09/13/2026
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐พ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐!๐คผโโ๏ธ
And what better way to spend a Sunday than getting to know one of the people who helps make Mustang Wrestling what it is?
๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ง: ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฆ
Over the next several weeks, weโll be taking you to the coaches cornerโ introducing the people who spend countless hours teaching, encouraging, challenging, and cheering on our wrestlers.
Today, weโre starting with ๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐ and his favorite quote๐
"The will to prepare is more important than the will to win."- Bobby Knight
๐คผ ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ?
I have been wrestling since I was 5 years old. I wrestled through my senior year in high school, took a little hiatus (from it) for about 5 years, and then got into coaching (and have been ever since). I have coached at various levels, including youth, middle school, and high school, and both boys and girls for the past 25 years mostly all in Mount Vernon.
๐ช ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ?
Pretty much the clichรฉ answer of the kids, but it is so true, especially in wrestling. The bond that is formed amongst all wrestlers (let alone athlete-coach) is something that is lifelong. Any time I meet somebody that wrestled, it becomes a topic of conversation and a level of respect that I feel is unmatched to other sports. The respect is something that stays with me long after a student is done with their wrestling career.
๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐?
Honestly, the famous Dan Gable: "Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy." While that is not exactly true of all things in life, it sure resonates with me personally. I honestly think wrestling teaches you how to handle stresses in life later on (due to the hard work, dedication, struggle, mental and physical challenge, and discipline it offers).
๐ฉถ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐จ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ญ. ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ?
I hope that all wrestlers feel valued as people, not just wrestlers. Oftentimes, focus gets put on the "all-stars/champions", but I feel the greatest joy in knowing that somebody feels like they are respected for their efforts, not their accolades!
๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ?
You know those sweepstakes things from the 80s (and years after) where you could win prizes? Anyway, when I was pretty young, while waiting for my parents to get done grocery shopping, I filled out my mom's name and number, dropped it in the entry box, and a few months later won a suitcase set from Frito Lays. Funny part is that we never went on any trips/vacations, so we never used them until I was in college.
A huge thank you to Coach Jaspers for the time, energy, and heart you pour into Mustang Wrestling! ๐ค
