Dan Campbell: Destroyer of Olympic Dreams?

Well picking them 1 year before is not that ridiculous. They have to qualify and all that stuff and make arrangements, but making them live in Colorado Springs is stupid. I agree. Like several people have said. You can't take these kids from the coaches that got them there.

just like with any team/organization, the leader is ALWAYS responsible. There was no lack of talent on this team, only lack of productive and efficient direction and leadership.

I agree, 6 months should be enough.

How much of that do you think has to do with fighters putting on muscle do to the cookie cutter training routines? I think it's just natural growth, 6 months should be enough time to see if there are any indications of weight making difficulties.

Picking the team 1 year before hand is what led to Gary Russell collapsing while trying to make weight, I think they should do it 6 months or so because the fighters that are having trouble making weight can just try and qualify at a division above. And seriously, they should get rid of Campbell, the fighters don't respect him in the corner. How much of that do you think has to do with fighters putting on muscle do to the cookie cutter training routines?

Well picking them 1 year before is not that ridiculous. They have to qualify and all that stuff and make arrangements, but making them live in Colorado Springs is stupid. Picking the team 1 year before hand is what led to Gary Russell collapsing while trying to make weight, I think they should do it 6 months or so because the fighters that are having trouble making weight can just try and qualify at a division above. And seriously, they should get rid of Campbell, the fighters don't respect him in the corner.

I think they should get rid of Campbell and change the system. Picking the Olympic team 1 year before hand is just stupid and then running the team like they were Cubans just doesn't work. Well picking them 1 year before is not that ridiculous. They have to qualify and all that stuff and make arrangements, but making them live in Colorado Springs is stupid.

I think they should get rid of Campbell and change the system. Picking the Olympic team 1 year before hand is just stupid and then running the team like they were Cubans just doesn't work.

Ugh, he ruined the system. Go back to the old one.

yeah, this system is seriously fucked. you cant take away the trainers that got these kids to the olympic level in the first place and expect them to thrive under a cookie-cutter regiment. i dont know if its entirely campbell's fault though. he's just the coach that was hired to oversee the program, its the design itself that is flawed. a figure like campbell could work, but only if the trainers follow their fighters to camp in colorado and work with the team coaches... hopefully they fix this shit for 2012.... The whole camp was his idea.

Campbell is a big part of the reason why some of our boys didn't do well. He coaching is non-existent in the corner and the guys really did hate the house arrest they were under in CS. No doubt much of the blame for performance in the ring are totally due to the fighters themselves, but Campbell didn't give them really many opportunities for success. Yeah I would have to agree, I usually don't like blaming coaches for everything, but the US getting one medal is unnacceptable and not only should Campbell go, but everybody involved in US Boxing should probably go as well.

With their poor performance somebody probably has to take the fall and Dan Campbell is that man. I don't really like blaming coaches for performances, especially in individual sports because it comes down to that one guy in the ring and it's up to him to win or not, but with this poor performance somebody has to go. The US should be medaling more than one guy in boxing. I know Teddy Atlas has been mentioning they should do a total rehaul in US Boxing from the top down. I think that's probably a good idea.Campbell is a big part of the reason why some of our boys didn't do well. He coaching is non-existent in the corner and the guys really did hate the house arrest they were under in CS. No doubt much of the blame for performance in the ring are totally due to the fighters themselves, but Campbell didn't give them really many opportunities for success.

Yeah i agree with the thread starter there's a reason why their there. You can't just change a fighters style that quickly

With their poor performance somebody probably has to take the fall and Dan Campbell is that man. I don't really like blaming coaches for performances, especially in individual sports because it comes down to that one guy in the ring and it's up to him to win or not, but with this poor performance somebody has to go. The US should be medaling more than one guy in boxing. I know Teddy Atlas has been mentioning they should do a total rehaul in US Boxing from the top down. I think that's probably a good idea.

