NCAA champ brings experience to wrestling clinic

While hosting a benefit car wash, the South Fort Myers High wrestling team reeled in more than just money for their young program.

The Wolfpack landed something far more valuable than a jar of dollar bills when two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion Pat Milkovich happened to be passing by.

Milkovich, a part-time Fort Myers resident, pulled into the car wash. As Wolfpack wrestlers soaped and rinsed, Milkovich struck up a conversation with South coach Mark Modica. The chance meeting resulted in Milkovich — who won national titles as a freshman and sophomore at Michigan State in the 1970s — offering to hold a three-day clinic last week at South Fort Myers.

"He brings a championship attitude. Having him around is incredible for the kids," said Modica. "In three days, I've seen such a growth. It's incredible."

About 40 Lee County wrestlers ranging from elementary to high school ages participated in the clinic. Modica said he hopes to add Collier County wrestlers next year.

A dozen Wolfpack wrestlers joined others from Estero, Fort Myers, Mariner and North Fort Myers. Competitors during the season, this group was united in listening and learning from a man who won three Big 10 titles before embarking on a lengthy coaching career at his alma mater and at Adams High School in Rochester Hills, Mich.

"Every time he talks you learn something new," said South wrestler Scott Grazier.

"He's taught us how it's a thinking man's game and you have to learn how to react," added Grazier's teammate Zach Bobbitt.

No matter the age or weight class — Grazier wrestles at 145 and Bobbitt at 160 — the clinic proved beneficial.

"He taught me how to get in a lot more shots and do a lot of things smaller guys do, so it's going to be to my advantage come the season when everyone is still throwing and I'm getting into the shots," said Fort Myers heavyweight Jordan Knight. "He taught me a lot more technique. It's an effective camp."

Thanks to Milkovich, Modica already knows his second-year team will be improved when it hits the mats this winter.

Photo by KEVIN JOHNSON, Banner

Former NCAA Division I wrestling champion Pat Milkovich works with Fort Myers High wrestlers Paul Roach, left, and David Roberts during a wrestling clinic at South Fort Myers High last week.

"It's the best thing ever for our program," said Modica. "The kids are seeing what it takes to be a champion. He's been great for our program. I expect us to get a lot better from what he's given us."

Milkovich, a native of Cleveland, made Michigan State's wrestling team as a walk-on and proceeded to win back-to-back NCAA titles at 126 pounds in his first two years and then took runner-up honors as a junior and senior. Milkovich holds the distinction of being the youngest wrestler (18 years, 3 months) to win a NCAA wrestling title.

The four-time All-American is a member of the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame and the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.

Milkovich and his wife are both retired school teachers who split time between The Landings and Michigan.

Using tennis as a comparison, Milkovich stressed that mastering the basics is critical in wrestling.

"If you don't have a good ground stroke, you're going to have a tough time playing tennis," said Milkovich. "In our sport, if you don't have a good drop step or stance, then you'll have a tough time being successful.

"Everyone knows the same basic moves. Why do some teams and coaches do them better? It's because when they learn them correctly and they learn them precisely."

But Milkovich's teaching philosophy stretches beyond the mats, and it's one that he hopes sinks in with youngsters.

"I like what sports do for kids," he said. "It's not the medal and it's not the championship. It's who you become in the process as a person."

That's why he emphasizes discipline, patience, commitment and making good decisions.

"I don't teach just wrestling. I'm always blending into it the positive character traits we would all like to see our kids have," he said.

It's something he describes as the "championship edge."

"You apply it to your relationships, your work, any goal in life," he said.