Kids these days are soft

[Scott Miller - 1993]

Who could forget Papa Smurf??

I was a volunteer coach for a hs wrestling team here in Cincinnati when I was 25. I could not believe all the whining that these kids did! If we did even a quarter of that stuff Whelan would have us doulbled over puking because he ran us or made us do spin drills forever!

[Sidney Gills 91]

Coach Whelan was 1 of a kind, I looked into volunteering at the local high school here and was surprised to find the coach focusing on brawn and strength rather than technique. Needless to say my critisms weren't met well. I remember crawling off the mat to find water and coach yelling at me to get back in here we're not done yet. LOL I thought I was going to die. Funny thing is I would go straight back to it if I could. Great times and great workouts.

[Dan Litman-91]

Coach Whelan was awesome. I truly miss those days of sweating it out in the A&P building! I consider Bob Whelan to be one of the biggest influences in my life. He taught us pain only exists in our mind and we should end strong.

Regarding kids being soft I agree to a point. Kids in general are not as tough mentally and physcially as we were. This is due to multiple issues which I could write an entire thesis on. First, A coach like Whelan was a throw back to another era. In today's world of political correctness, parental enablement and local politics he wouldn't survive. Coaches get canned in today's world because they offended Little Johnny by yelling at him or by not starting him. Second, I believe we were mentally tougher than kids who attend stateside school because of our life experiences. We grew up on military bases and had to improvise, overcome and adapt to endure constant moving, adjusting to change, dealing with the constant threat of terrorism or an attack by the Soviets (c'mon, everyone thought in the event of a nuclear war XYZ Air Base was one of the first to be hit).

[Scott Miller - 1993]

You guys are right...I would go back to it again if I could! There are times now when I am playing hockey when I am tired and in pain and I think of the wrestling room and the pain I endured there! Because of Coach, I have learned to push the pain (most of it at least) out of my mind and go further.

I am just glad that, the way this world is today, the lessons that he taught us are helping me to get through any obstacles.

[Chris Dragich]

I still recall LHS Wrestling with pride! Coach might have been a royal pain at times but he was fair and even handed, which was a very hard quality to find in almost anyone in a position of authority after I left HS. He definitely would have had us puking if he heard us whining about anything, and all the complaining I hear from kids I talk to just make me grimace.