He has a lot to do with it......I ask every fight....why is he the only one in the corner?? Who exactly is Assistant Trainer? The guy must like the spotlight. Another thing, from what I hear he puts TREMENDOUS pressure on the fighters to get out to early leads. After that doesn't happen they don't know what to do and it gets worse. The scoring though has much more to do with it. I blame scoring for the losses of Williams, Warren, Andrade, even Sadam Ali. And its a perfect example with Ali. The Olympic scoring has instilled into a lot of fighters minds that they have to fight a certain way, like throw straight right hands, in order to get points and win....So they forget about the rest of the game. I felt Sadam scored a lot of points that werent scored in that first round, yeah he lost the fight but it wouldve been much different if he didnt have to walk into shots like he was. It would be a much different Olympics if it were regular Amateur scoring....and a more exciting one.

If they would have won people would be praising him for his new system I bet.. he gambled and lost.

The Beijing Olympics have been marked by disappointment for USA Boxing; Dan Campbell is the cause. Looking back on the turmoil that surrounded the USA boxing squad preceding the Olympics, it is little surprise that we have experienced failure on a scale that can only be described as epic. There are several things you do not do to a boxer; you don't change his routine, you don't change his environment, and you don't change his style. Dan Campbell did. I believe that Dan Campbell is single handedly responsible for destroying the Olympic aspirations of an entire crop of talented young fighters. Despite the misnomer, The USA Boxing TEAM is anything but that. Boxing is an individual sport. Bouts are contested by individual fighters for individual success. There is no TEAM competition, and no medal given out for TEAM success. It makes sense then that fighters should be trained as individual fighters, right? Well at least according to Dan Campbell, that is wrong. Dan Campbell felt strongly enough that the USA Boxing TEAM should be trained as a TEAM that he FORCED the fighters to spend a year with him in Colorado Springs. A year filled with turmoil, conflict, clashing personalities, and incompetence. Not only did he force the fighters to live with him at the Olympic training center, he implemented a cookie cutter training regiment. Dan Campbell not only stripped the fighters of their coaches, their homes, and their families, he stripped them of their freedom. In its place, he attempted to implement a rigid system of communistic training. No longer were the fighters free to follow the training routines that had earned them a spot on the Olympic team. No, they were now at the mercy of Dan Campbell. They had to train how he wanted, when he wanted, or else. Or else? Yes, not doing things HIS way could get you kicked off of the team, and slapped with a nice big fine. No, I am not talking about Fidel Castro, I am talking about Dan Campbell. What better way to represent the USA than abandoning everything the USA stands for eh Dan? Exactly how many fighters did Dan Campbell bully and threaten? Most likely all of them, but more specifically, seven of the nine fighters were publicly demeaned or threatened by "coach" Dan Campbell. GO coach DAN! Way to earn the fighters respect! There is something very important that both Dan Campbell, and apparently USA Boxing failed to realize; coaches work FOR the fighters, fighters don't work for the coaches. When seven on the nine fighters had publicly voiced their discontent with the situation in Colorado Springs, the situation should have been changed. The training camp was suppose to be for the benefit of the fighters. If the training camp was hurting the fighters, as it obviously was, it should have been changed, canceled, or a new coach brought in. As the saying goes, fighting is 90% mental. Dan Campbell systematically demolished the mental strength of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and with it... any chance at gold they might have had. Good job Dan Campbell, you have done your country proud! JUST KIDDING! Here is a good article on the situation http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/07/28/2008-07-28_us_olympic_boxing_team_struggling_coach_.html yeah, this system is seriously fucked. you cant take away the trainers that got these kids to the olympic level in the first place and expect them to thrive under a cookie-cutter regiment. i dont know if its entirely campbell's fault though. he's just the coach that was hired to oversee the program, its the design itself that is flawed. a figure like campbell could work, but only if the trainers follow their fighters to camp in colorado and work with the team coaches... hopefully they fix this shit for 2012....