Strong work from the Iowa wrestling staff!

[WWDMHawkeye]

So this showed up on Twitter the other day. Cool to see our staff taking time to brighten the days of others. This young man will never forget it -- nor will his family. And Gilman stopped over later to spend about 1/2 hour with him. Nothing like a teenager getting to hang out one-on-one with the current World silver medalist.

Our guys do this kind of thing on a pretty regular basis, expecting nothing in return. Another reason to be proud of Iowa wrestling. As much as they're dedicated to winning championships and developing wrestlers to be the best they can be, they have a firm grasp on the big picture. #Character #Class #ProudToBeAHawkFan

The tweet. . . .

Son in hospital trying to figure out why he had 2 strokes. Has not had many smiles since Friday as he was told he may not get to wrestle again. Today he had visitors from @Hawks_Wrestling and it really put a smile on his face. Iowa is pure Class. #goldstandard big thank you guys

26 replies424 retweets3,246 likes

 

[GobysHawk]

Super cool story

 

[Novakht]

They have done this hundreds of times without many knowing.
#goodguys

#theycare

#gohawks

 

[lookleft goright]

Classy is as classy does!

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

They have done this hundreds of times without many knowing.
#goodguys

#theycare

#gohawks

True dat.

 

[Grip220]

I cannot state it strongly enough how much respect I have for the Hawkeye coaches and wrestlers past and positively present. So very proud to call myself a Hawkeye fan and when I see how selfless and real these guys are it reinforces that, keep up the great work. #fanforlife

 

[YoungGun07]

That green sweater is pretty unprofessional though.

 

[Grip220]

That green sweater is pretty unprofessional though.

It’s a casual setting and the boy is a wrestler he understands

 

[BIG10MANIAC]

A couple years ago my wife’s cousin had a major stroke and was at Mercy in Des Moines. He was a huge Hawkeye wrestling fan so I called the Iowa wrestling office and asked if they would send a card to him. Not only did Tom Brands do it, but he wrote a nice 2-paragraph encouraging note and enclosed a photograph signed by all the coaches. First class act...

 

[Grip220]

When my father passed in December Chief went out of his way to get in touch with me he did not lead to as why. Well a few weeks later I received a “Hand written” letter from Tom Brands this letter and what he wrote was monumental to my family. My sister in law who is a school teacher said WOW hand written you don’t see that very often any more. This letter will have it’s place on the wall of my home as long as I have one..

 

[wasdt21]

really sux when a kid has to deal with this type of thing. good job guys and who said m* had no offense.

 

[Fan In Black]

awesome

 

[Spoons]

Wait I thought they were just a bunch of dancing monkeys who just care about winning and make wrestlers into robots.

I have had the pleasure to meet and get to know both Brands families and they are so Awesome!! Every time I talk to Michelle she always asks about my wife and kids by name. I have known Ryan since he was 10. He always used to wrestle my cousin when they were younger. The best part is they became GREAT friends. Hence I got to know Ryan as well. He always has time to talk. My kids love him and I would trust him with my kids any day!!
All I am saying is there is so much more to being a coach than just winning and these guys get it!!

 

[LutherAce]

When my father passed in December Chief went out of his way to get in touch with me he did not lead to as why. Well a few weeks later I received a “Hand written” letter from Tom Brands this letter and what he wrote was monumental to my family. My sister in law who is a school teacher said WOW hand written you don’t see that very often any more. This letter will have it’s place on the wall of my home as long as I have one..

When my brother passed, Tom got my phone number and called me...I didn't answer but when I listened to the message, I was awestruck that he would've taken the time to call me. It's still saved on my phone and my computer.

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

When my brother passed, Tom got my phone number and called me...I didn't answer but when I listened to the message, I was awestruck that he would've taken the time to call me. It's still saved on my phone and my computer.

That's the kind of guy he is. Don't mean to be putting anyone on a pedestal, but it's worth acknowledging that our head coach is a compassionate and genuinely caring dude. And he's surrounded himself with a staff of like-minded guys. They're all extremely high-quality human beings who are uncommonly thoughtful of others.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

really sux when a kid has to deal with this type of thing. good job guys and who said m* had no offense.

LOL!!

 

[WEH8ST8HAWK]

really sux when a kid has to deal with this type of thing. good job guys and who said m* had no offense.

That must have been the end of the 3rd period.

 

[raslen007]

Bravo - Well done coaches!

 

[Ohio_Hawk]

Such a class program. Bustin' my buttons! Proud as a Peac-Hawk!

 

[rossel 33]

Wait I thought they were just a bunch of dancing monkeys who just care about winning and make wrestlers into robots.

