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Great Tom Brands Story


samaj

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The Memorial Tigers rolled into the Iowa Team Competition Camp this week only to find that there is no air conditioning in the field house or in the the dorms.  Our kids were complaining a little but apparently, some other teams were complaining ALOT.  One team actually went back home and one team left and found a local hotel to stay in for the week.  There was some miscommunication on the part of the Hawkeyes because the flyers and the people that we talked to before the trip told us that there was AC and we told our kids that they did not need fans etc.  I guess the camp staff took some pretty good heat from people.

 

So, that brings us to the first session at camp.  I'm in the fieldhouse watching the kids getting ready to go.  Shoes are being put on, some light stretching etc.  There are 16 teams here so its about 200 kids.  I look over into the coaches office through the window and see Tom Brands standing there in a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve tee shirt.  Then I see him put on a hoody, followed by a full zip nylon ASICS warmup top.  At this point I am putting two and two together and figure that Coach Brands is about to make a point.

 

The campers jog for about 5 minutes then Coach Brands calls them into a big circle.  He begins by welcoming everyone to camp then proceeds to tell everyone that apparently there was some miscomunication on the part of his camp staff and that he is sorry for that.  Then he goes into....HOWEVER, whats the big deal???  We are wrestlers, we are here to get tougher, and a little heat will be good for us.  What?? are you gonna call your mommy and go home cuz its hot? Is that all it takes to break your spirit? This goes on for a few minutes as he is putting his hoodie up, pulling the strings tight, and tying it up snug around his head.  At one point, he looked over at Coach Schwab and said he was kinda chilly and asked if Coach Schwab had a jacket he could borrow.  It was classic.  The line of the tirade came at the end...he said something like.  "Heck, 150 years ago, we would be sleeping out on the prarie.  We wouldn't have any AC!  We would be in the blazing hot sun all day, and sleeping on the ground at night.  We would be sleeping with...heck, I dont know....rattlesnakes...yeah rattlesnakes and uhm.....rattlesnakes and SKUNKS!."

 

It was funny as hell.  The session was two hours long and he ran the guys into the ground.  The entire time, he was dressed the same way.  The hood never came down and he sweat completely through his Champion sweats and through the nylon Jacket.  They guy is simply The Man!  Pure and simple.

 

I thought I would share this story....hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed watching it unfold.  By the way, our kids havent complained one time since that first session.

 

 

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Hey Samaj.  Don't stop with your initial story.  Give us some more information about the camp and all of the coaches and campers experiences.

 

I believe I saw you guys in two "short busses"  ;D filling up with gas at the Waveland Shell Gas Station.

 

I saw all of your wrestlers wearing Tiger wrestling shirts but I was in a hurry otherwise I would've said hello .  Which is highly unusual for me because whenever I see someone wearing wrestling gear out and about I usually strike up a conversation with them.    I wasn't sure where you folks were headed but I was quite curious.

 

Have a safe trip home.

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