Campers learn from Olympian

Olympian Rulon Gardner was a gold medal amateur Greco-Roman wrestler, but now he plans to teach others what they can achieve. "I'm a coach, I love to promote education, and tell the kids about my life as an athlete and as a student," Gardner said. The gold medalist from the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, came to Weber State University last Wednesday to hold one of more than 20 training camps he hosts every year as part of the Rulon Gardner Summer Camp Series. Northern Utah has "a real hot bed of wrestling," according to Gardner. "Out of all the colleges in Utah, [Weber State University] worked with us and offered us a great deal on housing for the kids to stay and be part of the camp," Gardner said. Gardner's first college wrestling experience as a freshman in high school was when he came to WSU to "watch some guys from Star Valley" who were Schedulewrestling for the university. The weeklong camp included children ranging from six years old to high school aged wrestlers. Gardner said not many children at the camp have a lot of wrestling experience, so he needed to teach fundamentals that would apply to any skill level. "We probably have ten kids that have more than five years, but most are newer than that," Gardner said. The purpose of the camp was to expose wrestlers to the next level of wrestling according to Gardner. "It is not about the Olympics, it is about self-mastery, and that is ultimately what it comes back to," Gardner said. Wrestlers understand this is a "skill that is used throughout life." Members of the WSU wrestling club volunteered to make sure children were using the right techniques Gardner taught them. Kirk Waldron, a sophomore majoring in Nursing said the camp gives kids a chance he never received while growing up. Waldron grew up in a family that did not practice the sport of wrestling, so it took him a while to eventually become involved. "Nobody had ever shown me how to wrestle, unfortunately I had to wait till I was 14," Waldron said. WSU has been without an actual wrestling team since the 1980's. After a long absence, in 2004 a club was created. Waldron said, because of Title IX, which ensures equal opportunity for men and women to participate in NCAA sanctioned sports. Because of Title IX, Waldron said he does not think the school will move the club back to an actual team. "We need more people to come out and practice. I know there are quality wrestlers here at Weber," Waldron said. He thinks more students would be excited to be involved in the club if they knew there was the opportunity for students to compete at a regional and national level. Waldron said volunteering is a way for him to "pay off the debt to the school." WSU paid for Waldron to recently participate at nationals for the wrestling club. For the club to stay active and grow, "it is important to get high quality wrestlers," Waldron said. WSU wrestler, Jordan Cubbedge, a WSU sophomore majoring in Respiratory Therapy said bringing in higher profile names to wrestling camps help boost camp attendance. "We have seen the benefit of bigger guys coming in," Cubbedge said. Members of the WSU wrestling club not only helped out children, but also learned wrestling tips from Rulon Gardner. "Rulon will take us off to the side and help us and help the kids," Cubbedge said. During the camp, Gardner took time away from the mat to teach children the importance of an education and goal setting. "People told me my odds of winning were 2000 to 1," Gardner told a group of wrestlers. "You never know what will happen if you give 100 percent." Gardner told the wrestlers about his journey from growing up on a dairy farm in the small town of Afton, Wyoming to becoming an Olympic gold medalist. He attributes his physical strength to the never-ending work of milking cows twice a day and turning bales of hay on the family farm growing up. Rulon grew up as the youngest of nine children and schooling was not his forte. "When I started my education," Gardner said, "I struggled in school. I was slower than other students. I had a lot of positive people around me, but I also had a lot of people who laughed at me." He told the crowd instead of lashing out at people that put him down, he turned it on himself and figured out what he could do to be better. "Success for me at that point, was to learn something to improve myself and realize my potential," Gardner said. His goal of being a teacher before a wrestler was more important than anything else. After earning his degree in physical education at the University of Nebraska, Gardner shifted his focus and made an "eight year commitment to make it to two Olympics." In 2002, he found himself stranded in the wilderness after his snowmobile fell into the river. Gardner spent the night and more than 15 hours wet and cold in 25 below zero degree weather. His core temperature had dropped to 80 degrees. Doctors told Gardner he would lose his feet and that his wrestling career was over. Gardner said his mind is what allowed him to achieve his goal. "Your mind is such an important piece and people forget about it. If you don't allow your mind to dream, your body will never allow itself to achieve." Gardner kept working and training and eventually went on to win the bronze medal in 2004 at Athens, where he left his shoes on the mat and retired from the sport. In 2007 Gardner saw adversity yet again, when the plane he was riding in crashed into the 43 degree water and he and some friends had to swim to safety and stay huddled together overnight waiting for rescuers once again. Gardner the crowd of children adversity never stops. "Once again, another situation that I never planned for, but life throws you adversity. How do you handle it? You roll with the punches you go with the flow," Gardner said. Rulon told The Signpost in a personal interview that wrestling is one sport where you have to learn to rely on yourself. "There is no corner to hide on a wrestling mat," Gardner said. "You have to wrestle and take it upon yourself to defeat another human being of equal size and usually equal build." The purpose of the wrestling camps are to teach children not only how to wrestle, but also the importance of "setting goals and realizing a dream and executing that," according to Gardner. Rulon said he hopes children can see the potential and light they have. "There may be an Olympic champion here, with the right coaching, right timing, these kids could go far in life if they choose to make that commitment," Gardner said. More plans are in the works for Gardner. In July he will be traveling overseas to host a clinic in Vienna, Austria. When he comes back he plans to work on organizing a health club in Logan. "I have been working on [the club] for the last four years," Gardner said. The Rulon Gardner Elite Training Center will feature grappling, Mixed Martial Arts fighting and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu training. Gardner hopes to use the facility to teach and also cultivate some future Olympic wrestlers out of Utah. "I was a good wrestler, but I'm a teacher now. That is what I think I'm best at," Gardner said.