Wrestling in PE: showing Tom and Terry Highlights

[JoseyWhales]

Today is the last day of our wrestling lesson for my Jr. High class. To give them a break between wrestling games we are watching Brands Brothers highlights. The kids are loving it.
I would like to know if any of you had wrestling class in school and what you did for class.

 

[Gjderaad]

We didn't have a class. In 4th grade the high school coach brought a few guys down to elementary and spread out some gym mats and did a demonstration. I had no idea wrestling existed. I was hooked; went home and told my parents that I wanted to wrestle. They had a four week season with one tournament that I won. It was so hard back then to see any high level wrestling. I remember sending away for tapes of Olympics or worlds.

 

[Azchief32]

The only wrestling class I had in PE was at Blue Springs, MO my sophomore year. It was cool because I got to throw the football guys around.

 

[brucefan]

We moved from Long Island, N.Y., to small-town western Illinois when I was 8 years old. I was befuddled by the accent (theirs, not mine) and learning new names for things (davenport instead of couch, pop instead of soda, dinner instead of lunch, P.E. instead of gym). Even worse, in that third-grade P.E. class they taught wrestling, which I had never heard of. The boys wrestled the boys and the girls wrestled the girls. We moved into the district after the school year had started and they were in the middle of the wrestling unit when I got there. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I remember the last day was a round of matches where pairs of similarly sized kids wrestled a match (I think it was just one 2-minute period). Like I said, I had no idea what was going on, but I managed to avoid being taken down by the little red-haired fire hydrant I was matched with (who had been around wrestling and wrestlers all her life). Toward the end of the "match", I accidentally got hold of Georgeanna's leg and almost took her down, except that like some Hawkeyes we could all name I had no idea how to finish a shot. She was so mad I almost got a takedown that she bit me on the ear. Being a New York kid, I took a swing at her, missed, fell into her and knocked her down. The P.E. teacher slapped the mat and called it a pin.

And that's why I am undefeated in my wrestling career.




This post was edited on 3/5 1:01 PM by brucefan

 

[IaPhoneMan4Hawks]

We had a short stint of wrestling in PE in HS. I really enjoyed it, and did well against the normal PE guys. Now when the real wrestlers from the JV and varsity stepped in a few times, I was taken down pretty well, though proud to say never pinned. Did find myself looking at the lights though for a few seconds. Taught me enough to know I likely didn't have the body type to wrestle, too long, too soft, too slow, though now I'd kill to be 180 lbs @ 6' 1". Maybe if I'd pursued it as a kid, but I had the build for BB, so I went in that direction.

Sadly the BB team sucked and the wrestling team was awesome! CSB

 

[GG121AND2]

I was in junior high in Davenport in the early '60s and we had a wrestling "unit" every year. While I frequently claim that I never wrestled, I did win the 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L Smart Junior High with a late reversal and pin.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

Originally posted by GG121AND2:
I was in junior high in Davenport in the early '60s and we had a wrestling "unit" every year. While I frequently claim that I never wrestled, I did win the 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L Smart Junior High with a late reversal and pin.

So I'm guessing that your new nickname is gonna be "buzzer beater"

Or would that be "buzzard beater"

 

[texas twister]

Originally posted by brucefan:
We moved from Long Island, N.Y., to small-town western Illinois when I was 8 years old. I was befuddled by the accent (theirs, not mine) and learning new names for things (davenport instead of couch, pop instead of soda, dinner instead of lunch, P.E. instead of gym). Even worse, in that third-grade P.E. class they taught wrestling, which I had never heard of. The boys wrestled the boys and the girls wrestled the girls. We moved into the district after the school year had started and they were in the middle of the wrestling unit when I got there. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I remember the last day was a round of matches where pairs of similarly sized kids wrestled a match (I think it was just one 2-minute period). Like I said, I had no idea what was going on, but I managed to avoid being taken down by the little red-haired fire hydrant I was matched with (who had been around wrestling and wrestlers all her life). Toward the end of the "match", I accidentally got hold of Georgeanna's leg and almost took her down, except that like some Hawkeyes we could all name I had no idea how to finish a shot. She was so mad I almost got a takedown that she bit me on the ear. Being a New York kid, I took a swing at her, missed, fell into her and knocked her down. The P.E. teacher slapped the mat and called it a pin.

And that's why I am undefeated in my wrestling career.




This post was edited on 3/5 1:01 PM by brucefan

Heck of a story. Can I buy the movie rights?

 

[brucefan]

Originally posted by texas twister:

Originally posted by brucefan:
We moved from Long Island, N.Y., to small-town western Illinois when I was 8 years old. I was befuddled by the accent (theirs, not mine) and learning new names for things (davenport instead of couch, pop instead of soda, dinner instead of lunch, P.E. instead of gym). Even worse, in that third-grade P.E. class they taught wrestling, which I had never heard of. The boys wrestled the boys and the girls wrestled the girls. We moved into the district after the school year had started and they were in the middle of the wrestling unit when I got there. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I remember the last day was a round of matches where pairs of similarly sized kids wrestled a match (I think it was just one 2-minute period). Like I said, I had no idea what was going on, but I managed to avoid being taken down by the little red-haired fire hydrant I was matched with (who had been around wrestling and wrestlers all her life). Toward the end of the "match", I accidentally got hold of Georgeanna's leg and almost took her down, except that like some Hawkeyes we could all name I had no idea how to finish a shot. She was so mad I almost got a takedown that she bit me on the ear. Being a New York kid, I took a swing at her, missed, fell into her and knocked her down. The P.E. teacher slapped the mat and called it a pin.

