Wrestling, sportsmanship, fathers and sons

Seeing and hearing what I'm about to write makes everything I do for a living worthwhile. This is about sports...and coaching...and doing the right thing...and showing your true character.

And it comes to us by way of wrestling, and I'm SO glad it does since we've had to listen to so much guff about our State Duals championship in January and the controversies and what our opponents had to say and blah, blah, blah. Fortunately, two things come to mind about this: One, it doesn't and won't taint our championship and two, it lets me brag on the kind of characters our wrestlers are.

I take you back to last Saturday afternoon in the 195-pound slate of the 3rd/4th place match. One of our beloved seniors, Charlie Rousseau is in action, feeling out his opponent, looking for an opening. To summarize, Charlie found and seized his moment, slammed his opponent to the mat and executed the pin for the win, clinching himself a trip to the podium because of it.

Now, here's the beauty of it. Charlie Rousseau did not celebrate over his fallen opponent. He didn't taunt and dance the way boxers appear to have been taught to do. He didn't show off.
"I called for a trainer," Charlie remembered. And he did so immediately, without one ounce of self-serving, look-at-me-type antics that you see all too much out of athletes on TV these days.

"It was an awesome moment," Coach Jeff Walrich said. "Charlie showed genuine concern for the kid."

"Well, after I threw him down and pinned him, I realized he was unconscious," Charlie continued. "I was scared because he was just lying there limp. It was pretty scary."

Assistant Coach Stacey Davis had this to say: "Seeing the way he handled himself in that bout made me proud to be one of his coaches. Instead of celebrating, he immediately called for help when he realized his opponent was injured."

And that's not the end of my little wrestling tales, for Coach Davis plays a part in this next moment, which happened later that night.

Lee Davis, another of our favorite seniors, is in the finals in the 182-pound slate. Davis, you see, is no stranger to state competition. He earned a trip as a freshman; took third as a sophomore; third again as a junior. "I didn't want it to end like that this time," he would later say.

In short, it didn't. Davis captured the state crown and then, what was his first move? He immediately left the mat and jumped into his father/coach Stacey Davis's arms. If you've seen the picture, please hang it someplace where you can see it everyday and often. It's a reminder of how cool sports can be, how neat kid/parent relationships can be, not to mention what can happen to you when you really and truly work hard at something.

"When he jumped into my arms, I had a flashback going back to his freshmen, sophomore and junior years at state and how those tournaments ended - all the work that came to that moment in time with him winning the title," Stacey said. "I believe at that moment we both grasped how special it was. It is a feeling of joy and pride I will never forget."

Bless you father and son. Bless you Charlie Rousseau. Good for you guys and your successful team and season.

And, on a final note: When you get your rings, wear them proud. You've earned them...in more ways than one.

God Bless,

"Coach" Dunn

Philipson, club, sending smiles from HI

The question is usually asked regarding the sick or the unfortunate: What can I do to help? HIES junior Cory Philipson not only found a great answer, but also brought it to the school and took action.

The result is a club entitled “Send-a-Smile” – it’s composed of Upper School students who hand-craft personal caring messages and send them to hospitalized children to let them know that people are thinking about them and their well-being. The cards are then distributed to the kids at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta.

Philipson says she got the idea from her mother. “My mom happened to be at this event where this woman was getting a scholarship from Emory for Send-a-Smile,” Philipson said. “I thought that would make a great club at Holy Innocents’ and a great way to get service hours.”

Not one to idly let a good idea go to waste, Philipson pitched the idea to the school’s Activities Coordinator Terry Kelly. “He thought it was great so we went ahead with it,” the junior added. “We brought it out on club day and had some people sign up.”

Send-A-Smile, as a result, started in 2010-2011 with around 40 members. Now only a year later, it is up to 70-plus students.

The club meets around three times per year – in October they sent cards for Halloween and last weekend they gathered for Valentine’s Day. Next on the agenda are more cards to be sent at Easter. To date, the Philipson family brainchild has generated approximately 2,500 cards.

Looking ahead, Philipson doesn’t want the idea to die out after her graduation in 2013. “I’ve been looking around for an underclassmen to keep this going at the school after I’m gone,” she said. “It’s for a good cause and a great way to get service hours.”

Philipson, besides being an Honor Student, is also a varsity basketball cheerleader.