The U.S. Olympic Committee has approved USA Wrestling’s nomination of Lou Rosselli as a volunteer Olympic Coach for men’s freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
He will serve alongside National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo. as Olympic coaches for the men’s freestyle team.
BIOGRAPHY: Lou Rosselli, Columbus, Ohio
Lou Rosselli of Columbus, Ohio, an Olympian as an athlete and a past World Team coach, has been named as an Olympic coach in men’s freestyle wrestling for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
Rosselli is a personal coach for 2012 U.S. Olympian Tervel Dlagnev of the Sunkist Kids (120 kg), who trains under him at the Ohio Regional Training Center. Dlagnev was a 2009 World bronze medalist.
Rosselli served as a 2011 U.S. World Team Coach in Istanbul, Turkey, which finished third in the team standings, led by World champion Jordan Burroughs and World medalist Jake Varner.
Rosselli also served as a 2007 U.S. World Team Coach, helping lead the United States to a fourth place finish, led by World bronze medalist Daniel Cormier. He also served as a World Team Coach for the 2006 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed third as a team at the 2006 World Championships in Guangzhou, China. The team featured four individual medalists, including World champion Bill Zadick.
He was the assistant coach of the 2005 U.S. World University Games Team, which placed third in the team standings with three individual gold medalists in Izmir, Turkey. He also coached the 2010 U.S. World University Championships team in Torino, Italy. He was also a coach for the U.S. team at the 2009 Pan American Championships. Rosselli has also coached a number of other U.S. teams on international tours.
Rosselli was named 2007 Terry McCann Freestyle Coach of the Year by USA Wrestling.
He is the coach at the Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation’s top training centers for international freestyle wrestlers. The Ohio RTC has produced a number of U.S. World Team members and national team members in recent years.
Rosselli serves as a club coach with the New York Athletic Club, one of the world's most successful wrestling clubs.
Rosselli serves as the Associate Head Coach at The Ohio State University, working on the staff with head coach Tom Ryan. He has been with the Buckeyes for five seasons, and has been Associate Head Coach for the last two. With Rosselli a key part of the coaching staff, the Buckeyes placed second at the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Championships as a team. He was named 2009 NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Previously, he served 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Edinboro Univ., eight years as a full-time assistant and three years as a volunteer assistant. Rosselli has helped build the Scotsmen into a nationally competitive program on the Div. I level. He is considered one of the nation's most talented assistant wrestling coaches.
Rosselli competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., at 114.5 pounds. His quest for an Olympic medal was cut short when he broke his arm during a victory and had to withdraw from competition.
Rosselli was a 1997 World Cup champion, and won a silver medal at the 1998 Pan American Championships. He won U.S. National freestyle titles three times (1995, 1996, 1999) and was second in the 1998 U.S. Nationals. Rosselli was also a University Nationals freestyle champion in 1994.
Rosselli placed third at the 1993 NCAA Championships and was fourth in the 1991 NCAA Championships for Edinboro Univ. Rosselli was selected the Outstanding Wrestler at both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament and the Eastern Wrestling League Championships in 1993. In 2004, Rosselli was inducted into the Edinboro University Athletic Hall of Fame.
A native of Middleport, N.Y., Rosselli was a two-time New York state champion at Royalton-Hartland High School, in addition to finishing second once and third once.
