BEREA, OH-- Former Iowa State wrestling great and University of Iowa head coach Dan Gable was in the Baldwin-Wallace Recreation Center today, Monday, July 14th for the two-week long Iowa Wrestling Camp. Gable then sat down with local media at a formal round table discussion to answer some questions.
"We are pleased and honored to have Dan Gable on our campus today and happy to have Jim Zalesky and the Iowa Wrestling Camp at Baldwin-Wallace College," said Yellow Jacket veteran Head Coach Rich Fleming. "The coaches and the student-athletes in the Iowa program are first-class. It is a program that has a level of success that we hope the Baldwin-Wallace program can emulate. We hope this has been a good experience for Jim Zalesky, Dan Gable and the Iowa wrestling program."
The discussion with Gable and the media consisted on his wrestling career as a participant at the collegiate and Olympic levels and on his career as a coach at both Iowa and with the United States Olympic team. It also focused on issues such as Title IX and Gender Equity to uses of banned substances in amatuer athletics.
"I am currently on an eight-day tour of doing clinics, speaking to groups and raising funds for the governing bodies for wrestling in the United States," said Gable. "I am committed to the sport of wrestling in this country and to the young people who participate in it.
"I had a great experience in the sport of wrestling as both a participant and as a coach," said Gable, "But I get my greatest satisfaction from the sport as a coach. I thoroughly enjoyed making a difference in the lives of young people. Wrestling can teach young people lessons that can be learned later in life in terms of discipline.
"This camp is in Cleveland because it is a hotbed of wrestling in this country," said Gable. "There are so many great young people from this area who have competed in this sport. It is also the venue for the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Dual Match Tournament this year. Although the University of Iowa will not be one of the participating schools, we (Gable and current Iowa Head Coach Jim Zalesky) wanted to make sure that Iowa was represented in this area.
"The facility here at Baldwin-Wallace is excellent," continued Gable. "It is so close to the airport and this camp gives an opportunity for kids from all over the country to participate. I was talking with kids today who were from California, Michigan, Illinois and New York, and I am sure there were more."
Gable went on to talk about members of the leadership in this country who have wrestled and how wrestling made a difference in their lives. One person he mentioned was Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of the Defense.
In terms of the issue of Title IX and Gender Equity, Gable felt that changes are occurring that are both good and bad.
"As a father of three daughters, I am happy to see more opportunities for them," said Gable. "But I feel bad that at times it is at the expense of having opportunities for others. There is no easy solution to the problem and it will take a lot more time to find a solution. I feel bad for the young person at the collegiate level who does not have an opportunity to participate in wrestling or swimming or baseball or tennis because of what has happened. I think over time that changes will be made to make it better for everyone."
In terms of substances or other issues regarding wrestling, Gable felt the key issue in the sport was weight loss.
"This issue has been one that has been discussed for many years, and I think we have a solid handle on it now," said Gable. "It is one that we want to keep a handle on too. When it affects lives, you need to be very careful because life is too precious."
Gable served as the University of Iowa'a head coach for 21 years and is the winningest coach of all-time. During his time, he compiled a career-record of 355-21-2, all at Iowa. He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 national champions, 106 Big Ten champions and 10 Olympians, including four gold medalists.
Another impressive note in his resume is that Gable's teams won the Big Ten title every years that he reigned as the head coach at Iowa. He captured nine consecutive NCAA Championships from 1978-86, which equals the longest streak of nationl titles won by any school in any sport. He also had a winning percentage of .932 while at Iowa.
Gable was chosen several times to be the head coach of the United States Olympic teams, including 1984 team that not only featured four of his own Hawkeyes, but also captured seven gold medals as well.
Regarded as on the most prominent collegiate wrestlers ever, Gable compiled a 118-1 record at Iowa State. He won his first 117 college matches, an NCAA record, before losing the only match of his career in the NCAA finals his senior year. During his prep and college career, he had an incredible 182-1 record and was undefeated in 64 prep matches before enrolling at Iowa State.
Gable was a three-time All-American, three-time Big Eight champion and two-time national champion. He was named to the U.S.A. Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1980 and to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1985.
Information from this story was taken from the College Wrestling website located at www.collegewrestling.iptv.org/dan.cfm.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple in the B-W Sports Information Office by phone at (440) 826-2327, by FAX at (440) 826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. You can also access all current wrestling information via the College's InterNet Web Site at www.bw.edu/athletics.
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