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CARE FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL ATHLETE IN GOOD TIMES AND HARD TIMES
Garrett Reece '25 began wrestling around the age of five, spurred on by two older brothers and his father, all of whom wrestled. When he was a little kid, he would tag along with his brothers to the wrestling room. Reece became the Colorado state youth champion multiple times, and he wrestled on the national scene where he was one of the better wrestlers in his age group even before coming to Regis Jesuit.
His experience presented RJ coaches with a unique challenge when he came to the school. “Regis Jesuit is unique because we get some kids who have never wrestled before and are just learning the basics; you have to cater to those kids and develop them in a certain way,” said Dan Wrona, Head Wrestling Coach.
“Then we get some kids who have been in club wrestling from an early age: how do we meet their needs at the same time?” Coaches began practicing the Ignatian principle of cura personalis, meaning caring for the individual and supporting them to be their best.“There’s a lot of things you do for a kid like that,” said Brent Bieshaar, assistant wrestling coach. “He’s obviously a good wrestler and understands the sport; as a coach you’re still working on the fundamental things, like making sure his body position is right. Sometimes we even go back to the basic stuff, what wrestling is all about.”
In his freshman year, Reece practiced with a junior who was more than 20 pounds heavier, a big difference in a sport that carefully has athletes compete against others very close in weight. “That was really hard,” Reece admitted. As a freshman he wrestled 126 pounds, 132 as a sophomore and 150 as a junior.
“The number one thing a kid at that level needs is a good practice partner,” Bieshaar said. He recruited John Howells, a former college wrestler, to work out with Reece daily. The two were close in weight, but Howells had a mature strength that pushed Reece to work harder than he would otherwise have had to do.
Wrona says that some parts of Reece’s wrestling were more developed than others. “When he was a sophomore, he had difficulty holding good wrestlers down when he was in the top position. I suggested a few things that worked for him, and he took them and developed his own approach.”
As a sophomore, Reece made it to the championship round of the Colorado State Tournament, only to lose by being pinned in just 45 seconds. He made one mistake, which his opponent quickly took advantage of.
“I had never felt anything like that before; it was rock bottom,” Reece admitted. “The support I had from that moment on from all the coaches was just incredible.” Coach Howell found him hiding in a closet at the site of the championships and comforted him. “That was a life-changing moment. He told me, ‘These moments don’t define you; what defines you is how you react to them.’”
“I was in the gym the next day because I was so frustrated with losing,” Reece said.
During the summer after his sophomore year, Reece wrestled in a national Olympic-style tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. In the finals, he took on the number five-ranked wrestler in his weight in the entire country.
“I ended up losing by one point. He had the same move he kept doing over and over. I did not realize it at first, till with one minute left in the match, I thought, shoot that’s all he’s doing. I think that was a turning point for me in terms of mental ability.”
Reece credits Bieshaar with helping him develop his mindset. “Wrestling is a big mental sport. From freshman to sophomore year, I grew a lot physically; from sophomore to junior year, the growth was all mental. I actually believed that I was the best, and I went out and beat guys I was not supposed to be able to beat.”
“Last year was an amazing year,” Bieshaar said. With the support from his coaches, Reece was undefeated all year and won the Colorado State title in his weight class as a junior. That victory fulfilled one of his dreams.
National tournaments are very important for any high school wrestler who wants to compete at the collegiate level. “As a coach, we need to promote them and make sure that college coaches are aware of them,” Bieshaar said, “We have wrestled out of state at national tournaments for high-level competition.”
“I will promote you, but I can only promote you on what you give me to sell,” Bieshaar tells the wrestlers. “The better they do at national competitions, the higher level of college wrestling they will attain. We have constant conversations, and I am pretty honest about the right college level for each student.”
Reece is grateful for the support Bieshaar offered him. “If I didn’t have a coach at a summer tournament, he made sure he would be there,” the Regis Jesuit athlete said.
One of the top three national tournaments is known as the Doc Buchannan, an invitation-only tournament in Fresno, California. In the opening round of 16, Reece lost a match to the eventual champion. Bieshaar saw how disappointed he was to lose the match, his only loss all year. In the past, it was hard to get him to have a positive attitude after a loss. In California, Reece knew it would be a challenge to come back, but he was excited about the challenge.
“Coach Bieshaar and Coach Neal were great,” Reece said. “John Howells texted me, ‘Yeah, it’s tough, but you’re here to prove a point. Just go out there and wrestle.’”
Reece had to win seven straight matches to take third place in the tournament. He beat the California State Champion 5-2 in the process. Bieshaar thinks taking third in that tournament might have been a bigger accomplishment than winning the Colorado State Championship. “College coaches who are recruiting look at national competitions and what you do after you lose. What he did was amazing.”
