Adeline Gray works to pin China’s Yuanyuan Jiao at the 2010 Dave Schultz Memorial International. Larry Slater photo. Continued from page 8
“I took to the basic moves, and it shows the basics are the best things ever. You can’t fight with those, they work.” Then there’s George – the father of four, the imposing pres-
ence.
“My dad embarrassed me one time,” she said. “I remember I was a freshman and a boy came to pick me up. My dad was leaving on a call and he went to the car and asked the boy for his driver’s license, his registration and gave him a hard time. I was so embarrassed. The boy wouldn’t speak to me the whole date!” “We laugh about it because I’m not a small guy or anything,” said George. “I have this reputation that I’m a big, tough SWAT cop. I’m probably the easiest guy to get along with. The one they should fear is my wife, Donna. She’s the enforcer!” Even as a “daddy’s girl,” Gray has put her father’s career in its place with the help of her mother.
Gray was eight years old when the Columbine tragedy hap- pened.
George was on that call as a SWAT officer. “My mom helped me with that,” said Gray. “I never thought about it and she never let it show. Someone brought up the question when I was in elementary or middle school. ‘Doesn’t it scare you he’s doing all these dangerous things?’” “For three days, I was flipping out,” she recalled. “You don’t over think it. You can’t think about it. If you do, you’ll drive your- self crazy. You have to accept it. He’s good at his job and he’s going to be OK. My mom said you don’t panic until you get a call that tells you to panic.”
Gray said her relationship with her father is a microcosm of why so many girls are getting involved in wrestling. “You get to wake up at 5 a.m. and drive to weigh-ins with your
father,” she said. “The smile he gets when you win is just a wonderful feeling. I think that’s why there are so many girls in wrestling, it’s because they can have a relationship with their fathers.”
“She surprises me every time,” said George. “It’s been neat to see her succeed.”
USA Wrestler 9
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