Penn State wrestling is an integral part of my everyday life! That is a bold statement but only too true. There isn’t one event or time in my life when I haven’t drawn on my lessons from Penn State wrestling to help me through.
Some Stories:
Before I filled out the PSU freshman application in 1986, I asked my parents if they knew whether or not wrestling was a varsity sport at Penn State. I didn’t want to waste time on the application if they didn’t have wrestling. My parents weren’t sure so I checked the Rand College Directory (we didn’t have the Internet back in ’86). As I looked over the facts on Penn State and went down the list of varsity sports, I was relieved to see that wrestling was in fact a varsity sport and not just a club sport. Well, that was a relief. Little did I know what kind of a hornet’s nest I was getting myself into.
I wrestled in high school in Florida and NEVER placed in the Florida state tournament, so let’s just say that my credentials as an accomplished wrestler were just a little bit below those of other PA, OH, and NJ state champs being recruited by PSU. Obviously, I wasn’t recruited by Penn State (or any other college). So I recruited the colleges. In the fall of my senior year, I planned a trip to visit four schools: Clemson, Penn State, and Lehigh. I called each of these school’s wrestling coaches and scheduled meetings with them. Each of them barely gave me the time of day. I would sit down in their office, and they would say, “OK. Do you have any questions?” “No.” “OK, good luck.”
Except for my appointment with Coach Lorenzo. What impressed me so much about the program and the coaches was the fact that Coach Lorenzo treated me just like any other “real” recruit. He sat down with me, talked to me about the program, asked me questions about myself, showed me the locker room, and really made me feel important. He even asked one of the wrestlers (Tim Flynn) to go down to the room and drill with me for a while and then take me out to lunch. The drill session ended after 30 seconds when Tim realized I might injure him. He suggested we just head down to Brothers Pizza for a slice. I will never forget that day and how special Coach Lorenzo and Tim made me feel. “Treat everyone with respect, no matter what his job title or status in life or what he looks like.” This is just one of the many lessons that Penn State wrestling taught me.
Another story that I vividly remember was our first JV match against Stevens Tech. This was a JV dual that preceded the lowa-PSU match, which I think it was #1 vs. #2. None of the other JV wresters could understand why I was so nervous before the JV match. I didn’t have the guts to tell them that the 500 people that came early for the Iowa match would be the biggest crowd I ever wrestled in front of. So after the match, I went back to the locker room and showered and hung out in the locker room for a while. The match was a 7:30 pm start. (If anyone remembers this Iowa match, it was the one where we may have violated the fire code with too many people in Rec Hall.) At 7:15 pm I walked from the locker room to the main gym to get a seat. I will never forget that scene with people packed up on the track, the seats completely packed, and what seemed like thousands of kids seated on the floor up to the edge of the mat. I stopped for moment and looked at the scene and made up my mind that someday I was going to start for Penn State.
I also remember Jimmy Martin hyperventilating during a 6 a.m. workout because he was working so damn hard. I remember Coach Fritz putting a bag over his mouth so that he could catch his breath. And if I wasn’t there to witness it, I wouldn’t believe it, but I remember the same thing happening to Jimmy the very next morning workout.
I remember in the Spring of my junior year when Tim Flynn was a grad assistant and was running practice by himself. I was wrestling Jeff Prescott, and let’s just say things got really physical. It got so bad that we weren’t wrestling but just trying to punch each other so Jeff says “Do you want to take this outside.” I said “Sure. Let’s go!” So we walked out the back door of the old room onto the grass to just throw down and fight. While this was going on, Tim Flynn was in the restroom. When he returned, the room was empty, and he had no idea what was going on. He soon realized that all of the guys on the team were outside watching two idiots having a fist fight in the grass. (The fight was a draw when Flynn broke it up.)
I remember thinking that I wanted to quit my junior year and going to see Coach Lorenzo to talk to him. Both Lorenzo and Fritzy were out so I went in to see Hachiro. After telling Hachiro that I didn’t know what was wrong with me and I thought I had lost motivation, my head was messed up, and that I was going to quit the team, he proceeded to stand up and start showing me a single-leg finish technique in the middle of his office. I certainly wasn’t going to stop him so I just let him finish, said thanks, and went down to practice. To this day I don’t know whether or not he knew what I was trying to do?
One of my fondest memories was the 1991 National Team Dual Championships. We just got done beating the #3 seed in the quarter-finals and were scheduled to wrestle lowa, the #2 seed, the next morning in the semis. That night Bob Truby was rushed to the hospital with gall stones and was not able to wrestle the next day. The next morning, knowing we were going to have to give up 6 points against Iowa at 126, we rallied and pulled together an unbelievable team effort and beat lowa. We then went on to beat Oklahoma State, the # 1 seed in the finals. What a great time!
So I must leave with this: Penn State wrestling has no doubt made me who I am today. When I came to Penn State my freshmen year I was a wild kid (and horrible wrestler) who had no clue what life (or wrestling) was all about. Penn State wrestling not only molded me into a better wrestler, but it molded me into a much better person. My success today in business, as a husband and now as a father, would not be possible if I had not been a part of the Penn State wrestling program. Thanks!
Some lessons from Penn State wrestling:
* Perserverance
* Respect
* Goal Setting
* Honesty
* Work Ethic
* Devotion
* Positive Attitude
* Mental Toughness
* Dedication
* Sacrifice
Some more lessons :
* Leave things the way you found them (especially hotel rooms)!
* Pick up trash in front of you even if it isn’t yours!
* It’s a Great Day!
* Minutes to go!
* Don’t make fun of the way people look!
