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Adrian Martinez primed to take next step in leading Big Red back to respectability
With all the love coming to Adrian Martinez heading into his second year at the helm of a Nebraska football team that year two coach Scott Frost is trying to mold into a contender, anticipation is running high. Martinez showed enough as an 18-year-old true freshman in leading a 4-8 team that came on strong late season that he’s a serious Heisman candidate in 2019 in many people’s eyes. The hype machine is in full gear. Expectations in Big Red Land tend to get out of hand. But this is not your average young man. He appears to have the smarts, the physical tools and the desire to be the best player in Lincoln in a generation. And this marriage between player, system and coaches – head man Scott Frost, QB coach Mark Verduzco and offensive coordinator Troy Walters – truly appears to be a match made in heaven.
The Long Road to Recovery: Jade Owens’ Final Year as a Bluejay
The Long Road to Recovery: Jade Owens’ Final Year as a Bluejay
Story by Leo Adam Biga
Photography by Bill Sitzmann
Originally published in the January-February 2019 issue of Omaha Magazine ( http://omahamagazine.com/)
Injuries are a part of sports, but Creighton University point guard Jade Owens has weathered more than her fair share. After two years spent recapturing the health and athleticism she once took for granted, she’s returned to play for her senior season.
Owens earned a supporting role as a freshman before working her way into the starting rotation her sophomore year (2015-16). She averaged 7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1 steal per game and won admiration for her scrap and hustle. Things were panning out just as expected for the former all-state basketball player from the Chicago suburb of Fenwick.
Then, the summer before her junior campaign, just as she was coming into her own as a Division I player, she suffered the first in a series of major injuries requiring surgery. She was forced to sit out the 2016-17 season. Setbacks caused her to miss 2017-18 as well.
The promise of what might have been lingers. Her father, Ron Owens (who first taught her the game), says the persistent injuries have been “heartbreaking.”
After three separate six-month-long rehab sessions, she put the heartbreak and physical aches behind her to play in the Bluejays’ preseason exhibition (a closed scrimmage). She returned to the court for Creighton’s regular season home opener versus South Dakota on Nov. 7. The game was her first since March 2016.
“It’s been a road,” Owens says of her journey to recovery.
“Everyone always tells you, ‘You’re going to lose basketball one day,’ but you never think that’s going to happen. I lost it, and I’ve had to re-identify how I was on the team, how I fit in with everyone,” she says. “You don’t know how much basketball shapes your life until you lose it. All aspects of my life—different relationships, friendships, school—were affected by it. Just learning to adapt and to come back from things has been a huge life lesson for me.”
Coach Jim Flanery witnessed Owens fighting for 24 months to reclaim the sport that once defined her. “That’s a long time,” he says. Twice she got close to returning before being sidelined again.
“It’s like you get to a point where you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then it gets darker again,” Flanery says.
He describes Owens’ ability to stay hungry and strong enough to withstand “the frustration and disappointment” as a case study in perseverance.
“I just hope I can stay healthy—that’s No. 1—and contribute any way I can,” Owens says. “I know it’s not going to be the same as when I played before. I have to keep that realistic vision and take one day at a time.”
She’s learned to lean on her teammates over the years. “They’ve definitely been my rocks,” she says. “They’ve been there for me through it all—through the tears and the laughter. I don’t know if I could have come back without them.”
Her parents have been there, too. “They’ve been behind me the entire time,” she says. Her folks supported her when she considered quitting and when she decided to try coming back even after one failed attempt.
Her father isn’t surprised by Owens’ grit and determination in enduring the grueling physical therapy necessary to recover her mobility and strength.
“I take my hat off to her for sticking it out this long, but I’m not surprised she did the work,” he says. “She just puts her mind to something, and she makes it happen. She’s always been like that. She does whatever it takes to get whatever her goal is.”
He saw her overcome an ankle injury her senior year in high school that resulted in surgery and rehab. That was hard enough, but nothing compared to the last two years. Owens herself still can’t believe she’s on the court again dishing, dancing, and driving after not being able to do much of anything.
“It’s really amazing to me after everything I’ve been through,” she says. “It’s just crazy for me to even think about.”
Then there’s the way she has defied medical opinion.
“Some doctors told me, ‘We don’t know if you can [play basketball] anymore.’ I’ve been hearing that for a long time,” she says.
Her road to recovery began when she noticed pain in her upper thigh during a pickup game on the eve of her junior year. It was treated as a groin problem. Surgery in Omaha didn’t relieve the issue. Then she went home to be examined by a Chicago orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Benjamin Domb, who found the real problem—a right labrum tear. He repaired it. Following six months of recovery, she was no sooner cleared to suit up again when the labrum popped out and she suffered a fracture during her first practice back. Then, this past summer, she suffered a meniscus tear in her right knee that meant another procedure—her third surgery in less than two years—and another arduous recovery regimen.
Fellow CU senior Audrey Faber and junior Olivia Elger marvel at what their teammate has endured.
“I can’t even imagine the long months, days, hours she’s gone through,” Faber says. “Everyone’s excited to have her back. She knows the game, and we have a lot of trust in her.”
Elger says the resilience and mindset Owens has shown “should be a lesson to anyone” dealing with adversity.
That fortitude has not only impressed teammates and coaches, but also Owens’ twin sister, brother, and parents.
“She’s been an inspiration to the family,” her father says.
She is just glad to be back on the court; however, her experiences have done more than nurture athletic recovery. They have inspired a possible career interest. She is applying to medical school (at Creighton and other universities), and she hopes to study orthopedics. She’s even aiming for an internship with her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Domb.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in doctors’ offices, and I know the lingo,” Owens says. “I think I have some insight into sports medicine and what it’s like dealing with injuries.”
Visit gocreighton.com for more information.
Soccer Brings Bob Warming Home: Once a Bluejay, Now a Maverick
Soccer Brings Bob Warming Home
Once a Bluejay, Now a Maverick
Story by Leo Adam Biga
Photography by Bill Sitzmann
Originally appeared in the Nov-Dec 2018 issue of Omaha Magazine
(http://omahamagazine.com/articles/soccer-brings-bob-warming-home/)
Bob Warming’s unexpected return to Omaha in 2018—this time to head the men’s soccer program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha—is the latest turn in a lifelong love affair with coaching.
Warming, 64, twice helmed the Creighton University program in town. He’s known as the architect of a Bluejay program he took from nothing to national prominence. During his first CU run (1990-1994), Omaha became home to him, his wife Cindy, and their four children. During his second CU tenure (2001-2009), his kids finished school and came of age.
His passion for the game is such that even though he’s one of collegiate soccer’s all-time winningest coaches at an age when most folks retire, he’s still hungry to lead young people. After eight highly successful seasons at his last stop, Penn State, he did retire, albeit for less than two months, before taking the UNO post in April.
Love for family changed best-laid plans. It started when he and Cindy visited Omaha in November to meet their new granddaughter. Their intense desire to see her grow up caused Warming to step down at Penn State and move to Omaha.
When then-UNO soccer coach Jason Mims decided to pursue new horizons (Mims had played and coached for Warming at Saint Louis University, and traveled with him to Creighton and Penn State before kickstarting the UNO program in 2011), Warming couldn’t resist continuing to build what his former assistant had started.
“I have come back with even more energy. There’s a lot of younger guys I’m running into the ground,” Warming says.
He also brought knowledge gained from legendary peers and best friends at Penn State: women’s volleyball coach Russ Rose, wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, and women’s soccer coach Erica Dambach.
