Posted: 1/30/07
Wrestling great passes on some wisdom
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
You could almost see the hand prints on the side of Dan Goergenís face.
But the assistant wrestling coach didnít mind.
Nor did anyone else in the Caledonia/Houston/Spring Grove wrestling room on January 22.
Goergen got the lucky job of being the demonstration model for Rulon Gardner. Gardner sent his huge paws against the side of Goergenís face more than once as he demonstrated how to tie up, how to go for a take down, how to distract the other guy.
He demonstrated lots of moves, ran the kids through drills, and filled the room with a booming voice full of advice. Be mean. Be quick like a cat.
"Good technique is everything!"
"Practice makes perfect!"
Gardner got their attention for a couple reasons. One, he is a physical presence. If you look up barrel-chested in the dictionary, you might find a picture of him. Heís huge and quick, with an engine that might idle down in his sleep.
Two is that Olympic gold medal that he just happened to have in his pants pocket. Gardner won it in 2000 in Sidney, Australia in the Greco-Roman wrestling. He won a bronze in Athens, Greece, four years later.
C/H/SG is in a transition stage with wrestling, Gardner said as he watched the wrestlers do one of his take down drills. "A practice like this can really solidify them to being tough."
He paused to tell Kaleb Schmitz that his head was still getting up a little bit.
"This is war," Gardner said.
Seven steps
That intensity didnít diminish much when Gardner spoke to the public later that evening.
About 160 people sat in the Caledonia Middle/High School auditorium to hear him speak of his wrestling achievements and his life.
First he showed a video of the gold medal match in 2000, when he defeated Aleksander Karelin, a three-time gold medalist.
Then he told about his life, growing up on a dairy farm in Afton, Wyoming, competing with his eight brothers and sisters.
He broke the advice into seven steps, but some themes kept resurfacing.
One was learning how to win as a wrestler. He said he did that not by being technically better. "What I have is hard work, dedication," he said.
Donít give up, he repeated. "Give me a chance and Iíll prove you wrong," he said.
Gardner urged people to get help and support when they need it. Thatís what he did to overcome a learning disability that kept him from reading well.
Believe in yourself and what you can accomplish, he said.
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