Dantzler kisses his shoes before leaving them on the mat after his final match in 2010. USA Wrestling file photo. Continued from page 19
2014.
“That day, I didn’t feel good. I think, I shouldn’t have made the weight that many times with the amount of weight I was cutting. I’m not making any excuses. That first match which I had was a bad matchup for the style I wrestle, and recovering from the cut. I didn’t feel good, and I wrestled a guy who was a grinder. Bacsi from Hungary, he’s a cement mixer,” said Dantzler. Dantzler continued to wrestle on-and-off for the next two years, winning a 2009 U.S. Open title and placing second and fourth at the World Team Trials. His focus had changed to hav- ing fun with his wrestling, while spending more on his business and his growing family. After the 2010 season, Dantzler stopped competing, but has never stopped being involved with wrestling. TCLogiq has continued to expand, and keeps Dantzler busy. “The company continues to grow. Background screens are more day-to-day for a lot of companies and industries. Society is going more in that direction. The health care industry, with the Affordable Care Act, that has helped us as well in that segment. Working with the NGBs with their programs is also going well. Society is going in this direction and we are there at the right time,” said Dantzler.
At the high school system where his children attend, he has become an assistant wrestling coach and assistant football coach at Pine Creek High School. Pine Creek was a state wrestling team champion a few seasons ago, and was the state champion in football this past season. Dantzler’s sons, Thomas and Tyce, are now wrestling. In addition, he has created the Front Range Wrestling Club, which is mentoring young athletes in Colorado. Last year, at the Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, his club had six individual All-Americans. One of his athletes, G’Angelo Hancock, earned a spot on the UWW Junior World Greco-Roman team this year. “We learned so much when taking our journey. It is so valu- able. We take it for granted when we are on that journey. I feel
20 USA Wrestler
like we need to give it back. There is so much information that can die with us. I think too many people leave the sport and don’t leave enough based on what the sport gave them. You can say something to a wrestler that can change their life. Dan Gable said something to me that changed my wrestling career and I still remember it. It made me believe I could beat anybody at wrestling and win NCAA titles. You could say one thing to a person that changes their lives,” he said.
He enjoys the role of coach, and is using some of the lessons he learned from his coaches along the path. “It’s fun. As a coach, you are in a different mode. You act like you are not listening to the kids, but you are listening to every- thing. They are so much like I was at their age. My high school coach Jarred Hubbard used to say there are some kids you have to kick and some you have to hug. I never knew what that meant until about four years ago. Everybody’s needs are differ- ent. As a high school coach, I ask the kids what they did that day, what they learned in school. I try not to keep it just to sport. Those little things make a difference for a lot of kids,” he said. Dantzler had an unexpected challenge this past year, when he suffered a pair of strokes.
“Having a stroke is a humbling experience. I couldn’t walk unassisted for eight weeks. I couldn’t feed myself. You are talk- ing about a world-class athlete who can’t do basic mechanical things. It appears I had an old injury, eight-or-10 years old that I didn’t know about. Some doctors told me nobody survives this stroke. Because I was in such good shape, I was able to sur- vive. It puts a new touch on life. Because I wrestled, I will be pretty much unscathed when I get through this recovery. Rehab was challenging from a mental perspective, but wrestling helped prepare me for that,” he said. For Dantzler, it all comes back to family.
“The success I have achieved is largely due to my great fami-
ly. My wife is strong. You don’t get to see it until something hap- pens. My family is my stronghold,” he said.
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