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July 29, 2006

An international affair

Jeffersonville plays host to wrestlers from overseas

By MIKE HUTSELL

JEFFERSONVILLE — With the headlines filled with news of international conflicts abroad, Jeffersonville High School played host to its own “War of the Worlds” Saturday.

Only this one was about friendly competition, cultural learning and fun.

“Team Jeff,” the local wrestling club directed by Jeff High wrestling coach Danny Struck, welcomed 20 wrestlers from Poland and Japan to William S. Johnson Arena for a day of exhibition matches and training exercises.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love doing things like this,” said Struck. “It’s not only a chance for our kids to gain experience on the mat, but it’s a chance for them to learn about kids from other cultures — not just in wrestling but in their everyday life.”

Jeff was the fourth stop for five Polish wrestlers, who have traveled from Chicago to wrestle in Merrillville, Seymour and Jasper before arriving in town Wednesday.

Each wrestler and coach has been housed by volunteers in the community. Struck himself has had two coaches staying at his residence. The Jeff coaches and wrestlers have also stayed busy this week entertaining their guests with trips to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, cookouts and visits to several local shopping centers — including a day at the Bass Pro Shop in Clarksville which went over really well.

“They were amazed by it. I was too, really. I had never been there before,” Struck said. “They all love fishing, so that went over really well. It seemed like they all were buying fishing poles and gifts for people back home while we were there.”

Jeff also had a chance to train with the team and learned that their strength building exercises are very different than those in the states.

“They do not like weightlifting,” Struck said. “They prefer doing push ups, pull ups, gymnastics. They lifted for a while with us and then taught us some of their exercises. What they do to build strength is quite different than our culture.”

The Japanese team, which brought 15 members, has had a shorter stay in the U.S. They arrived earlier this week and wrestled against Columbus East before coming to Jeff. The Japanese team also has a date scheduled to compete in Tell City next week.

Part of Japan’s contingent was a group of female wrestlers who competed against five females from Jeff and the reigning Indiana state champion from New Castle High School.

“Japan is the foremost figure in female wrestling and it is growing in the United States,” said Struck. “I know the interest in our own club has grown substantially over the past few years and it has become more popular around the state the past few years.”

Saturday’s competition allowed each wrestler to compete in at least three matches. An estimated 50 wrestlers from the area competed on the U.S. side. Along with Jeff were wrestlers from Scottsburg, Seymour, Columbus East, Providence, Oldham County and Jennings County.

“More and more coaches are seeing the benefit of this type of competition,” said USA Indiana Wrestling cultural exchange director Howard Jones. “Coach Struck at Jeff has been one of the biggest advocates of international competition in this area. I think he sees its benefits and wants to expose his program to these type of opportunities whenever possible.”

Struck said he has taken several notes over the years that have helped in his coaching endeavors.

“Europe is regarded largely as the birthplace of wrestling, so there’s a lot of passion for the sport there,” Struck said. “I think we’ve taken our entire warm-up exercises from teams we’ve competed against overseas, and that’s just part of the things we’ve gathered from these opportunities.”

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