The University of Maryland recognized Reece’s character and talent and offered him a scholarship before he even began his senior year. After his success as a junior, he was poised to break the records for a Regis Jesuit wrestler in his senior year. Then Reece suffered a season-ending injury playing running back on the football team. “It was definitely heart-breaking,” he acknowledged.
He had suffered several minor injuries but played through them. “I kept pushing which is what I have always done.” He hurt his knee the week before the Chaparral game but felt good on game day. Then he felt a “pop” and recognized that it was a bad sign even though it did not hurt too much.
“I still haven’t forgiven the doctor who told me my ACL was torn, but there is no nice way to break that news to you. That was hard, for sure,” Reece said. He learned that he would lose not just the final games of the football season but his senior wrestling season as well.
While wrestling in both traditional and Greco-Roman style wrestling at a national tournament last summer, Reece he won second place in Greco-Roman. “His trajectory was good; everything was where he wanted to be coming into his senior year. And he gets hurt playing football,” Bieshaar said.
“What makes it tough is that we take a lot of pride in the historical part of the RJ wrestling program. If you go into the wrestling room, you will see every State qualifier, Regional Champ, State Champ and All-American who has wrestled at Regis Jesuit since 1984. We also have school records for most wins, and Garrett was on track to break a lot of records. And he is not going to have a chance to do that. I do believe that Garrett is the best wrestler we have seen at Regis Jesuit.”
Reece is still going to engage with the team, now in a position of service, helping the other wrestlers almost like a player-coach, sharing his extensive knowledge of the sport.
“The key thing is keeping him involved with the team,” Wrona said. “During our retreat, I leaned on him to lead things and have responsibility as a senior leader.”
Wrona wanted him in the wrestling room, helping kids out as coach. “When kids come off the mat at a dual meet, he will have great leadership. The boys look up to him, and they listen. Sometimes they listen to him more than the coaches because he’s been through it at their level.”
“All the motivation from all the coaches has really helped me get where I am, and now I have the chance to share that with other wrestlers,” Reece said. “I feel a little bit of jealousy that I can’t be out on the mat. I want to work with a few wrestlers and push them to see how far they can go.”
Reece will still enjoy the opportunity to wrestle at a D1 college program because Maryland is maintaining its scholarship offer. For now, he has other challenges.
“I’m going to help coach, which is going to be so fun. I have always been good with kids; when I finish college wrestling, I want to help coach just to stay in the sport. I have spent so much time in sports, but I realize that they are not forever. Nothing is guaranteed in life; it is in God’s plan.”
Back
“Then we get some kids who have been in club wrestling from an early age: how do we meet their needs at the same time?” Coaches began practicing the Ignatian principle of cura personalis, meaning caring for the individual and supporting them to be their best.“There’s a lot of things you do for a kid like that,” said Brent Bieshaar, assistant wrestling coach. “He’s obviously a good wrestler and understands the sport; as a coach you’re still working on the fundamental things, like making sure his body position is right. Sometimes we even go back to the basic stuff, what wrestling is all about.”
In his freshman year, Reece practiced with a junior who was more than 20 pounds heavier, a big difference in a sport that carefully has athletes compete against others very close in weight. “That was really hard,” Reece admitted. As a freshman he wrestled 126 pounds, 132 as a sophomore and 150 as a junior.
“The number one thing a kid at that level needs is a good practice partner,” Bieshaar said. He recruited John Howells, a former college wrestler, to work out with Reece daily. The two were close in weight, but Howells had a mature strength that pushed Reece to work harder than he would otherwise have had to do.
Wrona says that some parts of Reece’s wrestling were more developed than others. “When he was a sophomore, he had difficulty holding good wrestlers down when he was in the top position. I suggested a few things that worked for him, and he took them and developed his own approach.”
As a sophomore, Reece made it to the championship round of the Colorado State Tournament, only to lose by being pinned in just 45 seconds. He made one mistake, which his opponent quickly took advantage of.
“I had never felt anything like that before; it was rock bottom,” Reece admitted. “The support I had from that moment on from all the coaches was just incredible.” Coach Howell found him hiding in a closet at the site of the championships and comforted him. “That was a life-changing moment. He told me, ‘These moments don’t define you; what defines you is how you react to them.’”
“I was in the gym the next day because I was so frustrated with losing,” Reece said.
During the summer after his sophomore year, Reece wrestled in a national Olympic-style tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. In the finals, he took on the number five-ranked wrestler in his weight in the entire country.