“I learned more coaching at Penn State than I had in all my previous years,” he says. “It’s not even close. I grew tremendously. I got a lot of new ideas about things. I derive tremendous energy from being a continual learner. Even in the 59 days I retired, I continued to research better ways to teach and train people.”
His son, Grant, played for him in Happy Valley and now assists at UNO. Grant’s twin sister, Audrey, died in a 2012 auto accident. The family honors her legacy with Audrey’s Shoes for Kids, an annual event that gives away soccer shoes, shin guards, jerseys, and balls to disadvantaged children in Omaha. About 300 youths received gear in this summer’s giveback.
Warming first fell in love with coaching at age 14 in his native Berea, Kentucky. The multi-sport athlete was a tennis prodigy on the United States Lawn Tennis Association’s junior circuit when his coach taught him a lesson in humility by having him coach 9-year-olds. In the process, Warming found his life’s calling.
“I had been very into myself only,” he admits. “I was a selfish little brat. Then all of a sudden I realized it’s about helping other people. It’s a great lesson my coach taught me. He knew if I was ever going to go any place with my life, I had to give something to others.”
Warming’s outlook on life gradually shifted. “I derive the most pleasure out of watching young people improve,” he says.
Soccer supplied his next life-changing experience. Berea College, a private college in his hometown, has a long history of inclusion. In the early 1970s, it recruited world-class footballers from Ghana and Nigeria. Warming was the squad’s goalkeeper (and also a varsity letter-winner on the tennis, swimming, and golf teams); he honed his knowledge of soccer from these foreign players and gleaned insights into diversity.
“I’m playing soccer and hanging out all the time with these black guys in the South—not the most popular thing to do in a town where on Sunday nights every summer the KKK burned a cross,” he recalls. “That was the dark ages in a lot of ways. But I was fascinated interacting with these guys from Africa and finding out how they live and what their culture is like.
“I was able to play with these incredible guys from a young age, and the game is the best teacher,” he says. “For me, it was a remarkable time in my life. I learned a lot about a lot of different things.”
Years later at Penn State, he brought more student-athletes of color into the soccer program than it had ever seen before. “That was a cool part of the whole deal,” he says.
He appreciates what a mentor did in giving him a progressive outlook. “The guy who eventually became my college coach was the leader of all this,” Warming says.
His own collegiate coach at Berea, Bob Pearson, succeeded his protégé a few years later when Warming left his coaching post at Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia, for a coaching position at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the 1980s. Four decades later, the veteran Warming succeeded his own protégé, Mims, at UNO.
“I have all these crazy circles in coaching,” he says.
The kind of bond Warming has with Pearson, he has with Mims.
“Loyalty, trust, and respect are the basis for all relationships, and we have all three of those,” Warming says.
Pearson got Warming his first head coaching gigs in his 20s at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky (where Warming spent one season before heading to Berry University); he also coached tennis at both schools.
Warming was still only in his mid-30s when Creighton hired him the first time in 1990, poaching him from his brief tenure as director of athletics at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. At Creighton, he revived a dormant program that began winning and drawing fans.
He enjoyed the challenge of “building something from its inception and doing missionary work for our sport.” In exchange for free coaching clinics, he got local soccer clubs to turn out in droves.
“Thus, Creighton soccer was born. It came out of giving back to the community and coaching education,” Warming says.
He left CU in 1994 for Old Dominion. From there he went to Saint Louis University. The Rev. John Schlegel, then-CU president, lured him back in 2001 with the promise he could design a state-of-the-art soccer facility.
“Father Schlegel said, ‘Build me a soccer stadium. We want an iconic building to define the new eastern borders of our campus. I’ll pick the facade because I want it to reflect how the rest of the campus will look,’” Warming recalls. “Think about that. Where else has a soccer stadium determined what the rest of the campus would look like?”
The result, Morrison Stadium, has become a jewel of north downtown.
Warming’s CU and Penn State teams contended for conference and national titles. Now that he’s back in Omaha, he looks to take fledgling UNO soccer to its first NCAA playoff berth and create a powerhouse like the one he did down the street.
Back in Omaha again, he organized “the largest free coaching clinic in the country” at UNO in August. Some 200 coaches from around the nation attended, including 150 from Nebraska. Tweets about the event surpassed two million impressions.
“The selfish reason I did it was I want to kick-start this program into something, and to take soccer in Nebraska to the next level,” he says. “We have to get better.”
His methods today are different than when he last coached in Omaha.
“If you really want to train people, you have to get them in the mood to train using all the different modalities—texting, tweeting, playlists, video—available to us now,” he says. “You cannot coach, you cannot lead, you cannot do anything the way people did it years ago. You won’t be successful. The why is so important in terms of explaining things and building consensus and getting people involved to where they say, yeah, we want to do this together.”
In the full circle way his life runs, he feels right at home at UNO, where hundreds of students, including international students, get a free education. “We are the school of the people,” he says.
Meanwhile, he’s busily stocking his roster with players from around the globe—including France, Spain, and Trinidad and Tobago—with many more players from Omaha and around the Midwest.
Wherever he’s landed as a coach, it’s the new challenge that motivates him. No different at UNO. “One hundred percent,” he says. “I love it.”
Visit omavs.com for more information.
This article was printed in the November/December 2018 edition of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
Life Itself XX: The Terence Crawford Collection
Life Itself XX:
The Terence Crawford Collection
Welcome to my stories and musings about the most important and high achieving athlete to come out of
Nebraska – world boxing champion Terence Crawford.
He has dominated in the amateur and professional ranks. He has fought for and won titles in America and abroad. He has single-handedly revived a dying sport in his hometown and, in the process, put Omaha on the national and international boxing map. He has remained true to his roots and his base. He has established a community gym in his old neighborhood.
He has broadened his horizons outside boxing by making humanitarian trips to Africa. I accompanied him on one of those trips in 2015. But my coverage of him began a few years before that when I did some reporting about the place where he got his start – the CW Boxing Club.
All my reporting and analysis about Crawford and the community that shaped him and the impact he’s made in return is included here for your perusal.
He has truly been one of the more unforgettable characters I have written about. He possesses, like a lot of people I report on. a passion and a magnificent obsession that will not be denied, only his drive has taken him to the heights of his craft and profession. As a Fighter of the Year honoree who has yet to lose a professional bout, he stands alongside the elite artists and entrepreneurs I have been privileged to profile.
Terence Crawford affirms his place as Nebraska’s unequivocal homegrown sports hero
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/10/15/terence-crawford…rown-sports-hero/
Terence Crawford, Alexander Payne and Warren Buffett: Unexpected troika of Nebraska genius makes us all proud
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/08/19/terence-crawford…kes-us-all-proud/
Terence Crawford, right, lands a punch against Jose Benavidez Jr. on Saturday. “It feels so good to shut somebody up who’s been talking for so long. I’m at ease,” Crawford said after his victory. AP Photo/Nati Harnik
Omaha warrior Terence Crawford wins again but his greatest fight may be internal
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/05/21/omaha-warrior-te…-may-be-internal/
This is what greatness looks like. Terence Crawford: Forever the People’s Champ
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/24/terence-crawford…he-peoples-champ
.jpg)
©Photos by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Some thoughts on the HBO documentary “My Fight” about Terence Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/12/some-thoughts-on…terence-crawford
TERENCE CRAWFORD STAMPS HIS PLACE AMONG OMAHA GREATS
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/24/terence-crawford…ong-omaha-greats
28:56HD
Terence Crawford – My Fight Full HBO Documentary
YouTubeÂ
HOMETOWN HERO TERENCE CRAWFORD ON VERGE OF GREATNESS AND BECOMING BOXING’S NEXT SUPERSTAR
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/23/hometown-hero-te…s-next-superstar/
The Champ looks to impact more youth at his B&B Boxing Academy; Building campaign for Terence Crawford’s gym has goal of $1.2 million for repairs, renovations, expansion
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/14/the-champ-looks-…ations-expansion/
My travels in Uganda and Rwanda, Africa with Pipeline Worldwide’s Jamie Fox Nollette, Terence Crawford and Co.
