The NIU wrestling team gets some valuable leadership from a group of dedicated graduate assistant coaches who are rewarded by seeing the wrestlers do well in tournaments.

Huskie coach Ed Vatch said he cannot express how vital these grad assistants are to the wrestling program.

“I’m very fortunate we have these guys out. Their only reward is to see these kids do well,” Vatch said. “Everyone’s so unselfish, they all have jobs or they have to finish school, but they still insist on being out here and helping the kids.”

The grad assistants are Nate Allison, Greg Evans, Mike Green and Doug Mclister.

Allison, who is still in school working for a degree in physical education-sports business, lifts weights six times a week. Allison goes through the same workouts as the team and goes through live drills with the squad.

“I wrestle everyday, so I can stay sharp,” Allison said. “I wrestle with my main man Tim Cocco.”

Allison has not seen too much action in open tournaments this season. In the St. Louis Open he won one match and lost one.

“I wrestled the number-three rated wrestler in the nation and I lost a tough match 3-1,” Allison said. “I could have beaten him—I was out of shape and I still think I could have beaten him.”

Allison stresses his purpose for helping the young squad is that he is trying to show some leadership. “I’m trying to be a leader to the guys, because it is a young group and they need some leadership,” he said.

Another valuable grad assistant is Greg Evans, who works for Commonwealth Edison as a marketing representative and is an All-American from Minnesota.

Evans met Vatch through his brother—one of the reasons he’s helping out the NIU program.

“I met Ed through my brother, who wrestled at Wisconsin. Ed wrestled at Wisconsin also, and at the time, Ed finished second in the nation at the 177-pound weight class,” Evans said. “I also knew Ed’s brothers Ernie and Gene.”

Evans does not find working 40 hours a week and being an assistant coach a major time problem.

“It’s tough to work and then come over here and help out, but you have to make room for other things in life than just working,” Evans said. “I enjoy helping the guys out, and I enjoy working out because it keeps me in good physical shape by doing all the running and lifting with the team.

“We have a young group of kids, they need a leader who will take charge. We would still like one of their peers to take some leadership. They need one of their peers to lead them the way.

“I go live with 177-pounder Anton Kossakowski and also with 190-pounder Tom Hoy. I also put some time in with heavyweighter Mark Kuehl. I mainly help the guys on their technique.”

Vatch monitors the live matches between the grad assistants and his troops closely.

“We see how good the kids are by measuring the kids against the assistants,” Vatch said. “You need measuring sticks to see how your progress is going.”

Allison and Evans are also using their workouts with the team as a tune-up for the 1988 Summer Olympics trials this May.