The Bob Guy

20 SSH 20 standard merkins 20 Merkins – hands turned in 20 Merkins – hands turned out 20 Big Boys 20 LBC’s 20 Squat thrusts Run one lap around track. Rinse and repeat. We did the first set together (although not in cadence because I didn’t have the wind for it), after that OYO.6MOM: It was incorporated into the Thang.

If you didn’t find that challenging, you may have been doing something wrong.

The Bob Guy workout is a solute to my high school wrestling coach.  He passes away earlier this week. He had a big impact on my life as I know he did on many of the young men he encounter over a very long coaching career. Although I hadn’t spoken to him in a very longtime, I feel a real sense of loss knowing that he’s gone.

When I think of Coach Guy one of the first of many memories that come to mind was a tournament I was in my senior year. My first match not even 30 seconds into and my opponent takes me down (2 points) and puts me on my back (3 points) and we go out of bounds next to where Couch Guy is sitting. So I’m down 5 points and we just got started. As I get up off the mat he takes the water bottle in his hand and clunks me in the head with it. Just hard enough to get my attention. He then gets right up in face and says in a loud stern voice “ When are you going to start wrestling?”  It makes me smile thinking about it, that was classic Coach Guy motivational style. It worked, he was a man that I didn’t want to disappoint. I didn’t give up another point and won the match by a lot. I’m pretty sure it was 18 to 5. He was never overly generous with praise so when some did come your way it seemed special. After that match the only thing he said when I came off the mat was “Good job, but what the hell was that in the first period?”

By today’s standard of what a coach should and shouldn’t do in high school sports the above might sound like an inditement of the man. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We had a really good relationship, and he could be friendly at times but we were not friends. He expected you to work your ass off in practice and give everything you had on the mat. If you did that, the outcome of the match wasn’t the most important thing.

The Bob Guy is tough workout, he wouldn’t have any other way. RIP Coach!