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/08/01/my-travels-in-ug…-crawford-and-co/
The Champ Goes to Africa: Terence Crawford Visits Uganda and Rwanda with his former teacher, this reporter and friends
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/06/26/the-champ-goes-t…rter-and-friends
Pad man Esau Dieguez gets world champ Terence Crawford ready
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/25/pad-man-esau-die…e-crawford-ready/
Omaha conquering hero Terence Crawford adds second boxing title to his legend; Going to Africa with The Champ; B & B Boxing Academy builds champions inside and outside the ring
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/21/omaha-conquering…outside-the-ring/
Sparring for Omaha: Boxer Terence Crawford Defends His Title in the City He Calls Home
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/01/08/sparring-for-oma…ty-he-calls-home/
Terence “Bud” Crawford is Nebraska’s most impactful athlete of all-time
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/12/09/terence-bud-craw…lete-of-all-time/
Flashback to June 2015: Visiting Africa with Terence “Bud” Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/14/flashback-to-jun…nce-bud-crawford
What do Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne and WBO world boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford have in common?
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/12/02/what-do-oscar-wi…d-have-in-common/
Bud Rising: Terence “Bud” Crawford’s tight family has his back as he defends title in his own backyard
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/06/25/bud-rising-bud-c…his-own-backyard
Terence “Bud” Crawford in the fight of his life for lightweight title: top contender from Omaha’s mean streets looks to make history
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/25/terence-bud-craw…-to-make-history/
In his corner: Midge Minor is trainer, friend, father figure to pro boxing contender Terence “Bud” Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/07/30/in-his-corner-mi…nce-bud-crawford/
Giving kids a fighting chance: Carl Washington and his CW Boxing Club and Youth Resource Center
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/12/03/giving-kids-a-fi…-resource-center/
Brotherhood of the Ring, Omaha’s CW Boxing Club
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/brotherhood-of-the-ring/
This image and the one above are of a very young Bud at the CW Boxing Club, ©photos courtesy Jim Krantz
Terence Crawford affirms his place as Nebraska’s unequivocal homegrown sports hero
Terence Crawford affirms his place as Nebraska’s unequivocal homegrown sports hero
Terence Crawford, right, lands a punch against Jose Benavidez Jr. on Saturday. “It feels so good to shut somebody up who’s been talking for so long. I’m at ease,” Crawford said after his victory. AP Photo/Nati Harnik
It used to be that Husker football was the collective, unifying force in this state. Who would have ever thought Terence Crawford would be that force? He is though. Maybe not in the same way, of course, but his representing Nebraska is something we can all be proud of and get passionate about regardless of whether we’re urban or rural, black or white, blue or red, straight or gay or any other permutations that usually divide us. Crawford represents the very best of us in terms of hard work, perseverance, dedication, loyalty and guts. He is a picture of health and fitness, striving and ambition and the pursuit of excellence. When you are the very best at what you do as he is and you come from ordinary beginnings as he does, it is hard not to be inspired by his story. He is a testament to daring and dreaming. He may be the most powerful individual inspirational figure to come out of Nebraska in a very long time. Maybe ever.
Terence Crawford’s dismantling of Jose Benavidez Jr. last night before a record fight crowd at Omaha’s CHI Health Center to retain his welterweight boxing title only further cemented his pound-for-pound greatness status. He is doing his thing at a time when area sports fans are desperate for a positive local sports story of national significance but can find only frustration and disappointment wherever they cast their gaze with the exception of Husker and Creighton volleyball. His ring mastery and dominance is playing out during the worst run of Husker football in a half-century. Meanwhile. Nebraska men’s basketball is still an unknown, unreliable quantity until proven otherwise and Creighton men’s hoops is caught up in a scandal. The NU and CU baseball programs have not even come close to national relevance much less the College World Series in decades. UNO athletics is still riding the hockey bell cow in its transition to Division I, which is a move that may still prove unwise. The hockey program has yet to fully realize the lofty expectations set for it.
That is why Crawford’s brilliance has been a godsend to this state and to this city – giving the public a whole new sports obsession to follow and support, rejuvenating boxing to a level never before seen here and shining more attention on Omaha than any other individual Nebraska-born and bred athlete. At 31, the unbeaten Crawford could keep at it another five to ten years if he really wanted. Now that his fights from here on out will be pay-per-view and his promoter Bob Arum seems serious to match him with world-class opponents he’s yet to have faced, Crawford’s capital could climb even higher. He’s already established himself one of the best fighters of his era and with a couple big wins over marquee foes he will add his name to the all-time greats list.
Should he retire undefeated, which very few pro boxers have ever done, he will have to be considered one of the greatest professional fighters to ever compete in The Sweet Science. His defensive and overall boxing skills are so high that he’s already regarded as one of the best ring tacticians the sport has ever seen. True greatness is measured over the long haul and his excellence is now demonstrable over a several year span. The scary thing for future opponents is that he actuallly seems to be getting better with age and may be just peaking right now in his early 30s.
There are still some out there who question his size and power but with each successive ass whipping he applies, it’s clear, as he says, that he’s big and powerful for his division and always way more than his foes can handle once they’re standing toe to toe and trading blows with him inside the square circle. We are all privileged to be watching him perform at this elevated level and to be able to call him one of our own. His like around here will not be seen for a long time to come. Maybe never again.
Crawford after win: ‘I want ’em all’
Heart and Soul: Kenny Wingo and Dutch Gladfelter Keep it Real at the Downtown Boxing Club
Two of my favorite story projects from the past two decades brought me to the Downtown Boxing Club in Omaha, Neb., where I met some guys straight out of a fight movie or a film noir. The story shared here is about the two grizzled coaches, Kenny and Dutch, who ran the joint at the time I hung around it. This Mutt and Jeff pair were the heart and soul of the whole gritty endeavor.
Heart and Soul: Kenny Wingo and Dutch Gladfelter Keep it Real at the Downtown Boxing Club
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally published in the New Horizons
The heart and soul of Omaha amateur boxing can be found one flight above the dingy 308 Bar at 24th & Farnam. There, inside a cozy little joint of a gym, fighters snap punches at heavy bags, spar inside a makeshift ring, shadowbox and skip rope.
Welcome to the Downtown Boxing Club, a combination sweatshop and shrine dedicated to “the sweet science.” A melting pot for young Latino, African-American and Anglo pugilists of every conceivable size, shape and starry-eyed dream. They include die-hard competitors and fitness buffs. Genuine prospects and hapless pugs. Half-pint boys and burly men. They come to test their courage, sacrifice their bodies and impose their wills. For inspiration they need only glance at the walls covered with posters of boxing greats.
