Waukesha Wrestling Club

A message from Kit Kuokkanen: Now that the dust has settled on another superbly run Wolverine Brawl, I would like to share some thoughts, acknowledgements and comments. The addition of my name to the tournament was totally unexpected and I am honored and humbled by that. Apparently cool stuff can happen when you hang around a real long time. There is no way the hanging around could have been possible without the contributions of my family, countless volunteer coaches and support of many families of youth wrestlers over the period of 40 years. Coaches Joe Semrad (State Champ-Nathan Hale ‘62) and Ken Heine (long time head coach at Waukesha South) were part of the original organization meeting in 1983 and helped establish the Waukesha Wrestling Club. Throughout the years, the following individuals contributed to the success of the club: High School coaches Mike Vitale (South), Greg Pachowitz (North) and Ryan Green (South). Along with volunteer youth coaches Rod LaMarche, Kerry Johnson, and Mike Schmidt, just to name a few. There are so many volunteer coaches that dedicated themselves to the club over the years. We could not have done it without them. Mike Schmidt has been with us every step of the way. Mike has done everything and anything that was needed. He has been a dedicated coach for two generations of wrestlers. He coached at practices, coached matside at weekend tournaments, supported and encouraged all wrestlers, transported kids, washed mats, and more. I would not have been able to manage without Mike Schmidt. The club was rejuvenated roughly 20 years ago with the addition of my son Davin. I thank him for working tirelessly to transform the club into what it is today. He created a wrestling culture and works hard to continue to grow youth wrestling in Waukesha to benefit all three high schools. The support of families is vitally important for the club as was seen by the huge turnout of volunteers to run the successful Kit Kuokkanen Wolverine Brawl. The outstanding Waukesha West coaching staff and team had the support of parents stepping up to handle a host of duties. I was overwhelmed to be associated with such a high quality event. Wrestling is physically and emotionally challenging for youngsters and can be very emotional for most parents. Winning and losing creates highs and lows and the reactions to either by the parents is apparent to the young competitor. I consider that “competing” is always a win and losses are part of learning. Address a loss first with a hug and then later with simple questions of what needs work. Learning wrestling skills is a rough road with ever changing destinations in sight. The route can change and that destination can change, but enjoy the trip. I have never encountered a former wrestler (regardless of their success) that wasn’t proud to say “I wrestled”. My gratitude and thanks to all those that have volunteered and those currently involved that contribute to the good health of our Waukesha Wrestling Club. Sincerely, Kit Kuokkanen