Coach Sammie Henson

[wrestlingnerd 2,528]

Good stuff, Bsplit. Thanks.

[Bananasplit 11]

Good stuff, Bsplit. Thanks.

You are welcome. Funny story - the heavy weights would argue about who's turn it was to "drill" with Bruce. Bruce was very intense, lol.

[wrestlingnerd 2,528]

Now we're veering way off topic, but I was shocked to see how short Bruce was when I first met him in person. Does he even crack 5'10" without shoes? Dude has the biggest calves I've ever seen. How he finds pants that fit is beyond me. He just looked immovable, like a huge oak tree stump with a mustache. I wouldn't want to drill with him either.

[cornercoach 447]

..thanks a lot B.Split- great stuff!!...

[gimpeltf 1,009]

Now we're veering way off topic, but I was shocked to see how short Bruce was when I first met him in person. Does he even crack 5'10" without shoes? Dude has the biggest calves I've ever seen. How he finds pants that fit is beyond me. He just looked immovable, like a huge oak tree stump with a mustache. I wouldn't want to drill with him either.

 

He's 6-2

[wrestlingnerd 2,528]

He's 6-2

No way. Maybe in high heels. I don’t care what his bio says, I can’t believe he’s that tall.

[TobusRex 1,419]

No way. Maybe in high heels. I don’t care what his bio says, I can’t believe he’s that tall.

 

He's a big guy. He's a few inches taller than me and I'm 5'11".

[gimpeltf 1,009]

No way. Maybe in high heels. I don’t care what his bio says, I can’t believe he’s that tall.

 

I've known him for 40 years. I'm a little under 6' I look up to him (in more ways than 1)

[wrestlingnerd 2,528]

Maybe he’s so big he sank a couple of inches into the Reslitie when I shook his hand. He’s almost as wide as he is tall. Maybe an optical illusion.

[ConnorsDad 396]

Smith has always been the paragon of class in wrestling, even as a young guy when it was easy for him to be big-headed. That’s why he is my favorite athlete ever in any sport. Many years ago, I went to one of John Smith’s camps which he ran with Myron Roderick. Smith was less than a year away from his second Olympic gold and very actively training, doing camps to make a decent living. After the sessions, to stay sharp, he would drill with TJ Jaworsky, who was a counselor at the camp. Being the little fanboy that I was, I would skip lunch and sit against the wall to watch every one of these practices. Smith wasn’t teaching his patented low single at the time (he only started teaching the finer details of the move and his finishes after he retired from competition). I picked up on a few details and tried them during the live wrestling sessions of the camp, completely botching my attempts at imitation. On the final day, after camp was over and the other kids had left, Smith stopped his practice with Jaworsky and called me to the mat, then showed me what I was doing wrong. I still remember every detail, what he was wearing, how quick he was, what color the mat was and what was hanging on the walls, every word he said to me. The GOAT of American wrestling, while actively training for the Olympics, took 5 minutes off mid-practice to help a completely nobody he’d never see again. I will never forget that.

Great post nerd!