When Chris Medina brought his then-6-year-old son to a Windsor Wrestling Club practice nearly 20 years ago, he had an inkling.To be more specific, he had an inkling he would have a more direct role than expected guiding his son’s budding wrestling career and the direction of the club in general.Chris MedinaThat inkling turned into a somewhat-unexpected gig as the club’s head coach.And, over the course of the past 17 years, that unexpected gig turned into nearly half a lifetime of dedication toward a youth wrestling club that has produced some of the best wrestlers for Windsor High School’s wrestling program and for other high school programs throughout northern Colorado.”One thing about coaching, once you do it, it’s kind of a bug,” Medina said. “You just love being there and loving inspiring and having a positive atmosphere. As a kid, I remember all my good coaches but I remember my bad ones, too.”Medina, 43, is certainly one of the good ones.He volunteers for his position. He and his assistant coaches receive no pay whatsoever.He is a student at the University of Northern Colorado, finishing his teaching degree in secondary education. He also works as a general contractor.He’ll tack another year onto his nearly two-decade career coaching one of the area’s oldest wrestling clubs when the club season – with 4- to 14-year-olds – begins Nov. 10.Medina is the man behind the curtain, so to speak.And, he prefers to keep it that way.While willing to acknowledge some of the wrestlers he has coached the past couple decades have gone on to become big-time standouts and state champions at the high school level, he was hesitant to offer their names.Odds are, those wrestlers have received their well-deserved publicity – or are receiving it now. Attaching his name to their success, even in the slightest way, really isn’t Medina’s style, even though those close to the Windsor Wrestling Club insist Medina’s guidance is key.Instead, like a proud father, Medina enjoys watching from afar, as his former pupils grow up to be great wrestlers and even better human beings.[swift-infobox title=”Join the club”]The Windsor Wrestling Club is accepting registrations and it is open to young wrestlers, 4 to 14 years old, from throughout the area, not just from Windsor.To register, or for more information, contact coach Chris Medina at (970) 539-3069. The season starts Nov. 10.Registration is open until Nov. 17.[/swift-infobox]”I love the sport, I love that they accomplish great things in the sport,” Medina said. “But, what they are going to find out is (wrestling) represents just a small time in their lives. … I love it when I hear about them graduating college, being pilots, being soldiers, being college students. That’s what is gratifying to me, because I think that’s what is important.”Medina’s own son Greg is now 23 years old and he just finished four years with the Marine Corps. And, when Medina was “roped into” coaching the Windsor Wrestling Club 17 years ago, he never could have imagined he would still be doing it well after Greg moved on from the sport and became a successful, responsible adult himself.Medina is a Windsor native who graduated from Windsor High School in 1994. He went on to college at Metro State but came back to Windsor after his freshman year before his son was born.More than 20 years later, he’s back in college at UNC, making a profound impact on young kids’ lives in the wrestling room, while preparing to do the same in the classroom.”I love kids,” Medina said. “That’s the No. 1 thing.”
