WHO’S NEXT? USAW STAR OF THE FUTURE
Making the grade I
FILA Cadet World champion Adam Coon of Michigan excels on and off wrestling mat
By Craig Sesker t was one of those rare father-son moments that Dan Coon had envisioned sharing with his son. Adam Coon had qualified for the FILA Cadet World Championships and his father flew overseas with him to provide coaching and guidance this past summer in
Szombathely, Hungary. “I had always dreamed of taking my son on one of those cul-
tural trips overseas,” said Dan Coon, the head wrestling coach at Fowlerville (Mich.) High School. “We had some great times, just spending time in Hungary and seeing another culture. It was great. We are history buffs, so we really enjoyed it.” Adam Coon made a little history of his own when he won a
Cadet World title in freestyle wrestling at 220 pounds. “It was so great to have my dad in the corner for that,” Adam
Coon said. “He’s been in my corner since I was eight years old. It was absolutely fantastic to be able to share that with him. We have a great relationship.” Coon won his championship in dramatic fashion, pinning Georgia’s Geno Petriashvili in the finals. Coon trailed 4-0 in the first period before catching Petriashvili in a body lock and plant- ing him on his back to secure a first-period fall. “I knew he was going to shoot in low and I knew I had to stop
his shot,” Coon said. “He went right into my body lock and I crushed him over to his back. I wasn’t going to let go until the ref slapped the mat, the pin was confirmed and the ref told us to get up because the match was over. I was so excited. It was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.” The 17-year-old Coon just started his junior year of high
school, but he is already drawing NCAA Division I recruiting attention in football and wrestling. Now 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Coon is a standout offensive lineman and linebacker in football. “Adam is being recruited by everybody in football,” said Dan
Coon, who is USA Wrestling’s state chairman in Michigan. “He’s received letters from all the Big Ten schools and SEC schools. He has a lot of options.” That option for college may not include football. Adam Coon
won Michigan state high school wrestling titles as a freshman and sophomore at 215 pounds. He plans to bump up to heavyweight this year. “I am keeping my options open,” Adam Coon said. “I will have
a chance to play football or wrestle in college.” Coon loves the challenge of stepping on a wrestling mat. “It’s just you out there,” he said. “Nobody controls whether
you win or lose except yourself. I love the intensity and I love the feeling when you win a big match. It also is a sport that can really humble you when you lose.”
30 USA Wrestler
High school junior Adam Coon of Fowlerville, Mich., is already drawing recruiting attention from NCAA Division I schools in wrestling and football. John Sachs photo.
Before winning his Cadet World title, Coon won a Junior Nationals Greco-Roman title this past summer in Fargo, N.D. He followed by placing third in freestyle. He lost to Morgan McIntosh, the high school wrestler of the year, in freestyle. McIntosh is now at Penn State. “I had just won a national championship in Greco, but then I
ran into someone who was better than me in freestyle,” Coon said. “McIntosh is a great wrestler. It let me know I have work to do. I need to continue to work and continue to get better.” Dan Coon, a two-time NCAA Division III All-American for Alma College in Michigan, has worked closely with his son. Dan Coon has coached at the collegiate level. “My dad pushes me to excel in everything I do – in school
and in sports,” Adam said. “He does it in a positive way. He never tears you down or brings you down. He gives me a lot of encouragement and does it in a good way.”
Continued on page 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44