Whatever their age, ability or aspiration, the athletes all work out under the watchful eye of Kenny Wingo, 65, the club’s head coach, president and founder. The retired masonry contractor keeps tempers and egos in check with his Burl Ives-as-Big Daddy girth and grit. Longtime assistant Dutch Gladfelter, 76, is as ramrod lean as Wingo is barrel-wide. The ex-prizefighter’s iron fists can still deliver a KO in a pinch, as when he decked a ringside heckler at a tournament a few years back.
Together 17 years now, these two grizzled men share a passion for the sport that helps keep them active year-round. Wingo, who never fought a bout in his life, readily admits he’s learned the ropes from Gladfelter.
“He’s taught me more about this boxing business – about how to handle kids and how to run a gym – than anybody else I’ve been around,” Wingo said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in his opinion. He’s a treasure.”
The lessons have paid dividends too, as the club’s produced scores of junior and adult amateur champions; it captured both the novice and open division team titles at the 1996 Omaha Golden Gloves tourney.
Ask Gladfelter what makes a good boxer and in his low, growling voice he’ll recite his school-of-hard-knocks philosophy:
“Balance, poise, aggressiveness and a heart,” he said. “Knowing when, where and how to hit. Feinting with your eyes and body – that takes the opponent’s mind off what he’s doing and sometimes you can really crack ‘em. I try to teach different points to hit, like the solar plexus and the jaw, and to stay on balance and be aggressive counterpunching. You don’t go out there just throwin’ punches – you have to think a little bit too.”
Gladfelter’s own ring career included fighting on the pro bootleg boxing circuit during the Depression. The Overton, Neb., native rode freight train boxcars for points bound west, taking fights at such division stops as Cheyenne, Wyo., Idaho Falls, Idaho and Elko, Nev. (where the sheriff staged matches).
“I fought all over the Rocky Mountain District. You’d travel fifty miles on those boxcars for a fight. Then you’d travel fifty more to another town and you were liable to run into the same guy you just fought back down the line. They just changed their name a little,” recalls Gladfelter, who fought then as Sonny O’Dea.
He got to know the hobo camps along the way and usually avoided the railroad bulls who patrolled the freight yards. It was a rough life, but it made him a buck in what “were hard times. There wasn’t any work. Fightin’ was the only way I knew to get any money. I got my nose broke a couple times, but it was still better than workin’ at the WPA or PWA,” he said, referring to the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration and Public Works Administration.
After hanging up his gloves he began coaching amateur fighters in the early 1950s. He worked several years with Native American coach Big Fire. Gladfelter, who is part Lakota, hooked up with Wingo in the late ‘70s when he brought a son who was fighting at the time to train at the Downtown Boxing Club. Gladfelter and wife Violet have five children in all.
“After his boy quit, Dutch stayed on and started helping me with my kids,” said Wingo.
With Gladfelter at his side Wingo not only refined his coaching skills but gained a new appreciation for his own Native American heritage (He is part Cherokee.).
“He took me to several powwows,” said Wingo. “He taught me what a dream catcher is and the difference between a grass dancer and a traditional dancer. He’s given me maps where the Native Americans lived. I ask him questions. I do some reading. It’s interesting to me.”
A self-described frustrated athlete, Wingo grew up a rabid baseball (Cardinals) and boxing (Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson) fan in Illinois. He saw combat in Korea with the U.S. Army’s 7th Regiment, 3rd Division. After the war he moved to Omaha, where a brother lived, and worked his way up from masonry blocklayer to contractor.
He got involved with boxing about 25 years ago when he took two young boys, whose mother he was dating, to the city Golden Gloves and they insisted they’d like to fight too. Acting on the boys’ interest, he found a willing coach in Kenny Jackson. Hanging around the gym to watch them train sparked a fire in Wingo for coaching boxers.
“And I’ve kind of been hooked on it ever since. It gets in your blood,” he said.
Before long Wingo became Jackson’s cornerman, handling the spit bucket, water bottle, towel, et cetera, during sparring sessions and bouts. He increased his knowledge by studying books and quizzing coaches.
When Wingo eventually broke with Jackson, several fighters followed him to the now defunct Foxhole Gym. Soon in need of his own space, Wingo found the site of the present club in 1978 and converted empty offices into a well-equipped gym. He underwrote much of the early venture himself, but has in recent years used proceeds from pickle card sales to fund its operation. No membership fees are charged fighters, whose gloves, headgear and other essentials are provided free. He annually racks up thousands of miles on the club van driving fighters to tournaments around the Midwest and other parts of the nation. Except for fishing trips, he’s at the gym every weeknight and most Saturday mornings.
What keeps Wingo at it? “I like working with the kids, number one. And when a kid does well it just makes you feel like all this is worthwhile. That you did your job and you got the best from him,” Wingo explains.
He enjoys helping young men grow as boxers and persons.
“When kids first come into the gym, they want to fight but they’re scared to death – because it is physical contact. But if you’re intimidated, you’ve got no chance. You try to teach them to be confident. I tell them from day one, and I keep tellin’ ‘em, that there’s three things that make a good fighter – conditioning, brains and confidence.”
Wingo feels boxing’s gotten a bad rap in recent years due to the excesses of the pro fight game. He maintains the amateur side of the sport, which is closely regulated, teaches positive values like sportsmanship and vital skills like self-discipline.
The lifelong bachelor has coached hundreds of athletes over the years – becoming a mentor to many.
“Growing up without a father figure, Kenny’s really kind of filled that role for me,” notes Tom McLeod of Omaha, a former boxer who under Wingo won four straight city and Midwest Golden Gloves titles at 156 pounds. “We developed a real good friendship and a mutual trust and respect. I think Kenny’s a great coach and a great tactician too. He always told me what I needed to do to win the fight. He gave me a lot of confidence in myself and in my abilities. He took me to a level I definitely couldn’t of reached by myself.”
McLeod, 27, is one of several Downtown Boxing Club veterans who remain loyal to Wingo and regularly spar with his stable of fighters. Another is Rafael Valdez, 33, who started training with Wingo at age 10 and later went on to fight some 150 amateur and 16 pro bouts. Valdez’s two small sons, Justin and Tony, now fight for Wingo and company as junior amateurs.
“When my kids were old enough to start fighting,” said Valdez, “Kenny was the first one I called. He treats the kids great. There aren’t many guys who are willing to put in the amount of time he does.”
This multi-generational boxing brotherhood is Wingo’s family.
“Winning isn’t everything with me. Fellowship is,” Wingo said. “It’s the fellowship you build up over the years with fighters and coaches and parents too. I’ve got friends from everywhere and I got ‘em through boxing.”
A 1980 tragedy reminded Wingo of the hazards of growing too attached to his fighters. He was coaching two rising young stars on the area boxing scene – brothers Art and Shawn Meehan of Omaha – when he got a call one morning that both had been killed in a car wreck.
“I really cared about them. Art was an outstanding kid and an outstanding fighter. He was 16 when he won the city and the Midwest Golden Gloves. And his little brother Shawn probably had more talent than him. I’d worked with them three-four years. I picked ‘em up and took ‘em to the gym and took ‘em home. I took the little one on a fishing trip to Canada.”
Wingo said the Meehans’ deaths marked “the lowest I’ve ever been. I was going to quit (coaching).” He’s stuck with it, but the pain remains. “I still think about those kids and I still go visit their graves. It taught me not to get too close to the kids, but it’s hard not to and I still do to a certain extent.”
Quitting isn’t his style anyway. Besides, kids keep arriving at the gym every day with dreams of boxing glory. So long as they keep coming, Wingo and Gladfelter are eager to share their experience with them.
