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PA Profile of Jack Childs-by Todd Irwin
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Jack Childs |
Most college wrestling coaches
don't stick around long enough at one place to win 300 dual meets.
That's what makes Jack Childs' accomplishment so special.
Childs, who just completed his 26th year at Drexel
University, reached the 300-win plateau with a 21-12 win over Rider
before a home crowd on January 17, 2002.
The Dragons would win eight more dual meets the rest of
the season to push his win total to 308. Childs re-directed the
spotlight
to his team when he was asked about the 300th
win.
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"I've had some great athletes here," he said, "but I
think it's more of a testament to longevity. You're in the sport for so long
and good things are bound to happen."
Childs has had his chances to go elsewhere. One time, he interviewed for the
Lock Haven University head coaching position that Carl Poff eventually
landed. But for various reasons, he felt the pull to stay at Drexel.
Nestled in the heart of Philadelphia, Drexel is far
from the high school wrestling hotbeds that colleges like Lock Haven, Lehigh
and Penn State have drawn from in the past. But that doesn't seem to be a
problem for Childs.
"Drexel University and the education they get here is
an awfully easy product to sell," Childs said. "I would like to think that
I'm a pretty good recruiter also. The number of state champs that I have
really pales in comparison to the number of place winners and just darn good
wrestlers that never achieved that state championship level. They've
developed here at Drexel and we've had some pretty exciting seasons."
With experience comes the power to get things done. Childs was instrumental
in organizing the merger of the East Coast Wrestling Association, where he
was named Coach of the Year four times, and the Colonial Athletic
Association.
"I know that's given me a boost as far as wrestling is
concerned because before we were on the outside looking in," Childs said.
The other amazing thing about Childs' success is he
didn't wrestle in high school. At Athens, he was a star football player and
javelin thrower and a reserve in basketball, but the only time he wrestled
was in the wrestling club.
"They didn't have wrestling at Athens until my senior
year," he said. "When I went to Ithica (College), I was the intramural
champion. The freshman heavyweight got tossed out of school and the coach
came to me in January and asked me if I'd fill his spot. I wrestled seven
matches the second half of the year and I became hooked on the sport.
"Then I transferred to East Stroudsburg in January, and
from January to January I wasn't able to participate in anything. When they
called for the wrestling team in October, I thought, 'Gosh, this is a great
opportunity for me to get into shape for spring football.' "
Childs was a Second Team All-State selection in
football at Athens and placed fourth in the state in the javelin. He would
then earn two letters in wrestling at East Stroudsburg for head coach Red
Witman, who Childs says is his biggest coaching influence. That's in
addition to playing football and competing for the track team. Childs
credits his parents for his athletic ability.
"My parents were both physical educators and coaches,"
he said. "My dad (John) is in the Pennsylvania Football Hall of Fame and in
the Northeast Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. He and I are the only father-son
combo in the East Stroudsburg Hall of Fame. I learned an awful lot about
coaching from my dad."
While Childs has 308 wins at Drexel, he's compiled 425
wins overall. After graduating from ESU in 1967, Childs would begin his
coaching career in New York. His teams at Fulton High School and Binghamton
Central High School earned 28 wins in three years. He would then move on to
Thaddeus Stevens Trade School, where he would guide the wrestling team to an
89-17-2 record is six years.
"I recruited locally. I stayed in the
Harrisburg-Lancaster area," Childs said of his stint at Thaddeus Stevens.
"The first year I was there I was able to recruit six district champions to
Stevens Trade, and we never looked back. Clarion had like a 49-match jayvee
winning streak, and we stopped that.
"We just had good, tough, hard-nosed athletes. I've
often said that if I could put the dedication and mental and physical
toughness (of the Stevens wrestlers) and combine that with the intelligence
of the athletes that I have here at Drexel, I'd have a great combination."
In the 1976-77 season, which was his first year at
Drexel, the Dragons went 6-5-1. Prior to his arrival, the wrestling program
hadn't had a winning record in nine years. He finished second to Iowa's Dan
Gable in the Amateur Wrestling News' Rookie Coach of the year voting.
Eighteen of his teams have won 10 dual meets or more.
Asked what team was the best, Childs said, "I would have to rate this year's
team as good as any of them," he said. "My 1985 team was 15-1 and won the
East Coast Wrestling Championships. That was probably the most memorable."
The 2001-2002 squad went 16-6 overall and 9-1 in the
CAA. Six of his wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships. None of them
placed, but wins against wrestlers from bigger schools in Albany, N.Y.
boosted their confidence.
"The nice part of taking six wrestlers to nationals this year is five of
those boys will be back," he said. "Every one of them said 'Coach, we just
didn't get here. We belong here.' They know that we have to get stronger and
they have to really be physical for the full seven minutes."
Childs gives a lot of credit to his wife, Anne. Keeping
it in the family, both of his sons wrestled for him.
"I look back on that now and I think they both should
have played golf and tennis," he said laughing. "Both were good athletes. My
eldest son, Jessie, was long and lanky -a good leg wrestler. My other son,
Mike, went to states and got knocked out just before the medal round. Mike's
career here was cut short because of two shoulder operations."
Jack was just recently named assistant to the athletic
director at Drexel. With 35 years of coaching under his belt, how many more
years will he continue to coach?
"I've got really good assistants," Childs said. "I
recruit these wrestlers, condition them and I teach them my arm-bar series
and a few other fine points, but those guys skill them. I just enjoy the
sport and I still run with them. I play squash with them.
"The question parents always ask me when I'm recruiting
their sons is 'Coach, are you going to be with my son for his tenure.' I
told this recruiting class yes, so that means I'm going to be here for at
least five more years. It's been a wonderful ride here at Drexel."
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