Hey Coach Bono,
It's me, your pal from Florida, Dutch. I just wanted to drop you a line and say that I'm sorry to hear about the world championships. From what you told us in your motivational speech to us at camp, I can only imagine the amount of work you put into preparing for this tournament, and this is truely unfortunate. I would also like to say that among all of the things I learned at camp, I think I took home the most from the talk you gave us about your preparations for the world championships. I'm sure that what I learned will make a huge differnece on my season this year. My work ethic has improved so much now that I have a better understanding of the kind of work that it takes to be a champion. And also, for the record, I would like to say that I already had money on you winning the gold in Iran this week."
Dutch Miller (2002 camp participant)

Bobby Douglas

Recently, the opportunity to spend a day with Bobby Douglas was granted. As many of you know, Bobby, as he likes to be called, is the Head Coach of the Iowa State University wrestling team. During this chance meeting with Bobby, he displayed his unselfish and inspirational personality in more ways than one.

As Bobby began to explain why wrestling was his best friend, a different perception of this wrestling icon was unraveled. Bobby’s best friend kept him from being bullied by bigger fellows as a youth; as seventh grader, Bobby only weighed 60 pounds. The neighborhood where Bobby spent his summers (inner city Chicago) was a rather large recruiting ground for gangs. Wrestling, as a self-defense, gave him the courage to say no to gangs and everything that they stood for. His best friend taught courage and persistence and that gangs and bullies were nothing more than cowards.

In the beginning, Bobby spoke of how his grandfather, taught him several holds that gave him confidence and ability to defend himself. This strength was later cultivated into a dream of being the best wrestler in the state, then the nation, then at the Olympics, & finally a college graduate. Bobby was able to use what his grandfather and coaches taught him to realize many of his dreams. What is striking about Bobby is that never once did he mention his very storied credentials in a boasting or bragging fashion. Bobby simply inspired all who were listening to dream and to dream big. Bobby motivated everyone in that room to be the best at what they were doing whether is was a student, a teacher, a coach, or a writer. Bobby persuaded all that working hard is one of the traits that wrestling has instilled in him and that it can be instilled in every one of them too.

Watching him work with the students was like watching a great painter or sculptor finish a masterpiece. Bobby was able to break down complex wrestling skills to first year wrestlers while keeping their attention and interest. This skill is hard and may go unnoticed to those of us who only want to work with the most talented or the most gifted. He also looked very impressive as he worked with some of the older students who appeared to have some of the fundamentals mastered. Maybe his being an elementary school teacher has something to do with his desire and ability to change teaching modes so effectively.

The most remarkable skill that Bobby may possess is his focus on youth and education. Bobby explained how it might be necessary to get an education beyond high school in order to do anything you want to do. His story of how he awakened at 4:30 in the morning and worked in the railroad cars digging grain till 5:00 in the evening while training for the 1964 Olympics was very real. Bobby made two Olympic teams and vowed he would get his college degree (Bobby graduated from Oklahoma State University) because he never wanted to make a career of digging grain out of railroad cars. Anybody who has ever been to a wrestling practice knows how grueling and intense that training session can be. Imagine going through 12 hours of painstaking labor then training with the best wrestlers in the country for 3 months (5 wrestlers from those practices made that Olympic team). Perhaps the dream of getting a college degree and making the Olympic team kept him going.

By now, you know that we met during a wrestling clinic, which Bobby donated his time for. Bobby says that all of us have the ability to do great things because we are wrestlers. Wrestling has gotten Bobby everywhere he wanted to go in life and he says it can do the same for us. Maybe he is right.

From a post by Shannyn J. Gillespie on a forum at The Mat.