For anyone that has followed the ASU wrestling program, the name Shawn Charles should ring a bell.
Charles wrestled from 1990-93 at ASU, where he was a four-time All-American and a two-time national runner up.
Now Charles is back at his alma mater as the wrestling team’s newest head coach, and his goal is to bring the Sun Devil program back to the national success he experienced while donning the maroon and gold.
The State Press: What is it like being back at your alma mater and being able to call yourself the head coach of ASU wrestling?
Shawn Charles: It’s exciting [and] it’s awesome. I’ve always wanted to be able to take all the things I’ve learned as a coach at all these different universities I’ve coached at and be able to come back and help my alma mater to be a very successful wrestling program and help the young men in the state of Arizona to achieve their goals of getting to college and coming out an All-American and national champ. I love the weather, [and] I like the environment, the atmosphere. I’ve got a lot of really good friends here and a lot of family and alumni and boosters that remember me from when I was competing here and went to school here, so it’s just great. It’s like coming home.
SP: When this job first opened up, did a light bulb go off in your head that this might be your chance to come back to ASU? What was the hiring process like from your perspective?
SC: It was just like any other job. I just thought, ‘You know, the job’s opened up, and I’m qualified for this position and I’m an alumni there. I’m going to apply, put my best foot forward and hope for the best.’ [I thought that] hopefully they’d see me as a person that’s worthy of coming in here and getting the program going in a direction that this team, this community and the athletes want to see it go.
SP: What have you been up to this summer since being hired?
SC: A lot of traveling, a lot of phone calls. My family and I haven’t officially moved [to Arizona] yet, so [it’s been] a lot of trying to do a job from a different place. It’s been a little hectic for a while, but we’re moving out on July 20. It’s just busy — that’s the only word I can use.
SP: Given the wrestling tradition in Arizona, how important is it for you to get the top local high-school wrestlers to come to ASU?
SC: As far as building up our fan base, it’s a lot easier to do it when you have local kids that are part of the program. The biggest thing [is] these kids are capable of being Division I wrestlers; they’re being recruited by other universities. If they’re good enough to be a D-I wrestler, I want to make sure that they’re going to be here and score points for Arizona State, win the Pac-10 for Arizona State, become an All-American and national champ for Arizona State and be an Academic All-American for Arizona State. For me, it’s huge, just because I’m from Arizona myself and just having that opportunity to stay at home and be close to your family and friends [so] they can come and watch you compete [is] a big deal. I think the athletes get a lot more out of their college experience knowing that they have so much support around them.
SP: Reflect a little bit on your time at ASU. What are the biggest things that stick in your mind when you think back on your college career?
SC: The thing that sticks out is just how tough we were. We were regarded as one of the best wrestling programs in the country. We would go out and wrestle Oklahoma State and Iowa, and we would beat them in duals. We won the Midlands tournament and had like five or six champions and broke the Midlands team record. I just remember that when we walked into an arena or we walked into a gym, everyone knew we were going to bring it. It was a rare thing to walk into a gym and have more than one or two people lose in that dual. You definitely didn’t want to be the guy that lost and have to be on the bus with all the guys that won.
SP: What was your reaction to the program nearly being cut last summer?
SC: I was devastated. I just couldn’t believe it. There have only been five or six programs that have won a national championship, and in the last 30 years, there’s only been three or four, and Arizona State happens to be one of them. [ASU is] a university that has so much wrestling tradition. A lot of guys have gone on and won nationals or won the U.S. Open or made the Olympic team or been to the World Championships. [Cutting the program] also [meant] just an opportunity it would have taken away from the Southwest. Arizona State is a premier university and a top-notch wrestling program, and these kids in the Southwest would not have that opportunity to come to Arizona State and compete for the wrestling program. It was heartbreaking. It was a great day when they announced that they were bringing wrestling back, and as far as being an alumnus, it was awesome to know that they brought it back and the reason why they brought it back. They’re going to give us a chance to get this thing built up and raise the funds and endow this program so that it’ll never happen again.