“We’ve done it together for 17 years now and we’re gonna continue to do it together for another 17 years. We both love boxing. What would we do if we quit?”
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Omaha Storm Chasers part of Minor League Baseball push to cultivate Latino market
Been late posting some El Perico stories I had publsihed in July and August 2018. This is one of them.
Omaha Storm Chasers part of Minor League Baseball push to cultivate Latino market
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally appeared in El Perico (el-perico.com)
Baseball has long been an international sport. Its deep roots throughout Asia, Latin America, South America,Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico are well reflected in minor and major league team rosters in the United States.
To see this Latin influence, look no further than the Triple A Omaha Storm Chasers. The current roster includes players with the surnames Torres, Lopez, Arteage, Villegas, San Miguel, and Hernandez. Others, including top prospect Adalberto Mondesi, have been with the club in 2018. Two key players with the parent Kansas City Royals, Salvador Perez and Paulo Orlando, served rehab assignments here earlier this summer.
The emergence of Latino players – they comprise 27 percent of MLBers today compared to 14 percent in 1988 – has happened as America’s Latino population has exploded. Professional baseball knows that to stay relevant to diverse audiences, it must market the game to growing minority segments represented on the field. Thus, in 2017 Minor League Baseball initiated the Copa de la Diversión series or Fun Cup in celebration of Hispanic culture. Four franchises test-marketed the series. This year, 33 franchises are participating, including the Storm Chasers.
Teams designate select home dates as Copa games featuring Hispanic-themed uniforms and names, special community guests, and traditional cultural food, music, and dancing. For Copa, the Storm Chasers become Cazadores de Tormentas at Werner Park. The team played as the Cazadores on June 7, June 21 and July 21 and will close out the Copa series as the Cazadores on Thursday, August 2 at 7:05 p.m., playing against Las Vegas.
Showing off Latin roots and playing before Spanish-speakers is “fun”, according to Chasers utility player Jack Lopez. The Puerto Rico native added, “It’s an honor to be able to participate. Representing our countries is something we take pride in.”
Rosendo Robles will sing the national anthem prior to the start of the August 2 game. A post-game celebration concert will feature performers Marcos & Sabor, Alexis Arai and Premo el Negociante.
Chasers General Manager Martie Cordaro said his organization is focused on cultivating the Hispanic market here moving forward.
“This is a long play for us that’s based in community as we create and make relationships. The long play is this is a growing population nationally and specifically here in the metro area. We want them to look at us just like they do the Henry Doorly Zoo or Funplex or Pizza Machine or Cinco de Mayo. We want to be right there with their entertainment decisions.
“Sales is really secondary to what we’re doing right now. It’s not just another immediate promotion to sale tickets. We hired a staff member specifically for the community outreach it entails.”
Venezuela native Jhonnathan Omaña, a former Montreal Expos prospect and longtime Omaha resident, was hired in January as the club’s first multicultural marketing lead.
After years of experience in marketing, customer service, and promotions, Omaña enjoys being back in baseball using his bilingual and community relations skills.
“I have the opportunity to see baseball behind the scenes, in the front office, to make connections with the community and to facilitate interactions between the players and coaches and the fans. We’re reaching out to community businesses, nonprofit organizations, and schools, and we’re at different events. I get the chance to see baseball from a whole different perspective. That’s what really attracted me the most about this position.”
Baseball runs deep in his heritage.
“I’m from a country where baseball is big. Baseball has been in our family a long time and is a big part of our family.”
His grandfather Lucindo Caraballo was a legendary player with Los Leones del Caracas and is a candidate for Venezuela’s national baseball hall of fame. Omaña was talented enough to get a look by the Expos. A younger brother played community college ball in Nebraska.
Omaña sees his job as building on the goodwill the franchise has established in its 50 years in Omaha.
“The relationship with the Hispanic community was already there,” he said. “I’m just contributing to making that relationship stronger.”
GM Cordaro acknowledged more needed to be done before Copa.
“I don’t think traditionally minor league baseball has done all it could to target all demographics,” he said. “Minor league baseball is a great sport. It draws 42 million fans a year – outdrawing the NFL and NBA combined – but there are additional groups and demographics we’re not directly speaking or had not been to prior to the Copa program.”
“I think this is an opportunity to say, yes, we are the community’s ballclub, not just the traditional baseball fans’ ballclub. I think what the Copa program does is to be a little more inviting, a little more welcoming. That’s really what Jjonathan [Omaña] has been tasked with,” GM Cordaro said.
South by Southwest: Omaha South High Soccer Builds Makings of Dynasty on Diversity
South by Southwest: Omaha South High Soccer Builds Makings of Dynasty on Diversity
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally published in El Perico (el-perico.com)
The feel-good story of Omaha South High School’s boys soccer team nearly got lost in the aftermath of last week’s state championship game. The Packers lost 4-2 to Lincoln East at Creighton’s Morrison Stadium. Marring the action was a small group of Lincoln East fans waving American flags during the contest. In the post-game rush celebrating the win some East fans littered the field with fake U.S. resident “green cards.”
Few among the record 5,800 in attendance actually saw the incident, which happened amid a tangle of bodies. When reporters on the scene informed South Coach Joe Maass what occurred he confronted East coach Jeff Hoham.
In the ensuing flood of media coverage the offending East students were suspended. Students and officials from the schools have expressed outrage and regret. Messages have been exchanged. A face-to-face dialogue convened. All to work through the hurt feelings. Practically everyone agrees the insults were racist taunts targeting predominantly Latino South. The provocative symbols inferred illegal status in what is already a tense climate over immigration. East has a largely white student body.
What should have been a capstone moment for South, whose graduation ceremony was held blocks away before the game, instead became fodder in the growing culture war. South officials say the stunt was just the latest insensitivity the school’s endured.
“There’s been incidents throughout the season and throughout my 11 years here,” said Maass. “It’s always been there.” Principal Cara Riggs said “inappropriate comments” have been directed towards “not just our boys soccer team, but also our nearly all African-American boys basketball team. They too have suffered from similar situations.”
She noted frustration with schools “minimizing” such events but credits East staff and students for trying to make things right.
As inevitable as it may be for what transpired to be headline material in the raging immigration debate, the greater lesson is how a team from a diverse inner city school achieved great heights and didn’t take the bait when egged on.
Maass has guided the program from awful to elite. Fueling the turnaround is talent from feeder South Omaha and Bellevue soccer clubs, notably Club Viva. The mostly Latino players bring a fluid style of finesse, quickness, creativity he terms “beautiful to watch. The average kid comes here with natural foot skills and an understanding of the game. A lot of the fundamentals are there.” Plus, he said, “they want to play passionately.”
South’s lone non-Latino player, junior Alex Stillinger, came from Viva, too. He was South’s leading scorer in 2010 and he calls playing for South “an honor.” He and his teammates describe themselves as “family.” Junior Guillermo Ventura, whose brother Eric made the squad as a freshman, said, “all my teammates are my brothers.”
MATT DIXON/THE WORLD-HERALD
The coaching staff is a mix of ethnicities, including Greece native Demitrios Fountas.
Diversity is not isolated to the soccer team, said Riggs: “Our students who live in a very diverse school population…are respectful of each other’s cultures and differences.”
The Packer faithful at the state title game included Latinos and non-Latinos. “It gives us some real pride to have the power back in one of the sports,” said South High grad Tom Maass, an uncle of coach Joe Maass. Sergio Rangel, who knows several South players, said the team’s success “is a good thing for the community.”