I have had the pleasure to meet and get to know both Brands families and they are so Awesome!! Every time I talk to Michelle she always asks about my wife and kids by name. I have known Ryan since he was 10. He always used to wrestle my cousin when they were younger. The best part is they became GREAT friends. Hence I got to know Ryan as well. He always has time to talk. My kids love him and I would trust him with my kids any day!!
All I am saying is there is so much more to being a coach than just winning and these guys get it!!

Well said Spoons.

The character in these coaches shows in the little things they do, much of it not widely publicized. The years of repetition of the "robot" crap was probably believed by some impressionable HS recruits, and reinforced by a slime squad of pro-PSU fans on themat forums, and unfortunately, likely reinforced by a few competing d1schools' coaches.

Brands et al are great people, of strong character and loyal. We're lucky to have them.

 

[Rustys Dad]

That is simply FREAKIN' cool.

 

[lookleft goright]

Well said Spoons.

The character in these coaches shows in the little things they do, much of it not widely publicized. The years of repetition of the "robot" crap was probably believed by some impressionable HS recruits, and reinforced by a slime squad of pro-PSU fans on themat forums, and unfortunately, likely reinforced by a few competing d1schools' coaches.

Brands et al are great people, of strong character and loyal. We're lucky to have them.

IT is what you do when no one is looking that defines your character. Again, hats off to the Hawk staff.

 

[Grip220]

IT is what you do when no one is looking that defines your character. Again, hats off to the Hawk staff.

Well said.

 

[HawkeyePA]

On our last visit to Iowa City when passing through town. We stopped and stayed for 3 days and Tom and Terry were the most gracious of hosts. they showed us around...made sure we attended workout sessions and got us pictures and autographs and just talked with us like they genuinely knew us and CARED. we never asked for any of it...we didn't want to burden them, but they took it upon themselves to be hospitable and how their team functioned as a family. I was never more impressed and this compassion for the hospitalized young wrestler is AWESOME. We are Blessed to have such great leadership for our program.

 

[bnicolls]

On our last visit to Iowa City when passing through town. We stopped and stayed for 3 days and Tom and Terry were the most gracious of hosts. they showed us around...made sure we attended workout sessions and got us pictures and autographs and just talked with us like they genuinely knew us and CARED. we never asked for any of it...we didn't want to burden them, but they took it upon themselves to be hospitable and how their team functioned as a family. I was never more impressed and this compassion for the hospitalized young wrestler is AWESOME. We are Blessed to have such great leadership for our program.

This program is way more than just about winning. It happens every day and in many ways.

I'm so proud to be a Hawkeye and fan.

 

[PSU Mike]

Love this stuff! Hope this young man’s docs get a handle on it and things look up for him.

 

[Rustys Dad]

Love this stuff! Hope this young man’s docs get a handle it and things look up for him.

Amen to everything you said ...

 

[Big Ol Hawk]

Very cool!

 

[IowaFan1414]

I feel this thread needs bumped to the top because multiple threads littered with musings from opposing fans is tiresome.

I drove out to Ohio State a few weeks ago to see the Hawks wrestle in person. I rarely get that chance, so I was pretty pumped. A good friend, and Hawk fan, had to cancel on me last minute so I made the trip solo. My buddy would regret his decision.

Thanks to a couple of great new friends from Iowa, I was able to meet Terry and Tom along with some of the wrestlers a couple of hours before the match.

Terry and Tom Brands could not have been more genuine, humble, and welcoming. If you have a good bullsh** detector when you meet people, you'll quickly see who these guys are. Genuine. Good. Men. I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes talking to both of them, and I left very impressed. Not impressed by NCAA, World, or Olympic medals, but impressed by their character, humility, and generosity. I know that might seem to be a great deal to learn in such a short encounter, but it's true. It's damn true. Any young man would be lucky to have these guys as coaches and mentors. Go Hawks!

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

I feel this thread needs bumped to the top because multiple threads littered with musings from opposing fans is tiresome.

I drove out to Ohio State a few weeks ago to see the Hawks wrestle in person. I rarely get that chance, so I was pretty pumped. A good friend, and Hawk fan, had to cancel on me last minute so I made the trip solo. My buddy would regret his decision.

Thanks to a couple of great new friends from Iowa, I was able to meet Terry and Tom along with some of the wrestlers a couple of hours before the match.

Terry and Tom Brands could not have been more genuine, humble, and welcoming. If you have a good bullsh** detector when you meet people, you'll quickly see who these guys are. Genuine. Good. Men. I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes talking to both of them, and I left very impressed. Not impressed by NCAA, World, or Olympic medals, but impressed by their character, humility, and generosity. I know that might seem to be a great deal to learn in such a short encounter, but it's true. It's damn true. Any young man would be lucky to have these guys as coaches and mentors. Go Hawks!

