One of my fondest memories of Penn State wrestling was my corner coach at the National Open (freestyle) in 1985, the summer between my junior and senior years. In the fourth round I was wrestling Kenny Monday, an NCAA and Olympic champ, who went on to win a gold medal in 1988 with my Penn State teammate Greg Elinski as the alternate. The freestyle rules at the time consisted of two three-minute periods, followed by a one-minute rest. By the time of the minute rest, I was losing, 2–10, having scored two points on a move I initiated but which Monday countered and was scored 2-2. My corner coach, Hachiro Oishi gave me the most awe inspiring motivational speech: “Very nice surprise. Me never think you last three minutes. Now go out there and try to score another point before he smash you some more.” Inspirational words from an inspirational coach! You could always count on Hachiro to tell it like it is!
