“I grew up as a mat rat,” Don Blaine recalled. “Coach [Frank] Tschan let me hang around with the wrestling team. My cousins Kenny and Ricky [Wojehowski] were my heroes.”
Decades later, Don Blaine’s enthusiasm for the sport has yet to wane. He still loves the matches and tournaments — even the practices. His devotion to the sport was recognized on Wednesday afternoon, April 16 when he was informed by e-mail that he had won a Lifetime Service Award. He will be honored with a permanent display in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.
Coach Blaine knew that he’d been nominated. Two of his former coaches had recommended him. One of them, Mike DeBellis, is now the head coach at Horace Greeley. The other, Mike Kroemer, is now Cornwall’s athletic director.
The honoree refers to Mr. Kroemer with a familiar grin. “He wrestled for me, he coached for me, and now he’s my boss,” he says proudly. It’s typical of the coach who has seen many of his wrestlers surpass his career total of 50 wins on the mat (he has won hundreds as a coach).
Thanks to tournaments, today’s wrestlers have many more bouts. Coach Blaine always teases them by saying that it’s winning percentage that counts. But inwardly he’s happy every time a protege passes him on Cornwall’s all-time list.
One of his most successful proteges was his son David, who actually had a higher winning percentage than his dad. In a telephone interview, David Blaine referred to Facebook postings from former team members, who said that Coach Blaine had inspired them and had been an important influence on their lives.
The coach has been guiding the Dragon varsity for 30 years. His teams have never had a losing record, and his total of 449 career victories is the highest in Section IX history. Typically, the coach is anxious to share his recent honor with the people around him.
“Without the assistant coaches,” he said, “and without the family support none of this would have happened. To me it’s a community award. Cornwall has been a wonderful place for me to grow up and work.”
Which leads to the question of retirement. Now that he’s received the ultimate recognition is there still an incentive to keep going?
“I still enjoy the classroom and coaching,” he insists. “I don’t have any immediate plans to retire.” Then, like a typical coach, he looks to the future.
“We have a nice group of junior high wrestlers,” he reports. “We have really good numbers in the ninth and seventh grades.”
So 500 career wins could be a possibility. The coach shrugs to acknowledge it could happen. But it’s not what will keep him at ring side. “When practice is no longer fun,” he says, “it will be time to get out. I’ll always enjoy the matches and the tournaments.”
Meanwhile, Dragon fans are enjoying the coach’s latest honor. Neal Miller, the superintendent of schools, puts the award in perspective. “How many people in any field,” he asks rhetorically, are ever inducted into a national hall of fame. Our motto is striving for excellence every day, and he embodies that.”
Mike Kroemer was a successful wrestler long before he was an athletic director. He thought about quitting one year in high school, but it didn’t happen because Don Blaine was his social studies teacher, and Mr. Blaine could be very persuasive.
After writing a recommendation for the National Hall of Fame, Mr. Kroemer was confident his former coach would be selected. “Good things come to good people,” he said. “Donny shared that with me early on. And I’ve always believed it.”