Coach Maass believes South’s new Collin Field came to fruition when alums and backers of largely Eastern European ancestry put their faith in the Latino-led soccer program as the school’s best chance at reclaiming its long dormant athletic glory. The regulation soccer field offers a decided home advantage. South’s unbeaten there.
His first five years brought only a handful of wins. But steady progress has resulted in three state tourney appearances in four years. In 2010 the program set a school record for single-season wins, 20, and achieved several South High soccer firsts: a No. 1 ranking; a district championship; a win at state; and a championship game berth. As departing senior star Manny Lira put it after South finally beat its longtime nemesis, Creighton Prep, in the state semifinals, “It’s history within history within history.”
“Yeah, this is huge, I can’t even put it into words right now,” Maass said after South beat Lincoln Southeast for the District A-3 title. “We’ve been building to this with every little stepping stone. Every year we’ve improved a little bit. Where we’re at and where we were are two different stories. It’s been a complete reversal. People used to pat me on the back and say, ‘Oh you’re making the kids so much better.’ Now when I beat their teams I don’t get that anymore. Now it’s kind of like they can’t stand me.”
The truth is, anytime South plays a Millard, Papillion, Westside or Prep, there’s a clash of inner city-suburban, poor-wealthy, Latino-gringo. Maass said despite some bigots most opponents “respect us in the end. People actually believe we’re good now. We’ve closed the gap for sure. It’s not a fluke, it’s the real deal.”
More important, he said, is how South soccer “is building a lot of pride within our community and our kids.”
“The community has something positive to look at now at South rather than the low test scores or low graduation rates,” said Guillermo Ventura. “The community is appreciative of the school and the kids and what we have to offer.”
Before the state championship game against unbeaten and nationally ranked Lincoln East Maass said, “I’ve been telling everybody regardless of the outcome of this game the community interest and support and enthusiasm I’ve seen from all walks of life far outweighs whether we win or lose, and it’s always kind of been about that here until the tradition’s built. Then I suppose it’ll be about winning championships.”
Even after the loss, he sounded upbeat, saying, “This is the best game I’ve ever been to in terms of crowd support, South Omaha support. I’ve never been so proud to be from South Omaha in my life. Seriously. This is the pinnacle.”
Maass feels with the pipeline that’s in place it’s just the start of something big.
“I hear stories now of middle school kids wanting to come to South and play soccer, and so I’m hoping we can build on this and create kind of like an every year trip to state and possibly win a state championship.”
Graduated goalkeeper Billy Loera, who set a state record with 37 career shutouts predicts “there’s a lot more to come.”
Life Itself XI: Sports Stories from the 2000s
Life Itself XI:
Sports Stories from the 2000s
Giving a helping hand to Nebraska greats
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/03/08/giving-a-helping…-nebraska-greats/
The State of Volleyball: How Nebraska Became the Epicenter of American Volleyball
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/01/21/the-state-of-vol…rican-volleyball/
Huskers’ Winning Tradition: Surprise Return to the Top for Nebraska Volleyball
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/01/21/huskers-winning-…raska-volleyball/
An Omaha Hockey Legend in the Making: Jake Guentzel Reflects on Historic Rookie Season
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/07/10/an-omaha-hockey-…ic-rookie-season
Boxing coach Jose Campos molds young men
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/02/01/boxing-coach-jos…-molds-young-men
From couch potato to champion pugilist
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/11/22/from-couch-potat…hampion-pugilist
Living legend Tom Osborne still winning game of life at 79
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/10/27/living-legend-to…me-of-life-at-79/
The end of a never-meant-to-be Nebraska football dynasty has a school and a state fruitlessly pursuing a never-again-to-be-harnessed rainbow
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/03/26/the-end-of-a-nev…arnessed-rainbow/
Baseball and Soul Food at Omaha Rockets Kanteen
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/06/23/baseball-and-soul-food/
Soul food eatery Omaha Rockets Kanteen conjures Negro Leagues past and pot liquor love menu
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/11/17/soul-food-eatery…liquor-love-menu
A case of cognitive athletic dissonance
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/03/17/a-case-of-cognit…letic-dissonance/
Thoughts on recent gathering of Omaha Black Sports Legends
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/09/29/thoughts-on-rece…k-sports-legends/
From left, Bob Gibson, Marlin Briscoe, Johnny Rodgers and Ron Boone pose for a picture during a special dinner “An Evening With the Magician” honoring Marlin Briscoe at Baxter Arena on Thursday.
Marlin Briscoe: The Magician Finally Gets His Due
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/12/27/marlin-briscoe-t…lly-gets-his-due/
UPDATE TO: Marlin Briscoe finally getting his due
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Marlin Briscoe: Still making history
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Marlin Briscoe – An Appreciation
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Pad man Esau Dieguez gets world champ Terence Crawford ready
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Some thoughts on the HBO documentary “My Fight” about Terence Crawford
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Omaha warrior Terence Crawford wins again but his greatest fight may be internal
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Terence “Bud” Crawford is Nebraska’s most impactful athlete of all-time
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.jpg)
©Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
TERENCE CRAWFORD STAMPS HIS PLACE AMONG OMAHA GREATS
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/24/terence-crawford…ong-omaha-greats
This is what greatness looks like. Terence Crawford: Forever the People’s Champ
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/24/terence-crawford…he-peoples-champ
New approach, same expectation for South soccer
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South High soccer keeps pushing the envelope
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Masterful: Joe Maass leads Omaha South High soccer evolution
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/24/masterful-joe-ma…soccer-evolution
The Chubick Way comes full circle with father-son coaching tandem at Omaha South
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/03/03/the-chubick-way-…m-at-omaha-south
A good man’s job is never done: Bruce Chubick honored for taking South to top
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/19/a-good-mans-job-…ing-south-to-top
Bruce Chubick builds winner at South: State title adds capstone to strong foundation
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/03/18/bruce-chubick-bu…trong-foundation
Storybook hoops dream turns cautionary tale for Omaha South star Aguek Arop
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/09/18/storybook-hoops-…-star-aguek-arop/
What if Creighton’s hoops destiny team is not the men, but the women?
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/02/08/what-if-creighto…en-but-the-women
Diversity finally comes to the NU volleyball program
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/11/14/diversity-finall…lleyball-program
Ann Schatz on her own terms – Veteran sportscaster broke the mold in Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/03/30/ann-schatz-on-he…he-mold-in-omaha/
The Silo Crusher: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Trev Alberts
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Former Husker All-American Trev Alberts Tries Making UNO Athletics’ Slogan, ‘Omaha’s Team,’ a Reality
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/15/former-husker-al…s-team-a-reality
Omaha North superstar back Calvin Strong overcomes bigger obstacles than tacklers; Record-setting rusher poised to lead defending champion Vikings to another state title
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/08/29/omaha-north-supe…ther-state-title/
Having Survived War in Sudan, Refugee Akoy Agau Discovered Hoops in America and the Major College Recruit is Now Poised to Lead Omaha Central to a Third Straight State Title
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/03/01/having-survived-…ight-state-title
Dean Blais Has UNO Hockey Dreaming Big
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/01/29/dean-blais-has-u…key-dreaming-big
Gender equity in sports has come a long way, baby; Title IX activists-advocates who fought for change see much progress and the need for more
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/11/gender-equity-in…he-need-for-more
Omaha fight doctor Jack Lewis of two minds about boxing
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/21/omaha-fight-doct…nds-about-boxing
An Ode to Ali: Forever the Greatest
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A Kansas City Royals reflection
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Bob Boozer, basketball immortal, posthumously inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
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Firmly Rooted: The Story of Husker Brothers
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Sparring for Omaha: Boxer Terence Crawford Defends His Title in the City He Calls Home
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The Champ looks to impact more youth at his B&B Boxing Academy
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The Champ Goes to Africa: Terence Crawford Visits Uganda and Rwanda with his former teacher, this reporter and friends
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/06/26/the-champ-goes-t…rter-and-friends
My travels in Uganda and Rwanda, Africa with Pipeline Worldwide’s Jamie Fox Nollette, Terence Crawford and Co.
