I attended Mohawk High School Columbus, Ohio, from 1969 until 1972. It is one of my fondest memories of times past. I often wonder if I would have approached those years differently if I knew then what I know now? I doubt it. Part of the memory is walking into that school for the first time as a tenth grader, not really knowing anyone. Most of my friends from Franklin Junior High School, went to East High School. I don’t really remember anything particularly unpleasant about my first year in regards to meeting new people. I most remember going to the football games and trying to decide if I was going to try out for the basketball team as that was the thing to do back then. I didn’t make the team that year and decided not to try again my junior year. However, I was determined to participate in some type of sports activity, but football was out of the question for me – I felt I was too small.

After some discussions among my fellow classmates, I decided to try out for the wrestling team. I didn’t have any experience with wrestling, but it turned out to be the best move I could have made. I could wrestle in my weight class, I could have individual success and I could help the team win. We were a small school, so all of our weight classes weren’t populated. This made it even more important for each of us to win our matches if we were to have any chance of winning dual meets or placing higher in the tournaments. We encouraged each other and worked hard in practice to help everyone to be their best. Wrestling was a key factor in my personal development during my high school years. It reinforced my work ethic, taught me patience, it helped me to understand the importance of team and it brought a measure of respect from my classmates. During my senior year I was very fortunate to win the City League 126 pound title and finish the year with a 26-1 won-loss record.

Wrestling also taught me how important it was to stay in shape throughout the year. It didn’t hurt that the coach strongly encouraged us to participate in some other sports during the off season. I chose to tryout for the track team. I ended up competing as the 800 meter runner for our team. I was quite unremarkable in this sport and mostly remember thinking that I would be glad when wrestling season came around again. I did earn my letter in track, but it still didn’t motivate me to try out for the Cross Country Team as my two coaches now wanted me to do. Instead, I hooked up with some other local wrestlers and we practiced together and entered AAU, YMCA and local RecreationCenter tournaments. Track only lasted one year for me, but it did serve a purpose.

I would have to say that football was the sport that kind of pulled the student body together. We weren’t necessarily all that good, but the pep rallies and home games made for fun times. I really liked going to the few out of town games that we had because we would load up the car and just enjoy the ride. I had the opportunity to report the results of our games to a local radio station each Friday night. I would call in my comments and they would be relayed over the air. Those were really good times – Cheer Leaders, Drum Majors, Marching Bands and hotdogs.

What memories do you recall?