Mr. Gourley takes on the task of teaching wrestling to
elementary students (and even some preschool kids) in the Harrison feeder
system. He brings a lifetime of wrestling knowledge to the volunteer job, and
enjoys it immensely, as
Go Team found
out in a recent interview.
GT: What is your
primary motivation as a coach?
JKG: I took a lot out of wrestling when I was younger; it
afforded me an opportunity to wrestle for Purdue. It’s a wonderful sport; it’s
individual to a degree and afforded me some insight into life. I want to
provide these kids that same opportunity. My motivation is to just give
something back to wrestling… and these little dudes are really cool. I want to
give them the opportunity that I had.
What is one or a
couple of the most important things you want your kids to learn?
It’s truly not all about winning. It’s about – and I lecture
them constantly – sportsmanship and representing Harrison High School, and
their behavior at tournaments is a reflection on our program. I want them to be
good sports – good winners, good losers, good team mates and to reflect a good
attitude.
What is it about
wrestling that can teach a young person about life?
Sports in general can teach about life; you learn a lot
about competition, winning, losing, teamwork, that sort of thing. Wrestling is
a bit unique in that it is a team sport but you’re also in an individual
situation as you’re helping your team. But you’re out there by yourself; it’s
one-on-one and sometimes you just have to suck it up. It does toughen you up.
It’s easy when you’re tired and you’re getting your butt kicked to say ‘well,
second place isn’t that bad.’ But it’s even more difficult to find it deep down
and pull it out to keep fighting, keep your head up, and win the match.
If you can pin it
down to one – what’s one very proud moment you’ve had with this?
That’s an easy one. When my son wrestled; I really enjoyed
that. He’s a great kid… he wrestled all through grade school and when he got to
Harrison, the four years he was varsity at Harrison, he won a lot of matches as
one of the best wrestlers in the state. I was very proud. And we had fun with
it, because he didn’t ‘cut weight,’ he didn’t go to camps; he didn’t live it
and breathe it, he just went out and had fun.
You know,
wrestling’s not all just being the strongest guy out there, or the quickest
guy. I try to teach this with my kids, in that you gotta be smart. Know where
you are on the mat; know how much time is on the clock.
Who’s a coach or an
athlete or someone you look to for inspiration?
I’m kind of my own guy. It seems to me that most of the
wrestling coaches that I’ve had, and the ones that I’ve seen, they kind of
coach by intimidation and yelling, that sort of thing. I don’t yell at ‘em; I
don’t intimidate them. I coach by love; if they screw up I say, ‘hey, that
hurts my feelings – that reflects on me.’ It’s a kind of mentor thing, as
opposed to ranting and raving. I also like the guys that were able to be
effective competitively in to their later years.
Know about a coach, mentor, trainer or other leader
you’d like to see featured as our Coach of the Month? Send and email to editor@goteammagazine.com
to tell us about him or her.
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Photo Courtesy Kent Gourley