The impact of deep friendships

Now as an athlete out of college looking back at my career so far, I can point to some coaches, mentors, friends, teammates, and family members that have made a pivotal impact in where I am now. I believe the foundation ultimately stems from God placing selfless and passionate individuals in my life. When I was ten years old I first started my career in the sport of wrestling, and I did not enjoy it believe it or not! The sport was much different than I originally expected; no one in my family wrestled, so I only saw “wrestling” as the WWE stuff on TV from watching it with my dad in elementary school. When I in the fifth grade, one of my close friends at the time, convinced me to go with him to a practice. I remember the smell of the wrestling room distinctly; like most rooms, it was humid and smelled like old body odor. But after just a few weeks of practice, the youth coach pulled me aside and told me that I wasn’t leaving his program; he saw potential in me. My youth coach, Bob Johnson, was the first major coach/mentor figure that poured everything he had into me. He was very passionate and he could see the upside in me. At the time, my parents didn’t have extra money, my dad worked long hours at the steel mills in Cleveland, while my mom worked two part time jobs as an accountant to pay for my brother, sister, and my sports and living expenses. So Coach Johnson started to travel with me to some high-level national youth and middle school tournaments over the next few years. I started progressing in my wrestling, and Coach Johnson knew I needed someone to overlook and help me develop even more going into high school. He introduced me to my high school club coach, Erik Burnett. Erik was a previous 4x HS Ohio State Champion, and one of the best lightweight technicians in the country. I began to work with him at the end of my eighth grade year, up through the end of High School. He developed my hand fighting skills and attack/offensive mentality. He had taken me to the next level in my wrestling development, and I began to get recruited by some of the top division I universities all over the country.

Another important piece in my journey was the spiritual growth. From the blog on my faith journey, I can point to high school as a crucial point in my development. One of my closest friends today (Aaron Port), was the boy I carpooled with to CVCA, who was a grade above me. I was very introverted at the time (I still am today), and I remember many times in the car where it was just 30 minutes of silence traveling from my house to the high school. It wasn’t until the middle of my sophomore year when Aaron was able to open me up, and we began to have deep conversations on life. I experienced his passion and care for me as a person, and it’s something I never will forget. Also, two of my high school coaches Dave Bergen and Paul Charvat both had unique personalities and qualities that impacted the way I grew. Dave was loud and intense, while Paul was quiet and reserved. Both taught me what it looked like to be a man of God; and I still talk to both till this day. But the most important spiritual mentor has been a woman named Carol Griffith. I met her in between my sophomore and junior season of high school. At the time, my mom and I lifted together at Bally Total Fitness in Brecksville, about 10 minutes from my house. I was looking to get into some cross training to help with my wrestling. The gym was offering two free private boxing sessions with a trainer, so I tried it out. I got introduced to Carol, and she seemed “crazy” to me at the time. Her passion for life was off the charts, she was always joyful and laughing to the point that I even asked her if she was always like that?! She was also very intense and had immense passion for her craft. But little did I know, that not only was she a very intelligent boxing/conditioning coach, but she was the most Christ-centered Christian I have ever met. She not only showed me the ins and outs of boxing, but also more importantly taught me deep truths of God every time I saw her. I trained with her twice per week all the way through my senior year in H.S. She became my lifelong bible mentor, coach, and one of my best friends too.

 Going into college was another change, and step up from the level I previously experience. The coaches at OSU had so much intellect and experience; I began to learn quickly on how to train to become a NCAA champion. Coach Lou Rosselli at the time was one of the top lightweight coaches in the college scene, and he became a mentor in helping develop my style and mentality even more. Ohio State also had one of the top senior level training centers for wrestlers trying to make the Olympic Team. I got the opportunity to train with some of most talented wrestlers, like Angel Escibido and Reece Humphrey, who both were on multiple US senior national teams. Head Coach Tom Ryan was another mentor I looked up to in leadership from the wrestling, business, social, and spiritual aspects. He personifies passion and selflessness, and I truly believe his leadership is a major reason that the OSU wrestling program has turned into one of the most elite programs in the country. As a college wrestler, I achieved a lot of success because of the people I lived with and saw on a daily basis. Bo Jordan, was my roommate as a freshman, while Kyle Snyder was my roommate from red-shirt freshman year until senior year. Their qualities as people rubbed off on me, I experienced first hand their passion for life and drive for excellence in the sport of wrestling.

After graduating college, I’ve experienced some incredible challenges that have led me to personal growth. I went through some major injuries (see Patience through injuries blog), but that hasn’t stopped me from learning. The two people that have made a big impact on me after college are my strength and conditioning coach Dustin Myers, and my mom. I didn’t have a strong relationship with Dustin through college, but it grew immensely after. Dustin was there with me in the “trenches” and through the challenges I faced coming back from injuries. He showed me that he not only was in my corner from a strength and conditioning aspect, but more important as a friend. He cared about how I was doing in life, not just in my strength. His passion for hard work, and making an impact on the people around him rubbed off on me. Now, one of my core values in my “why” for life is to create a lifelong impact on my friends, teammates, and everyone around me. My mom has also become a rock for me to talk to and lean on through the challenges I’ve faced. She was my caring parent, my lifting partner in H.S., and predominantly the one who took me all over for wrestling practices. In college she never missed being at my wrestling matches. After going through the pain of falling short at NCAAs my senior year, and having to go through yet another major surgery, she was someone who helped me stay level mentally. My relationship with her went from that of a parent and child, to a deep friendship. I talk with her on things I am going through emotionally, and she opens about her own challenges she faces; and we were able to help one another. She is someone I know I can talk to and count on through anything and any situation.

As a postgraduate, I stayed at OSU to train with the college guys and represent the Ohio Regional Training Center to pursue my Olympic aspirations. As I got back to full strength, Logan Stieber, who was a former training partner, joined the Ohio RTC coaching staff. Both Logan and Tervel Dlagnev oversee the postgraduate RTC athletes, along with J Jaggers. All three of these men have been impactful in how I view the sport of wrestling and life. Each one has unique abilities and mindsets that have led them to success in the sport. Logan is very relaxed and not too emotional; he is very intuitive in the little positions that I need to improve each day, and also he has a sound mindset of maturity in the way to view wrestling. Tervel is very similar in his mindset and approach to the creativity of wrestling and valuing improvement and the process of always learning. He is also wise in his approach to training outside of just wrestling. J is tough and will give tough love sometimes, but he cares a lot and I have a lot of respect for him. He knows how to push himself to the deep waters. He is also really cool to be around outside of practice. Each one of these guys have helped me grow not only as a wrestler but a man. They have stuck by my side through the hills and valleys in the sport of wrestling. Selflessness and passion for life have been two driving forces I’ve experienced in people that have molded me ever since I stepped into this world.