Ahhhh, the Kohl Center - 2010

Last night was one of the great nights that I've experienced in the Kohl Center. There were some tremendous matches and I was proud to see a few Victory athletes succeed with exciting finishes. As a club, we train our athletes for Saturday night in the Kohl Center and we saw 12 Victory athletes standing on top of the Victory Stand.

What was most gratifying was how each of them won. I think first of Corey Hodowanic and his double overtime win over two-time state champion Justin Mudlaff. Corey set his sights on Mudlaff last year after finishing 3rd. Together, we orchestrated a plan to put him at his best last night and he was. He peaked at 6:30pm on Saturday, February 27th, as the plan predicted. The extra AirDyne sprints, the individual technique sessions, etc. set him up for that moment. A late second takedown forced overtime. In an overtime match, how could he be denied? He had worked too hard and spent a year developing the mental toughness and awareness to persevere. Completing the Gauntlet (27-hours of continuous working out), among other creative activities, made him rock solid in overtime.

Corey wasn't the only Victory athlete who "grinded it out" in the finals. Brayden Wienke won a close match against a longtime rival and Joe Raygor scored a takedown in overtime to win their second titles. Neither of them were rattled, even if their families and friends were. They had been thrust into these situations many times at Victory. Climbing the Incline at the Olympic Training Center, early morning workouts and late night runs helped make the difference. However, once again, the AirDyne was THE difference.

When Joe was recovering from knee surgery, I introduced him to our AirDyne and told him that they were going to become best friends. It was definitely a love-hate relationship and I remember telling him to hate it now and love it later. Today, I'm sure he loves that AirDyne. So does Brayden.

In January, we started adding short AirDyne sprints after practice for Brayden. He was apprehensive about sitting on that large seat each time, but I was by his side pushing him along. Sometimes I even helped pump the arms to keep his rpm's high enough for the workout that he needed. After the Regional tournament, he came to Victory early and I put him through a light technique session and then AirDyne sprints. He thought there were five one minute goes in this workout. When he finished his five, I went into my office and told him he had "one more." He went and gave it his all one more time. He hobbled back into my office and once again I said, "one more." He rolled his eyes and did it. When he came back, it was "one more." Each time, I could hear him pushing the pace harder and harder each time. I knew it was working and he was doing alone. He ended up doing five "one more" sprints to total 10. He couldn't believe he actually had done a 10. He was wiped out, but he felt great.

In the moment of battle, he responded with "one more" at the best time. In the second period, he did a beautiful lateral on the edge of the mat and wasn't awarded a takedown to the chagrin of everyone cheering for him. With only 6 seconds left in the period, he hustled back to the center and took a shot and secured a takedown in the closing seconds to go up 3-0. It was the difference in his 3-2 victory. If he wasn't conditioned for "one more," he may have let those 6 seconds slide and go into the third ahead only 1-0, but he didn't. His state title was won that night he did "one more" on the AirDyne.

There were other memories last, but these three athletes have committed more than anyone in the history of Victory School of Wrestling. It's great to see them get what they deserve. The coaching staff continually reminded these athletes that there was, indeed, money in the bank from their investments and they were to collect their dividends in the Kohl Center. They did.

Ahhhh, the Kohl Center...