Rob Ullyott

I can tell that our program made a difference

Ullyott resigns from coaching Laker wrestling after 30 years

When Rob Ullyott took over the Detroit Lakes wrestling head coaching position in 1996, he was determined to build a culture that would impact student-athletes positively. As Ullyott steps down from the job 26 years later, it’s safe to say the program is in a better place than when he found it.

Ullyott announced he was resigning from the head coaching role in a Facebook post this week–putting an end to a combined 32 years of coaching wrestling.

“There were a lot of contributing factors,” Ullyott said of his decision to resign. “I think change is good. If we want to take further steps with our program and grow, I think new blood is an important thing. You can only build something so far, and it takes a lot of energy and new ideas to help programs continue to grow. I think our program might benefit from a change in leadership.”

Ullyott got his start in his hometown of Walhalla, ND, in 1990 as an assistant coach. He then moved to Detroit Lakes to take a teaching job in 1992, which led him to the Laker wrestling program. After five years of being a Detroit Lakes assistant coach, he took his first and last head coaching gig. Continue reading at dl-online.com →

The Guillotine – March 18, 2021

The March 18, 2021 issue of The Guillotine has arrived! Content in this issue includes: The Best Is Yet To Come - Mounds View Wrestling | Overcoming Adversity and Near Misses Together - Rob Ullyott and Detroit Lakes Wrestling | Lace 'Em Up | Camps-Clinics-Training | MWCA Report | High School Rankings | Ask The Doc | View From The Matbird Seat | The Secret Weapon - Garrett Nelson | Officially Speaking | Where Have They Gone? - Steve Carr | Performance Nutrition - Power-Up With Produce.

View this issue below.

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Overcoming Adversity and Near Misses Together

Rob Ullyott and Detroit Lakes Wrestling

By Brian Jerzak

When the Detroit Lakes Lakers' wrestling team won back-to-back section championships during the 2003-04 and the 2004-05 season, it was the first and second time in program history to win a section championship. Detroit Lakes had been wrestling – outside of a three-year period where they disbanded the program – since the '50s. Before head coach Rob Ullyott took the head job, the Lakers had only had one dual season in which they finished over the .500 mark. After taking the head job in 1996, the program has had only one losing season. Last season, the Lakers made it back to State for the third time. In between, the Lakers were forced to endure several near misses.

"We were there in 2004 and 2005; those were the first years we had been there," head coach Rob Ullyott said. "We had been in the section finals a number of years, but we weren't good enough to win. A lot of years, it was Perham, of course."

"We were in the section finals the past five years," Ullyott said about the Lakers' most recent run to State. "We had been in the hunt. We were young and had a really good team two years ago. Perham was just so good that year, but we knew we had an opportunity last year. Our weight classes filled in nicely and had most of our kids back. Then we had a terrible football injury. Isaiah Thompson was a two-time state champ, and he missed the season. We didn't know what to expect going into the season. He is a great kid and a leader – how was the team going to adjust? They just picked up and went. Nobody dwelled on it. They worked hard all year and had a great year."

One of the many reasons the program was able to overcome such a devastating start and still make it to State and to place third was because the program has laid a solid foundation where results are significant, but not the most important.

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