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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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The State of Volleyball: How Nebraska Became the Epicenter of American Volleyball
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An Omaha Hockey Legend in the Making: Jake Guentzel Reflects on Historic Rookie Season
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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
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/09/20/marlin-briscoe-f…-getting-his-due/
Marlin Briscoe: Still making history
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/12/10/marlin-briscoe-n…-of-fame-be-next/
Marlin Briscoe – An Appreciation
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/13/marlin-briscoe-an-appreciation
Pad man Esau Dieguez gets world champ Terence Crawford ready
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/04/25/pad-man-esau-die…e-crawford-ready
Some thoughts on the HBO documentary “My Fight” about Terence Crawford
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/12/some-thoughts-on…terence-crawford
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
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/
.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
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/04/14/new-approach-sam…for-south-soccer/
South High soccer keeps pushing the envelope
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/06/south-high-socce…ing-the-envelope
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
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/08/27/the-silo-crusher…ove-trev-alberts
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
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/04/an-od-to-ali-forever-the-greatest
A Kansas City Royals reflection
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/01/a-kansas-city-royals-reflection
Bob Boozer, basketball immortal, posthumously inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/05/20/bob-boozer-baske…all-hall-of-fame/
Firmly Rooted: The Story of Husker Brothers
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/09/firmly-rooted-th…usker-brothers-2
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
The Champ looks to impact more youth at his B&B Boxing Academy
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/14/the-champ-looks-…ations-expansion/
The Champ Goes to Africa: Terence Crawford Visits Uganda and Rwanda with his former teacher, this reporter and friends
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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
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/03/06/uno-hockey-staking-its-claim
Austin Ortega leads UNO hockey to new heights
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/03/05/austin-ortega-le…y-to-new-heights
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
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/23/hometown-hero-te…s-next-superstar
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/
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
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/rich-boys-town-s…-legacy-recalled/
The series and the stadium: CWS and Rosenblatt are home to the Boys of Summer
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/25/the-series-and-t…e-boys-of-summer
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.”
Lea más del trabajo de Leo Adam Biga en leoadambiga.com.
Giving a helping hand to Nebraska greats
Giving a helping hand to Nebraska greats
©story by Leo Adam Biga
©photos by Bill Sitzmann
Appears in the March-April 2018 issue of Omaha Magazine ( http://omahamagazine.com/ )
Memory-makers.
That’s what former Husker gridiron great Jerry Murtaugh calls the ex-collegiate athletes whose exploits we recall with larger-than-life nostalgia.
Mythic-like hero portrayals aside, athletes are only human. Their bodies betray them. Medical interventions and other emergencies drain resources. Not every old athlete can pay pressing bills or afford needed care. That’s where the Nebraska Greats Foundation Murtaugh began five years ago comes in. The charitable organization assists memory-makers who lettered in a sport at any of Nebraska’s 15 universities or colleges.
“All the money we generate goes into helping the memory-makers and their families,” says Murtaugh.
Its genesis goes back to Murtaugh missing a chance to help ailing ex-Husker star Andra Franklin, who died in 2006. When he learned another former NU standout, Dave Humm, was hurting, he made it his mission to help. Murtaugh got Husker coaching legend Tom Osborne to endorse the effort and write the first check.
“The foundation has been a source of financial aid to many former Huskers who are in need, but also, and maybe equally important, it has helped bind former players together in an effort to stay in touch and to serve each other. I sense a feeling of camaraderie and caring among out former players not present in many other athletic programs around the country,” Osborne says.
The foundation’s since expanded its reach to letter-winners from all Nebraska higher ed institutions.
By the start of 2018, more than $270,000 raised by the foundation went to cover the needs of 12 recipients. Three recipients subsequently died from cancer. As needed, NGF provides for the surviving spouse and children of memory-makers.
The latest and youngest grantee is also the first female recipient – Brianna Perez. The former York College All-America softball player required surgery for a knee injury suffered playing ball. Between surgery, flying to Calif. to see her ill mother, graduate school and unforeseen expenses, Perez went into debt.
“She found out about us, we reviewed her application and her bills were paid off,” NGF administrator Margie Smith says. “She cried and so did I.”
It’s hard for still proud ex-athletes to accept or ask for help, says all-time Husker hoops great Maurtice Ivy, who serves on the board. Yet they find themselves in vulnerable straits that can befall anyone. Giving back to those who gave so much, she says, “is a no-brainer.”
The hard times that visit these greats are heartbreaking. Some end up in wheelchairs, others homeless. Some die and leave family behind.
