Also, the fact that he has never been a head coach. So, basically your novel is full of misinformation and pure speculation.
THE NEW COACH
Windsor High School had one state wrestling medalist in its history prior to Dennis’ arrival in the fall of 2013.
The former Iowa star brought college-level intensity and a fresh set of training methods. The Jaguars have collected seven state medals in the past three years.
“He has the right kind of mindset for a young athlete to attach to,” said Brett Colombini, whose son, Beau, was a state medalist for Windsor. “I think he resonated with the kids because he just came out of college wrestling a few years ago. The kids saw something fresh, somebody they could look up to.”
The high school athletes would watch in amazement as Dennis more than held his own against DuCharme and Brett Colombini, despite giving up more than 75 pounds.
“He’d pester us and make us wrestle him,” DuCharme said. “The guy is a freak of nature. I’ve never seen anyone as strong as that guy.”
Colombini won 111 matches during his career at Minnesota and placed fourth in the 1995 NCAA Champioships at 177 pounds.
“I’ve never got ahold of somebody at a lower weight class like that who felt like a guy I wrestled in my weight class,” he said. “He’s incredibly strong.”
One question seemed to surface each time Dennis stepped on the mat inside the Windsor practice room: Why isn’t this guy still competing?
Dennis would tell people he was too old and broken down. Truth be told, though, the time away from competitive wrestling had been good for his body. The strength in his left arm returned and he felt better than he had in years.
He might not have known it then, but his mental game was stronger than ever, too.
Dennis returned last March to Iowa City to spend a couple weeks around the program prior to the NCAA Championships. It soon became apparent his skills, strength and stamina hadn’t diminished during the time off.
And it wasn’t long before those inside the Iowa room started asking the same question: Why isn’t he competing?
“I had a conversation with him in the sauna and I told him, ‘Selfishly, I want you here, but unselfishly, it’s got to be up to you and what you want out of it,’” said Metcalf, the No. 1 seed for the Olympic Trials at 143 pounds. “But even if he (wasn’t sure about competing again), I wanted him here because of how good of a training partner he is. The areas that he’s very good in … there’s really no one else in this room that can replicate that.”
Others were more persistent and persuasive.
Former Iowa great Royce Alger came to appreciate Dennis for his disheveled beard and whimsical personality, along with his wrestling acumen. Alger launched a relentless recruiting pitch to add Dennis to the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club roster. He called one night last March when Dennis was back in the Chicago suburbs visiting his mother.
They were playing cribbage after dinner when Dennis told his mom about the campaign taking place back in Iowa City to get him back on the mat again. Her response was all he needed to hear.
“Your dad would’ve loved to have seen you wrestle again,” Jane Dennis told her son.