That's a darn fine post, 1414. And true!

For those of you who may not know, 1414 is a resident of western PA and is converting that population to Hawk fans, one at a time. Keep on keepin' on, 1414!

 

[NeedMoreIronside]

Your encounter with Tom reminded me of my first interaction with him. He was running a 2 day camp my middle school attended. He was one year removed from winning his Olympic gold. You would assume a person fresh off from achieving such greatness would have been self centered and above wasting his time mentoring a bunch of 12 year old kids. The opposite couldn't couldn't have been more true. He genuinely seemed interested in making every every kid in that room better than when they had entered that room.

What stuck out the most about Tom and speaks volumes to his character is an incident that took place at that camp. There was a kid there, everyone knows the type, who was much less fortunate than the majority of the kids attending. Unfortunately, he was getting bagged on pretty aggressively from some of the other guys for these reasons. Tom caught wind of it and needless to say put an abrupt end to it at the expense of the assholes that were bullying the kid. I truly believe that is in his DNA to care for others and do right by those in need. Simply put he places others above himself.

Tom Ryan and Cael are great in their own right, but give me Tom all day. I couldn't be more happy having this man as our head coach.

 

[so cal hawkfan]

Great story, thanks for sharing WWDM. Nothing makes you feel better than M* shooting a single on one side while TBrands goes two on one on the other! Kid looks like he feels better already. Nice work gentlemen

Go Hawks!!!!

 

[Aardvark86]

They have done this hundreds of times without many knowing.
#goodguys

#theycare

#gohawks

And that right there is the best kind of charitable work. Chapeau!

 

[CumberlandHawk]

I feel this thread needs bumped to the top because multiple threads littered with musings from opposing fans is tiresome.

I drove out to Ohio State a few weeks ago to see the Hawks wrestle in person. I rarely get that chance, so I was pretty pumped. A good friend, and Hawk fan, had to cancel on me last minute so I made the trip solo. My buddy would regret his decision.

Thanks to a couple of great new friends from Iowa, I was able to meet Terry and Tom along with some of the wrestlers a couple of hours before the match.

Terry and Tom Brands could not have been more genuine, humble, and welcoming. If you have a good bullsh** detector when you meet people, you'll quickly see who these guys are. Genuine. Good. Men. I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes talking to both of them, and I left very impressed. Not impressed by NCAA, World, or Olympic medals, but impressed by their character, humility, and generosity. I know that might seem to be a great deal to learn in such a short encounter, but it's true. It's damn true. Any young man would be lucky to have these guys as coaches and mentors. Go Hawks!

Your encounter with Tom reminded me of my first interaction with him. He was running a 2 day camp my middle school attended. He was one year removed from winning his Olympic gold. You would assume a person fresh off from achieving such greatness would have been self centered and above wasting his time mentoring a bunch of 12 year old kids. The opposite couldn't couldn't have been more true. He genuinely seemed interested in making every every kid in that room better than when they had entered that room.

What stuck out the most about Tom and speaks volumes to his character is an incident that took place at that camp. There was a kid there, everyone knows the type, who was much less fortunate than the majority of the kids attending. Unfortunately, he was getting bagged on pretty aggressively from some of the other guys for these reasons. Tom caught wind of it and needless to say put an abrupt end to it at the expense of the assholes that were bullying the kid. I truly believe that is in his DNA to care for others and do right by those in need. Simply put he places others above himself.

Tom Ryan and Cael are great in their own right, but give me Tom all day. I couldn't be more happy having this man as our head coach.

Thanks for sharing! we need more threads and posts like this and less of the drivel that seems to keep popping up.

 

[Mustangdog]

I was at the Fargo nationals a few years ago and I saw Coach Tom sitting in the stands by himself. It was the summer before coach came from Va.Tech. I walked over to him, introduced myself, and welcomed him home to coach the Hawks where he belongs. After talking to him for a couple of minutes, I went back to my seat not wanting to bother him while he was focused on recruiting. After about 10 minutes, he walked over and sat down beside me and we talked wrestling for about 45 minutes. It is still one of the highlights of my life. I will always be a fan/friend.

 

[CaliHawkFan]

This story is not medical related but nonetheless shows how great the staff is. The mom of my best friend works at Buzz Salon in Iowa City and cuts Jeni Brands hair. Anyhow, my friend lives in Columbus (OH) and his mom told Jeni that he would be attending the Ohio State vs. Iowa dual meet in a week. Sure enough, a box of Iowa gear arrived at my friends door for the meet. GREAT people within this program.