A few months back I was the master of ceremonies of a Polar Plunge charity event held by the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. If you haven’t been, this one brings together wrestling fans of all shapes, sizes and ages to a very frozen lake just off the backside of a country club in the beginning of January in Iowa. The volunteers raise donations to sponsor them jumping into an ice cold lake to support former college wrestlers trying to become World and Olympic champions. The youngest jumper was 10 and the oldest was nearly 65. Over 40 people jumped and the event raised close to $100,000.
At the end of the evening I became a bit overwhelmed by the immense human kindness of it all and stated (choked up)... “When great people come together for a good cause, amazing things can happen!”.
Fast forward to last week in St. Louis where my Hawkeyes came up short to the Buckeyes at the NCAA Wrestling tournament. I was and still am disappointed, but time moves forward and I don’t take it personal. It was an amazing event though, the wrestling is getting better every year and the competition is the best in the world. But what ESPN didn't show you during their 3 days of stellar coverage was a former high school wrestling coach named Rob and a freshman wrestler named Colin. It’s those two people I’d like to tell you about now.
A little less than a month ago my friend Rob read an article in a local Colorado paper about a boy named Colin who has a rare disorder called Fahr's disease. It is a progressive degenerative neurological disorder where the brain actually calcifies. There is no cure and doctors told Colin that the illness will eventually kill him. Colin's response to the doctors, “I’m a wrestler, and wrestlers don’t quit!”.
Clearly that line stuck with Rob, because he is a former high school wrestling coach and current advisor to the board of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club. He immediately forwarded it to the other board members and head coach Tom Brands asking, “Can we do something for this kid?”. The response was immediate and unanimous, “You bet your ass we can!” and a plan was made.
The plan included having Colin as a guest of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Rob donated his 4 tickets to the event, hotel rooms were acquired, money for food and gas was donated and special guests were scheduled for Colin’s arrival. Once everything was in place Rob sought out the writer of the article who then facilitated a call with Colin’s high school coach. And a few days later (a week before the Championships) Rob drove up to Colin’s hometown and presented him with the tickets and all that was required to attend the championships. Colin was nice enough to bring his best friend, his father (someone had to drive) and high school wrestling coach.
Before I talk about Colin’s trip, I must first tell you about my friend Rob and his wife Barb. He’s one of the most passionate college wrestling fans I’ve ever met and she is the sweetest, most patient woman I’ve ever met. (If you read between the lines it said he’s crazy and she puts up with him). They are originally from the Dewitt, IA area and moved to Colorado several years ago to raise a family amongst the mountains. Rob worked for a roofing company he now partly owns and Barb was the Vice President of a very large financial institution while they raised two beautiful girls named Meghan and Mo.
They’re life isn’t without pain though, sadly they lost their son Neil to SIDs. Rob and his wife still volunteer as a part of a support group for young parents dealing with the same loss and Barb, who’s now retired, makes jewelry and donates the profits from her efforts to SIDs research. If that isn’t enough Barb spends most of her mornings delivering meals on wheels. Did I mention 10 years ago Rob battled stomach cancer and won?
The great thing about Rob and Barb is the fact that even though they’ve had a pretty rough go of it, they still feel every day is a blessing and they feel like they are some of the luckiest people walking the Earth (when the trust is we are lucky to have them here). They spend most of their winter months following the Hawkeye Wrestling team and fly back to Iowa for several Hawkeye Wrestling meets and most of the big tournaments (Midlands, BIGs and NCAAs) every year.
Back to Colin’s trip, upon his arrival at the hotel in St. Louis he was presented with a HWC banner for his room, shirts and hats.
And when he got to the tournament we brought him over to the suite to meet with current members of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, US National freestyle team members and legendary wrestling coach Dan Gable.
I'm pretty sure Colin had a good week even though the Hawks didn't win it all. I'm not sure though, the kid never stopped smiling enough to really talk too much.
In closing, I wrote this blog post because I wanted people to know about Rob and Colin. I also wanted people to know the Hawkeye Wrestling Club isn't just about supporting World and Olympic wrestlers, it's about supporting wrestling and the values it instills in our young adults. I think now more than ever the children of our country need wrestling, wrestling coaches and wrestling fans.
You see, my friend Rob could have just read the article and done nothing... but he didn't... Rob and his family are wrestling fans and wrestling fans are great people...
And when great people come together for a good cause, amazing things can happen!
In closing, I wrote this blog post because I wanted people to know about Rob and Colin. I also wanted people to know the Hawkeye Wrestling Club isn't just about supporting World and Olympic wrestlers, it's about supporting wrestling and the values it instills in our young adults. I think now more than ever the children of our country need wrestling, wrestling coaches and wrestling fans.
You see, my friend Rob could have just read the article and done nothing... but he didn't... Rob and his family are wrestling fans and wrestling fans are great people...
And when great people come together for a good cause, amazing things can happen!
Special thanks to Coach Gable, Matt McDonough, Phil Keddy, Tony Ramos and Brent Metcalf.
Thanks to Rob and Barb for the reminder that there is good in this world and that great things can happen through love and charity.
Thanks to Rob and Barb for the reminder that there is good in this world and that great things can happen through love and charity.
And thanks to Colin for your inspiration, you are a brave young man, it was a pleasure to meet you. You are the youngest member of the HWC, we are wrestlers and we never quit!
I leave you all with one last quote...
"I will never give up, I will never lose hope in a cure, I will never stop inspiring others to do the impossible. Defy all odds, set your goal, and dream big. It will take work, dedication, persistence, and skill, but wrestling has already taught me all these things!!"
-Colin Leypoldt
You can read more about Colin here ->
You can read Colin's writing here ->
You can view Barb’s jewelry line here ->
No comments:
Post a Comment