When David Taylor laid out his ambitious 2024 plan, he created nothing short of a tightrope walk. One moment, he is on the mats at Oklahoma State, coaching and giving out press conferences on his plans for the NCAA season. The next? He is putting on his singlet for his last bow at the Senior World Championships. The hectic schedule that looms over the coach’s head is going to put David’s commitment as a wrestler and coach to the test!

Despite David being optimistic about what lies ahead, the coaching journey has not been easy for him. “I didn’t know there was so much flexibility in scheduling,” said David recently. The three-time World Champion was challenged by the wrestling calendar, which turned out to be not as straightforward as he thought. Taylor is packed from November 15th. Despite the hectic schedule, the world is wrestling with another question!

As the season begins, the biggest question brewing on the horizon is, will David Taylor return to Penn State, his alma mater, for a showdown? As David himself puts it, “It would be the most exciting dual meet probably in the history of wrestling.” Of course it would be, being a Cael Sanderson prodigy. Taylor has won two NCAA under the legendary tutelage.

But this time, the schedule seems to be against the wishes and hopes of a historic match. “I think, obviously, being a coach, you have to work around your scheduling, and you can only have so many non-conference opportunities,” said Coach Taylor. However, don’t be disappointed, folks, because there’s more on the menu! The season begins with an unconventional conference bout at Utah Valley on Nov. 15, followed by a visit to Oregon State on Nov. 17.

OSU will then host Wyoming on Nov. 22 and Arizona State on Nov. 24. In December, the action heats up with the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7), a rivalry clash at Oklahoma on Dec. 13, and a non-conference showdown with Virginia Tech on Dec. 19. The new year kicks off with a home clash against the Air Force on Jan. 3, followed by NC State on Jan. 12. After a 16-day break, OSU faces West Virginia at home on Jan. 19, then heads out for back-to-back matches at Northern Iowa (Jan. 24) and Iowa State (Jan. 26).

February opens with a showdown against Missouri on Feb. 2, and the season wraps up with non-conference road meets at Little Rock on Feb. 8 and at Iowa on Feb. 23. With this kind of schedule, it is evident that David Taylor is not playing around when it comes to his coaching responsibilities. And all of that is just Taylor’s OSU schedule. In true Magic Man style, he has an equally hectic Senior World Championships schedule. The two together, Taylor is going to have to pull a miraculous trick to not falter!

The game of balance is on for David Taylor!

When David Taylor decided to donne the singlet again, he was not playing around. At the trials, he went through the competition like a knife through the air. He beat NCAA champ Michael Macchiavello and All-Americans Trent Hidlay and Marcus Coleman. If that seems like insufficient competition, Taylor also went on to beat World medalist Zahid Valencia and claim the sport on the US World Team. So, what does the journey ahead look like?

The championships are scheduled to take off between October 28th and October 31st in Tirana, Albania. That’s right, David is not even in the US! He is making a weight class change from 86 kg to 92 kg this season. And so far, it seemed to have worked out! On October 30th, Taylor will be on the mats again for the men’s freestyle qualification rounds. On the very same day, they also scheduled the men’s freestyle semifinals. Post-this, he doesn’t get much time before the finals.

The very next day, October 31st, the men’s freestyle finals are set to happen. While this might be stressful to the non-athletic eye, David Taylor sees this as an opportunity for OSU, too. “It’s definitely helping with exposure of our program and what we’re trying to build,” he said recently. It seems like Taylor has got it all under control. As the Magic Man gives us a last glimpse of his magic, he already seems to know that it is more than about the last gold. But more about laying a foundation of inspiration at OSU.