POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Coming off a middleweight win in Denver Colorado on July 13th, UFC fighter Andre Petroski heard from his old roommate at Kutztown University.
Joe Bickleman, Pottsville Area High School’s assistant wrestling coach, recruited Petroski to help out at a wrestling clinic at Pottsville Area High School.
“He's a really great motivator,” said Bickleman. “This guy, he had a tough life. You want to talk about coming from the trenches to where he is now, I mean, he literally has the ultimate story for that… I’m hoping that some kids can see themselves in him. And they'll also see that going forward nothing is out of their reach. Our goal at this wrestling clinic is to get the kids to come here in the offseason, commit to it, and try to build a better team. Build a family unit so that everyone feels at home here,” Bickleman said.
“I mean if I can just motivate one of the kids, then I think it's a successful trip,” said Petroski.
One of the main things Petroski wanted to teach at the clinic is the importance of a wrestler’s mindset.
“I think mindset and perspective can take us much further than technique,” Petroski said. “I mean we're going to learn so much technique over the next 10 years, or however long they decide to wrestle. If I can share my perspective on what made me successful then I think that's what matters more.”
First-year Pottsville Area High School wrestling coach, Brad Leonard, mentions that hosting events like these is a way to get the younger generation of wrestlers excited to grow up through the wrestling program, and continue with the sport into high school.
“I mean I’ll obviously have Andre back a couple more times,” said Leonard. “I'm going to reach out to some DI wrestlers and get them in, get some excitement back. To me, it's the little kids. You get a bunch of little kids in here, their eyes get real big, they don't really understand wrestling but they're just excited to be in the room. Then, they're excited to practice with the high school kids. That's the main thing, I think.”