I find this discussion quite interesting. Let me add my two cents worth.
I've never been a teacher, but have served as volunteer coach wherever I've lived or worked for most of my life since graduating from OU in 1973.
For 30 years I lived in Arizona, for 20 of those years I worked with high schools that were usually in affluent areas, but whose wrestling traditions weren't very strong. Having helped Duwayne Miller at Kapaun-Mt.Carmel from 1975-1978, I saw that it was possible to have high academic standards and outstanding wrestling teams.
At each school I've worked with since the early 1990s I have introduced and paid for with my own money the following award.
Outstanding Scholar & Wrestling Award. It is based 50 percent on the 1st semester's GPA (I don't use the cumulative GPA because I want kids who may not have started out being good students, but wind up becoming good students to have a chance), 25 percent on the team points scored during the regular season, and 25 percent on the team points scored at the state tournament.
I've always had a permanent plaque for the name of each year's winner each year, the winner each year gets a large plaque, plus dinner for two at an expensive restaurant, which is usually $100 to $150, this allows them to get an appetizer, most expensive, entree, dessert, pay the taxes and a 20 percent tip. I've been pleased that over the years previous winners would call me to find out who the winner was that year.
I have always told wrestlers I've coached you will not make a living wrestling, but you will learn two things in wrestling that will allow you to make a very good living as an adult: a strong work ethic and self-discipline.
It has been my experience that the best wrestlers on a team both high school and college were also some of the best students on the team. As an example I tell them about the 1974 NCAA championship team at OU. We had two 1st and one 2nd place wrestler. Gary Breece won at 118 pounds, he got a post graduate scholarship for from the NCAA and today is an orthodontist. Rod Kilgore won at 158, he was a finalist for a post graduate scholarship (at that time only 5 were awarded each year). Jeff Callard was 2nd at 167, he won a post graduate scholarship, and today is an engineering professor at OU in petroleum engineering.
Every kid who has won the award I've given has gone onto having a successful career. The only one who didn't attend college was dyslexic, but has a higly trained position in a hospital.
I've always viewed my job as a coach as to help them develop into becoming a successful adult. Wrestling separates the wheat from the chaff. You find out who has the necessary work ethic and self-discipline needed to become an outstanding wrestler, and hopefully student.
As to running for missing a practice, Duwayne Miller had only one hard clad rule; if you missed practice you had to make up the conditioning. Now if it was a prearranged approved absence he would work with the kid, if it was unexcused he didn't get to wrestle on the varsity until he made up the conditioning. Duwayne said he didn't recruit, so he didn't have the best athletes all the time. The only way KMC won most of the time was superior technique and conditioning.
Keep the conversation going, it is a worthwhile topic.
