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.
Evan was born to wrestle. According to his mom, Amy, this North Florida 119 pound champion gave the sport his all and she discovered that yes, there is some crying in wrestling.
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.
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.)
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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