SP: Since the funds to reinstate the program were raised so quickly after the announcement that it was being cut was made, what does that say about the ASU and wrestling communities?
SC: Wrestling is a big deal in Arizona. It’s not football or basketball, but to the people that participate in it, it means a lot. It’s a family-oriented sport, [and] you’re an individual out there all by yourself. There’s a lot that goes into competing and getting ready for wrestling, so it’s a sport that when you get involved in it, it gets a hold of you. You become very passionate about what’s going on with the sport, so it was great to see the community get involved. It was great to see Art Matori step up and help out the program the best way he could and give us a chance, [as well as] other boosters and other alumni.
SP: When did you know you wanted to be a coach?
SC: When I graduated from school, I actually wanted to keep competing to make a World team and make an Olympic team. In order to go to nationals, we had to start coaching. As I coached, I realized that the individuals around me I was helping were getting better. It was kind of neat to see them be able to do some of the technical things that I was teaching them, and it was really cool to see these young guys growing and turning into young men, and then they’re doing the right thing on the mat and off the mat and being a part of that. I don’t think, initially, my intentions were to be a coach. But I think that the more I did it, the more I realized that I enjoyed helping these young men to achieve some of the goals that I had as a competitor in college and helping these guys do the things they need to do academically to get their degrees. It just kind of grew on me. It’s a passionate sport. Once you get involved, there’s so many things that you like about it, [and] it’s hard to let go of it.
SP: What are some things that you’ve learned at your other coaching stops that are going to help you with this job?
SC: Each one of the guys that I’ve coached with has a uniqueness about them that makes them a great coach. I’ve gotten to be able to be around these individuals and mimic the best of what they bring to the table and make that part of my coaching style. For me, it’s actually been a blessing to be in so many different programs, because I have so many different experiences to draw from as a head coach now that have and [are] going to continue to help me continue to push my programs forward and have success.
SP: What are some of the qualities that you bring to the table that make you a unique coach?
SC: My character. I think that people realize that I’m a family-oriented person, and the wrestling team is my extension of my family. I want to see each one of these kids reach their goals and dreams, and I want to do everything in my power to help them achieve that. We spend a lot of time together, so I really think that [I’m] just trying to do the right thing on a day-to-day basis and be a good role model for the individuals around me and show them that I’m willing to put in the time and work to help them, so they’re willing to put in the time and work to be as good as they can.
SP: What are your expectations for the team this coming season?
SC: We had two All-Americans last year at Arizona State in Chris Drouin at 141 and Anthony Robles at 125. As a team, we have a lot of talent in the room, from 125 all the way up through heavyweight. I think every one of those young men are capable of winning a Pac-10 championship next year, and I also believe that every one of those individuals are capable of becoming an All-American or a national champ. Right now, what we have to do is we have to, as a group, get in the room and train hard, work on our technical skills, work on our strategies against certain competition and really just believe in what we do on a day-to-day basis as far as believing that we are the best program in the country and that we are training harder than anyone else in the country and we deserve to win when we walk out on that mat. If I can get those 10 young men to do that [when we] go to the Pac-10 tournament, we’re going to win it, and we’re going to do very well at the national tournament.
SP: Since you grew up in Tucson, were you ever a UA fan?
SC: Not really. I’ve never really been a big sports fan. I don’t want a lot of sports on television; I’m more of a participant. I probably went to one UA football game when I was growing up. So I would have to say no. I was a homebody. I have four other siblings, and we did a lot of things at home with each other and stuff like that, so we weren’t really into going to UA sporting events and things like that.
SP: What is it going to take to bring this program back to national prominence?
SC: You have to recruit the right type of kids that can get in and do their schoolwork and [are] individuals that also have the athletic ability to be All-Americans and national champs, and then you have to train them. [You have to] put them in an environment and train them to be successful as far as making sure they’re physically strong for the weight class that they’re in, making sure that they’re in good shape to be able to push themselves hard in the matches that they’re going to participate in and making sure that they have the technical skills to be successful. And then you want to have an environment where they have good training partners and good coaching. If you put all those elements together, you’re going to have a very successful program.
Reach this reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu
