Get ready for the inspiring journey of Steve Leurquin, the co-star of The Wisconsin Wrestler Podcast. His story starts in the humble backdrop of small-town Wisconsin and leads him to the thrilling stage of college wrestling. He's not just a wrestler though; he's also a soccer player with a few memorable stories to share!😉
Steve's dedication to his sports, from his early soccer days to his wrestling triumphs in college, are a testament to the power of perseverance. Hear him reminisce about his high school wrestling days, and the lessons he learned about commitment and resilience. You'll also gain insights into his transition from high school to college wrestling!
But Steve's journey isn't all about sports. He also shares about his senior year in college, when he found love and started seeing his future off the mat. He opens up about his aspirations to become a special education teacher, and the invaluable support he received from his parents. So sit back, grab your earbuds, and join us for Steve Leurquin's extraordinary sports journey. It's a tale full of ups, downs, and valuable life lessons!
This is PART ONE OF ✌️!
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Get ready for the inspiring journey of Steve Leurquin, the co-star of The Wisconsin Wrestler Podcast. His story starts in the humble backdrop of small-town Wisconsin and leads him to the thrilling stage of college wrestling. He's not just a wrestler though; he's also a soccer player with a few memorable stories to share!😉
Steve's dedication to his sports, from his early soccer days to his wrestling triumphs in college, are a testament to the power of perseverance. Hear him reminisce about his high school wrestling days, and the lessons he learned about commitment and resilience. You'll also gain insights into his transition from high school to college wrestling!
But Steve's journey isn't all about sports. He also shares about his senior year in college, when he found love and started seeing his future off the mat. He opens up about his aspirations to become a special education teacher, and the invaluable support he received from his parents. So sit back, grab your earbuds, and join us for Steve Leurquin's extraordinary sports journey. It's a tale full of ups, downs, and valuable life lessons!
This is PART ONE OF ✌️!
Links to The Wisconsin Wrestler Podcast's socials are below...
Instagram
https://instagram.com/wiwrestlerpodcast?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/WIWrestlerPod?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Twitter
https://x.com/WIWrestlerPod?t=wCJ5HXEWd31KRlLVb_VNfQ&s=09
Appleton Tattoo Links
https://www.facebook.com/appletontattoo
https://www.instagram.com/mark_appletontattoo/
920 Hat Co. Links
https://920hatco.com/
https://www.instagram.com/920hatco/
https://www.facebook.com/920HatCo
music, music music here.
Speaker 2:Here we are and we're live. We are live with Mr Steve Lurkwin. Mr Steve Lurkwin, the other co-star of the Wisconsin wrestler podcast. How are you doing, sir?
Speaker 3:I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I gotta be a little honest here. I'm a little bit nervous. I'm uh. I know the list of guests that you have on the show and, uh, I see some of the names and then you asked me to be on it. I'm thinking what? No?
Speaker 2:man. So you have got. You are a legend in your own right, Right. You've been doing the podcast thing now for a while.
Speaker 3:Legend, in my own mind at least.
Speaker 2:Hey, but you've been informing people. You put good content out. I mean you and you and Teg, just you guys jive together, you know, and it's fun watching you guys. So it's not a surprise that. What 200th episode was that you guys just celebrated?
Speaker 3:I mean congratulations, Congratulations, it's my 192nd or something like that. There was eight or so episodes that Teg did oh sure.
Speaker 2:We call it the.
Speaker 3:BS period before Steve period.
Speaker 2:And then and then, it all just started to roll together.
Speaker 3:Well, we won't say that, but yeah. So I like the filter that Teg uses better for ours. So this one, your filter, I mean I look like I'm 10 years older on yours or something like that, so we got really, I'm just.
Speaker 2:I think I did that myself, I changed it up myself.
Speaker 3:I look like an old man on your podcast. I'm a little worried here.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I you're not, you're not.
Speaker 3:Sometimes the mirror hits me right and I look and I go, gosh, am I really that old, you know?
Speaker 2:but that picture you sent me was from what year?
Speaker 3:Whoa that we want to talk about that. That was really, that was. You know, the funny thing with that, brad, is I, I hate, I seriously hate getting my picture taken. My wife is photogenic. She can get out of bed and someone has a camera and they're like, oh, smile, she's all and she looks great. I'm saying look, I think I look pretty cool. I'm like all right, I got this good look going on, and all of a sudden I like smile. And then I'm like I hate it. So I, I avoid the camera like the plague. And when you said you were trying to find different pictures and you went on Google and all this stuff, yeah, yeah, and I found that picture and I know that it was a long time ago. I mean, I think that was from. Well, let's just say it was. It was probably about 15 years ago at least.
Speaker 2:Right, Right on.
Speaker 3:Which is great, but that's you look. Mean, I couldn't find anything else that was wrestling related.
Speaker 2:You look gritty.
Speaker 3:I hate the camera.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, honestly, we I mean we don't do a lot of family pictures. For that reason there's not a lot of camera time. Liam does great. He does great on his own, they don't need to see us. That's right, that's right. But so we're going to start from the from the get go. Like I told you, we kind of go from where you started and literally where you were born, and it's interesting where you, you know, I kind of knew a little bit, I mean the area, you're from the area anyways, but I had no idea you were born in Kakana. I was born in Kakana. Yep, holy cow.
Speaker 3:Do they even deliver babies anymore in Kakana? I mean, I, I, I'm not aware.
Speaker 2:I don't think so. We have a medical facility that's just outside of Kakana, but it's I don't know if they I'm going to say they don't maybe emergency. Hey, if something happens, you got to do what you got to do, right?
Speaker 3:It might have been a dentist's office, I don't remember. Maybe they just kind of make shift, make shift room or whatever, who knows.
Speaker 2:Back in the day it was different, wasn't it? I mean, there was way different.
Speaker 3:You could still smoke in the waiting room. My mom was a tough farm lady, right, so she just probably just kept working and oh, time to go have a kid, all right, Yep, I got to be back in 20 minutes.
Speaker 2:I got things to do. Yeah. Yeah, they were. I mean they were tough cookies back then, that's for sure. I mean that's that's. It was a different era. So, like when you were growing up, what was your? When do you first remember, I guess, doing sports? When do you, when do you kind of get into the sports mode? Was it right away, when you were like three year member doing things, or did it take a while?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I did soccer. I started soccer first grade. That was my first ever sport wrestling with second grade. But yeah, I did. I really liked soccer. We didn't have soccer as far as the sport in right town, but I always did it during the summer. Why am? I here, or whatever I actually did it.
Speaker 3:Most people don't believe this. I was a. I was a football guy, right yeah, every summer, from first grade up through high school, so even my senior year after I was out of high school, I played soccer, you know. I was not, I was not this Vanessa guy. I mean like we would show up from right so we'd play all these deep here. You know these, I hope to.
Speaker 1:I don't want to tell people, but people that really fit the soccer role.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we showed up and we were rough farm kids and you know I would. I'd play goalie a lot. And well, let me tell you, go back to first group, first grade. Yeah, I had almost ended my career because I played goalie and I like playing goalie. And I got the ball, I saved it and then I kicked the ball and I kicked it straight up in the air and I turned my body. It came down. I tried to catch it, I missed it and I scored a goal for the other team. So that was my one of my earlier memories of soccer. People were laughing at me. I was pretty hurt, but then you know it's all right.
Speaker 2:We got, we, we got hold on, don't get too deep. We got something from Tigger Eddie. Yeah, also, this is the only comment I make and Steve can go. Oh, teg, we love you, man, we love you, we love you.
Speaker 3:Was that picture of me? I couldn't even see that, was that.
Speaker 2:No, I think, yes, I think. Are you in that one? I can't see it I think I'm on the right.
Speaker 3:I don't know that guy's on the left. I can't quite see. I need glasses to right. See me here. See me here. I'm playing that all the way, man.
Speaker 2:First grade soccer. First grade soccer. You almost ended your career.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, you know you're. I'm a pretty soft skinned guy. I get to get thicker skin right and there you know when parents are laughing at you, you're average that you just scored a goal for the other team. That's you know, that's it.
Speaker 2:That's hard, that's hard, that's very hard yeah.
Speaker 3:Some people gotta get a life right. I mean right, I mean the fat people sitting on the sideline you know jiu-roon on the first grader.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the arm chair quarterback over there making the calls, you know.
Speaker 3:It's like come on out, but yeah, I played soccer.
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 3:I'll get too long in the soccer but it was awesome, I played and I really liked it. But I was rough, I was aggressive and Goli a lot. I played defense but I was the Goli where I'm waiting for the guy to come. But I've got a picture in this style, right. And if that guy would dribble the ball to a heart in front, I just took off, I would dive, like literally dive head first. I mean I took shots to the face. You don't get a face like this without taking some chances in life. You were a dynamite.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just take kids out and I just remember I'd get up and all these soccer moms and the pretty Fufu teams like the DPS they go hey he can't do that. He can't do that to my son.
Speaker 2:I'm like I just did. I just did, just did Take it. I played pretty rough myself. I started out. I mean that's all I played. That was I wrestled, but I wasn't good at it, and but soccer was my gig and that's how I played. Though Wrestling made me tougher, in soccer I was not afraid I wasn't head diving, I wasn't quite doing that, but I was definitely not afraid to run at someone Sure, because they'll move.
Speaker 3:Well, one way or the other. When did you? You went to Tomahawk, right? No?
Speaker 2:I went to. Ashkash. Nope, oh, ok, ashkash.
Speaker 3:North. We posted Tomahawk and I thought you said my old team or something like that. So I got that mixed up. But sorry about that. But you know it's funny. When did you graduate high school? 97. Nice, You're a couple of years younger than I am. This was all the pre-concussion stuff, right?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:I used to. Just it's like I wonder why I can't remember things. Goalie would kick the ball and I would come running up right like midfield so this ball has been soaring for how long and I would just come run up and launch my head and hit the ball and the ball would like that's a complete yeah.
Speaker 3:Almost back to the goalie and I just thought it was cool. The fans would be like, ooh, you know I was a big. I like to get the crowd reaction. Yeah, I think of how many times I did that playing soccer, I mean well over 50, if not more.
Speaker 2:Your spinal cord's probably being a price in that one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the charge is my head and, like I said, no wonder I got learning problems and stuff, because just the ball.
Speaker 2:Like I, knowing what you're talking about and playing and the amount of pressure that ball puts on your head when you're going full force like that, that's pretty intense to do that that's a good time.
Speaker 3:Tigo is yelling at me. I can't remember anything you know, so that's. That's part of the reason.
Speaker 2:But that's why he's around you don't, yeah, right I?
Speaker 3:don't have to remember all that stuff. So am I talking to you loud, I'm getting excited.
Speaker 2:It's a no, no, you're good, you're good, we got. We got Peter Taft. What's up, gentlemen? Good way to spend Friday at Deer Camp? Yes To y'all. Well. Hunter turns our room into a workout studio. Hey, props.
Speaker 3:Good job, hunter, peter. I got to tell you. My people always ask me I come from a big time hunting family. Right, I have no problem, I could. I love pheasant hunting, I love. But my, my deer hunting career only lasted a couple of years. And here's why my first year deer hunting, I and Peter when you hear the story I love meat, I love venison, I love all of it. Give me a burger, give me all this stuff. But my deer hunting career ended very quickly.
Speaker 3:My dad put me in my spot and he walked over where up in Chiakton area and I shoot this deer 10 minutes into the hunt and I nail it in the neck. One shot Boom Down and I come up to this deer. I come up to this deer it was a pretty big sized doe and the doe is alive and it's breathing heavy right and it's looking at me as I'm walking up to it and I just start bawling. I start bawling, I kid you, not Peter. I get down on the ground and I start petting the deer and I'm going. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You know what I've just got a connection.
Speaker 2:That's a natural connection. There's nothing wrong with it. That is nature taking its course right there. That is funny.
Speaker 3:My dad comes walking over and I'm petting this thing and else, and he pulls out this big knife and I turned away and that was it and I'm like, yeah, maybe I'm just not.
Speaker 2:Oh man, oh man. So, as you got through, what was that? Grade school, middle school, is that how long you played soccer for Till middle school? Or how long did you play Right up through high school, even like I?
Speaker 3:said we didn't have a high school sport of it, I think now, but we didn't have a high school sport. I just played this summer. I don't want to say rec, because it was pretty competitive. We were not good. We were not good, but every now and then we had knocked off one of these really crappy Fufu teams and we were pretty happy. We celebrated. Ok, I would, why not Absolutely?
Speaker 2:Take the shirts off, run across the field, slide it, slide across over to the corner why not Not bad? So, as you, as you got older, though, where were your like other sports? Because, I mean, I was in four or five sports when I was a kid we just didn't have the things like there are now. The competition was different, right? Yep, there's still. There's still the high level, but the high level was a very small minority when it came to competing. So, when we were younger, I did, I did, I think. I tried tennis, I did golf, I did baseball, I did wrestling, I did soccer. There weren't too many other winter sports I did, though, because I was, I was a kid. We're snowboarding and skiing, we did, you know. But what types of things were you doing other than soccer, though? Because you seem like you're a pretty active dude?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, we didn't have a lot right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Soccer was a lot of people, things a lot of people did. Our sports were pretty limited. Yeah, summer time we did the sport called Baylain Hay. Nice. Took a lot of time right. Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:So my main sports were flag football up until fifth grade, because that's when you start tackle, right, is it? Flag football? Second, third, fourth grade, fifth grade or whatever. Yeah, and then wrestling, second grade, and then I didn't start. I kind of got into baseball, that type of thing, baseball, you know, started playing a little bit of little league and stuff, and so did my, my, my going up to high school is I did, I did track freshman and senior year and baseball sophomore and junior year.
Speaker 3:So that's kind of how my, my, my sport was kind of my screw on sport. I you know, I I like the girls and that's what got me to go out for it my freshman year.
Speaker 2:Nice, nice, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's exactly what you're doing when you're playing sports, usually paying attention to what the girls are thinking right, that's right, hey, that's right. So, as, as you kind of got older, where did where did all of your goals, like, what did you want to do when you were younger? Were you starting to kind of, like you, talk about working on the farm? Was the farm the other option, like I might be when I'm done, or you're like I'm getting, I'm getting out of here, I'm going to count.
Speaker 3:I'm going to. I'm going to say I build, hey, I didn't live on a farm. I just, you know farming everywhere. So, hey, you know, this is kind of how it worked. You know, they'd see, fran and Lynn were my parents and they'd say, while your kids getting pretty big, he needs to come over and be like, hey, that's kind of how. That's kind of how that worked, right and nice and do other things. But I don't know my goals. I just I started wrestling second grade. Uh, focusing on there is if, if.
Speaker 3:That's the right way to go is the only reason, the only reason why I went off for wrestling is my brother, who was two years older than me, three years older than me but two years grade wise. He, he went off for wrestling one year. So I'm like, oh, I'll go out for wrestling and then, you know, next year he was no longer in it and I stayed in it. I'm a pretty, I'm a pretty, um, bullheaded guy, right, if I start some, I don't like a lot of change. So sure, I kept doing it and I really liked, um, at that time Mark Wall was my coach.
Speaker 3:Okay, bill, Bill verbatim. Enter bill, a little bit, bill would start coming down and and, uh, you know, bill had some influence. Bill was a uh gruffer dude but I liked him, right. I mean, uh, you talk about stories. You said, bring your story. So, bill, bill verbatim. So, uh, pat verbatim's writes down first state qual, first state champ, I'm sorry. And 1990, I mean, I can't remember the exact year. So he's about three, four years older than me and, uh, maybe five, can't remember. And we're doing this thing at the end of practice. Now I'm a third grader and at that particular my as a third grader, I went 18 and 0. So I'm pretty good, right, I'm all world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and uh, we did round up and take downs and I got out.
Speaker 3:So I got out early and and now we're getting up to the big boys and Pat verbatim's in here. I took down like three or four guys and and Bill's doing running round robin takedowns and he goes, who's next? And I go, I am, and Bill goes. Who said that? And also I'm like ever like partying to the Red Sea, everybody. Just I'm like, yeah, I did, and I walk out and Pat verbatim does this whatever, launched himself at me. Boom, he goes, you want to get up? You're going again. I'm like, okay, and I went up and again, and you know, and also in Bill goes, you had enough. And I'm like, yeah, I learned real quick that, not to be mouthy. As a sure, yeah to Bill, bill verbatim.
Speaker 2:So you talk respect real quick and real early, and that's that was the best part of them, as you learned really quick and things were easily shown. You know, like you, this is how you're. You don't do that. Stop right there, stop. So that's a perfect type of lesson. So now you talk about wrestling. You started getting into it. When you started wrestling, did you want to quit at any point, like, obviously you went through some hard points with you know, with coaches or whatever, but where were you just like a month into it and you're like, nah, maybe this isn't for me, or were you? Did you feel like you were?
Speaker 3:hooked I was. Well, how do I say that I, my second grade year didn't go so well. Third, you know, yeah, yeah. Then my third grade year, I went out of feed it, right? I?
Speaker 3:mean so it's like two different things. And I had I always I was thinking about this on the way here. I was like three times where I didn't want to do it anymore. And I don't quit anything, right? Sure, my parents always taught me you start something, you finish it, which I wish the lesson kids would do. Yeah, parents, you know, when parents, when kids come to them and say, oh, I'm going to quit, and they're halfway through the season or two weeks in, I wish parents had enough guts to say, nope, you started it, you can. You can not do it next, which isn't quitting. You can not do it next year, but you're finishing the season Cause you started what you're going to start with.
Speaker 3:I wish we had more of that, right, and my parents would have said the same thing Um, I didn't really want to do it after second grade year because I I didn't have a lot of fun. I'm not a big um, brad, you probably remember back in the day. This is how they they ran. Tournaments were crazy like they are today. Yep, but you would. You would get your way class, it's not all on track. And they would announce oh, charts number 67 through 90 or 67, come to the bullpen.
Speaker 3:Well, the bullpen is the worst place ever because some and they go Steve Lurkman and you go and then they go me, brad, and then you. Then they pair you up and you stand there for the next 10 minutes looking at each other yeah, and you're waiting. You're like size each other up and then then you got to walk out to the mat. I mean it's the worst experience I hate you Just, you're just hanging out with him.
Speaker 2:We got Keaton Cleaver chiming in here. Uh, everyone thinks about it at some point.
Speaker 3:Come on, I I well, I, I do, yeah, the bullpen. Yeah, bullpen you know Keaton never had a bullpen.
Speaker 2:He's too young, but maybe maybe one down in Milwaukee, maybe would have still been doing that, could have been this I hated the bullpen, I hated that whole kind.
Speaker 3:I hated tournaments.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, my kids always ask me mental, mental toughness is something you have to learn and I would sit out. Even in high school I would sit at tournaments and I hated the whole. I loved wrestling. I love so much about it. I love the um camaraderie and there's things that suck. This is actually suck. And I would sit there, even as a college kid. I would sit there thinking about what, at night, sitting on the college, watching a movie, eat ice cream, and I just would find that place and that would get me through all that, cause I was a nervous wreck. I would always be nervous. Um, yeah, oh yeah, stories there, but that might take a three hour podcast. So the and I hated it because you would sit there next to these guys and they tell you stories like oh, I'm a state champion, I'm a and and Bill, you know, god bless them, bill.
Speaker 3:We didn't do a lot of. I had no idea there was a state. Now it's at there and I remember this kid from Howard's Grove. His first thing was tie, I can't remember his last name, and he's sitting there going yep, I'm a state champ, because they try to intimidate you. Right, I didn't talk. Oh, yeah, they sit there and be like yeah, I'm a state champ, I'm a this. So I'm like oh, is there state championships? And then you go out and whip them and they're like oh, hey, I guess maybe.
Speaker 2:I should do it Do you know what are you doing You're gonna get killed.
Speaker 3:But but Keaton talked about it. I, you know, second grade, I didn't really want to do it, but I'm I'm a pretty loyal guy and I like Bill and I like Mark Wall. And Matt verbaten wasn't the picture yet. Matt was still, you know, being a punk himself. He was too young. Um, and then probably my freshman year. So here's a story Um, bill verbaten was the coach forever, but no, people don't know this.
Speaker 3:One year he got tired of administration, he got upset and stuff like that. So my freshman year, as I'm coming in, he quits, he had enough and he just I'm done, I quit. And we got this other guy in. I won't, um, I like the guy, but he, just when you replace bill verbaten and you're not from the town, it's just not, it's not gonna go well for you, right, and you're trying to do things differently, your own way, and everybody's like, no, this is the way we do it. This is bill verbaten.
Speaker 3:And this guy only lasted a year and I enjoyed him, but I hated it. I hated the year. I remember it's the only time ever I, on purpose, skipped the practice. I remember this. If you, if you know where the old rights on high school. Is you skip the practice? I said I had an appointment. I lied. I feel bad about lying. I'm like, oh, I hated it. I still feel bad when I, you know, I told the falsehood and I went over and it was kind of like a February day, it wasn't that cold, yeah, and I went and I hid in the dugout of the baseball field and I went and I waited and tell, uh, five, five, three, whatever time.
Speaker 3:Practice got over and I came on back just like I went to practice and my mom pulls up and I get in the car and I and I went home and I I really thought I was done. I was like I don't really like this and I don't. I don't remember what encouraged me to come back. Um, and then the other time was, um, my freshman year of college it was. It was hard, I mean, I could tell you. I really want to get in the story of how I got into college, because that was there's so many people to thank with that. But my freshman year of college thank God I have the, the principle of I don't ever quit anything. Right, I'm going to, yeah, years over. But I think that's the thing is, they say you can't see the forest when you're in the trees, type thing. I don't know.
Speaker 3:So I'm gonna be, like that, yeah, when you're in it you have no idea what it's all about. And then it gets over, and then all the camaraderie happens and you're like I just did one of the hardest things ever Like competing with college wrestling season, and you feel good, right, and there's a, you know, and you know, I know there might be young kids watching, but afterwards and you and the you know this is April and May and and the, and you're hanging out with all your college wrestling buddies and and you know, your uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, maybe in basements, uh, with some red solo cups and all that kind of stuff. And the camaraderie is really what made me. I'm like I'm doing this again. And then you know I had an okay college year or college career. Nothing, nothing great, but not bad.
Speaker 2:That does create some special lessons, you know, in life, not in with that camaraderie and and and learning leadership lessons and, and you know, just watching some of these young guys now coming into high school and watching the guys that were the fresh ones and seeing how that transition is, you know, and, and watching how tight a team gets throughout the year, I mean can only imagine when it's like it's pretty special when you're a kid but you're not paying attention to the little things so much. When you're a kid Right on In college you're probably really in tune to like, hey, man, this guy did you know this, I got respect for that guy, he did this, you know, I've got respect for that guy. Whereas kids are like, hey, he's my best buddy, you know, and we love hanging out doing this, but it grows into something. So there there comes a point when you were wrestling right, when you, I obviously fell back in love.
Speaker 2:You 18, oh, third grade, how did middle school go? When did what did you? Knowing where we grew up and when we grew up, how far did you take wrestling? When was the farthest that you took wrestling as far as distance wise? When you took like a traveling tournament type type drive. When did you guys do that?
Speaker 3:Well, that's the thing. Is we, we didn't, I and I don't know if like, so I don't know if that stuff existed we just had, we just had youth, right it was. We had no school. It was two through eight. It was called rock. We were the Rockets. It was the right cell, right cell, right. If everybody wondered, oh, we had WR on our singlets, everybody's like wow, is that for WR, for right cell? No, it's for right right.
Speaker 3:So Rockets which is really. I don't think it's. That's the function. Now, right, cause Rockets, the nickname Rockets is offensive, so they, they abolished it. Right, so we were, we were the Rockets and I, like you said, I didn't know anything about states or anything, you, we just we just wrestled, right. I mean, it was a time where you did your wrestling and then you went on to baseball and soccer and all that.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, you went football and so that's but I know I started to get early. I think the big help with that is, you know, obviously, uh, pat verbatim, who was about four or five years older than me, and he won state Like wow, that's a pretty big deal. And so I, you know, you start thinking about things like that, you start working hard and I think probably, you know, oh, I'm sorry, it wasn't undefeated third grade, I was undefeated in fourth grade, right. Oh, okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, third grade, I was eight. This is fun. My wife's floors me like I remember this, I can remember almost every kid I wrestled, like Ty from Howard's Grove, and you know, I wrestled a kid by the name of Tom Dink, from which is uh, I won't say the name of the school, just uh, um, you know, I remember all these things. I was eight, three, um, undefeated fourth grade and I think then I started to realize like hey, I'm not bad at this right.
Speaker 2:I can you?
Speaker 3:know I started to have aspirations of hey, I want to go to state someday, right, and at that particular time, I mean, you go on to Wrightstones wrestling room. Now there's like a just a toilet paper roll of uh state qualifiers. But at that particular time, before I got the high school there, I mean, I think Matt and I were counting it one day, there was uh, he can correct me, but it's like it was like around 10.
Speaker 2:Before.
Speaker 3:I got the high school, there was only about 10 state qualifiers. Um, wow, yeah, it was. It was not a lot, and I think we counted now and I should, I should know the numbers, but it's, it's, it's amazing, it's, it's really unbelievable.
Speaker 2:But those guys have done an awesome job out there. I mean just watching the growth that they've just from when I've been able to know cause I. So I got, and I tell everybody this I got out of wrestling when I was like a junior in high school and kind of didn't really pay too much attention after that. Right, like I was kind of done. It wasn't my thing, soccer was my thing. So I lost touch with all wrestling things up until about 2003,. 2005 is when I started to kind of catch back on. Sure, so just, but seeing the growth even from that point, and having seen some of the younger kids come up and they're in college now, and now seeing the program also with the other kids, you know the deroters and things like that that come through, right, you know, just just just watching those guys build that program has been awesome. So, but you have some ties to the, to the right stone thing, but as, but as well as, kakana, though. Right, when did you, when did you move from Kakana?
Speaker 3:No, I didn't know, hold on. I didn't, I didn't, I always lived in right stone. I was born in Kakana, right?
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, my mom grew up, she was a verbacle. She grew up in Kakana she would love. She grew up in Holland town but, when I say I was born in Kakana, it was just it was just born there. I was born there and probably two hours later back at the house and right stone. So, yeah, yeah, yeah, right, okay, we jumped Brown County into auto gamey and, you know, had a quick birth and came on back and came back home quick, yep, right on, right on.
Speaker 2:So we used to. You're talking about, you know kind of you. You saw that you really had aspirations for state because again and I kind of have same area as you as timeframe I don't remember even my brothers, like they, took one trip to Iowa, I think once a year and I think that was freestyle. I don't even think that was folk style so but that was it. You know, we had Amherst. That was a big one for a youth tournament for us and that was like my kudigrah that was. I took second at that tournament. That was the best tournament I ever had. Nice, and so I live on that one. That's the best one. Third, fourth grade summer run on there, you know, feeling alive. But so as you got as you started to have those aspirations we were when you got into high school. What weight were you when you got into high school?
Speaker 3:That's the funny thing. I was you're going to laugh at this. I wrestled 135 pounds as a freshman, so I was yeah. I was, I was joking, you know, those tootsie pops, right, those tootsie pops that have they're a stick like this.
Speaker 3:And then I mean, I was 135 pounds, with this big of a head, you know, and it was just like I had no muscle, I had no, nothing. And you know, in the heart you talk about wanting to quit is, you know, I didn't like the coaching change. And then I went from having a pretty darn successful middle school career and my eighth year, you know, seventh, seventh and eighth grade worn as good because I started to get awkward, you know that type of thing and my freshman year. I mean, everybody's going to laugh at this record, but I was. I was six and 15. I had six varsity wins and 15, 15 losses, and I think two of them were four. I can't remember, but this was back in the day.
Speaker 3:We went to the little shoot tournament and I wrestled first round. I got a pigtail and I wrestled Okay, yeah, I wrestled this kid from the pier and he's schooled me, man, he's schooled me up and down all over the place and I was done. They're like, all right, you're out, no-transcript what. And I'm sitting there and you know they're go pitting my clothes on. I'm watching the rest of the tournament like this, like what the heck is this? And I think I had that several times. We go to these tournaments and I'm terrible, so I get oh you get this pigtail, you know, and you don't win Guess what. You sit out the rest of the day.
Speaker 2:It's a tough way class, no matter what, what era you come from 135. I mean, you're talking about some guys that that came from 106 or something. So you know, maybe in you know kind of the same situation as the bigger kids when they start out big, you know other guys built into it, so you're kind of into it. But when when you, you're tall though too, that's the other thing.
Speaker 3:So that's the thing. From freshman to sophomore year I grew, I grew probably I have it in my closet at home, I show my kids all the time and I have little marks in my weight and I probably grew about four or five inches from my freshman to sophomore year. Wow. And then I then that next year I wrestled 160. I was probably could have went 152, but Sean Cronelson good guy, he was a senior at that time, it couldn't beat him. And so I wrestled 160. I had a great time. I loved it. I mean it was. I have a lot of good story. I really liked the. You know back then, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It was. We're not. You know Liam's and stuff. Kids didn't cut. You came in as a freshman and you took your lumps right. Now, that's it. I mean we got, we got fresher, sought juniors in high school beating college potential national champions right, it's just right. Right, it didn't happen. You know it took my loss, but I really liked the role of my sophomore year because you're, you're kind of a known, but you're a rascal, right, and you're kind of starting to right Exactly these guys that are really good.
Speaker 3:They're like who the heck is this guy?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, and that that was probably my most fun year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, because I again, like we didn't have a lot, we didn't have like clubs where you got to watch a kid come up from little. I know we had Matt Ratz, you know, in Oshkosh, but that was all we had Right, like there wasn't anything else. So it was hard for those guys to know what was coming up the pipe. You know the pipeline and also they see this young guy, they're like what the hell's going on?
Speaker 3:You know, right, I didn't really I was like this is going to be 12 and 12. I wasn't anything great, but I started the year three and eight that's dude, that's pretty good man. Yeah, it's just fun because that's three and eight and then you know, second half of the year beat a lot of kids that beat me in the first set. You know stuff like that where you start going like man. Yeah, this is going to be fun.
Speaker 2:I'm pretty sure I was putting up goose eggs once I got into high school. I was not competitive so I was all legs. I mean I played soccer since I was like four or five years old. I had no upper body strength that I had no desire to either.
Speaker 3:Where's your boy get?
Speaker 2:it from. What's up with that? Good, if I did lift weights I would probably wind up. You know, I would have looked like that in high school, but definitely not now, even if I lifted weights. But he was, he is, definitely has my, when it comes to like a build, my build, if I actually got into shape. But he his, his mom's side, like his, uh, his grandfather. He's a pretty big guy and he's tall. Liam's keeping, he's riding on the six foot tall kind of thing. He's like I got to get six foot and I'm like I don't think it's going to happen, but I'm five, 10. So, but, um, so, as you kind of progressed into high school, you're, you're getting better. You know, obviously you're going to take your lumps, you're going to have I wasn't a superstar Now, everyone's a superstar but where were you starting to get, like into your junior and senior year? Like, where was it? Were you a, um, a large older group, like a large senior class kind of situation? How was that type of team for you?
Speaker 3:We were um gosh. It's funny to say that. I'm looking back and I think, well, my, there was only two of us, there was only two of my grade until my senior year, and then we had a couple of other kids come on and uh you know, do well, but we had a really good sophomore, so my senior, so my junior year.
Speaker 3:We win. We win regionals and win. I always tell the story Uh, so that was the first year that they had the team sectional. That it is now right, okay, okay, brett, you'll, you'll, you'll be floored by this. I always like telling the story. Team sectionals in 1992, you wrestled, you wrestled, it wasn't all. On Tuesday night we had to drive from Wright's down to Google sometime, wright's town to Elko, in a snowstorm, right. So we had to drive up to Elko on Tuesday night. Now here's the thing we lost, probably cause we were on a bus for 19 hours, right, doesn't help. I mean, I'm going to try to make excuses, it was a close one. But then, elko that night, I think they had not that night. Thursday night they had to go make way to again. I think they drove down to, uh, montello, if I remember right, they had a wrestle Tuesday and Thursday and that was the only year they did that. That was it. That was done. I was going to say I hope there were decisions made.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was. Uh. They were like, yeah, this is not good, so we're not going to do it anymore.
Speaker 2:But not, not safe at all. Well, I mean, I'm glad you guys made it through it. So what we're honestly, what were some of those? If you could compare other duels to those, like because you guys run a bus for so long, and how, how did you guys perform? Did you guys notice a difference?
Speaker 3:Well, I, I did great, I bit my kid but we, we didn't do well as a team. I mean, we had a, so we had a. Good that that year would have been freshman year. And then, going on to my senior year, we had a? Um, the sophomore, like the Jeremy and Jody Melmans uh, josh, I'm throwing out the names here that, um, you know, if you go look on the board, these guys are on there and, uh, those are our sophomores and they were, they were, they were, uh, you know, I, I was, I was still the leader, right, I did, but we were still the leadership group, but those guys were, those guys really carried, carried the weight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so to speak, and so it was like a class below you. That was like a pretty, pretty decent group that came up. That I mean that still solidifies the team.
Speaker 3:you know, having that so we, we wrestled, uh, we won regionals that year as well. And this is I like to say this was the, this was the up of of right stone wrestling right, and I'm not saying I started that, that's uh, that's when Matt verbaten came aboard. Right, matt, my senior year was his first year. So, bill, I mean, I gotta give, I hope Bill listens to this, because Bill verbaten, other than my dad, my dad, was the best dad wrestling coach ever, or, I'm sorry, wrestling dad ever, because he didn't do any sports so he didn't know any better. My dad was just, he worked hard, he worked third shift and he was always at my mat. Oh, he was always there. He would work third shift till seven o'clock.
Speaker 3:And then he would come and he'd be there. I know I know my dad would. Um, he would drive the bus too A lot of times for our youth, youth stuff, oh really. He would drive us to the tournament. He would work all night, drive us to the tournament and then he would go sleep on the bus and then, when, when I was about ready to wrestle, my mom would go get him wake him up, he'd come watch me wrestle and then he'd go back in the bus and sleep.
Speaker 3:So it's like man I always say, it's like my dad didn't, didn't talk a lot, didn't you know? He wasn't very effective, he wasn't very huggy and you know great job or anything. But here's the best lesson he provided for us we never we were, we never. We never had a lot of money and I never knew it right. And he was, he was always there, right, that's awesome. He was always there and I could have lost, I could have won. It was always like you know, make good job, you know nice job.
Speaker 2:There's more. Yeah, yeah, keep, keep fighting. That's awesome and that's uh, cause I haven't I haven't asked you a whole lot about that. I asked him just about everybody, your support system, you know, like as far as in athletics and sports, and you just, you know, pointed out that your dad wasn't in sports. It wasn't, it wasn't something that he had. I mean, obviously they came from a different time too. It's not like they had, you know, all kinds of sports everywhere when you know, especially in small towns. So what was how? How about your mom? What was? Where was she? Where was she with the sports? Was she along or was she just at home? When you got home and asked how you did, yep, she was all in there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she, my parents are just, uh like, not big sports people, but they just they love their kids and they support their kids. You know, I always tell this, I tell stories that like um, because my parents were just, they were blue collar people, right, they glue. I mean, if you think about it, my parents were born during the, you know, during the World War II era, right? So it's like I tell stories like um, you know, like my parents are so awesome and supportive. We didn't have a lot of money, but I didn't know it, right, it was. There was always food and I and I I look back on little things that happened that I'm like, oh yeah, we didn't have a lot of money. Like sometimes our meals were toast, gravy poured over top of them and peas on them, right, I mean that's yeah, that's.
Speaker 2:that's what you have, maybe a little brown swagger, you know what's in a while.
Speaker 3:I didn't like brown swagger, no, but but yeah, they were just, they were supportive. They were always supportive. You know I did football, I did all these things, but they were always other than one or two times where they, you know they'd go on their bowling tournament vacations or something like that. But you know they were always, always there. And uh, you know I tell I tell people this story because I'm trying to.
Speaker 3:You know, I teach young men nowadays and I'm like dude, I'm always trying to tell them hey, you got a man up, you got a man up, you know, and like, take charge, like if, as a man, if something's wrong in your family I'm not talking when kids are a little but with something's wrong in your family, you got to, you got to pull up the bootstraps and you got to do it. And I learned that from my dad. I watch my dad. Um, I tell the story often. I don't remember. I'm going to say I was an eighth grader. I can't remember how old I was, but I was sitting there eating my cereal and my dad fought a fire all night long because he was a volunteer fireman in in Wright's town. Wow, fought a fire, came in at about 630. Yeah, he went downstairs, he showered. Yeah, he sat right next to me, put on his work boots and he went to work.
Speaker 2:Right, it's like dad was an iron man.
Speaker 3:Without saying a word. My dad taught me unless you're dead, you get up and do what you're supposed to do. Wow. There it was. So that had great support system. My mom, you know I was there and then, um, my, um, bill verbatim is like you know, it's like I, he bill bill taught me lessons without even really saying a lot, right? He, uh, I just wanted to perform for that guy, right. I would run through.
Speaker 3:I would run through brick walls for him. And then, um, you know, he one time my, after my junior year, I lost that sectional first round. I was done, yeah, and uh, I did something stupid and I won't get into that because it's not, it's not important, but I did something stupid. And then the next day Bill verbatim saw me, just by chance, and I don't know how Bill found out that I did something stupid, but all he looked at me. He said hey, how last night go? And I was like I looked at him, I went not too good and he said, or I said I can't remember how to what I said to him, but also he looked at me and he goes well, did it help Meaning like what I did? Did it help the situation? I went, nope, and Bill didn't say a word and I just walked away. And he walked away and that's all I needed, right? I?
Speaker 2:knew that.
Speaker 3:Bill moved. He taught me a lesson. I'm like yep and there, there it was.
Speaker 2:There are guys that have that right, I mean, and some of these guys that have that they they were competitors. They may not have been awesome in sports, but they're awesome in sport, like they're great and can connect with kids and they know the way to kind of convey a message, and to me that's all that matters. I mean, if you can, I don't care if you want NCAA championships, does it help? Of course it helps, but if you have a coach that can connect with a kid or I make a difference. That's how I was with soccer. I mean I enjoyed coaching kids in soccer.
Speaker 2:I mean taking a, you know kids that don't even know how to kick it properly and by the end you can tell that they're going to be really good. You know, and that's the best part, and you guys do a lot of that I mean, especially with what you're doing now. You know you're building character, you're building, you're putting, you're instilling something in them that you know maybe sometimes you're not getting at home. You know that's that's with an athlete as well. That's not even just a, just a regular everyday kid. These athletes carry these some of these troubles around and they have to learn how to deal with it and not just hide it, because that's when bad things happen, you know. So they got to be able to handle stuff. So, even more commendable to you and taking on kind of what your dad does and how your dad is by, you know you're always doing, you're giving.
Speaker 2:Also, you know your dad was a volunteer firefighter like plus having a you know the regular job. I mean that's tough. That reminds me of my wife's dad, that's. I mean those guys grind it out. They work during Christmases, you know things like that. They didn't take time off and when they took time off it was valuable time and they made sure that they were spending time with their family. You know right, and that's that's an awesome environment to come up, and so that explains a lot about why who you are, you know that's. It speaks volumes. So, as you're, you have this you're great family that you're a part of and you, I know you probably had wants and goals to go to, you know college or do what you know big things. Once you got out of high school, what were your thoughts going into like, you know, just kind of regular life thoughts going in your junior and senior year? Did you have a plan? Did you not have a plan?
Speaker 2:You know, you don't seem like a wing it kind of guy.
Speaker 3:I'm not a wing it kind of guy, but I'm also, you know, I was blessed with the gift of of working hard, right. But yeah, you know, I, for as far as intelligence and things like that, I got to work. You know, it's like getting good grades, these people that just can, oh, I'm going to go, you know, not study or study night before. It's like that annoys me, right. And but my kids, I tell, I tell my kids this all the time. It's like I, they're like, oh, so-and-so does this, and they're just that. And I said, yeah, but you were blessed with the gift of working hard and so, and if, if, if you have a kid, that's just good and he doesn't work hard and you got a kid that works hard, give me that kid every day, because eventually they'll pass them right, correct? So I was thinking about this because I'm like, how do I convey this? If you're going to ask me about I don't know where this is going to go, but you have an idea, right.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 3:So I went into my senior year, kind of starting to get good, like, okay, I'm not, I'm not bad, right, yeah, but I had no. Like everybody, I was. Nobody in my family ever went to college. Right, we were blue college. So did I have any askings going to college? No, none. I just figured in the Green Bay area, what do people do? I mean, there's a lot of paper, paper mills. Am I just going to go to a factory? That's what all of them? Yep, that's what. I can look north to Green Bay they're there. I can look south to the Appleton area they're there. Right, that's probably what I'm going to do. Right, I'm going to do something like that.
Speaker 3:So here's kind of this story in a nutshell. Right, so I had my senior year. Everything's going good, I'm winning tournaments, and then you know it's funny, you know you think you're good and then you go against somebody better and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm not that good, right. And the problem I had is I was really good at a double-aque takedown. Okay, I was so good at it that I never developed anything else. And so then you get to the state tournament. You're like you should try a double-aque tournament against some stud. You're like, oh crap, not what I'm going to do, I've never developed anything else.
Speaker 3:But I say all that to say this is that I went into my senior year. I went into the state first time, qualifying and my first match was done. Like I walked out there and I was caught up into the barn. You know people on top, you know caught up in the barn and I've never wrestled an environment like that. I couldn't even. I remember pretty much everything, all my matches. I barely even remember that match. Boom, before I know it it's over.
Speaker 3:I was like I don't remember, I don't remember the score because I still block it out, right, but I'm much energy in there. Yeah, here is. Here's the whole thing. I'm a huge man of faith. Right, I won't preach, but I prayed a lot that year. I prayed All.
Speaker 3:I wanted was a medal, all I wanted was a medal and I'm kind of like a hey, that's good enough. Like you know, I don't have to win a championship, I don't have to, but if I get a medal I'm good. That was my mentality and I'm like I come to my next match and I'm like, oh, and I'll tell you the line of it is, I lose two to one. But I'm like they always say, you know, god's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Right, that's a, that's a. That's a famous country song and I know for a fact and I and here's what I know, I rest.
Speaker 3:First round, I wrestled Jeremy Godstick from Somerset, lost. Second round, I wrestled this McCulloch kid who, big farm kid from Judah, I can't remember his first name. Okay, right, nobody rides me, nobody ever rides me out. We end the first period. That one minute. First period ended zero, zero. Second period he gets a reversal. I can escape immediately. Well, no problem, I'm gonna go in the third period and I'm gonna get an escape and I'm gonna go to an overtime if I have to, because my conditioning is awesome. Yeah, and I'm gonna. I'm gonna take him down, boom, I'm gonna win this thing. I'm gonna get my bet, I'm gonna be happy. It's gonna be good enough, and then I'm gonna end up working for the rest of my life, right, right, keep mine, Let me. Let me digress a little bit. I'm a, I'm a C student and I'm, and I earn my C. I'm not. It's not like I'm a C student, I just coasted like today, kids, I think you post and they just give him grades.
Speaker 2:Oh, I was a.
Speaker 3:C student. Yeah, and I, this kid from Judah rides me like you wouldn't believe. I'm doing Grammys, I'm doing standing Grammys, I'm doing flip shrugs, I'm doing everything that worked. My wow In this kid, like one time I think I'm out and I don't know I'm not. I'm not telling you the mind thing or anything. Oh right, he's behind me, he's me, he's on me. Matches over raises hand. He wins two to one my career, like I think wrestling is done and I go into. I'm crying yeah, I'm, I'm done because my whole identity was wrestling right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this is this is who I was. This is what I did. It's like people saw me in the hallway. There's Steve. He's the wrestler right. Yeah right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this is. This is not true, but this is, you know, 18 year old, thinking yeah and I think I'm done. I talk about mom, right, your mom, my awesome, my mom is my mom. Yeah, tell something's wrong. I'm in a funk, I'm in a depression. It's Monday, I'm in school and I think teachers knew something was wrong. I'm. I'm in the art room. I went out for art, I went up for art, I took art my senior year. I'm a terrible artist, right, the only reason why I took our. There's not a lot of elective in the right sound and and the art teacher was very attractive. Her name was Jeannie Hendricks, I'll just say this lover. She was awesome, so I took.
Speaker 3:I really like and she was awesome, she was a great and she so. I'm, I can't, I can't, I can't handle what's going on. And I go to her room and I just start crying and she puts me she's got this back room she puts me in there and I'm I'm just reading a book, I'm doing something, I'm sitting there and also my mom calls the school and talks to the guidance coach. This is the blessing of small schools, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:my mom calls the school she and I didn't know this at the time but also Kim Powell, our guidance counselor, comes walking in also I don't know she's there. And also she puts her hand on my back and I'm like what the heck's going on here, what you know? And she just starts talking to me yeah, yeah, yeah and all this kind of stuff and come out to I said I basically you know, you talk about crying. I'm crying to her and I'm saying, well, my whole life was wrestling, my whole identity is wrestling, and and I'm done, and I'm now, I'm just gonna do this and I'm not gonna go to college. And she looks at me, she goes why don't you go to college?
Speaker 3:And I was like nobody had ever said that to me, for nobody ever even Interesting press the question. Nobody've ever. And I'm looking at her like I go, can I? And she goes sure you can. I said it'll take some work. And she, she, she goes sure you can. I looked at her and she had there was no laughing, there was no. That's on Lurk ones didn't go to college, right. It was like we were there's, there's pecking orders, right, there's school, yeah. And also she's like sure you can. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, okay, and also we went through this long process of trying to get me in college and I and I said the first college applied to was white water got rejected and I'm getting rejected all over the place. Sure and.
Speaker 3:I say white water because obviously you know that's where I end up. But then we go full circle. Yeah, but keep in mind, let me go back to this brand. Let me go back to see why I told that story. Had I got a medal, I Would have been good, yep, if I would have got a six-place medal my senior year out to put that on my neck. I'd live with that the rest of my life and I would have been like a good. That's why I tell you this whole thing of I wanted a medal, right, but yeah, you know, someone else was looking out me say now you're not getting a medal because I still have to that I had a drive that said I am, I am going to keep wrestling, right, I want college and I want to keep. I more want to go to college to wrestle, but you know was that, was that part of the process.
Speaker 2:you were trying to also go to college to wrestle as well, or were you just trying to go to college, just go to school?
Speaker 3:I know I at first it was just I wanted to go to rest, like I just I didn't want to be done wrestling right. And I knew for okay, I'm not very mechanical inclined. I knew for a fact I didn't just want to go into a factory and work, right, I'm not that profession. I just I was like what and I was kind of depressed oh, what am I gonna do now?
Speaker 3:Like wasn't your name to me was so much fun. Yeah, it was everything to me and also just like that, really, after we came home from the Madison it was over, right. I mean, you have track, which I don't really like that much, but I just did it because the girls and you know, and I'm gonna graduate and now what am I gonna do, right? And and also she helped me get in and the only college that accepted me was Dubuque. White water already declined me. I get into buke, I'm going, I'm going to Dubuque, right here, I'm gonna go.
Speaker 3:And long story short is Willie Myers, who, willie Myers, has passed away, but I could tell you stories about Willie Myers. Great guy, love that man. He called me up one day and he said, hey, we'd like you to come wrestle for me. And I said, well, I would love to. This is back with the cords on the phones at the wall and I'm walking, yeah, right, and I would love to, but you, I already got declined. And he goes oh, he was, let me check into something. He calls me back two days later and he says you're in. I'm like, how awesome is that? And and here, here's the cool.
Speaker 3:The long story short is I get into, I get into, I get into college, I get into, and, and I and I say that because the the blessing of hard work, right, right, yeah, I don't. Naturally, I don't have a lot. You know, intelligence isn't just like oh, I look at something go, oh, there it is. I have to work here. And I, I knew this, I love, I love my parents, I love over maiden, I love, I'm a maiden, or I can tell stories. And Willie Myers got me into college on what I call a jock override, right, yeah, and he only gets a couple of those per year and I said I will not embarrass Willie Myers, because so many jock overrides that get in. You had that mentality.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's how you were built, right? They?
Speaker 3:they fail out and I ended up. It's so funny because I had you know. My GPA in high school is probably two, eight, two, nine. I remember what it was. I was so hard, I studied so hard, I got the ropes in college right. I got those, you know and I graduated I had like a three, three, six, five or something like that nice.
Speaker 3:It was. It was so, it was so stinking cool. But I worked hard, right, and and, and. Here's the thing if people out there, the kids, are listening this, don't be afraid. Like, if things don't come natural, don't worry about it, because there's so many kids that I went to high school with that Studying was easy, or school is easy for them. They went in their first semester within the year. They all dropped out, right, yes, and here I am C student and I'm going to college. I graduated honors and so, anyway, that's an eye-opener.
Speaker 2:I mean so what, where? So you had that, obviously, that that portion that that that was the end. Where, where were you like in your junior year, like when you? What weight were you at at those You're talking?
Speaker 3:back in high school, right? Yeah, yeah, junior. Yeah, it was 35, 60, 60 and then I wrestled 71. I cut down from football at 185 and wrestled 171.
Speaker 2:All right. So you were yeah, because you had that big spurt. So we're where. Were you not as far as I mean, why weren't you? Was it a grade thing back then, like I, because I didn't get recruited by college at all, my grades were not good enough Were you getting like like letters or anything like that from anywhere? Just just nope, nothing.
Speaker 3:Okay, I really didn't I mean other until I cut other than qualifying for state. I didn't have a lot of accolades, right and sure. That's. The thing too is sometimes, you know, I think, with all this kids that are, oh, your state, qualifier this as our state champ as a freshman, I think we don't. We don't allow kids to. You know, like I didn't really come into my own, I I wrestled 171 my senior year, my freshman year of college, so I was supposed to wrestle 77 different weight classes back then. Yeah, from my Sophomore, from February 171 to the time I reported to campus in August, I was about 205 pounds. Right, it's like nice things just started to fill out. I hit the way room and also I'm like.
Speaker 3:Well, I feel like that looks pretty stinking good, so I knew I'm one 190 right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm no doctor, but I think there is like one more growth spurt you go to once you get into college. There's that last like push-up test, osperon, because you see these guys just leaning out and turning into absolute monsters, right I mean. So it's, it's kind of interesting to see that you, we know, as these kids grow through high school and and things like that we're you finding yourself in an advantage. Being tall. Was that part, was that part of the part of the winning? Because that's Liam's kryptonite is tall guys.
Speaker 3:Oh talk, guys, really. By the way, I know you said that we're not, but I feel like I'm yeah, I'm getting too excited. I feel like I'm yelling here. I'm not too loud or anything.
Speaker 2:No, absolutely not Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, all you want I'm getting. I didn't think I was gonna be this excited talk about, but it's kind of fun. Um, no, you know, I don't know if I was necessarily that tall. I mean, I think at 190 in college, guys are, yeah, right around my height and 71 okay. In high school I don't remember a big height yeah. I had long arms right if that. If that helps you know that always helps.
Speaker 2:That was well I like. Is it, like I said, steve, the stills? I mean sure you're a tall dude so I can only imagine I'm 510, so staying next to you is. I was like, oh, you're okay, this is different than on camera. You're up here now, sure, so it's.
Speaker 2:It's kind of interesting to see how guys gonna you know, and it was different back then, you know, we didn't have I Actually I want to take that back. I watched some old Iowa matches right 1986, watching their singles and doubles and stuff like that all look the same, right. I think it was the top game. That was a little different. It's a little a little more technical with turns and things like that, but even some of those were the same. So the times haven't changed. We just have a new twist on a lot of things, you know, which is kind of fun, but when, when you're kind of competing within the state and then you know you got the, there were no forums back then. We didn't have computers and internet. So I mean, talk around time, but what were, what were some of the Rivalries that you had like were there back and forths for you? The guy like you kind of had those like man. I got him one time and he got me the next day. I never got an opportunity to get it back.
Speaker 3:Are you having you back and are you going back to high school?
Speaker 2:Yeah, back in high school. We're gonna come back a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had. I had a big time rival and and he was from well other than team-wise Freedom was our. You know, they're our big rival. Yeah, and I think when we beat them my senior year I think I might be clerk could tell you this he's from Wright's under coaches that Freedom now helps out there. Yeah, we lost him. He jumped over the wall and got in there. But he were talking one day and I thought Wright's own had never won before, but he told me it was different. But I know that at least late 80s, early 90s, all that kind of stuff, we hadn't won a long time in my senior year, we, we won.
Speaker 3:So team-wise but I would tell you and I know Nick Miller and Perry Miller from brilliant might hear this but I had a guy my junior year. His name was Andy Conrad and oh, you talk about height advantage. I was like you talk about still. So, yeah, I'm a Close to as tall as I am now in any kind. So we both wrestled 160.
Speaker 3:He was like here I mean I I might be exaggerating that was a foot taller than him, I think I am right he. So here was the thing he had. He would we call the pancake, right, he'd suck my arm in my arms along. He went the light of stupid thing going. I don't have a lot of pay, I just was constantly going and he would pancake me, I think every time. We wrestled three times that year and every single time he was winning. But my gas tank is good, and every single time in the third period I came back and I and I won. So but we didn't like each other much. We saw each other at different times and we would just kind of like scoff at each other and stuff like that. But yeah, yeah, that was. He was probably my individual biggest rival in high school.
Speaker 2:That's cool. That's cool, okay. So now we're gonna kind of scoop. Now we're gonna scoop more in the college. Now I had to. I had to get that little tidbit of info because that everyone's got that little, that little Achilles heel you know that, that one that always got away from, or they. They wanted to try and get it back, but they never got it back. But when you, as you started, you know you talked about getting into college. It wasn't something you thought was possible. So you're getting this opportunity right. Then you're not gonna let this guy down. We talked about work ethic and and the way you were raised and when. When you got into that room, where were you kind of put? Because I know, obviously you're, you gotta have a partner. So where you put with, like the top guy in the room, like you're gonna work with this guy and that's how it's gonna be, or did he kind of hey, start here? You know we'll get you over here and then we'll work you to here. How? How was he as a coach? You're?
Speaker 3:talking Willie Myers. Yeah, oh well, willie Myers, a great guy. I mean he didn't do it that particular time in his life. He didn't do a lot of the. You know he was more the face of the program. We had some okay okay, rob, rob Lorca look at that name, I mean there was there. He was a two-time national champ for whitewater and there were guys that were afraid of Rob Lorca. Kent Weiler, you know that, oh yeah oh yeah, I didn't wrestle a lot with Kent.
Speaker 3:He wrestle, but those were like the student coaches, nice.
Speaker 2:Okay while.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you this to a little shout to him. There were two times in college where he gave me my campus tour. So I had a connection with him, but two different times in my life. Kent Weiler, you know I won't go into stories, but I Some, some issues came up in my life and he he was the guy that sat down, prayed with me, did all that kind of stuff and help me, help me out. So I just got to give a shout out to Kent Weiler. There's all these as you look back in your story, in your life. There's we don't get here by ourselves, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah right.
Speaker 3:I was a turtle, get on a fence post. You know somebody put it there, right, but it's Kent Weiler. He's a he's a pretty good, you know, influential guy as far as you know. Yeah, at that at that time of my life, but yeah, I don't. I mean I don't remember a lot for my first year. I just remember was rough, right. I mean you walk in and you know, like anything, you think you know you're pretty good, and then everyday practice is a grind, right.
Speaker 3:And yeah, I know you're kind of get better. It's, it's hard, it's hard.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I didn't compete my freshman year, I quote, you know, quote unquote, redshirted, but I was there every day, every day of practice, I never. And I remember talking to Luke Francois that's a name, luke Francois, kind of big in the wrestling world, at least he was yep and I remember we were at a social About a month after the season and I remember standing next to him and we're just talking and he looked at me. You know, we're just standing there like this and yeah, I mean he goes, he goes. Lurkman. Well, lurch, you know, that's the they called me in college. We won't go there. Oh boy, he goes. I never thought you were gonna make it. And I'm like, wow, I mean, it was kind of a compliment but kind of an insult, right, right, right, that's me. It's like I'm just gonna hold on. Yeah, I'll take the good out of that.
Speaker 2:That's right. Well, I mean, that's honestly like you said, it's a grind. It's not a high school room. Even back then, I mean, the college scene was still different, like it was still. You had to step it up a notch because these guys are all national competition type level guys and you weren't in the same room anymore With the workouts and things like that. Like did you, were you surprised yourself, like that? You were able to push through it all. I mean it's hard, you know, especially that first year.
Speaker 3:No, the workouts. I don't wanna say the workouts were easy, because they weren't, but I thrived on the workouts. It was just the hard part was the mental. You know like these guys are good.
Speaker 2:Yeah right.
Speaker 3:That was the mental side, was the hard part for me.
Speaker 2:That's the toughest hill. Yeah for sure.
Speaker 3:I had no problem. I mean I'll run till I puke and get up and run some more. You know, that's kind of how I went.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. That's awesome. So you get through your first year of college. What were some of the highlights you remember from? Just to? Obviously you're kind of off to the side, but did they put you in any opens or?
Speaker 3:Nope, I didn't compete at all. I was a let me you know. We're sharing full disclosure here. I was a mama's boy. I was a big time mama's boy.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:I was still too connected to home, right Sure, I didn't want it to be I didn't want to compete, I wanted to practice. I wanted because I wanted to go home and see my old high school wrestle every chance I could. That's crazy.
Speaker 3:I'm proud of the fact that I, like I went to Wright's Towns football game last night. I'm proud of the fact that I'm still very connected to my hometown, right, yeah, so we have good friends there. I'm very proud to be from Wright's Town. It's like every chance I get I brag oh yeah, here they are. You know, hey, it's a great little town, man, it's great. Two teams from the Northeast and Conference made the state tournament right, almost three right. I was able to get my load. I mean, that's a, that's a. And then I was kind of proud too, like Kokona was one step from being there. I'm like man, look at, I'm talking to this person that I teach with, which they probably didn't care, but I'm like man, look at all these teams from this area that might be at stake.
Speaker 3:Kokona is one of them, yeah, this person, you know whatever. I just don't. I don't know if they're not just to agree or not, but what was your question? Your question was I can't remember what you were doing. Well, I think it was. I mean, I didn't compete at all.
Speaker 3:You didn't compete at all. That's. I think that's why Luke Francois was so surprised, because I didn't compete. I didn't, I didn't want to compete. I told William and I just said I don't, I just want to be here. And most people want to say I just want to come practice. Yeah, hold on, I got to update, or something Said update your computer, hopefully it doesn't do it. Oh boy, no, it's good. I said later on or something, I don't know man, all this technology stuff and I think that's why Luke Francois was was surprised is because most people that say, oh yeah, I just want to come up and practice, most people fade away, but I don't say something unless I'm going to do it Right.
Speaker 1:If I say, if I start something, but if I say, yeah, I just want to practice.
Speaker 3:most people, yeah, that's what, that's what people say to, so they can quietly fade away. So yeah. Yeah, I was there. And then I, just I, I would go home almost every weekend cause I was a mama's boy. And then I wanted to see, I wanted to see my old teammate. I was very tight with my old teammates, I wanted to see them compete, and so I didn't start competing to my what would have been my sophomore year.
Speaker 2:So, regardless of how you, you know, obviously you didn't compete, but it sounds like you gained some respect from some guys as far as just the the obviously a different path, but they saw a difference. So when you're coming again, your sophomore year now, where competition, did you find that there was a little more, I wouldn't say for forgiveness or but a little more of a hey, all right, come on along, we, you know we, we know that you're into it and we know that you want to be a part of it. Did you feel a little more camaraderie then going into that year? I would think so.
Speaker 3:I mean, I I'm not saying that guys are banging on you your freshman year or anything like that, but I was pretty, I was I my, my freshman year, I already had respect for the team cause we would do oh yeah, we would do a pre-season workouts and we'd go run and then we'd go play tackle football and okay, okay. And you know, I I didn't have a lot of talent on the football field, but I was a scud missile, right, If you remember back, chuck Cecil soccer, that's right.
Speaker 3:I emulated Chuck Cecil and I just led with everything and I was not afraid. I mean, you don't get to face this pretty from not leaning your head out there and I, we would play football. And I remember this one kid that nobody liked. I laid him out my freshman year and I didn't know who he was. I just he was carrying the football and I was going to.
Speaker 3:Just you know an item and I did, and I went flying and everybody was like, and I, I was at the library one night and I heard Billy Cross if you know Billy, Billy Cross, oh yeah. And I overheard him talking to somebody else and they said, yeah, they were like you should have saw it. Some freshmen just laid out and they said the guy's name who I can't even remember, and I was like I was sitting around the corner, I'm like that was me, that was me, I did that, I did that. So I kind of already had a little respect. That was just right. Like I said I would go up in the restroom and just wrestle hard right. And then software years started, made varsity and started wrestling.
Speaker 2:All right. So what was what was your first duel like? What was that like for you to be able to compete for that first time?
Speaker 3:My first competition was the. It was in Parkside, the Parkside Open that they have. Oh okay, my first match. I won, right. And then Nice. My next match was Jeff Bershbach. If you know of Jeff Bershbach the name, he was from Campbell's board. He was a two time state champ and he manhandled me, so he was pretty good. But I just remember his hands he talked about hands Like I think he would. He would grab my wrist and his hands would wrap around my wrist twice. I think I just couldn't get away. So I lost that. I won too, lost too, but I don't know. I don't know. I mean, if I think I remember my year, it was like 12 and 15 or something like that.
Speaker 3:So it wasn't great, it wasn't bad, but it was. It was fun. I enjoyed it Nice.
Speaker 2:Nice, so we're. When you guys had duels at home, was it a pretty cool environment with your, with your I don't know if it was just a gym at that time Cause, again, even colleges were a little different, Unless you were like a huge, you know big money college, you guys still had just had regular little gyms that you kind of competed in. What was that like for you guys?
Speaker 3:Same, same same, as it is the gym that's there now the Williams Center and we had okay fans, it wasn't, it was okay environments, it was. You know, I think that was probably the the hard, fart, Hard, fart, hard part. Right Is you're in high school and you go from we had pretty full gyms, right and then you go to college and it's like yeah, you know you.
Speaker 3:If you're not, you know, I'm not saying like I, you know you go to Iowa or wherever else, these right. But if you go to college thinking, hey, I'm going there for the fanfare and you're going there for the wrong reason, right. You're going there for you're going there for to wrestle for you and for your, your boys, your teammates.
Speaker 2:That's right, that's right. So we know that you got the fire, you, you like, you know you're, you're on fire. I mean, two and two at a tournament like that's pretty good, you know. So, especially your first time competing in college, I'll I'll go ahead and put it out there. But with, with what you started to feel, did you start to kind of like had you grown through, had you gone through another spurt where you said it was like what, two, 10 or something like that. It was what you kind of came in at.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got about two 10. That was probably two or five. Two 10 was my in college, my, my heyday.
Speaker 2:Okay, russell, that that weight. No, no, I wrestle 190. Oh, one at a time. Okay, 190.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm blessed with this great metabolism and if I stop if I stop lifting weights hardcore, like even even this people gets so mad at me because I'm, I'm, I'm approaching the five zero right, I'm a couple of years away from that. And people get so mad because I eat like a horse and if, and I, I'm eating constantly, I'm nonstop, and I'm like, if I stop lifting weights like right now, I weigh about 215 pounds if I stop lifting weights, brad, I kid you not, in about two weeks I'd be down to 205 in the snap of a fingers and I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be fat. It's like it's nuts.
Speaker 2:Right, right, I'm kind of. I'm kind of the if I like I'm sedentary now with work I don't move as much, so I have to like if I don't work out, I'm done. Right, if I don't get on that, I'm sitting right over by our, by our air dine here. If I don't get on that word, you're going to be looking at a dude that you let the roll out the door. Sure you know, because it's just, it's insane. So, with with your college career on a roll here, where were some of the the higher points as you kind of got through the season? Where? Where did you wind up wrestling and what were some of the competitions? Did you have to compete to get into a tournament to like the NCAAs, like what did you guys have what? What division were you in then? What was it like? I don't even remember those.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we were division three where the we act. I don't know if it's still the we act now it's same. I mean the same, other than, excuse me, river Falls had wrestling then and the South I don't think River Falls and Stout had wrestling, okay, so you know, we were, we were eight teams and we were eight tough teams, right, and uh, yeah, so basically our qualifier then was, if you so, our conference. So Iowa got the most individual qualifiers and then our conference got the second. I think we got 23 or 24.
Speaker 3:Okay, okay, you know, and I think this would be good just to you know, because obviously I know you want to get the podcast and stuff and I don't want to take too much your Friday night.
Speaker 2:But uh, no, dude, that's what we're here for, the the um, my college career?
Speaker 3:not bad, right. So software year was was my freshman, whatever you want to say, not bad Junior did okay. Um, my senior year, no, whatever, it doesn't matter. My third year of wrestling. I was just going, yeah, yeah was my best year. I was like it was, it was crazy and I our conference, we got 23 individual qualifiers and uh, so the all the champs went and then they the like I think at 118 pounds we took five guys. That's all good, 118 pound weight class. Wow, other way.
Speaker 3:Well, I wrestled 190 and I had I. I lost first run. I lost to this whole Claire kid and it was like, oh my gosh, what the heck? Who is this guy? I can't believe I just lost. And then also, I just went on this like I. I am so nervous before. I wish I'd have learned what I learned at that tournament. I wish I'd have my whole career because I was constantly nervous. You know, before you and I went, I went and took my uh nervous bathroom break.
