Your children can make you cry, they just can, whether they mean to or not, and sometimes they really mean to. Teenagers can be particularly harsh; I have a friend who says sometimes teenagers are just not good people.
I have two teenagers at 16 and 19 and a post-teenager at 21. But any therapist [...]
OPRFHS 2009 graduate Jake Venerable talks about what Coach Mike Powell means to him and why he came back to the varsity wrestling team after leaving for a year. And why this group of teammates who shared “blood, sweat and tears” will be his friends for life.
Brock Friesen graduates in June after four years on the OPRFHS wrestling team. He talks about learning from a coach –Mike Powell– who is more than just talk.
In March 2010 Ellis Coleman, a 2009 OPRFHS graduate, won a bronze medal at the Junior International in Bulgaria as part of the USA National Greco-Roman team. The three-time Illinois state medalist talks in this interview about the impact Coach Powell has had on his life, this sport and his wrestling family.
The team’s athletic trainer called me at work about 3:30. I needed to get Colin to the emergency room as fast as possible. On the Tuesday after regionals, what was initially thought to be a shin bruise, was now a dark purple, hot, swelling, gross mass, the size of a mango, or a small eggplant.
Coach Powell teaches you about personal growth
and how to accept the challenges of life. Kudos to the Huskies and to
their solid season.
Brendan Rogers, an OPRF Wrestler 2004-2009, talks about the impact Coach Powell had on his life, especially the moment Powell gave Brendan the team state medal; Brendan was unable to wrestle team state because of a knee injury.
He’s proud of his wrestling career in high school and briefly in college. He’s also proud of the “ear” he earned. Weldon Rogers talks about Coach Powell and his own transformation as an athlete and a young man. Now a college junior, Weldon claims he went from being “garbage” as a youth wrestler to placing fourth in Illinois in 2007 at the IHSA Class AA individual state tournament for 140 pounds.
So we sat and watched, cheered, screamed for every Oak Park-River Forest wrestler and passed the time, ate the sandwiches we packed; I drank the Diet Coke, Brendan drank the Gatorade. Colin drank a lot of Gatorade. (This will become important later.)
My youngest son, Colin, talks about the importance of Coach Powell as a father figure in his life,the hard work of wrestling and the thrill of winning.
Do you know how much your child weighs down to the ounce? Do you avoid making eye contact with your child after he or she loses a match until your child approaches you? Do you find yourself wearing the school colors every day whether or not you are attending a meet or tournament?
Then you're a WMD. A Wrestling Mom or Dad.
And we'd love to hear your stories. Submit a guest column, a few photos, videos, or comments and we will publish them on the site.
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