“I cry behind closed doors,” Murtaugh says. “One of the great ones we lost, a couple weeks before he passed away said, ‘All I’m asking is take care of my family.’ So, we’re doing our best. What I’m proud of is, we don’t leave them hanging. Our athlete, our brother, our sister has died and we just don’t stop there – we clear up all the medical bills the family faces. We’re there for them.”
“We become advocates, cheerleaders and sounding boards for them and their families,” Smith says. “I am excited when I write checks to pay their bills, thrilled when they make a full recovery and cry when they pass away. But we’re helping our memory makers through their time of need. Isn’t this what life is all about? “
Smith says the foundation pays forward what the athletes provided us in terms of feelings and memories.
“We all want to belong to something good. That is why the state’s collegiate sports programs are so successful. We cheer our beloved athletes to do their best to make us feel good. We brag about the wins, cry over the losses. The outcome affects us because we feel a sense of belonging. These recipients gave their all for us. They served as role models.
“Now it’s our turn to take care of them.”
Murtaugh is sure it’s an idea whose time has come.
“Right now, I think we’re the only state that helps our former athletes,” he says. “Before I’m dead, I’m hoping every state picks up on this and helps their own because the NCAA isn’t going to help you after you’re done. We know that. And that’s what we’re here for – we need to help our own. And that’s what we’re doing.”
Monies raised go directly to creditors, not recipients.
He says two prominent athletic figures with ties to the University of Nebraska – Barry Alvarez, who played at NU and coached Wisconsin, where he’s athletic director, and Craig Bohl, who played and coached at NU, led North Dakota State to three national titles, and now coaches Wyoming – wish to start similar foundations .
Murtaugh and his board, comprised mostly of ex-athletes like himself, are actively getting the word out across the state end beyond to identify more potential recipients and raise funds to support them. He’s confident of the response.
“We’re going to have the money to help all the former athletes in the state who need our help, Athletes and fans are starting to really understand the impact they all make for these recipients. People have stepped up and donated a lot of money. A lot of people have done a lot of things for us. But we need more recipients. We have some money in the bank that needs to be used.”
Because Nebraska collegiate fan bases extend statewide and nationally, Murtaugh travels to alumni and booster groups to present about the foundation’s work. Everywhere he goes, he says, people get behind it.
“Nebraskans are the greatest fans in the country and they back their athletes in all 15 colleges and universities. It’s great to see. I’m proud to be part of this, I really am.”
Foundation fundraisers unite the state around a shared passion. A golf classic in North Platte last year featured the three Husker Heisman trophy winners – Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Eric Crouch – for an event that raised $40,000. Another golf outing is planned for July in Kearney that will once more feature the Heisman trio.
Murtaugh envisions future events across the state so fans can rub shoulders with living legends and help memory-makers with their needs.
He sees it as one big “family” coming together “to help our own.”
Visit nebraskagreatsfoundation.org.
The State of Volleyball: How Nebraska Became the Epicenter of American Volleyball
The State of Volleyball: How Nebraska Became the Epicenter of American Volleyball
©by Leo Adam Biga
©Photography by Bill Sitzmann
Originally published in Jan-Feb 2018 issue of Omaha Magazine
For generations, football gave Nebraska a statewide identity. But with Husker gridiron fortunes flagging, volleyball is the new signature sport with booming participation and success.
Here and nationally, more girls now play volleyball than basketball (according to the National Federation of State High School Associations).
“It’s the main or premier sport for women right now,” Doane University coach Gwen Egbert says.
Omaha has become a volleyball showcase. The city hosted NCAA Division I Finals in 2006, 2008, and 2015, with the Cornhuskers competing on all three occasions (winning the national title in 2006 and 2015).
Packed crowds at the CenturyLink Center will once again welcome the nation’s top teams when Omaha hosts the championships in 2020. Meanwhile, Creighton University is emerging as another major volleyball powerhouse, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha has made strides in the Mavericks’ first two years of full Division I eligibility since joining the Summit Conference.
In the 2017 NCAA tournament, Creighton advanced to the second round (but fell to Michigan State). As this edition of Omaha Magazine went to press, the Cornhuskers headed to regionals in hopeful pursuit of a fifth national championship.
“The fact Nebraska has done and drawn so well, and that kids are seeing the sport at a high level at a young age, gets people excited to play,” says Husker legend Karen Dahlgren Schonewise, who coaches for Nebraska Elite club volleyball and Duchesne Academy in Omaha.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln first reached a national title game with Schonewise in 1986. The dominant defensive player set Nebraska’s career record for solo blocks (132)—a record that still stands—before going on to play professionally. (The Cornhuskers didn’t win the national championship until 1995.)
“I think the amount of kids that play in Nebraska is No. 1, per capita, in the country. I think the level of play is far higher than many states in the country,” says Omaha Skutt Catholic coach Renee Saunders, whose star freshman, 6-foot-3 Lindsay Krause, is a UNL verbal commit.
