrestling programs. The Mocs’ APR scores improved by 27 points over last year.
“We need to put it behind us. We don’t even need to be in these categories,” Bono said. “We just need to be sure everybody is making their grades, staying eligible and graduating.”
West Virginia had the biggest improvement (38). California-Davis was second (33) and Eastern Michigan was third (29). The Mocs were tied with Binghamton, N.Y., and Oklahoma.
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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