And that's why I am undefeated in my wrestling career.




This post was edited on 3/5 1:01 PM by brucefan

Heck of a story. Can I buy the movie rights?

I'll take that as a compliment for my writing and not an accusation of making stuff up. Let me know if I've got that wrong.

 

[texas twister]

Absolutely. I did get a good chuckle out of it.

 

[Bryowan]

My PE teacher in elementary school was Gary Rourke, who later moved to Des Moines to teach and coach at East High School. Before that he coached our high school team, and made sure that our elementary PE class had a wrestling unit every year. Lots of kids cried getting taken down or pinned, and I can still hear him reassuring them as he lifted them back up off the red, white and blue gymnastics mats. He'd pat them on the back and laugh it off with one of his catch phrases, "You're OK, it's a long way from your heart!" I was sad to learn Mr. Rourke passed away a few years ago.

 

[caseyballzz]

Originally posted by brucefan:
We moved from Long Island, N.Y., to small-town western Illinois when I was 8 years old. I was befuddled by the accent (theirs, not mine) and learning new names for things (davenport instead of couch, pop instead of soda, dinner instead of lunch, P.E. instead of gym). Even worse, in that third-grade P.E. class they taught wrestling, which I had never heard of. The boys wrestled the boys and the girls wrestled the girls. We moved into the district after the school year had started and they were in the middle of the wrestling unit when I got there. I had no idea what the hell was going on. I remember the last day was a round of matches where pairs of similarly sized kids wrestled a match (I think it was just one 2-minute period). Like I said, I had no idea what was going on, but I managed to avoid being taken down by the little red-haired fire hydrant I was matched with (who had been around wrestling and wrestlers all her life). Toward the end of the "match", I accidentally got hold of Georgeanna's leg and almost took her down, except that like some Hawkeyes we could all name I had no idea how to finish a shot. She was so mad I almost got a takedown that she bit me on the ear. Being a New York kid, I took a swing at her, missed, fell into her and knocked her down. The P.E. teacher slapped the mat and called it a pin.

And that's why I am undefeated in my wrestling career.






This post was edited on 3/5 1:01 PM by brucefan

This is classic! Memories that can't be replaced.

My high school (Fredericksburg) did not have wrestling. When I was a fifth grader some people named Kueker from Tripoli moved to Fredericksburg to run the creamery. They offered a wrestling class one night that I had to beg my parents to go to. My family owned the tavern in town so at least I had a way to town and back. I participated in two practices and they offered a wrestling tournament in Sumner. I had to find my own way because my parents refused to take me. I had only learned a couple escape moves(the sitout and the rollthrough) which I was good at. I actually won 2 matches in a row that put me in the championship. I wrestled a kid that showed up with ISU wrestling gear. He took me down once and we went out of bounds. I tried the rollthrough to escape, got caught and that was the end of my wrestling career. My father told me that if a kid from Iowa State pinned me I was done with wrestling.

This post was edited on 3/5 5:35 PM by caseyballzz

 

[AFHawk86]

Originally posted by Bryowan:
My PE teacher in elementary school was Gary Rourke, who later moved to Des Moines to teach and coach at East High School. Before that he coached our high school team, and made sure that our elementary PE class had a wrestling unit every year. Lots of kids cried getting taken down or pinned, and I can still hear him reassuring them as he lifted them back up off the red, white and blue gymnastics mats. He'd pat them on the back and laugh it off with one of his catch phrases, "You're OK, it's a long way from your heart!" I was sad to learn Mr. Rourke passed away a few years ago.

Coach Rourke was my high school wrestling coach in Keokuk before he moved to Des Moines. He was an inspiration to me. I have a scar from a lead pencil in my right hand because of him

As a freshman I dislocated my elbow at a tournament. As I was in shock and screaming on the mat, he put his hand over my mouth and told me, "Shut up or I'll give you something to scream about." It may sound harsh, but it worked. It was just a flesh wound.

I miss Coach Rourke.

 

[wasdt21]

AF did you graduate from Keokuk ?

 

[AFHawk86]

Originally posted by wasdt21:

AF did you graduate from Keokuk ?

Yes, 1986.

 

[wasdt21]

you are younger than I, graduated from central 78,

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

Originally posted by AFHawk86:

...

As a freshman I dislocated my elbow at a tournament. As I was in shock and screaming on the mat, he put his hand over my mouth and told me, "Shut up or I'll give you something to scream about." It may sound harsh, but it worked. It was just a flesh wound.

