By Kyle Klingman, W.I.N. Staff Writer
Simply walking through the door at Joe’s Nighthawk in Waverly, Iowa, Nov. 15, was reason for inspiration. Virtually everyone who had made a name for themselves in wrestling in the state of Iowa was there. Four Olympic champions, three World medalists, arguably the greatest high school coach ever and a combined 15 NCAA Division I titles were present that night. This certainly was a special night for wrestling.
The event was called the Joe’s Nighthawk Preseason Wrestling Kickoff, but that name only tells part of the story. This was an interesting mixture of several different things. A more accurate description is one part last comic standing, two parts roast, two parts stories, three parts wrestling reunion, four parts food and beverages, two parts autographs and pictures and three parts fun. Put them altogether and you get one of the best wrestling experiences in the country.
“There’s not a program like this anywhere,” Wartburg head coach Jim Miller said of the festivities. “We had World Team members there, we had NCAA and Olympic champions there and then you add in the caliber of coaches on stage at one time, it’s pretty incredible. They have to stand up for what they’re going to say right in front of the coaches.
“Whether you’re an Iowa State fan or an Iowa fan, you’re there to hear what’s going on and to hear what the other school has going. There’s nowhere to hide. I had a guy from Ohio come up to me this year saying that they needed to start something like this in their state.”
“It’s unique because it’s in a relaxed atmosphere and (wrestling coaches) don’t get that very often when we get together. Usually it’s a competitive atmosphere when we’re around each other. Here’s something that’s before things really get started hot and heavy. You can relax, you’re not competing, you’re not nervous; you’re not getting a kid ready to compete. You have fans from all the different areas. You have Iowa, Iowa State, and Northern Iowa fans in there having fun with each other in a fun atmosphere. You really get to see these coaches in a different light. It’s really kind of a family night out for wrestling.”
The concept of the gathering was to have have local Iowa high school coaches and statewide college coaches discuss their upcoming season. In years past schools like Minnesota and Nebraska have also had representation. A platform with a podium is set up so each coach can address the audience. Three microphones were in place this year — one for the loudspeaker and two for radio programs that were carrying the show live. Four local television stations had cameras covering the event as well.
The inaugural event occurred in 1995 with five high school coaches, four college coaches, and around 100 fans. Now, 12 years later, those numbers have grown to near capacity. This year’s kickoff brought in over 300 fans, 20 high school coaches and, of course, the headliners: Tom Brands of Iowa, Jim Miller of Wartburg, Brad Penrith of Northern Iowa and Cael Sanderson of Iowa State.
“The first few years we had maybe five or 10 high school coaches and now we’ll have people calling us wondering why they aren’t on the program,” said Joe Breitbach, the bar’s owner. “We had to go to two groups of high school coaches this year just to fit everyone in. With that in mind we’ve tried to do the same thing with the college coaches.
“We ran into the signing date for recruits for a while which made the date of the event move quite often but now we’re pretty much locked into the second Wednesday night of November so it makes it a lot easier.”
(You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to W.I.N. Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)