Coels cool with Cougars coach
Jan. 18, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
Jarret Coels may have been born in Calgary, but he truly has grown up in Regina.
"When he got here, he was a bit of a wild kid," University of Regina Cougars head coach Leo McGee said Saturday following the Cougar Invitational wrestling meet at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport. "He was always yapping and talking back to everybody in the world. He and I collided a few times.
"But he has matured -- and in all aspects of his life. He's more mature in his social life, he's more mature academically and he's more mature as a wrestler. If there was ever a kid who athletics has helped, Jarret Coels is that kid."
The 22-year-old Coels, who's in his fifth and final season with the Cougars, admitted that he didn't get off to a good start with McGee.
"I kind of had an attitude," the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder said with a sly grin. "I was 18, fresh out on my own. But I matured. The older I got, the more I realized that what he was saying was something I had to do. I realized, 'He's not just a mean old man. He's actually here to help me.' "
McGee recruited Coels after hearing glowing reports from Calgary-based wrestling coach Reg Larocque, a friend of McGee's who since has passed away.
"His exact words were, 'This kid's got a fire in his belly. He will fight to hell and back. He's a guy you'd like,' " McGee recalled. "So I called."
And called. And called.
"I also heard from Calgary and Brock," Coels said, referring to two other CIS wrestling powers. "They e-mailed me and called once or twice. But Leo would call every week. He would keep calling and calling. He made me feel like he wanted me here."
After going through the aforementioned rocky start with McGee, Coels started to settle in with the Cougars.
"When I first got here, I thought, 'Oh, Regina is such a small town,' " he said. "Then I realized that in a small-town community, everybody is so friendly. It's an awesome environment to be in."
That feeling was cemented when the families of other Cougars invited Coels and his fellow out-of-town wrestlers over for meals, when the team and its fans continually offered their support, and when McGee kept working with him.
On the mat, however, things haven't gone as well as Coels had hoped.
He has won two bronze medals at Canada West championships (at 72 kilograms in 2008 and at 76kg in '09), but has yet to finish better than sixth at any of the three CIS meets for which he has qualified.
He was seventh at 76kg as a freshman, sixth at 72kg in his third year and eighth at 76kg last season.
He's hoping the maturation process will kick in there as well.
"You don't want to be mediocre," said Coels, who defeated Alex Kelly of the Saskatchewan Huskies in the 72kg final Saturday to earn a share -- with Kyle Bershatsky of the Cattown Wrestling Club -- of the meet's outstanding male wrestler award.
"Years from now, if someone says, 'Hey, you wrestled in university. How were you?' you don't want to say, 'I was OK.' I've got to win one (CIS title) before I'm finished here."
The Cougars won both the men's and women's varsity titles Saturday. The men had 45 points (13 more than the Huskies), while the women compiled 26 points (11 more than the U of S).
Hajar Ashtiani (48kg) and Jasmine Slinn (51kg) won gold medals for the Cougars in the women's division. Coels, Steven Schneider (54kg), Gilbert Musonza (57kg) and Kirk Ackerman (61kg) claimed titles on the men's side.
Meghan King (59kg), Jillian Durant (63kg) and Lisa McKibben (67kg) won silver medals for the Cougars women's team. Gaelan Malloy (65kg), Chad Bates (68kg), Connor Malloy (76kg) and Calvin Daum (82kg) finished second for Regina's men's squad. The Cougars' Brian Lunde earned a bronze at 90kg.