Anspach’s life changed in multiple ways last May, when the NCAA denied his petition for a sixth year medical hardship season. First, Anspach needed a job. His search didn’t last long, thus leading to the new title. Coach Troy Sunderland offered Anspach a chance to join the wrestling staff as its director of operations, a position Adam Smith left to focus on his training for the Olympic Trials. This wasn’t the same as entering a season as the nation’s No. 1 heavyweight. Yet, this was an opportunity to remain with the program and fulfill the lease he signed last March. So Aaron Anspach, the heavyweight, is now Aaron Anspach, the director of wrestling operations. “It’s like I’m a glorified workout partner,” he said. “Granted, I’m doing a lot of stuff in the office, helping out with the recruiting and my main thing is marketing to the student body. But I’m pretty much doing all the workouts the team is doing for myself and helping them out.”
The NCAA didn’t end Anspach’s wrestling career with its decision last May. Anspach participates in freestyle training and trying to qualify for this year’s Olympics remains a possibility. But, for now, Anspach’s focus is Penn State’s upperweights, an expansive group that ranges from three-time All-American 197-pounder Phil Davis to freshman heavyweight Cameron Wade, a two-time Ohio state champion who won last month’s Kent State Open.
A wrestler’s age might dictate his relationship with Anspach. Younger wrestlers view Anspach the same way they would Sunderland or assistants Dave Hart, Matt Dernlan and John Hughes. Older Nittany Lions view Anspach as the outgoing teammate who advanced to last year’s national final. “I look at him as being the same Aaron as last year,” Davis said. “I’m not sure much has changed. It doesn’t feel like he’s a coach other than the fact that he’s available to workout with you anytime you need him.” Separating himself from former teammates represents one of the biggest challenges for the 24-year-old Anspach. The task has proven more difficult outside of work. “I have to distance myself at home if the guys are hanging out and if it’s a scene I really shouldn’t be in,” Anspach said. “I have to put myself out of that. But as far as in the wrestling room, it has been pretty similar because technically I’m not allowed to coach. I’m just considered the director of wrestling operations, which means I have a lot of other responsibilities.”
Sunderland called Anspach a “tremendous asset” to the program. Still, everybody inside the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex wanted Anspach to help in a different capacity this season. Anspach hurt his shoulder multiple times during his career and the injuries turned him into a hardship season candidate. Anspach started the petition process last winter and he said he assumed he would be granted the sixth year, something former teammates James Woodall and Eric Bradley received during their careers. But the NCAA ruled against Anspach because he competed in an open tournament in Jan. 2004. The tournament was Anspach’s first after undergoing shoulder surgery in May 2003.
Now, instead of displaying his aggressive tendencies against Big Ten heavyweights, he sits on the bench in dress clothes. When Penn State competes on the road, Anspach helps Jeff Byers with the radio broadcast. Northwestern’s Dustin Fox, an opponent Anspach defeated twice last season, is the nation’s top-ranked heavyweight. “A lot of times, I find himself asking, ‘What if we had him?’” Sunderland said. “But that’s in the past and we all have moved on. We’re glad to have him as a member of our staff and we’re glad that he’s still on our side.”
John Laboranti, a Virginia Tech transfer who redshirted last season, has developed into Penn State’s starting heavyweight. Anspach’s goal is for Laboranti to resemble Penn State’s modern heavyweights — an aggressive object difficult to move. Laboranti enters today’s match against Purdue with a 21-6 mark. He has recorded two straights wins since a disappointing loss to Illinois’ John Wise. Erase his first period during Friday’s 14-4 victory over Michigan State’s Alan O’Donnell, and Laboranti resembled Anspach. He took O’Donnell down three times, received five nearfall points and recorded a reversal. Still, Laboranti said differences exist between his style and Anspach’s. “He’s obviously a really big, strong guy,” Laboranti said. “I’m probably a little smaller and slicker. He’s trying to get me to shoot in the first period. I don’t shoot in the first period for some reason. I’m too tense when I get out there.”
If Anspach gets his way, he will continue pushing Penn State heavyweights. Anspach said he wants to remain the director of operations next year before attempting to rise in the coaching industry. “This has been a great learning experience,” he said. “You’re kind of blinded by what goes on in college athletics and the coaching scene as you go through the year. There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t like, but that is outweighed by the stuff that I do like which is working with the guys and being around college-aged athletes.”
Notes:Haas, Davis and 125-pounder Mark McKnight will be honored as part of today’s Senior Day ceremonies. Haas, a 133-pounder, has petitioned the NCAA for his own sixth year medical hardship season. Knee injuries prevented Haas from competing in dual meet competition during the 2003-04 and 2006-07 seasons.
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article