Friday, February 09, 2001
Coach's son doesn't feel extra pressure
Purcell Marian's Meinking battling to be the best
By Chris Yeager
Enquirer contributor
Being a coach's kid can be tough. Tougher, still, is when the coach is an old school, demanding sort — like Purcell Marian's wrestling coach, Terry Meinking. Yet, Meinking's son, Jake, a two-time state qualifier at 103 pounds, might be harder on himself than his anyone, including his father.
One of Jake's goals entering the season was to post a “good record” by the district meet. He's one of two area wrestlers to win at this season's Catholic Invitational Tournament, and he won the Coaches' Classic title. After last weekend's City Dual Championship, Meinking's record is 24-1. A good record, right?
“But that one loss,” he said. “I don't know....”
His father is less critical.
“Jake is extremely hard on himself,” Terry said. “He feels if you qualify for state but don't place, then you're probably lucky instead of good.”
While Coach Meinking is known for conducting rigorous practices, he doesn't consciously push Jake harder than the other wrestlers.
“But he's a little tougher on Jake,” said assistant coach Mike Roebel. “It's more in how vocal Terry gets, in his tone. But he knows how good Jake can be, and he wants him to do well.”
Perhaps the only one who doesn't notice the difference is Jake.
“I don't feel any extra pressure,” he said. “He yells at what we do wrong, but I think having my dad as my coach takes pressure off of me. I'd rather have him coach me than anyone else.”
A junior this season, Jake has taken aim at a state title, a goal his father thinks Jake can achieve.
Jake feels a particular urgency about this season's state tournament.
“You don't see many juniors at 103,” he said, noting the difficulty in maintaining that weight. “You look at the records and all the juniors at 103 did really well that year.”
If Jake gets a bad break or is not at his best in Columbus this season, his father and coach will want Jake to know he's still a state-class wrestler.
“I've tried to explain to him that getting hot at the right time can have a lot to do with winning or placing at state,” Terry said.
And when it's all over, what will remain is a relationship stronger for the pushing, deeper for the demands.
“After the Coach Classic, Jake told me that he never wanted to wrestle again without me in that corner chair,” Terry said.
Wrestling honor roll: Division I |
Divisions II-III
Sports Stories
DAUGHERTY: Call them Bad News Bengals
Smith suspected of DUI
Upbeat Wyche reveals heart problem
Bengals qualify vow to keep Dillon
Casey wins $3 million in arbitration
Redsfest will be back
Xavier women go to 20-2
UC takes good advantage of time off
UC women 72, DePaul 64
UC football team loses another coach
Coach's son doesn't feel extra pressure
