After Tuesday’s morning practice, new Nebraska assistant coach James Green took the center of the mat to address his Huskers. He talked about picking out one key word to live by every day as a New Year’s resolution of sorts.

A six-time World Team member and two-time World medalist, Green explained that his word for 2023 was “present”. He wanted to be sure to be more present as a wrestler, as a husband and father, as a coach and in every other area of his life. He even had it set as his phone background.

This year, he said he’s leaning toward “consistent” as a reminder to be consistent in everything he does in life on and off the mat.

“I don’t know if you caught his message today at the end of practice, but he was talking about ‘Hey, this is what I’m doing, this is what I’m working on. I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to pick a word for the year that’s going to make me a better person, not just a better wrestler but a better person.’ That stuff is great,” Nebraska associate head coach Bryan Snyder said. “He relates really well with the guys, and when you’re an assistant coach that’s number one. Do they trust you? Are they going to listen to you? Can you connect with them? He’s been great.”

A four-time All-American as a Husker, Green admits he’s still adjusting to the role as a coach and athlete after just focusing on his own training and development for so long. According to Snyder, it’s that work ethic and constant development that’s been integral as an example since his return.

“Any time you can bring one of your best back to coach, it’s a no-brainer,” Snyder said. “Especially someone like James who has won, competed and held himself to the highest standard on and off the mat, it’s incredible. He’s a tremendous role model for all the guys.”

According to sophomore Brock Hardy, a U23 World bronze medalist this past fall, the addition of Green to the room has only helped prepare him for this season, especially mentally. And as Green descends to 65 kilograms, the Husker trio of Hardy, Ridge Lovett and Peyton Robb form a solid group of training partners. 

“I’ve always looked up to James even before I wrestled for Nebraska, so being able to wrestle with him has been kind of surreal,” Hardy said. “It’s also really fun that we’re both in a similar weight class, so we get to really scrap it out. It’s just really good for both of us.”

Green Finally Healthy, Ready to Compete

In case you missed it, Green intends to drop to 65 kg for a third shot at an Olympic team. A natural 70 kg, Green hasn’t had the best results down at 65, going a combined 0-3 in the last two Olympic Trials. His struggles at 65 kg have been largely due to a hip injury he dealt with his entire career going back to his college days, one that forced his retirement in 2022.

“I had beat Zain (Retherford 4-0 at Rudis Super Match) and I was like oh yeah, my hip is shot. I just wanted to make my mind up and be done,” Green said of his decision to retire.

In February of last year, Green received a partial hip replacement and has rebounded rapidly. He says he’s never felt better. Instead of worrying about getting in the ice bath, stretching and doing yoga just to get his body feeling right, he’s able to focus more on just wrestling and weight management.

“To not be hurting, I’m telling you I could cry every day just to leave practice and feel good and go home and not complain to my wife about my hip,” Green said.

In fact, at Tuesday’s practice Green had simulated matches against both Robb and Hardy, something he said would have wrecked his body before his hip surgery.

“Today, before surgery, would have kind of crushed me as far as tomorrow would be all rest – I’d come in to sauna but it’s not to lose weight, then a cold tub to try and make my body feel good for Thursday. Now, it’s like every day I can do it – I can do two-a-days, I can do two to three matches and not have to cut any corners. It’s a second lease on life.”

It was his hip injury that dictated his wrestling style at times, especially late in matches. He wasn’t able to fire off as many shots and sometimes conceded takedowns to avoid aggravating his hip. 

“Before I knew the full extent to how damaged my hip was, I kind of liked running so I ran a lot. I was grinding my hips and my legs out going into competition, so by the time I got there I was trying to save it in the match, pick and choose my spots,” Green said. “Before, some people would get to my leg and I’d be like ‘OK, I’m turning down, you can have the takedown.’ I didn’t want to hurt anything. After each match, I had to get my legs to calm down and cool down. None of that anymore. I haven’t felt this good in as long as I can remember. I was dealing with my hips and my back all through college.”

Green said he’s currently around 153 pounds which is 10 pounds above 65 kg. He wants to drop a little bit and then maintain as the Olympic Trials approach, which he’s already qualified for as a former World Team member.

