Hometown Heroes

I may be living in Lebron James's hometown, but for me the real hometown hero is Harry Lester, Greco-Roman wrestler at 66 kg.  Lester, a 4x Ohio State Champion, was also born and raised in Akron.  Despite having earned World Bronze medals in 2006 and 2007 and fifth place at last year's Worlds, this is Lester's Olympic debut.  And of course I'll also be pulling for Ellis "The Flying Squirrel" Coleman, a former Team Illinois teammate of mine.  At ONLY 20 YEARS OLD, the Oak-Park River Forest High School alum is the US representative at 60 kg in Greco-Roman.  I have no problem cheering for any of the guys on Team USA, regardless of their state or school affiliation, because of the national unity that is Team USA, but the real dilemma I've come across this summer is...

Which high school age wrestlers to root for???  The National Duals were in June and Fargo just ended this past weekend, and I wasn't sure if I should want Illinois or Ohio to win.  It would be easy to jump on the Illinois bandwagon, as they won the duals in five of six divisions (double titles in Schoolboy and Junior, Greco title in Cadet) and crushed the competition in Junior Greco at Fargo (1st place with 86, next best were Iowa and Pennsylvania tied for 2nd with 40!), but Ohio is the state I'll be coaching in this coming season.  Don't get me wrong, Ohio wrestlers are no slouches either.  They may even have an edge on Illinois in folkstyle, but I have to say they were nowhere near the forefront of the freestyle and Greco world this summer (although they usually do well at the duals and Fargo; what was the deal this year?)

Whatever state you represent, be sure to watch the Olympics this summer!  The Opening Ceremonies are in two days and wrestling begins in 11 days.  Try to pick up a thing or two by watching their technique or listening to the media's interviews with them.  Be inspired by them, set goals, and dream big!

Cheer on your home country's heroes,
Jeff