Babak Nourzad

Youth & Adult Wrestling Head Coach

Freestyle Wrestler Babak Nourzad was born in Tehran, Iran on August of 1978. Babak comes from an athletic family; his mother was an olympic Gymnast and his father was a Boxer. At the age of 12, Babak moved with his family to Ghaemshahr, which is one of the biggest cities in Province Mazandaran. His father wanted him to make some new friends and stay active, so he decided to enroll him in a wrestling program. It did not take long for Babak’s coaches to note his technical skills and talent. After only 3 months of training, Babak was ranked 2st place in the Youth Wrestlers of Mazandaran. Babak’s coaches believed that with the proper conditioning, he had the potential to be a world champion. Their suspicions were confirmed as Babak joined the National Adult Wrestling Team for Iran at a young age of 15. Studying very hard, Babak always managed to make time for wrestling. After winning many titles in Wrestling, Babak was invited to represent Iran in the 1996 Teen World Championship held in Moscow, where he won 1st place and also represented Iran in the Adult World Championship, where he placed 2nd. Babak’s years of hard work and dedication to the sport paid off when he was named one of the top two Iranian Freestyle 55 kg weight Wrestler in the world by FILA 2001 list. The highlight of his career was the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where Babak represented Iran’s Wrestling Team in the 55kg weight category. Babak and his wife recently moved to the U.S. to start a new chapter of their life. He wants to share his knowledge and passion for the sport with his students at Gracie Barra Katy. A few more of his accomplishments include: 1990 – 2nd place in Youth Wrestlers of Mazandaran, Iran 1991 – 2nd place in Youth International Wrestling Bowl 1994 – 2nd place at Teenagers International Wrestling Bowl in Iran 1994 – Ranked 1st among teenagers International Bowl in athletic races of Iran and was a member of the teenagers national wrestling team 1991 – 1st place in Adult International Bowl in Turkey 1994 – 1st place in Youth Wrestlers of Mazandaran, Iran 1994 – 15 years old – competed in Mazandaran Athletic Races as an adult and won 2 titles which qualified him to go to the Monibd International Bowl in Russia. 1995 – 2nd place in Young Athletic Races 1996 – 1st place in Poland International Bowl as an adult 1996 – 2nd place in Takhti Bowl as an adult 1996 – Nourzad was selected to join Iran’s Youth National Team 1996 – 1st place in Global Youth Athletic Races in Moscow 1996 – Nourzad was ranked 2nd in The Adult National Team of Iran 1996 – 1st place in Nategh Nouri International Bowl 1998 – 1st selected to be in the Youth National Team of Iran 1998 – 1st place in Global Youth Athletic Races in Las Vegas 2001- 1st place in International Races of Italy 2001 – Member of National Wrestling Team of Iran 2001 – 2nd place in Bulgaria Global Athletic Races 2002 – 2nd place in Athletic Races of Canada 2002 – Member of Iran National Wrestling Team and competed in the World Races 2004 – Member of Iran National Wrestling Team and competed in the Olympics in Athens, Greece 2006 – 1st place in Iran Athletic Races 2007 – 1st place in Iran Athletic Races 2007 – 1st place in Miloneh International Races in Italy. Overall, Babak is a five time World Champion.