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/08/01/my-travels-in-ug…-crawford-and-co
Omaha conquering hero Terence Crawford adds second boxing title to his legend; Going to Africa with The Champ; B&B Boxing Academy builds champions inside and outside the ring
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/21/omaha-conquering…outside-the-ring/
UNO hockey staking its claim
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Austin Ortega leads UNO hockey to new heights
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Homegrown Joe Arenas made his mark in college and the NFL
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High-flying McNary big part of Creighton volleyball success; Senior outside hitter’s play has helped raise program stature
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/10/24/high-flying-mcna…-program-stature
Doug McDermott’s magic carpet ride to college basketball Immortality: The stuff of jegends and legacies
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/05/06/doug-mcdermotts-…nds-and-legacies/
UNO resident folk hero Dana Elsasser’s softball run coming to an end: Hard-throwing pitcher to leave legacy of overcoming obstacles
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/04/28/uno-resident-fol…coming-obstacles
HOMETOWN HERO TERENCE CRAWFORD ON VERGE OF GREATNESS AND BECOMING BOXING’S NEXT SUPERSTAR
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Terence “Bud” Crawford in the fight of his life for lightweight title: top contender from Omaha’s mean streets looks to make history
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/02/25/terence-bud-craw…-to-make-history
In his corner: Midge Minor is trainer, friend, father figure to pro boxing contender Terence “Bud” Crawford
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Giving kids a fighting chance: Carl Washington and his CW Boxing Club and Youth Resource Center
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/12/03/giving-kids-a-fi…-resource-center/
JOHN C. JOHNSON: Standing Tall
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/14/john-c-johnson-standing-tall
Deadeye Marcus “Mac” McGee still a straight shooter at 100
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/03/15/deadeye-marcus-m…t-shooter-at-100
Rich Boys Town sports legacy recalled
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The series and the stadium: CWS and Rosenblatt are home to the Boys of Summer
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Hoops legend Abdul-Jabbar talks history
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/08/09/hoops-legend-abd…ar-talks-history
The man behind the voice of Husker football at Memorial Stadium
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/20/the-man-behind-t…memorial-stadium
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum exhibits on display for the College World Series;
In bringing the shows to Omaha the Great Plains Black History Museum announces it’s back
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/05/17/negro-leagues-ba…nounces-its-back
Steve Rosenblatt: A legacy of community service, political ambition and baseball adoration
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/27/steve-rosenblatt…seball-adoration/
Houston Alexander, “The Assassin”
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/22/houston-alexander-the-assassin
The Pit Boxing Club is Old-School Throwback to Boxing Gyms of Yesteryear
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/01/04/the-pit-boxing-c…ms-of-yesteryear
The Last Hurrah for Hoops Wizard Darcy Stracke
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/17/the-last-hurrah-…rd-darcy-stracke/
Going to Extremes: Professional Cyclist Todd Herriott
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/11/25/going-to-extreme…st-todd-herriott/
Danny Woodhead, The Mighty Mite from North Platte Makes Good in the NFL
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/05/danny-woodhead-t…-good-in-the-nfl/
Kenton Keith’s long and winding journey to football redemption
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/04/kenton-keiths-lo…tball-redemption/
One Peach of a Pitcher: Peaches James Leaves Enduring Legacy in the Circle as a Nebraska Softball Legend
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/10/one-peach-of-a-p…-softball-legend
Green Bay Packers All-Pro Running Back Ahman Green Channels Comic Book Hero Batman and Gridiron Icons Walter Payton and Bo Jackson on the Field
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/12/05/green-bay-packer…son-on-the-field
Ron Stander: One-time Great White Hope still making rounds for friends in need
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/ron-stander-stil…-friends-in-need
Buck O’Neil and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City Offer a Living History Lesson about the National Pastime from a Black Perspective
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/27/buck-o’neil-and-…lack-perspective
Memories of Baseball Legend Buck O’Neil and the Negro Leagues Live On
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/11/memories-of-buck…-leagues-live-on
My Midwest Baseball Odyssey Diary
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/11/my-midwest-baseball-odyssey-diary
Lifetime Friends, Native Sons, Entrepreneurs Michael Green and Dick Davis Lead Efforts to Revive North Omaha and to Empower its Black Citizenry
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/20/lifetime-friends…-black-citizenry
A Good Deal: George Pfeifer and Tom Krehbiel are the Ties that Bind Boys Town Hoops
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/a-good-deal-geor…-boys-town-hoops/
Tom Lovgren, A Good Man to Have in Your Corner
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/03/tom-lovgren-a-go…e-in-your-corner/
Omaha’s Fight Doctor, Jack Lewis, and His Boxing Cronies Weigh-in On Omaha Hosting the National Golden Gloves
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/20/omahas-fight-doc…al-golden-gloves/
The Fighting Hernandez Brothers
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/06/the-fighting-hernandez-brothers/
Redemption, A Boys Town Grad Tyrice Ellebb Finds His Way
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/06/redemption
Wright On, Adam Wright Has it All Figured Out Both On and Off the Football Field
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/06/wright-on
A Rosenblatt Tribute
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/a-rosenblatt-tribute
The Little People’s Ambassador at the College World Series
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/26/the-little-peopl…ege-world-series/
The Two Jacks of the College World Series
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/26/the-two-jacks-of…ege-world-series
UNO wrestling dynasty built on tide of social change
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/03/17/uno-wrestling-dy…-social-change-2
Requiem for a Dynasty: UNO Wrestling
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/28/requiem-for-a-dy…ville-university/
UNO Wrestling Retrospective – Way of the Warrior, House of Pain, Day of Reckoning
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/21/a-three-part-uno…day-of-reckoning/
Omaha native Steve Marantz looks back at city’s ’68 racial divide through prism of hoops in new book, “The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/04/01/omaha-native-ste…of-omaha-central/
It’s a Hoops Culture at The SAL, Omaha’s Best Rec Basketball League
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/06/its-a-hoops-cult…asketball-league/
Born again ex-gangbanger and pugilist, now minister, Servando Perales makes Victory Boxing Club his mission church for saving youth from the streets
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/12/19/born-again-ex-ga…from-the-streets/
Fight Girl Autumn Anderson
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/fight-girl/
Brotherhood of the Ring, Omaha’s CW Boxing Club
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/brotherhood-of-the-ring/
Harley Cooper, The Best Boxer You’ve Never Heard Of
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/05/harley-cooper-th…e-never-heard-of/
Requiem for a Heavyweight, the Ron Stander Story
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/requiem-for-a-heavyweight/
When We Were Kings, A Vintage Pro Wrestling Story
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/04/when-we-were-kin…-wrestling-story/
Heart and Soul, A Mutt and Jeff Boxing Story
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/04/heart-and-soul/
The Downtown Boxing Club’s House of Discipline
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/04/the-downtown-box…se-of-discipline
Making the case for a Nebraska Black Sports Hall of Fame
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/03/27/making-the-case-…rts-hall-of-fame/
OUT TO WIN – THE ROOTS OF GREATNESS: OMAHA’S BLACK SPORTS LEGENDS
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/12/20/out-to-win-the-r…k-sports-legends/