“I ended up losing by one point. He had the same move he kept doing over and over. I did not realize it at first, till with one minute left in the match, I thought, shoot that’s all he’s doing. I think that was a turning point for me in terms of mental ability.”
Reece credits Bieshaar with helping him develop his mindset. “Wrestling is a big mental sport. From freshman to sophomore year, I grew a lot physically; from sophomore to junior year, the growth was all mental. I actually believed that I was the best, and I went out and beat guys I was not supposed to be able to beat.”
“Last year was an amazing year,” Bieshaar said. With the support from his coaches, Reece was undefeated all year and won the Colorado State title in his weight class as a junior. That victory fulfilled one of his dreams.
National tournaments are very important for any high school wrestler who wants to compete at the collegiate level. “As a coach, we need to promote them and make sure that college coaches are aware of them,” Bieshaar said, “We have wrestled out of state at national tournaments for high-level competition.”
“I will promote you, but I can only promote you on what you give me to sell,” Bieshaar tells the wrestlers. “The better they do at national competitions, the higher level of college wrestling they will attain. We have constant conversations, and I am pretty honest about the right college level for each student.”
Reece is grateful for the support Bieshaar offered him. “If I didn’t have a coach at a summer tournament, he made sure he would be there,” the Regis Jesuit athlete said.
One of the top three national tournaments is known as the Doc Buchannan, an invitation-only tournament in Fresno, California. In the opening round of 16, Reece lost a match to the eventual champion. Bieshaar saw how disappointed he was to lose the match, his only loss all year. In the past, it was hard to get him to have a positive attitude after a loss. In California, Reece knew it would be a challenge to come back, but he was excited about the challenge.
“Coach Bieshaar and Coach Neal were great,” Reece said. “John Howells texted me, ‘Yeah, it’s tough, but you’re here to prove a point. Just go out there and wrestle.’”
Reece had to win seven straight matches to take third place in the tournament. He beat the California State Champion 5-2 in the process. Bieshaar thinks taking third in that tournament might have been a bigger accomplishment than winning the Colorado State Championship. “College coaches who are recruiting look at national competitions and what you do after you lose. What he did was amazing.”
The University of Maryland recognized Reece’s character and talent and offered him a scholarship before he even began his senior year. After his success as a junior, he was poised to break the records for a Regis Jesuit wrestler in his senior year. Then Reece suffered a season-ending injury playing running back on the football team. “It was definitely heart-breaking,” he acknowledged.
He had suffered several minor injuries but played through them. “I kept pushing which is what I have always done.” He hurt his knee the week before the Chaparral game but felt good on game day. Then he felt a “pop” and recognized that it was a bad sign even though it did not hurt too much.
“I still haven’t forgiven the doctor who told me my ACL was torn, but there is no nice way to break that news to you. That was hard, for sure,” Reece said. He learned that he would lose not just the final games of the football season but his senior wrestling season as well.
While wrestling in both traditional and Greco-Roman style wrestling at a national tournament last summer, Reece he won second place in Greco-Roman. “His trajectory was good; everything was where he wanted to be coming into his senior year. And he gets hurt playing football,” Bieshaar said.
“What makes it tough is that we take a lot of pride in the historical part of the RJ wrestling program. If you go into the wrestling room, you will see every State qualifier, Regional Champ, State Champ and All-American who has wrestled at Regis Jesuit since 1984. We also have school records for most wins, and Garrett was on track to break a lot of records. And he is not going to have a chance to do that. I do believe that Garrett is the best wrestler we have seen at Regis Jesuit.”
Reece is still going to engage with the team, now in a position of service, helping the other wrestlers almost like a player-coach, sharing his extensive knowledge of the sport.
“The key thing is keeping him involved with the team,” Wrona said. “During our retreat, I leaned on him to lead things and have responsibility as a senior leader.”
Wrona wanted him in the wrestling room, helping kids out as coach. “When kids come off the mat at a dual meet, he will have great leadership. The boys look up to him, and they listen. Sometimes they listen to him more than the coaches because he’s been through it at their level.”
“All the motivation from all the coaches has really helped me get where I am, and now I have the chance to share that with other wrestlers,” Reece said. “I feel a little bit of jealousy that I can’t be out on the mat. I want to work with a few wrestlers and push them to see how far they can go.”
Reece will still enjoy the opportunity to wrestle at a D1 college program because Maryland is maintaining its scholarship offer. For now, he has other challenges.
“I’m going to help coach, which is going to be so fun. I have always been good with kids; when I finish college wrestling, I want to help coach just to stay in the sport. I have spent so much time in sports, but I realize that they are not forever. Nothing is guaranteed in life; it is in God’s plan.”
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