I miss Coach Rourke.

Funny story! Sounds like a great guy, Coach Rourke, but nowadays if someone did something so "insensitive" there would probably be a posse formed within the hour to run him out of a job. The world needs more guys like Coach Rourke above and Mr. Hampton below!

My introduction to wrestling was courtesy of a very, very good elementary school PE teacher named Bob Hampton in Cedar Rapids. He went way, way beyond the call of duty and had intramural opportunities for us little grubbers all school year long...including wrestling in the winter time. I still remember the name of the kid I beat in 4th grade to get a BLUE RIBBON in the school "tournament" that Mr. Hampton organized and ran.

I knew NOTHING about wrestling other than I had several brothers around my age...so I had EXPERIENCE in rasslin' at least!

 

[Bryowan]

AF- Small world! You are in Japan now, right? I lived there for a long time too. My wife is also from there, and spent a few weeks in Des Moines during a high school exchange trip. Turns out her host family lived a few blocks from Coach Rourke, and was the family's kids' Vice Principal at East. I last talked to him in 2006 while we were visiting the host family and put all this together. He was a good guy- I am not surprised he was a little tougher on his HS wrestlers than the ones in his elementary program!
u
This post was edited on 3/5 10:16 PM by Bryowan

 

[maddog50]

Junior High, one gym class, we were told to wrestle and we did against equally confused and talented opponents.
High School, one gym class, same drill except I was praying that I didn't get paired with the stud football linebacker that was two years older than me. Sorry to say all prayers are not answered.
We did not have a wrestling program if that isn't obvious by now.
Always loved wrestling and joined the wrestling team in college my senior year after playing football with several football / wrestlers for four years.
Lots of work, humbling experience, lost 20 lbs trying to get to a weight that I had a chance at, didn't work. Great experience and turned me into a lifelong wrestling fan. My wife laughs at me for the gyrations I go through while watching any Iowa match.

 

[HawCory]

Originally posted by GG121AND2:
I was in junior high in Davenport in the early '60s and we had a wrestling "unit" every year. While I frequently claim that I never wrestled, I did win the 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L Smart Junior High with a late reversal and pin.

I was first introduced to wrestling at Frank L. Smart Jr. High as well, although I was a little after your time (late 80s). We had a section on it during class so I joined the team in 7th grade. I was a slightly above average 119 pounder at age 12(was that really 27 years and 110 pounds ago?) but that was it for me because, like the phone man in this thread, I was more suited to basketball(at 119 pounds I was tall enough to play center lol).

I remember the first day like it was yesterday. We didn't have a scale on hand, so coach Schreck just picked me up and decided I weighed about 115 pounds. Lucky guess imo.

Some of my favorite memories are heading to McDonalds early before school on the days we had a meet so we could eat McMuffins after weigh-ins(as if we were actually cutting weight haha).

Sorry for all of the parentheticals. My note taking habits always bleed into my writing.

 

[AFHawk86]

Good stories everyone. Wrestling is definitely a special sport that has lifelong impacts. I guess that's why we're so passionate about continuing to grow the sport (stalling), or at least not allowing it to decrease. I can only hope that one of the young men I had the privilege of coaching will look back and credit me with some small amount of inspiration later in life.

Thanks for the opportunity to say some positive remarks about a mentor. RIP Coach Rourke.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[wyldhawk9]

Originally posted by HawCory:

Originally posted by GG121AND2:
I was in junior high in Davenport in the early '60s and we had a wrestling "unit" every year. While I frequently claim that I never wrestled, I did win the 8th grade intramural championship at Frank L Smart Junior High with a late reversal and pin.

I was first introduced to wrestling at Frank L. Smart Jr. High as well, although I was a little after your time (late 80s). We had a section on it during class so I joined the team in 7th grade. I was a slightly above average 119 pounder at age 12(was that really 27 years and 110 pounds ago?) but that was it for me because, like the phone man in this thread, I was more suited to basketball(at 119 pounds I was tall enough to play center lol).

I remember the first day like it was yesterday. We didn't have a scale on hand, so coach Schreck just picked me up and decided I weighed about 115 pounds. Lucky guess imo.

Some of my favorite memories are heading to McDonalds early before school on the days we had a meet so we could eat McMuffins after weigh-ins(as if we were actually cutting weight haha).

Sorry for all of the parentheticals. My note taking habits always bleed into my writing.

I still remember my first wrestling practice my freshman year of high school - I was instantly hooked. I loved everything about it, learning the techniques, the training, the intensity and the brotherhood resulting from going through it all. However, morning weigh-ins for evening duals were the absolute best. We had a McDonald's in town, but the place to go for breakfast was Hardee's hands down. As a freshman, riding over to Hardee's with upperclassmen for post-weighin meal and then trying to make it to class before first bell was so much fun. Great memories. Some of the kids on our team were really pretty good (state champs) and were actually cutting weight, but I was not. Experiences like these are exactly why I knew I wanted to be a coach when I grew up. Anyway, this thread brought back some nice memories. Thanks to everyone for posting their stories.