Clint Gard Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 To all Coaches, Athletes, Administrators, and Fans: For those that don't know me, my name is Clint Gard. I have been involved in wrestling since I was 14 and fell in love with it from day one. I wrestled at Richmond HS and was a state qualifier. I wrestled at Manchester College with much success, and now I am coaching our little kids program at Rochester HS. I was the head coach at Rochester for 12 years and spent 2 years coaching at Manchester as well. I don't have great credentials but I am not some half-brained fan either. I think I have a pretty good grasp of this sport and what it takes to be successful at it. I think those that know me would agree. So here is my challenge...I challenge all of us to respect this sport and love it enough to do the right thing. Love it and respect it because of what it does for our kids, inside and out. People, our society depends on us, and now more than ever, our country needs wrestling. It needs everything it teaches and stands for. Our society needs us, as coaches and stewards of this great sport, to use wrestling as a means of teaching kids right from wrong, good from bad, hard work, dedication, morals, ethics, and just being a damn good person. You know what, I'm pissed off because there are some out there that are killing our sport and I take it pretty personal when you do that. You are killing it because some of you don't have the integrity to man up and do it the right way. Why? Because winning and losing are that important?? You wanna know where winning and losing become pretty damn important...winning the war on drugs, the war against terrorism, or winning the war on cancer for 14 years and then losing it in 6 months. That's when it matters. Winning is never more important than teaching right from wrong. It is never more important than doing the right thing, even when it is hard to do the right thing. If we do not get our heads out of our collective butts and starting representing our sport with integrity, then we will lose it. We will lose it because school systems will cut it...look around people, the cuts are coming because schools are poor. If you give them a reason to cut your program, it will happen. In the past week, we've given them at least 5 reasons to cut it. I want my boys to grow up in this sport because I know what wrestling can and will do for them. If we continue to do what we are doing, I'm afraid that might not happen. That would be a shame for a lot of young men that need wrestling. Yesterday, I was able to teach my 8 year old son two great lessons. #1 - If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said. #2 - Doing the right thing is always the right thing...even when you will be ridiculed or it is unpopular. Both lessons I learned from two great men, my father who loved wrestling and what it did for me and who lost that battle with cancer, and Tom Jarman, my coach at Manchester College. I think it is time that a few of you, in this wrestling fraternity that we all belong to, man up and learn those lessons. Clint Gard "I love this freakin' sport" PS - Bobby Cox...you might want to read this as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCWrestlefan Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Very well said Sir!! And a Wahoo for you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legrider33 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Nice letter, I could'nt agree more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdwn2 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Great post clint and very well said. Yesterday I woke up to about a dozen wrestlers from two different schools sleeping in my basement after Regionals(10 of them semi-state qualifiers). This sport creates some of the best friendships these kids (and their families)will ever have, and many of those are with kids that you compete against . This is a GREAT SPORT!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Gard Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Kudos to Trent McCormick and Cale Hoover for getting the Randolph County Wrestlers back in it. Not the best solution but some people (Bobby Cox) are taking their heads out and doing the right thing...even when it is hard. Here's hoping that those wrestlers make the most of the second chance and here is hoping that coaches around the state will follow suit and make good decisions based on what is morally correct and ethical...not based on winning at all cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatChick76 Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Nice letter Clint. Wahoo to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutsdad Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 VeryNice Post!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinwrestlersmom Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Well said. wahoo for you. Sorry about your dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stateorbust Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Excellent post! Definitely words of wisdom to live by! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigb70 Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickS Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 To all Coaches, Athletes, Administrators, and Fans: For those that don't know me, my name is Clint Gard. I have been involved in wrestling since I was 14 and fell in love with it from day one. I wrestled at Richmond HS and was a state qualifier. I wrestled at Manchester College with much success, and now I am coaching our little kids program at Rochester HS. I was the head coach at Rochester for 12 years and spent 2 years coaching at Manchester as well. I don't have great credentials but I am not some half-brained fan either. I think I have a pretty good grasp of this sport and what it takes to be successful at it. I think those that know me would agree. So here is my challenge...I challenge all of us to respect this sport and love it enough to do the right thing. Love it and respect it because of what it does for our kids, inside and out. People, our society depends on us, and now more than ever, our country needs wrestling. It needs everything it teaches and stands for. Our society needs us, as coaches and stewards of this great sport, to use wrestling as a means of teaching kids right from wrong, good from bad, hard work, dedication, morals, ethics, and just being a damn good person. You know what, I'm pissed off because there are some out there that are killing our sport and I take it pretty personal when you do that. You are killing it because some of you don't have the integrity to man up and do it the right way. Why? Because winning and losing are that important?? You wanna know where winning and losing become pretty damn important...winning the war on drugs, the war against terrorism, or winning the war on cancer for 14 years and then losing it in 6 months. That's when it matters. Winning is never more important than teaching right from wrong. It is never more important than doing the right thing, even when it is hard to do the right thing. If we do not get our heads out of our collective butts and starting representing our sport with integrity, then we will lose it. We will lose it because school systems will cut it...look around people, the cuts are coming because schools are poor. If you give them a reason to cut your program, it will happen. In the past week, we've given them at least 5 reasons to cut it. I want my boys to grow up in this sport because I know what wrestling can and will do for them. If we continue to do what we are doing, I'm afraid that might not happen. That would be a shame for a lot of young men that need wrestling. Yesterday, I was able to teach my 8 year old son two great lessons. #1 - If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said. #2 - Doing the right thing is always the right thing...even when you will be ridiculed or it is unpopular. Both lessons I learned from two great men, my father who loved wrestling and what it did for me and who lost that battle with cancer, and Tom Jarman, my coach at Manchester College. I think it is time that a few of you, in this wrestling fraternity that we all belong to, man up and learn those lessons. Clint Gard "I love this freakin' sport" PS - Bobby Cox...you might want to read this as well! You can email Bobby Cox at bcox@ihsaa.org. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookies03 Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Absolutely awsome post! I love the saying "doing the right thing is often very simple but rarely easy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Gard Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 WCS145...I have Bobby Cox's email as do the majority of the posters on this site. Most of the "experienced" posters will tell you that there is no reason to email him for two reasons...1. You get a politically correct response or 2. He frequents this site often. Trust me, Mr. Cox has read everything on this site, especially in the last 2 weeks. twinwrestlersmom...thanks. I miss him everyday, but there isn't a day that goes by that something he said or a lesson he taught me doesn't pop up that gets me through a tough situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaltHarris Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Here, here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Formidable Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Thank you Coach Gard. I agree wholeheartedly. We, in wrestling, often offer excuses for our lack of etiquette, sportsmanship and general courtesy and attribute it to our passion for competition. For every Ty Cobb (who by all historical accounts was a miserable SOB), there are guys like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Joe DiMaggio who did it right and are remembered with the same fondness. In other words, you can be a flat-out nasty competitor and do it with class. In fact, I would go so far as to say that those who have found the greatest success beyond our sport are those who competed with the most class. Consequently, they become our sport?s best ambassadors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soup45 Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Truely awesome post young man keep up the excellent work and don't ever fall out of love for this sport! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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