Combat Endurance Training

Here’s another excerpt from my good friend, Freddy McGaver. Check it out!

-Fred Nicklaus

GET THE BALL IN THE HOOP Part 2

Weingard told me, “Coach Al announced his retirement today and when he came in to the building, there were reporters upstairs. He just had a press conference at noon, told reporters that he needed to work with his team, and would appreciate it if they would not come around. So when he got there, he said, “Either you leave or I will” and he went down to the dressing room to hide as Sam Cook, the custodian, got everybody who was not associated with the team out of the building. After about ten minutes, he went back upstairs and got to work.”

When I finished telling Bob Weingard the story, he said, “There is a good chance you did more for Coach Al than he did for you. Sometimes we need a place to go to just to clear our heads so we can refocus.”

For several years, I often thought about “getting the ball in the hoop.” It might have been get the leg, get the arm, get the hand, get your step, and on and on. It was a great lesson for me to learn to really focus.

Years later, fifteen years after the fact, I was telling some high school wrestlers about the story of when Coach Al told me to “get the ball in the hoop.” I’d forgotten that somebody else had been in the room with me. Scotty, who was coaching with me, told me that he had also been in the gym that day. Sometimes, when Scotty and I were coaching and it was crunch time for one of our wrestlers, he would say, “Hey, Professor, it’s time to get the ball in the hoop,” and we would laugh about the lesson we’d learned long ago.

I am sure I’ve thought about Coach McGuire’s words every month since I first heard them.
—-

Letter from Mitch Hull, Director of National Teams, USA Wrestling

Dear Freddy,

Congratulations on the publication of “My Three Dads and the Life-Changing Power of Mentorship.” I remember working with and learning from you in our college days. It is amazing how our paths have intersected over our many years of training. As I reflect on my days at Purdue University, I was reminded of how you helped my athletes train for the NCAA Division I Tournament when you were in your late 30s. It was interesting to see how you could push yourself to improve. You taught the younger men that they, too, could achieve more if they decided to work hard.

One of my cherished moments is winning a match against you. The score was 1-1 on criteria. The reason I am grateful the match went my way is that you were an opponent to be respected. Your longevity in the sport of wrestling meant that your opponents respected you and were always careful to never underestimate you. Everyone who has trained with you agrees that you have a strong work ethic and a real sense of fairness, both of which are ingrained in you.

You were a training partner to many of the best wrestlers in the world for over 20 years, which is a testament to how your endurance and skill allowed you to succeed in and contribute to a very difficult sport. It was an honor for me to present you with the “Olympic Diploma” in 2001. The inscription read, “For a remarkable contribution, as a Volunteer, to the development of the sport of wrestling and Olympism, and to the promotion of friendship and solidarity among peoples.”

Your commitment to USA Wrestling as a competitor, coach and ambassador is proof of your loyalty to our sport and your willingness to help others. We are also very appreciative of your generosity in contributing part of the proceeds from your book to support USA Wrestling National Teams. Your support will help benefit some of the over 700,000 athletes who partici-pate in our summer programs, which feed into the teams that represent the US in various World and Olympic wrestling competitions. Best wishes for continued success as you take a stand for what is good in our society by inviting and encour-aging so many to engage in mentorship. It is said the work of a teacher or coach will last for generations. Thanks again for making a difference.

Sincerely
Mitch Hull Director of National Teams USA Wrestling

Here’s another excerpt from my good friend, Freddy McGaver. Enjoy!

-Fred Nicklaus

GET THE BALL IN THE HOOP

One day, I was working out in the wrestling room at Marquette University about hour before practice with Scott Grudzinski, whom I knew from another school in the Milwaukee area. We were both working out for an upcoming tournament and each had to cut some serious weight. When I was a freshman at Marquette, I wrestled at 177 pounds, which was a challenging weight for me to maintain (my average weight was around 210).

Scotty was a state champion from Milwaukee Juneau High School, and now was a freshman at another college and getting ready for a tournament. We jumped rope for five minutes at a time and took one minute off, for a total of twenty-five minutes of rope jumping.

Just as we finished, in came Al McGuire. He slammed the door and then slid his back against the wall, eventually going to the floor and wrapping his arms around his knees. He apparently hadn’t realized that anyone else was in the room when he first walked in. It was only after he had been sitting a few seconds that he realized Scott and I were there, as we had the lights on only in the far section.

I asked Coach McGuire, “Hey, Coach, can I ask a question?” and he said, “You already did. What is your next question?”

“What is the trick to getting through this place?”

He replied, “I don’t know. I never went to school here. I don’t know a thing about it. What I do know is I have fifteen idiots upstairs who know everything about basketball. One guy wants to take a twenty-five foot bunny shot. Another guy says „Throw it to me, throw it to me. Let me shoot. Another guy wants to throw it through the hoop like a piece of paper in a wastebasket and another guy wants to run around the other guys and bounce the ball.”

“Sometimes you have to get a tutor, sometimes you have to come in early and stay late, sometimes you have to ask for help, sometimes you have to do extra credit, sometimes you have to kiss a little butt. I don’t know what you have to do, but I do know that sometimes you have to bounce the ball to get it closer to the hoop. Sometimes the bunny shot can win the game, and sometimes…”

Then he stood up and said, “Hey, kid, I don’t know what you have to do; just get the ball in the hoop,” and then more intensely and loudly as he moved his hands at chest level and chopped the air. With each chop, he said one word at a time, “Get the ball in the hoop. Just get the ball in the hoop. Just get the ball in the hoop.”

When he left and started walking down the hall, he was still moving his hands and saying, “Get the ball in the hoop!”

About twenty minutes later, I went down to the training room and told Bob Weingard what had happened.

He who doesn’t know that he doesn’t know is a fool—shun him;
He who doesn’t know that he knows,
is asleep—wake him.
He who knows that he doesn’t know is a child—teach him.
He who knows that he knows,
is wise—follow him.
—Persian Proverb