Volleyball’s attraction starts with plentiful scholarships, top-flight coaching, TV coverage, and professional playing opportunities.
Few states match the fan support found here.
“We have probably the most educated fans in the nation,” Saunders says. “They’re a great fan base. They know how to support their teams, and they’re very embracing of volleyball in general.”
The lack of physical contact appeals to some girls. The frequent team huddles after rallies draw others.
Omaha Northwest High School coach Shannon Walker says “the camaraderie” is huge. You really have to work together as a unit, communicate, and be six people moving within a tiny space.”
Volleyball’s hold is rural and urban in a state that has produced All-Americans, national champions, and Olympians.
The Husker program has been elite since the 1980s. Its architect, former UNL coach Terry Pettit, planted the seeds that grew this second-to-none volleyball culture.
“He really spearheaded a grassroots effort to build the sport,” says Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. “Besides winning, he also worked diligently to train our high school coaches.”
“It’s important to realize this goes back many years,” former Husker (2009-2012) Gina Mancuso says, “and I think a lot of credit goes to Terry Pettit. He created such an awesome program with high standards and expectations.”
Pettit products like Gwen Egbert have carried those winning ways to coaching successful club and high school programs and working area camps. Egbert built a dynasty at Papillion-LaVista South before going to Doane. Several Papio South players have excelled as Huskers (the Rolzen twins, Kelly Hunter, etc.).
Their paths inspired future Husker Lindsay Krause.
“Seeing the success is a big motivation to want to play,” Krause says. “Just watching all the success everyone has in this state makes you feel like it’s all the more possible for you to be able to do that.”
Many top former players go on to coach here, and most remain even after they achieve great success.
Walker says quality coaches don’t leave because “it’s the hotbed of volleyball—they’re staying here and growing home talent now.”
“It’s us colleges that reap the benefits,” Bernthal Booth says.
Pettit says it’s a matter of “success breeds success.”
Schonewise agrees, saying, “Once you see success, others want to try it and do it and more programs become successful.”
“The standard is high and people want to be at that high level. They don’t want to be mediocre,” UNO coach Rose Shires says.
Wayne State, Kearney, Hastings, and Bellevue all boast top small college programs. In 2017, Doane was the first Nebraska National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program to record 1,000 wins.
“We’ve got great Division I, Division II, NAIA, and junior college volleyball programs,” says Bernthal Booth, who took the Creighton job in part due to the area’s rich talent base. She feels CU’s breakout success coincided with the 2008 opening of D.J. Sokol Arena, which she considers among the nation’s best volleyball facilities.
“All these colleges in Nebraska are in the top 25 in their respective divisions,” Saunders says. “It’s crazy how high the level of play has gone, and I think it’s going to keep going that way.”
“It’s really built a great fan base of support,” Mancuso says, “and I think the reason the state produces a lot of great volleyball players is the fact we have great high school coaches, great college programs, and great club programs.”
Club programs are talent pipelines. There are far more today than even a decade ago. Their explosion has meant youth getting involved at younger ages and training/playing year-round. Nebraska Elite is building a new facility to accommodate all the action.
“The athleticism found in the state has always been pretty high, but the level of play has definitely improved. The kids playing today are more skilled. The game is faster,” Egbert says. “When I started out, you’d maybe have one or two really good players, and now you could have a whole team of really good players.”
“You have your pick of dozens of clubs, and a lot of those clubs compete at the USA national qualifiers and get their players that exposure,” says Shannon Walker, the Northwest High School coach who is also the director of the Omaha Starlings volleyball club.
“Volleyball is such a joy to be a part of in this state,” Mancuso says.
“It’s cool to be a part of everything going on in Nebraska and watching it grow and develop,” Skutt freshman phenom Krause says.
“My goal is to make Lindsay ready to play top-level Division I volleyball by the time she graduates here,” Saunders says. “She already has the physicality, the competitive edge, the smarts. Now it’s just getting her to play to her full potential, which she hasn’t had to yet because she’s always been bigger than everybody. She’s definitely not shy of challenges. I feel like every time I give her a challenge, she steps up and delivers.”
Krause values that Saunders “gives great feedback on things I have to fix.”
Native Nebraskans dot the rosters of in-state and out-of-state programs. Along with Krause, Elkhorn South freshman Rylee Gray—who holds scholarship offers from Nebraska and Creighton—may emerge as another next big name from the Omaha metro. But they are both still a few years from the collegiate level.
UNO’s Shires says “impassioned” coaches like Saunders are why volleyball is rooted and embraced here. Shires came to Omaha from Texas to join the dominant program Janice Kruger built for the Mavericks at the Division II level. Kruger, now head coach at the University of Maryland, was previously captain of the Cornhuskers’ team (1977).
