Men's Wrestling
- Title:
- Lawrence E. White '64 Head Wrestling Coach
- Email:
- gos2@lehigh.edu
- Phone:
- 610-758-4302
- Alma Mater:
- 13th season
In less than five years, he returned Lehigh wrestling to a national stage. In his ninth season, Greg Strobel was recognized as the NWCA National Coach of the Year. Now entering his 13th season as the head coach at Lehigh, Strobel was hired in the spring of 1995 and holds the title as the Lawrence White Head Coach of Wrestling at Lehigh.
Regarded throughout the wrestling community as one of the sport’s top ambassadors, Strobel has reached the pinnacle of success at every level of wrestling in which he has competed. This includes his days as an undergraduate at Oregon State where he won two NCAA titles, through his coaching at numerous international levels culminating with his being named as the 2000 United States Olympic Head Coach. Strobel led the 1999-2000 Lehigh team to an EIWA Championship and a seventh place finish at the 2000 NCAA Championships to further cement his reputation as a leader in his field. Under Strobel’s guidance, Lehigh has won six EIWA team championships, including a string of five in a row from 2002-2006, and in 2004 guided the Mountain Hawks to a career-best third place finish at the NCAA Championships. Strobel has coached two national champions in Rob Rohn (2002 at 184) and Troy Letters (2004 at 165).
A skilled and dynamic leader, Strobel’s vast knowledge of the sport is complemented by his deep values in family and his ability to relate to his student-athletes and peers at any level.
“Coach Strobel was great to wrestle for,” says 2000 All-American Travis Doto, ‘00. “He’s not a coach who’s focused only on wrestling, but rather trying to make sure that everyone is growing personally, academically and on the wrestling mat. I think it’s probably hard to find a coach like that in most places. I always felt very reassured with Coach Strobel. I trusted his knowledge and instincts and looking back the trust was well-founded.”
“Coach Strobel has a strong understanding of the sport of wrestling,” 1998 World Team member Steve Marianetti says. “He really has helped me adjust to world level competition. He is able to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of each of my opponents.”
“One of Coach Strobel’s best aspects is that he is very adept at picking you apart and then putting together a game plan to be successful,” three-time NCAA Champion T. J. Jaworsky says. “He spends a lot of time looking at videos and is a real student of the sport.”
Strobel has often been recognized for his outstanding coaching abilities. After his team scored the most points in school history at the NCAAs in 2004, placing five All-Americans and a national champ, he was named the 2004 NWCA National Coach of the Year. Strobel earned three Coach of the Year awards following the 1999-2000 season. The EIWA and W.I.N. Magazine honored him for his collegiate success, while USA Wrestling named him the 2000 Freestyle Coach of the Year. He has been honored four times as the EIWA Coach of the Year, earning his most recent award in 2006.. In the past Strobel was named the 1999 United States Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year, the USOC’s National Coach of the Year in 1998 and the 1997 National Freestyle Coach of the Year in 1997.
At Lehigh, Strobel has led the Mountain Hawks to eleven straight winning seasons including a school-record 22 dual wins in 2004. At the national level Strobel has guided Lehigh to five top-ten finishes in six years, including third in 2004 – the school’s best since finishing third in 1979. Overall, Strobel has coached two Lehigh national champions, six Lehigh NCAA finalists, 30 Lehigh All-Americans, and 27 EIWA Champions. Just as significantly, Strobel’s Lehigh teams have been very successful off the mat. Strobel’s 1998-99 squad was ranked ninth nationally in the Academic All-American Poll and each year the team is among the highest Lehigh men’s teams in academic standing. The 1999-2000 team was the recipient of the EIWA’s first-ever Team Good Sportsmanship Award.
The 1998-99 team was the first at Lehigh to have all of its NCAA qualifiers (John Van Doren, Ryan Bernholz and Chris Ayres) return to
“To make an impact on people’s lives and to watch them improve both on and off the mat in so many different ways is extremely rewarding,” Strobel says. “We teach lifetime good habits in the Lehigh Wrestling program that allow our student-athletes to be successful in anything they do.”
Strobel’s success at Lehigh was only part of the equation that led him to be named as the 2000 United States Olympic Coach in
An extremely active coach during the summer, Strobel has coached several World and Olympic champions throughout his career. He coached the Pennsylvania Junior Team for four years (1997-98, 2001-02)) and has given or assisted in countless clinics. The 1996
Strobel came to Lehigh after serving as wrestling coach for Team Foxcatcher Inc. (an Olympic-level private club) in
From 1983-1991 Strobel was the Director of National Team Programs for USA Wrestling, which included a stint as National Freestyle Coach from 1987-88. As liaison on USA Wrestling’s most active committee, Strobel helped to design the policies, procedures, team selection, training and competition for all
From 1981-83 Strobel served as an assistant coach at
From 1977-1981 he was head wrestling coach at
Strobel earned NCAA titles in 1973 and 1974 while wrestling at 190 pounds and was fifth in 1972. In 1973 he was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. He compiled a daunting 126-7-1 record from 1972-74 and still holds the school record for consecutive wins with 74. Strobel won three Pacific 8 (currently Pacific 10) Conference championships and earned an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar-Athlete Award in 1975. He was inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.
He remains active in several leadership positions, serving as the EIWA Coaches Association President. Strobel is also a member of the NCAA Rules Committee and serves as first Vice-President of USA Wrestling.
Strobel and his wife Donna have two children, Jennifer and Christine; and three grandchildren, Mason, Isabel and Evelyn. Jennifer and Christine are both graduates of Lehigh, Classes of 1998 and 2001, respectively. Greg is also an avid fisherman and golfer.
