Who would receive your vote for best Nebraska high school wrestling coach of all time? The one that would probably come to mind for a lot of people would be long-time Tekamah-Herman coach Guy Mytty. His follow-up Brent Abrams has a pretty decent record of his own, though. A sentimental choice would be a mentor and long-time friend of mine, Larry Anderson of Wymore Southern. Larry never wrestled in high school or college but took on Wymore's program and managed two state titles and three runner-up finishes in his 28 years of coaching.

Don't forget about Lanny Neese of Columbus, 3 titles, 2 runner-ups and 1 third. And he knew nothing about wrestling when he took over.

This is a really tough call on the coach situation. Hard to figure out how you look at it????? If you go with state titles, it would be hard to leave out Beau Haizlip from Omaha South as he ruled the 60's. Doing what Lanny Neese did and where he did it and with his background is awesome! Did I hear anyone say Chuck Deter from Gering??????? Come on fellas! The guy won and won and won! AND if you go way back, it is hard to leave out Vern Ekfelt who was very innovative with his wrestling coaching.

When you look at what this guy has done in his career it is hard to argue against him. He has taken a school that has traditionally been weak and built them into a great program! He gives disadvantaged kids a chance! You might not like the guy, but he gets the most out of the kids he has!

I heard a lot of negative things about Curlee when I was younger...some people even were of the opinion that he favored his black wrestlers over the white wrestlers. But when I student-taught and coached at Papio, Curlee always treated me with respect and was very nice. I have the utmost respect for him and his program, and you could make an argument that he was the best coach in Nebraksa in the 1990s. Plus who could argue that he's one of the sharpest dressers out there???

Too many to name just one.

A list of those in the NSWCA Hall of Fameothers can be found at the Nebraska Scholastic Wrestling Coaches Associations website...www.nswca.com

Make sure to check out the list of assistants as well. They are very important to the success of kids!

[This message was edited by Vegas Kid on October 24, 2002 at 04:40 PM.]

might be Dan Brost of Mullen and Norm Manstead of Clarks. Both had big runs in the 70s and 80s, just like me! Ward Walker at Gordon is very underrated in my op.

Goings was a head coach at Plattsmouth. Won the class b title in 1990. He was a guy that got Plattsmouth wrestling on the map

To be the Best you got to Beat the Best

I'd have to say Pat Rush. I've been coached by him for 9 years. He's a really good coach and nice guy. If you met him, you just met one of the nicest coaches around.:)

...but then after reading the title of the post, I had to rethink it a bit. Best Nebraska wrestling golfer? Lance, hands down. Big hitter, soft touch around the greens...he'll turn the Stanton girls golf program into a dynasty in no time flat.

It would be hard to argue against Hazlip and the O. South coach before him. When you look at the mind-bending run they had in the 40's-50's-60's, it's hard to argue against that group.

But there have been a number of outstanding coaches over the years, and it's hard to gauge a coach's success strictly on the amount of hardware he brins home. Poo-poo happens in Lincoln that third week in February, and there are some great coaches out there who have been on the receiving end of that and have never received their due in the way of trophies.

One criteria I would suggest is to look at how many wrestlers did they help mold into outstanding young men, not only in the circle but outside of it. We talk often about how much this sport prepares you for the game of life. There can only be a certain number of individual and team champions on the medal stand. But how many of those who didn't make it as champions on the mat are champions in life today? And, conversely, how many champions have fallen short in their adult lives?

All the coaches you have mentioned here are certainly deserving of consideration for making the argument. And I'll bet each of them have a slew of tutors that would attest on their behalf.

Now, Lance...about my 9-iron...

chicken salad out of chicken sh#$%?

It's pretty darned easy to look at the hardware but how about coaches who can make something from nothing. How many times have you seen state placers made out of kids who, at one time, people would have said didn't even belong on a wrestling mat? I think these are the guys who deserve the coaching kudos if you know what I mean? Who are these guys?

hiemes of norfolk catholic