Speaker 2:I would do that a couple of times before I'd wrestle each time Like I'd go like I got to go to the bathroom, then I go for a year and all and nothing would come out Right. And uh.
Speaker 3:I was always nervous and butterflies and stuff, and all of a sudden I lost that first round. The best thing that ever happened. Also, I'm like I don't care, I don't care, I'm just going to go, I'm just going to go nuts. I ended up wrestling back. I ended up, um, uh, you know, I granted this is high school, but Chad Bomenic is a guy from Bayport. He was a state champ. That sounds familiar. Yeah, and he, I had to wrestle him. I won.
Speaker 3:I beat this kid from somewhere and then I had to. I had never beaten Chad Bomenic, he, he would cradle me up. I wrestled him two times before he's from Steven's point. He would just man handle me. I went out there and I'm singing this song and I wouldn't say the name of song because it's I think it's not appropriate. It's like one of those songs you're like oh, I think that's not a good song. But I'm going out, I'm putting on my green ankle band and I'm singing this song in my head. I might even be singing it out loud. I'm kind of like, and I don't have a lot of rhythm and I got the swagger.
Speaker 3:I'm kind of and I go out and I don't want to. I don't know what the final score was, but I beat him, I beat him. Yeah, I beat him so bad he thought he was going to nationals and I beat him and he was over for the rest of the day sitting. I'm not trying to bag bag him, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:But that's how you felt. Then, yeah, yeah, right, oh great. And then I went on and I took third. And here's the thing, brad, this is like I'm so, like I'm not upset about this, but I am yeah. Yeah, I took third and they were going to take me. They're like dude, that guy's got to go because I won my next third and I was like I'm on a roll but I'd spend it so much energy. This was going to be the wrestle back with my fifth match of the day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was going to say it by the six. Oh, and there will be no wrestle back.
Speaker 3:Well, our manager, who's a sweet little girl, a little girl meaning like young, whatever.
Speaker 2:Younger than you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she goes running over to the score table with the books and she points out that no, no, I didn't wrestle the guy that took second. So there's a wrestle back. Yeah, it's all. There's been no wrestle back. I would have went to Nationals and then I wrestled this wrestle back. The guy's name, I think, was Bill Sallander or Sallander. He's from Holman. He was a River Falls wrestler. He cheap-tilled me, he did he put, he started. I didn't even really know what a cheap-tilt was. He cheap-tilled me so many times and I lose the match like 14 to 3 or something like that and I so bad that they looked and said, yeah, we don't want this extra qualifier, we're going to take somebody out. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:So, I was, I was, I was pretty close to you know, whatever, whatever.
Speaker 2:Whatever, but still, I mean you, like you said, you hit a switch, you're like I don't care, right, I'm letting it fly, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 3:I wish I'd had that my whole life, because I was always worried, always nervous, like what about this, what about this, what about this? And then yeah, that's.
Speaker 2:Say that's, I mean watching today, like some of the kids today, that's the mental block, like they're trying to be so tight, you know, and you just got to let it go. Let it go Like right now. You know, I even tell Liam it's the, these duels, it matters, right, it's a team thing. Right In the, in the grand scheme of the individual thing, this is practice for there. Right, you want to do what you need to do and you need, you know, still need to, you know, put up points, but this is to get better, to get there. So, yes, you can make some small mistakes and you'll iron those out by the time you get to state, right, but but even in college it's, it's the same thing, like it seems, like it's a buildup, obviously to the nationals.
Speaker 2:You know, everybody already kind of knows where they're sitting at in college, when you kind of start out, you know your team is ranked wherever it is, but just the level of the room. So, as you guys start competing through the season and getting through all these seasons, what kind of what? What was the, what was the era, or or in the room, as you guys are trying to get ready for a college season, a lot of kids don't know what that's like. You know, as far as getting into the tournament season, the end of it, what's that like in a room? Does it pick up the pace more? Are you guys? You know, even back then was that kind of how it was Like towards the end of the season. You guys are just a little bit grinding, a little bit more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're talking college, right, College? Yeah, yeah, it's higher intensity. I mean, the room is. You know, I'm sad to say that every year we start out with about 60 guys and by this time we're down to 25. You know, our fun part was is, every time the kid would quit, we would go into their mesh bag and grab their shorts. So I'd end up having, like you know, 14 pairs of wrestling shorts and all that kind of stuff. Like, hey, another tragedy, here we go, I get the. But there was some pride to that too, Like I didn't want to see kids quit. But there's strength in knowing that. Here's what I know. I know I'm not great, but I know I'm not quitting. Right. Right, if you know that, if you already have that established, you can accomplish so much, the decision is already made.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's all second nature.
Speaker 3:Well, if you're not battling that every day, you can just all right, I get. What do I got to do? I got to run, I got to lift, I got to do all these things to get better. So that's yeah. But yeah, the intensity was higher and you know, it's like every like every program, the intensity starts to ramp up some.
Speaker 2:So you get into your last year, well, and we won't go junior senior last year of wrestling in college. What were some memories you take away from your last year of wrestling in college?
Speaker 3:My last year. So my junior year was probably my best. My last year was probably my most most forgettable, Most forgettable, really Most forgettable, yeah, Just because it was. It was a couple of things were happening, right, yeah, and one of those is is you're starting to realize that? You know you got a student teach, right? Oh yeah. Your future is starting to happen. And you know a full disclosure here. I did find love that senior year, so uh.
Speaker 2:How dare you?
Speaker 3:My the woman. I eventually married and you know you start looking at it going all right, here's my future, you know, and I'm not. It's not that I'm disappointed, I'm not proud of it. It's like it is what it is, right. Yeah Right, I'm a D3 college wrestler and you know, my life's, my life's starting to happen, right.
Speaker 2:What were you going to school for in the first place? What?
Speaker 3:was your, I was an education, I was a special education teacher.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, cool, very cool. So that's, that's a challenge. My placement.
Speaker 3:If you know where whitewater is, I my placement soon teaching was Walks on North, which was 46 minutes away. Okay, so it was, you know, so it was. Wow, I'm going all right.
Speaker 2:I got to drive there, come back and practice and yeah, I mean it's just, you're grinding, You're grinding, I mean you're, you're again that worker mentality, like you're always going. So we did that wear on you a little bit. That, I mean, was that kind of were you now hearing what you're kind of doing? You know you're driving and obviously you needed a degree. Did that ever kind of wane on you? As far as the season, you know, was that Well?
Speaker 3:that was. That was pretty much it. It could be because, if you think about it, I registered in my freshman year, so I technically had another year and I didn't, I didn't utilize it Right. So that was pretty much yeah, I had.
Speaker 3:I had a disappointing senior year, got hurt towards the end and then my senior year. So so I got hurt towards the end I was you know whatever and I think I think people were disappointed. If I remember, I know people were disappointed because I was turned like that point. Lacrosse was the stud school, right. Okay, and when they went to, the conference tournament.
Speaker 3:There were people from LaCrosse asking I didn't go to the conference tournament because I got hurt and I was already kind of. You know, I wasn't the same guy, right, there's those things that happened. Sure, and the LaCrosse people like I remember my, my buddy coming back, mario Traficani comes back, he goes, yeah, the LaCrosse people ask him where he were. You know, like, because at the year before, when I beat Bimbenic, they were, they were neck and neck, stephen's point, and LaCrosse were neck and neck and I'm beating Bimbenic and I'm right in front of the LaCrosse fans and I'm taking them down.
Speaker 3:And one time I took them down and I stood up to the crowd it wasn't even my crowd, I stood up to the LaCrosse crowd and they're like, yeah, and I'm like, you know, I'm doing one of these things. So I kind of became a little bit of a LaCrosse, you know, a groupie or whatever you want to call it. But and they were. So I was kind of disappointed because my team was kind of you know, I mean, there's all these different things that play and and I mentally the snap already happened where I was like, yeah, I'm kind of done and okay.
Speaker 3:So long and short of it is. My senior year wasn't the best, and then I had another year and I didn't take that because that was the whole student teaching.
Speaker 2:Hopefully your, hopefully your computer is not renewing. Well, we'll see what happens here, see if Steve can come back. Lost you Steve? Well, if we lost Steve, we may, we may end it now. I mean, we've been going for an hour and 15 minutes. He's calling me right now. He's calling me right now. What do you got, steve?
Speaker 3:Hey, so my computer is restarting, so I'm at 10%.
Speaker 2:I knew it was going to, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Well, what we'll do now? Well, hey, you know what that means. Though, because we're going to end it right now, we're going to hour 15 minutes. We're going to have you back on, and this also now allows where we can get you and Teg back on at the same time, where we can talk more stuff. Oh, are you coming? No, you're shut down. Yeah, we have a, are you?
Speaker 3:I'm still at a percentage I'm going to be too loud. Yeah, and I would love that because I think talk I really wanted to be able to share about my coaching.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Because I think I could just go there and then talk about the podcast and I'm going to do a part two. That'd be great. We're going to do a part two Again. The the Steve computer situation has struck again. But yeah, it's all good. It's all good. Well, we're gonna let everybody go with Steve. I'm gonna keep talking to you. You hold on for a second, but there's gonna be a part two. Folks, part dose, part dose. Stay tuned. We got more coming up. We appreciate everybody watching. If you guys can see at the end, go check out Appleton tattoo, check out 9 to oh hat company Sponses the show. Great guys, great companies, they do great stuff. Their socials are on everything that we have. So go check them out. But we will talk to you guys later. You.