FORT BLISS, Texas –
Rob Hermann anxiously paces the mat inside Fort Bliss’s Stout Fitness Center with the same fiery intensity he had as coach of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling team in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Games.
The former national team wrestler stands only 5-feet-6 inches tall but commands respect from towering wrestlers as he describes technique to members of the All-Marine Corps wrestling team. During one competitive match between Marine Corps Capt. Terrence Zaleski and Army Olympian Kamal Bey, Hermann lets the referee know his displeasure on a call, standing up for his wrestler.
Here on a patch of the Chihuahuan desert, the Marine Corps has fielded a wrestling team for the first time since the program folded in 2021, reinvigorated largely due to outreach efforts by Hermann and Capt. Jamel Johnson, who doubles as athlete and coaching assistant. The 10-person team went through a crash course in advanced wrestling, learning both Greco-Roman and freestyle maneuvers during 10 grueling days at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
After a National Wrestling Hall of Fame coaching career, Hermann, a former Olympic wrestling alternate, reinvigorated a Marine Corps program that finished in second place in the 2021 Armed Forces Wrestling Championships. And the Marines, several of whom competed for Navy in previous tournaments, held their own against some of the best wrestlers in the country.
Zaleski at 86kg, Sgt. Alexis Carbajal, 70 kg, Capt. Jamel Johnson, 74 kg, and Capt. Courtney Freeman, heavyweight, all finished in second place.
Hermann has touched nearly every level of elite wrestling; competing as an Olympic alternate and for the All-Navy wrestling team, to coaching the men’s Greco-Roman team at Northern Michigan University, a feeder program for U.S. Olympic hopefuls. Hermann largely built the U.S. Greco-Roman Olympic program during through his tireless hours on the mat working with elite Greco-Roman wrestling prospects at Northern Michigan.
Throughout his career, wrestlers knew Hermann for his intense dedication to the sport, often staying extra hours in the gym to work with wrestlers. During Hermann’s nine years at NMU, he had 10 wrestlers make world teams. Many of his former athletes at Northern Michigan went on to compete on Olympic and World Teams, including several All-Army team members: Army Sgt. Alejandro Sancho, who made the 2020 Olympic team, and fellow Soldier, Sgt. Spencer Woods, who finished second in 87 kg at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials.
“I like to think … I gave them the tools,” Hermann said. “I gave it my all. I ate, slept, and lived wrestling.
“You know, it was seven days a week for me,” he continued. “And so, I attacked it not only as a job, but it was my passion. I love, love wrestling. And I like to see USA do good in it.”
Besides his extensive knowledge of wrestling technique, Hermann has a simple philosophy for wrestlers to reach their world team and Olympic goals: wrestle against the top wrestlers and get as much international experience as much as possible.
“You’ve got to wrestle the best to get better,” Hermann said.
As a Greco-Roman wrestler, he won three national championships and qualified as an Olympic alternate in the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympics. After competing for the All-Navy team, he coached the squad from 1983-2010. While wrestling for the All-Navy team, Hermann won 11 Armed Forces Wrestling titles.
Although the Marines fielded a smaller team in the 2026 Armed Forces Championships, the roster had talented team members in place led by Zaleski and Johnson, who both competed in USA Wrestling at the national level.
Hermann said he could not pass on the opportunity to coach elite level wrestlers again due to the flexible, part-time schedule the team offered. He said he retired from full-time coaching at Northern Michigan to spend more time with his family.
“It's always in your blood, you know,” Hermann said. “I mean, if I had the time, I told myself that I want to help out any way I can.”