A Brief Thank You Note

A Brief Thank You Note

Before I get into our off-season letter, I would like to once again take a brief second and thank a few people that have been instrumental in helping our program to grow and become as successful as it is.

We are truly blessed to have an Athletic Administration team that includes Kerri Buck (Athletic Secretary) and is led by Nate Weihrauch (Athletic Director). Over the last decade, he has continued to do the best that he can to support Findlay City Schools’ efforts to not only produce great athletes but also great citizens. Through his leadership we now have a state of the art track and a beautifully renovated Main Gymnasium and weight room. Those are just three examples of the many things that he does for Findlay High School Athletics.

For the wrestling team in particular, he has also allowed us to schedule as we feel is best for our team, something that not every team in the school has the ability to do. In this Mr. Weihrauch has supported us in adding a brand new tournament in the Findlay Invitational. This involved shuffling already scheduled Basketball games both in 2018 and for the 2019 season, which is not an easy task. In addition, he has helped us by continuing to support existing events like the Findlay Duals and Beauty and the Beast.

Continuing our plan to grow wrestling in this community, we are looking to add two other new and exciting events. I have been working with the Middle School Athletic Director, Mark Ritzler, to bring back the Bill Mullen Invitational and host it at Glenwood Middle School. The Mullen was a top tournament in the area and looked forward to by all involved. At the high school we are looking to start off the season in a very exciting way and have been working with our Head Principal Ryan Imke to make this happen. Details to follow on that project.

In addition to Mr. Weihrauch, the Trojan Club has also been immensely supportive. Through the united efforts of Mr. Weihrauch, the Trojan Club and #7 Ben Roethlisberger, we have been able see a tremendous improvement to our Strength Training facilities. The Trojan Club and Athletic Department have also supported our use of technology by helping us to purchase features such as Matboss and Team Builder, two amazing apps that are going to go a long way to helping us accomplish our team goals.

I would also like to thank the efforts of the Findlay Youth Wrestling Club in continuously supporting the growth of our sport inside of Findlay City Schools. This past year the club continued to coordinate with the University of Findlay to provide a wrestling room that the club can use as our upper gym wrestling area is not a guaranteed resource during their practice slot. They also continued their pursuit of excellence by tapping a fantastic local resource in Brian Perkins, a former NCAA Division 1 wrestler from the team up north. Coach Perkins agreed to give up some of his valuable time to coach the youth team 2 days a week and many Sundays at tournaments. He has brought an energy, knowledge of the sport and patience in instruction to the room that will pay huge dividends in the future.

This year FYWC has also expanded their support of our program into the off-season. They have sponsored a Freestyle Greco Team, coached by two of my high school assistants (Graham Grider and Lance Baker), that we have been running in the Donnell Wrestling room since April 1st. In addition, they are bringing in Jim Gruenwald, the Head Wrestling Coach at Wheaton College, to run a camp at Gateway Church this summer.

There are two final groups that I would be remiss if I did not thank: the parents who are involved in supporting the team in various aspects as well as the Coaches in my system at all levels. They are all completing many thankless jobs with the year round commitments of the sport. Some of these include running workouts during holiday breaks, rescheduling family vacations, not taking vacation, working late nights, volunteering at a variety of events, spending all weekend in a gym, getting kids to and from “off-season” workouts, running those workouts... just to name a few. Without this support, your student athletes are not able to be successful.

I am sure that I am missing a few people or groups, but I wanted to do my best to thank everyone that is involved in creating a program that not only produces good wrestlers but more importantly helps us to mold great people #TrojanTrue!