“If I can leave practices at 150 and then put a gallon of water in, then that’s a happy life for me because once I do focus on losing weight it’s easy,” Green said.

In the meantime, he’s set to wrestle for the first time in two years at the Henri Deglane in Nice, France on Jan. 19. Wrestling at 65 kg, there will be a two-kilogram allowance. With him being as low as 146 pounds recently, he is aiming to hit 144 in France.

“I’m fired up. We had a little break and we came back and the first practice, again trying to manage that coach and athlete balance, I’m like ‘Are you sure you wanna go with me today? Because I’m fired up, I’m gonna take it to you today.’” Green said. “Cutting weight and getting small and having that energy to get through a competition is going to be huge. I look forward to that.”

Originally when Green announced he was coming out of retirement, the plan was to return for the World Championships at 70 kg and not drop down. However, the fact that he was feeling so good combined with the fact that he was naturally smaller after surgery and recovery made him take a look at trying another descent for the Olympics, although it’s still not a certainty.

“I wanted to make sure that I could do it, that I could do a two-a-day and get through a week. Once we started amping it up, I was feeling good. I was already small – I figured I’d play with it,” Green said. “It’s really still yes, I want to do it, but it’s not locked in yet. I’m training with my eyes set on doing it. I felt like for me to go up to 74 coming off my hip, I couldn’t really even put on that weight yet. I haven’t really been lifting as much, just all wrestling and feeling good.”

So, is James Green back better than ever at the age of 31?

“I feel this is the best he’s been down to weight. I mean, he’s wrestled 70 kilos and he’s always great at 70 kilos, but 65 is a tough cut,” Hardy said. “He seems locked in, he seems focused and he seems poised to make a run.”

“I think it’s nice that you have a coach in the room that’s still trying to win at the highest level, and he can relate to those guys and they can relate to him,” Snyder said. “They have a model of someone that’s disciplined at the highest level, competing at the highest level competing in the room with them every single day. You don’t have to look any further than James Green.”

Green’s Time as Team USA Coach

Green spent over a year as Team USA’s developmental coach before joining the Husker staff and returning to Lincoln to train. In that role for Team USA, Green was able to instruct and form relationships with some of the best young blue-chip prospects in the country. 

This isn’t to say that Green has been solely responsible, but the Huskers have snagged a number of top commits since his addition to the staff in August. They’ve added three class of 2025 Big Boarders since October in #10 Tyler Eise, #17 Kody Routledge and #46 Cade Ziola. 

“I really looked forward to working with the younger kids because you still got a chance to mold them a little bit,” Green said. “I guess you can say I have my foot in the door with a lot of kids just because I’ve had previous contact with them, but that still doesn’t seal the deal when it comes to coming to Nebraska. But it definitely helps and makes it easier because I got to see them and how they work. I paid a lot of attention to the younger kids.”

As a former unheralded recruit himself, Green also takes pride in being able to find those guys who maybe aren’t as highly recruited but just need an opportunity like he got from Nebraska head coach Mark Manning and Snyder.

“For me, I don’t feel like I was that top guy, so now I feel like when looking at the rankings like trying to find that diamond in the rough. Like ‘Yeah, these kids are good but who’s this guy maybe on the back side?’ Like, this dude has a load of fire, I like how he wrestles. Trying to find that guy is pretty interesting to me because I know that all they need is the opportunity,” Green said. “Those kids are hungry too – they want to get a shot being at the training center or being at Nebraska.”

Snyder sees that as a huge bonus when talking about Green’s influence in the room.

“He’s a tremendous role model for the guys that didn’t have the best high school room, that didn’t come from a powerhouse,” Snyder said. “James had to basically hop from practice to practice all over New Jersey (in high school). When he was the developmental coach at USA Wrestling, I said it was a knock it out of the park hire because he is like the development piece of USA Wrestling.”

As for those simulation matches on Tuesday morning…

“Me and Peyton went to overtime,” Green said. “Brock still has some work to do – I wasn’t down to weight today though.”