Opening Installment from my series Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness
An exploration of Omaha’s Black Sports Legends
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/10/from-my-series-o…k-sports-legends
Closing Installment from my series Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness
An appreciation of Omaha’s Black Sports Legends
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/10/closing-installm…k-sports-legends/
Bob Gibson, A Stranger No More (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/16/bob-gibson-a-stranger-no-more
Bob Gibson, the Master of the Mound remains his own man years removed from the diamond (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/18/bob-gibson-the-m…from-the-diamond/
My Brother’s Keeper, The competitive drive MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson’s older brother, Josh, instilled in him (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/04/30/my-brothers-keep…instilled-in-him/
Johnny Rodgers, Forever Young, Fast, and Running Free (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/18/johnny-rodgers-f…ots-of-greatness/
Ron Boone, still an Iron Man after all these years (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/18/ron-boone-still-…ots-of-greatness
The Brothers Sayers: Big legend Gale Sayers and little legend Roger Sayers (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/15/the-brothers-say…end-roger-sayers/
Bob Boozer, Basketball Immortal (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/14/bob-boozer-basketball-immortal
Prodigal Son: Marlin Briscoe takes long road home (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/13/prodigal-son-mar…e-long-road-home/
Don Benning: Man of Steel (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/17/don-benning-man-…ots-of-greatness
Dana College Legend Marion Hudson, the greatest athlete you’ve never heard of before (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/14/marion-hudson-th…ots-of-greatness/
Soul on Ice – Man on Fire: The Charles Bryant Story (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/12/09/soul-on-ice-man-…ots-of-greatness/
The Boxers – Sweet Scientists from The Hood (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win Series: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/08/11/from-my-series-o…ts-from-the-hood/
The Wrestlers – Masters in the Way of the Mat (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win Series: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/08/11/from-my-series-o…e-way-of-the-mat
A Brief History of Omaha’s Black, Urban, Inner-City Hoops Scene (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/25/from-my-series-o…city-hoops-scene/
Neal Mosser, A Straight-Shooting Son-of-a-Gun (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/16/from-my-series-o…ing-son-of-a-gun
Alexander the Great’s Wrestling Dynasty – Champion Wrestler and Coach Curlee Alexander on Winning (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/17/from-my-series-o…ander-on-winning
Black Women Make Their Mark in Athletics (from my Omaha Black Sports Legends series, Out to Win: The Roots of Greatness)
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/10/from-the-series-…ark-in-athletics
Perez finds home away from home in York
Perez finds home away from home in York
©by Leo Adam Biga
Appeared in March 2018 issue of El Perico (el-perico.com)
It seems like destiny now to Brianna Perez, the ex-York (Neb.) College softball standout and recent Nebraska Greats Foundation recipient. She dreamed of playing on a national stage. Instead, she eded up 1,500 miles from home at tiny, private York in southeast Neb., where she overcame injury to become a diamond legend. Then, when more hard times hit, she discovered an entire community, even some strangers, had her back.
Perez was a star high school competitor in her native Madera, California. She suffered an ACL tear as a junior when, covering second base, her cleats got stuck in the dirt and her left knee torqued. She came back strong her senior year. But missing time didn’t net the exposure she needed to land a major college athletic scholarship.
York entered the picture because her aunt Roni (Arellano) Miller played there – graduating in 2001. She’d been a Madera softball star herself. She, too, dreamed of Division I glory before finding her destiny at York. She took Perez on her campus visit and was happy when her niece enrolled on scholarship there. But the homesick Perez lasted only one semester.
“I was closed-minded and not open to the culture of York College. It was different from what I was used to,” Perez said.
She returned home to be near family and friends. She attended Reedley Junior College, where she played ball two years. But leaving York the way she did never felt right. She pined to get back. An unexpected opportunity to do that arose when Miller took the York head coaching job and called to recruit her niece. who had two years eligibility left, to come play for her.
“I was given the opportunity continue my education and softball career, so, I took a leap of faith and decided to go back,” Perez said. “That was the best decision I ever made in my life. I got more involved and made friends I will cherish the rest of my life.
I’m really happy with the way things worked out. I definitely think everything happens for a reason. The relationships you build at a small school like York College are things you can’t really replace or get anywhere else. I think everything happened the way it was supposed to.”
Having her aunt as her coach helped.
“What I learned from her was not only how to be a better player but how to be a better person. I really appreciate that because I use it now in my everyday life.”
Miller’s husband, Kenny Miller, assists coaching the team and Brianna helps out, too.
“Roni and Kenny are two of the biggest influences in my life. I live with them and help coach with them. They’ve been huge mentors. They’ve helped me grow as a person. If I have questions about life and need advice, I know i can always go to them.”
Perez needed support when, as a York junior, she had the same ACL injury she endured in high school. This time, she made a shoestring catch and as she came up to throw the runner out at home, she stepped in a hole and the same ligament twisted and tore.
“Having already been through it once, I knew what to expect. I learned it was just a set-back to reaching my goals and that I had to work twice as hard. I also learned to be mentally tough because there were many days when the pain was too much and I didn’t think I could do it. But with the help of family, friends, teammates and coaches, I was able to push through.
“I think it has made me more mentally tough for difficult situations in life.”
Just as before, she came back strong. For her 2016 senior campaign she played outfield and batted .433 with an .803 slugging percentage. Her 68 hits included 22 doubles and 12 home runs. She drove in 55 runs. She became the Panthers’ first softball All-American.
Then she got tested again when she fell behind paying medical bills from the knee surgery she underwent. A collection agency threatened legal action.
“It was scary and embarrassing. I didn’t really know what to do.”
She depleted her few resources traveling home to be with her mother, who was fighting pancreatic cancer. “I worked three jobs just so I could afford to go home.”
Then her car broke down. “It was a pretty tough year.”
That’s when she learned about the nonprofit Nebraska Greats Foundation that helps ex-athletes in need.
“It’s been such a blessing in my life,” Perez said of the foundation, which paid off her debts.
Her mother has made a full recovery.
Perez views everything that’s happened as a gift.
“It was completely worth it. It’s made me into the person I am today.”
She left after graduating only to return for her master’s in Organizational and Global Leadership. She compiled a 4.0 GPA. She hopes for a human services career.
“I’m passionate about helping the less fortunate and homeless. I’ve done a lot of volunteer work with that.”
She works in admissions at York, where one day her younger sisters, also softball phenoms, may follow her.
“I tell them all the time, ‘Don’t let anything hold you back.’ I showed them that it can be done. They’re capable of doing that and so much more. They might have offers to play softball at bigger schools but,” Perez said, it’s possible” they could continue the family legacy there. “They’ve come out to visit and they like it a lot. I’ll support them in whatever they want to do.”
Perez is enjoying coaching.
“It’s really cool to see players accomplish something they didn’t think they were capable of. When that happens, you see their confidence go up and carry over into everything else they do. That’s satisfying.”
Though she may not stay in York, she said, “It will always be a little home away from home for me. I’ve been given so many opportunities through York College.”
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