I recently got an email from a teacher and coach in Chicago who wanted
to share a story about his recent experience with University of
Minnesota Wrestling Coach J Robinson.
Rob Harman is an elementary teacher at Howe School of Excellence, which
is located in one of the highest crime and poverty areas of Chicago.
Two different students in Rob's class had family members murdered
recently which apparently isn't all that uncommon in that area of
Chicago.
Harman, with support of the school's administration, started a middle
school wrestling team this year to try to give some of the students a
positive experience. Surprisingly his kids had immediate success. They
won both the 5th/6th and 7th/8th grade divisions in the Chicago Public
Schools City Wrestling Championships.
Harman, who attended a J Robinson camp back in the 90’s as a wrestler,
sent Coach Robinson an email simply to pass on a nice story about what
the boys had accomplished.
"He wrote back and asked what he could do to help," stated Harman. "I
told him that most of the boys live in extreme poverty and many didn’t
have shorts to train in so they used their school pants during
practice. "He said he’d fix that!"
Last week, not only did Coach Robinson provide shirts and t-shirts to
all 42 kids participating in their program, he also travelled to the
west side of Chicago and personally conducted a clinic for them. "I
couldn’t believe it. The kids were so excited to learn moves from an
Olympian and were enthralled when he talked to them about setting
goals, work ethic and what it takes to be successful in life (not just
sports)," said Harman. "If I could only get them that interested when
I’m teaching in class!"
"I’m extremely thankful for all that Coach did for us and feel it
should be shared with others," said Harman. "What an exceptional human
being!"
Coach J Robinson puts on a clinic for wrestlers at Chicago's Howe School of Excellence. Related: School finds wrestling is a winning move - chicagotribune.com
Sport motivates students to be champions on and off the mat
