A Green Phone caller comments on the state of Gilroy High’s
wrestling facilities.
Green Phone:
As a GHS alumni, I am appalled and very disappointed in the home of the Mustangs, the GUSD, and the city of Gilroy. I am also a former wrestler (for GHS and Cal State Bakersfield) and understand the trials and tribulations these young men and coaches have been through. The obstacles an athlete must overcome in wrestling are tremendous and to do so without the support of the school, school district and the community is such an amazing feat, but at the same time such a tragedy.
As a coach – I am the head wrestling coach at Piedmont Hills HS – you cannot ever be satisfied with being average. So when you have to be self-sufficient you make due with what you have because the competitor inside refuses to give up on the goals you are trying to accomplish or your athletes. The hard work, dedication and selfless commitment these coaches and athletes have made in order to represent Gilroy HS and the Gilroy (area) itself deserves recognition and reward. When people think or speak about Gilroy only three things are ever mentioned: Garlic, Jeff Garcia, and WRESTLING! We are not a football town, we are not a baseball town and we are not a basketball town. We have the GILROY HAWKS, a club that has helped shape and redirect the lives of so many young men (myself and my two brothers included), and we have GHS WRESTLING, a program that has stood the test of time and been so vital to the heartbeat and blood lines of our community. I agree with you that Gilroy is a “blue collar” program. I would also state matter-of-factly that Gilroy is a “blue collar” town.
So this is my direct challenge to every “blue collar” guy that has ever been through one of our great wrestling programs: Donate your time, donate your services, donate your materials, but most of all give back to the programs that helped make you the person you are today. I can almost guarantee that every hard working carpenter, every hard working plumber, every hard working electrician, every hard working sheet-metal guy and even some of our hard working politicians and school board members in Gilroy have been taught discipline, respect, work ethic, and self-worth from being connected with the GILROY HAWKS or GHS WRESTLING in some way, shape or form. Can you imagine how meaningful and successful these programs would be if they were given the proper tools to work with? I use the word “given” because the coaching staff and their athletes have definitely EARNED it.
Go Mustangs!
Matt Corona
Green Phone:
The challenge has been made and now it’s time for the people of Gilroy to take action. Green Phone agrees that those who care about GHS wrestling, the ones who know the program has had a positive impact on their lives or the lives of their children, should use their skills, time or money to help create a proposal for building a new facility. It’s easy to say you care. It shows when you take action.
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Let us know what you think. Call the Green Phone at (408) 842-9069 or
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