FARMINGTON – When Bob O’Connor was initially informed the position for the Mt. Blue wrestling coach was vacant, the opportunity to make a difference was too overwhelming to pass up.
The former Cougar wrestler still has positive memories about the times spent rolling around the mat. Those visions will be a driving force in his drive to provide the athletes with the same experiences he enjoyed more than two decades ago.
“I’ve been out of the sport for basically 25 years,” O’Connor said. “I don’t like the downhill direction that the sport is in nearly statewide. It’s disheartening to see so many forfeits at meets. My goal is to boost interest among the kids.”
O’Connor fondly recalls when Mt. Blue had more than 30 wrestlers during the 1970s. The athletes competed for a spot in one of the then 12 weight classes. The extra participants provided schools with a strong junior varsity team.
“Your’re only as good as your competition,” O’Connor said. “If you have guys competing for the same spot, then it stands to reason that you’ll be better prepared. Today, the numbers are so low that a wrestler will start because there’s nobody else in that weight class. Even then, the team may be forfeiting another weight class.”
In the mid 1990s, Maine instituted a national rule that was designed to provide more wrestlers to compete, increasing the weight classes to 14 and distributed the weights based on a national average. Unfortunately, the numbers haven’t always panned out.
“Bob has a real strength in the technical aspects of the sport,” Mt. Blue athletic director Scott Walker said. “He has helped in the past by working with some student athletes on an individual basis when training. He has also been involved as a volunteer assistant with the softball program. We are very excited to have him on board for this winter.”
O’Connor, who grew up in Pennsylvania, still believes his three seasons of wrestling at Mt. Blue had the biggest influence on him.
As an 86-pound wrestler, he competed at 98 and feels fortunate to have learned the positive aspects of the sport from former coach Dr. Tom Ward.
“I still have a great amount of respect for Dr. Ward,” O’Connor said. “One of the beauties of the sport is that even a small person, like I was, and now female wrestlers, has the opportunity to succeed. Wrestling is a team sport, but each individual also has the same opportunity to excel on the mat because of the different weights.”
O’Connor is further interested in teaching the wrestlers to be more technically sound on the mat. O’Connor believes his freestyle background will be an influence.
Mt. Blue has plenty of firepower with nine returning lettermen. The Cougars top gun is state finalist Sam Webber. O’Connor, a 15-year veteran with the Farmington water district, was impressed with the quality of wrestlers who recently signed up.
“It’s still hard to see who we actually have because football is still playing,” O’Connor said. “But, it’s nice to see juniors in high school who have six or seven years experience of wrestling under their belt. That’s a credit to the junior high program. Hopefully, we can continue to build on it.”
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