Further enhancing the volleyball culture, Shires says, is having former Olympian Jordan Larson and current pro Gina Mancuso come back and work with local players. Mancuso’s pro career has taken her around the world. She wants the players she works with at UNO, where she’s an assistant, to “see where it can take them.”
As volleyball has taken off, it’s grown more diverse. Most clubs are suburban-based and priced beyond the means of many inner-city families. The Omaha Starlings provide an alternative option. “Our fees are significantly lower than everybody else’s,” says Walker, the club’s director and Northwestern’s coach. “Anybody that can’t afford to pay, we scholarship.”
Broadening volleyball’s reach, she says, “is so necessary. As a result, we do have a pretty diverse group of kids. I’ve had so many really talented athletes and great kids who would have never been able to afford other clubs. We’re trying to even the scale and offer that same experience to kids who have the interest and the ability but just can’t afford it.”
“It’s very exciting to see diversity in the sport—it’s been a long time coming,” Schonewise says.
Forty-five Starlings have earned scholarships, some to historically black colleges and universities. Star grad Samara West (Omaha North) ended up at Iowa State.
Starlings have figured prominently in Omaha Northwest’s rise from also-ran to contender. Eight of nine varsity players in 2017 played for the club.
Walker knew volleyball had big potential, yet it’s exceeded her expectations. She says while competition is fierce among Nebraska coaches and players, they share a love that finds them, when not competing against each other, cheering on their fellows in this ever-growing volleyball family/community.
“It’s awesome,” Walker says. “But I don’t think we’ve come anywhere close to reaching our peak yet.”
Terence Crawford, Alexander Payne and Warren Buffett: Unexpected troika of Nebraska genius makes us all proud
Terence Crawford, Alexander Payne and Warren Buffett:
Unexpected troika of Nebraska genius makes us all proud
©by Leo Adam Biga
Author of “Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film”
Terence “Bud” Crawford has fought all over the United States and the world. As an amateur, he competed in the Pan American Games. As a young pro he fought in Denver. He won his first professional title in Scotland. He’s had big fights in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in Orlando, Florida, in Arlington, Texas. He’s showcased his skills on some of the biggest stages in his sport, including the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and New York City’s Madison Square Garden. He’s even traveled to Africa and while he didn’t fight there he did spend time with some of its boxers and coaches. But he’s made his biggest impact back home, in Omaha, and starting tonight, in Lincoln. Crawford reignited the dormant local boxing community with his title fights at the CenturyLink Center and he’s about to do the same in Lincoln at the Pinnacle Bank Arena, where tonight he faces off with fellow junior welterweight title holder Julius Indongo in a unification bout. If, as expected, Crawford wins, he will have extended his brand in Nebraska and across the U.S. and the globe. And he may next be eying an even bigger stage to host a future fight of his – Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium – to further tap into the Husker sports mania that he shares. These are shrewd moves by Crawford and Co. because they’re building on the greatest following that an individual Nebraska native athlete has ever cultivated. Kudos to Bud and Team Crawford for keeping it local and real. It’s very similar to what Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne from Omaha has done by bringing many of his Hollywood productions and some of his fellow Hollywood luminaries here. His new film “Downsizing,” which shot a week or so in and around Omaha, is about to break big at major festivals and could be the project that puts him in a whole new box office category. These two individuals at the top of their respective crafts are from totally different worlds but they’re both gifting their shared hometown and home state with great opportunities to see the best of the best in action. They both bring the height of their respective professions to their own backyards so that we can all share in it and feel a part of it. It’s not unlike what Warren Buffett does as a financial wizard and philanthropist who brings world-class peers and talents here and whose Berkshire Hathaway shareholders convention is one of the city’s biggest economic boons each spring. His daughter Susie Buffett’s foundations are among the most generous benefactors in the state. He has the ear of powerbrokers and stakeholders the world over Buffett, Payne and Crawford represent three different generations, personalities. backgrounds and segments of Omaha but they are all distinctly of and for this place. I mean, who could have ever expected that three individuals from here would rise to be the best at what they do in the world and remain so solidly committed to this city and this state? They inspire us by what they do and motivate us to strive for more. We are fortunate that they are so devoted to where they come from. Omaha and Nebraska are where their hearts are. Buffett and Crawford have never left here despite having the means to live and work wherever they want. Payne, who has long maintained residences on the west coast and here, has never really left Omaha and is actually in the process of making this his main residence again. This troika’s unexpected convergence of genius – financial, artistic and athletic – has never happened before here and may never happen again.
Let’s all enjoy it while it lasts.
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