Last weekend, the Yorkton Regional High School wrestling team was given the opportunity to learn from some of the most influential names in the sport.
Leo McGee, the head coach of the University of Regina Rams wrestling team since 1985 and his brother Dan McGee, assistant coach of the Rams and the Southern Saskatchewan high performance coach, spent two hours on Saturday afternoon teaching local wrestlers as much as they could.
The McGees’ link to Yorkton is through the head coach of the YRHS wrestling team, Austin Hovrisko.
Hovrisko was part of the Rams wrestling team from 1999-2004. He returned to Yorkton last year, which is when he got involved with local wrestling.
“I told [Leo] I was starting a program and working with the kids here, and he just loved it,” said Hovrisko. “He called me earlier this week and said ‘I want to come down and hold a camp.’”
Hovrisko explained that Leo recruited him back when he was part of the YRHS wrestling team. The team wasn’t the strongest at the time, but Hovrisko had some success because of his athletic ability.
“I would lose, but Leo likes rural kids. He likes the big, strong farm kids as he always likes to say,” said Hovrisko.
The YRHS coach wanted the local athletes to get a taste of the next level of the sport from some very experienced coaches.
“Today, we’re refining very simple techniques, the tempo is a lot higher than what I usually put them through, and for them I think that’s huge. I think they need to see the work ethic they need to put in,” offered Hovrisko.
The McGees
Both Leo and Dan have long resumes when it comes to coaching wrestling.
During his time as head coach at U of R, Leo has led the men’s wrestling team to two national titles and 10 Canada West championships. He’s a seven-time Canada West Coach of the Year, and was the CIS Coach of the Year in 1997 after coaching his team to the first national championship in the school’s history.
He’s coached Canada’s junior national team and the national senior ‘B’ team. He’s coached teams at the Commonwealth Championships, the Goodwill Games and the World University Games, and he’s had athletes go on to compete in the Summer Olympics.
Leo spoke about his brother, explaining that Dan’s job is to seek out Saskatchewan athletes of all ages who are talented enough to be placed on national teams.
When the coaches host camps in smaller places like Yorkton, Leo said it sometimes helps them build the University of Regina team for the future.
“The nucleus of the team comes from throughout the entire province of Saskatchewan,” Leo explained. “We try to get out and help people who are in areas in Saskatchewan who want to develop the sport of wrestling.”
But what really drew Leo to Yorkton was Hovrisko. He said that it’s huge for the city of Yorkton to have such an experienced coach.
“For me to see Austin here, it’s like a godsend. In my mind, an individual like him – it’s so good for the youth of the community,” he said. “As a parent, you want your kids involved. You know where they are, you know what they’re doing and they come home tired. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Leo also said that Hovrisko has the ability to change the future for some of his athletes, who could go on to wrestle at the university level because of their talent.
Benefits of the sport
Both Leo and Hovrisko agreed that the benefits of wrestling go far beyond the sport itself.
“It’s the ultimate training for every other sport. Coordination, body awareness, self-discipline and mental toughness,” offered Leo.
While the camp was short, it’s sure to help build the foundation of wrestling in Yorkton and from there, the sport of wrestling in Saskatchewan.
“The stronger the growth at the grass roots level in Saskatchewan, then the more beneficial it is for us when it comes to the recruiting process,” said Leo.
