Stanford’s Zack Giesen Goes 7 Minutes with TOM

Stanford Senior Zack Giesen was kind enough to take a few minutes and answer some questions for us. He is currently ranked 13th by TOM and is looking to make the podium at the end of the year.

TOM: What brought you to Stanford?

ZG: I think the overall environment of the school is ultimately, what brought me to Stanford. When I was being recruited I sat down and listed out all the pro’s and con’s of each school, but for some reason and I was really drawn to Stanford after my visit. Retrospectively, I think the winning environment is what drew me here. Every year there are a handful of teams competing for national championships and you are constantly surrounded by people who are some of the best at what they do, whether it be academics or athletics, and I think this makes for a great environment that fosters success.

TOM: What do you enjoy most about being at Stanford?

ZG: Other than the weather, which is nice, the most enjoyable part of Stanford is the people I have met. We have some awesome people on the wrestling team, and more than our fair share of characters, which makes for a great team dynamic. Outside of the team there are people; students, professors, alumni, etc… that are always catching me off guard with their successes or stories and motivate me to keep pushing myself in different areas of my life.

TOM: How have you improved from last season to this one? What helped that improvement?

ZG: This summer I was forced to take a bunch of time off from wrestling to recover from some injuries and was limited to running and lifting weights. This time off helped me put wrestling into perspective going into my senior year and I believe has allowed me to take a different outlook on my training. When something is taken from you, you grow to appreciate it more, and for me, this means appreciating the process that is a college wrestling season. This altered outlook on the season has allowed me to keep a better mindset throughout the season and do a better job of balancing school and wrestling. So while I haven’t made any huge technical breakthroughs since last season, I think I’ve progressed in a lot of little areas and am in a better position this year than I was at the same time last year.

TOM: What person has had the biggest impact on your wrestling career and why?

ZG: I have had some great coaches that have helped shape my wrestling style, but my parents have ultimately had the greatest impact on my wrestling career. They hauled me around every weekend when I was a little kid to countless noisy high school gyms full of screaming little kids, and then later on made the sacrifices so that I could go to national tournaments throughout the country. They also taught me to appreciate what I had and the value of hard work.

TOM: What is your favorite sport, besides wrestling?

ZG: In High School, my favorite sport was probably football. Football was my break from wrestling and I really enjoyed the team aspect of the sport. Unfortunately, I was not endowed with the physical skills to play DI football so here I am stuck wrestling.

TOM: Who is your favorite athlete, outside of wrestling?

ZG: I like a lot of different athletes for a variety of different reasons. I really respect Lance Armstrong (all doping allegations aside) because of the mental toughness and hard work that he had to put in to be as successful as he is. If I had to pick one athlete though, I would probably say Ray Lewis (murder allegations aside). I love the intensity and passion that he plays with. He has defied critics by playing linebacker at an age when most people are simply concerned about getting their AARP card because of his hard work and dedication.

TOM: What advice would you give to an up and coming wrestler?

ZG: I would tell a young wrestler to learn to love the sport. In order to be successful at the highest level I think that a person truly has to love wrestling. This will make it so much easier to train at the level necessary to win and push through the injuries and other obstacles in your way. I would also say to set your goals higher than you think is possible. It is so easy to set your goals at some level you think is attainable instead of really pushing yourself. If you truly love a sport, you won’t settle for anything less than being the best and I think you will train to win at the highest level.