By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

SOUTH PARIS – When Lou Rosselli wrestled in the 1996 Olympics, he was on top of his game, but he never took it for granted.

His desire to succeed resulted from the numerous goals he set throughout his storied competitive career.

These same attributes, along with the strong desire to practice repeatedly, was stressed to commuters Thursday at the Hills Area wrestling camp. The inaugural three-day event concludes today at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

“It was a journey to get to the Olympics,” Rosselli said. “It was accomplishing something they say couldn’t be done. In America, we want to be the best and win it all. In that respect, I guess I wasn’t able to complete the job, and now at 35 years old, I’m half the man I used to be. It still feels good to know that I was an ironman once upon a time.”

At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Rosselli won two of three matches. The last match resulted in a win against a wrestler from Romania, but it proved costly when Rosselli suffered a cracked elbow and was forced to withdraw.

Rosselli, the assistant coach at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, offers his expertise to approximately 2,000 wrestlers at clinics and camps yearly. Later this month, 10 Oxford Hills wrestlers will attend Rosselli’s intensive team camp.

He had the full attention of those assembled Thursday.

“It’s important to keep going,” Rosselli said. “You really need to develop a strong work ethic because success breeds success. This comes in small packages, but you also need to keep plugging away at it. After all, we know that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Rosselli speaks from first-hand knowledge. He won a World Cup championship, was a three-time U.S. national champion, a two-time All-American and earned a silver medal in the PanAm games.

A wrestler can’t afford to take anything for granted, says Rosselli.

“Being physically ready is huge,” Rosselli said. “But, being ready mentally is very important. This can be done in a number of ways, but you need to know that you can do it. A lot can be achieved through self talk and being prepared for each match.”