PSU Wrestling Spotlight on former Penn State Wrestler: Ross Thatcher

Ross lettered at Penn State from 1997-2000. He was a team captain and was an All-American in 2000. After graduating from Penn State he continued to compete and was a champion at the Sunkist International Open (twice), the NYAC International Open, the North East Regional Open and the Dave Schultz International Open. Ross was also a Bronze medalist for the 2001 U.S. Pan-American team. He was an assistant coach at Penn State and then Ohio State and is now an assistant at the University of Oklahoma.

Ross was very quick. He could do things that a lot of big guys couldn't do on the mat. He beat a lot of guys that were stronger than he was because of his exceptional movement. He had a good career at Penn State. -former Penn State head coach, John Fritz

Ross, how did you get started in wrestling?

My father started me in wrestling when I was 5 years old. My oldest brother Cris started wrestling his freshmen year in HS and it was the first time our family was introduced to the sport. Our HS had a novice program and my father put me in it. My father and I would spend the weekends traveling to as many tournaments as we could. We would be in one city on Saturday and another on Sunday. As I grew older my mother and brother Matt would come on the trips as well.

Tell us about your HS career.

I went to Bishop Ready HS in Columbus, Ohio. Bishop Ready is a small Catholic school with around 400 students. I was class president for three years and carried a 3.0 GPA. I was a three time State finalist and a two time State Champion. My HS career reminds me of family. My three older brothers and my father were as involved as a family could be. My mother was also our team mom and would provide food for after weigh-ins. Chicken noodle soup never tasted so good!!!!

Bishop Ready HS dominated the small school division in Ohio while I was growing up and produced multiple College All-Americans and National Champions. I was fortunate enough to start practicing with the HS team when I was in 5th grade. I was able to learn from some great people and help carry on the tradition of Bishop Ready Wrestling. Along with my brothers and father, I had some great coaches in Mickey Balmert and Jim Edwards. Jim wrestled at LSU and was a teammate and Co-Captain with Kevin Jackson. I also had a second father figure with Tom Rowlands.Tom Rowlands is a special guy in my life who has helped me get through some tough times. To sum it up: I was a lucky person to have a support staff of friends, family and coaches.

Talk about the process that brought you to Penn State.

I grew up around 10 minutes away from Ohio State and always wanted to be a Buckeye. Penn State came into town to wrestle the Buckeyes for a dual meet and won. That same year Penn State had just entered the Big Ten and Ohio State was hosting the Big Ten Championships. Penn State won and Troy Sunderland was the Outstanding Wrestler. The year before I was recruited to Penn State, Glenn Pritzlaff, Clint Musser and Eddy Jayne were recruited to Penn State as well with many other great wrestlers. I followed Glenn while I was in HS because he was one of the best guys around my weight in the entire country. Being in Ohio I was aware that Clint and Eddy were animals and they were guys I looked up to. It was a no brainer for me to join a team lead by John Fritz with Troy Sunderland as an assistant. John Fritz was a great recruiter and he let the success he was having speak for itself. After all of my visits, I sat down with my parents and some of my coaches. I was in Colorado with Tom Rowlands when I decided that staying home would be the easy thing to do but going to Penn State was the right thing to do.

Who was the toughest guy you ever wrestled in college?

Dave Hart was a coach of mine who was mean and tough. I will never forget training with him but since the question was “who was the toughest guy you ever wrestled in college” he doesn’t count-sorry Dave. My first Big Ten tourney I wrestled a guy from Minnesota and his name was Tim Hartung. Tim was extremely talented but as mean as a snake. He was not only better than me, he was bigger, older, stronger, better looking and he beat me like a drum. Not a fond memory. Glenn Pritzlaff is the other guy that I think of when I think of tough wrestlers. This guy was the definition of student – athlete. He got the grades and got the job done as an athlete as well. Part of what made him successful was his passion to be great. What helped him reach his goal of winning a National Title was that he was a student of the sport and he knew how to work just as smart as he did hard. The one element that separated him from the rest was how tough and mean he was. I have been in wrestling since I was 5 years old and I am 34 now. I have been coaching for the last ten years at Penn State, Ohio State and now Oklahoma. Glenn is the toughest guy I have ever wrestled and tougher than anyone I have coached.

What are the best memories of your years as a wrestler at Penn State?

I was injured a lot during my career at Penn State and I did not accomplish my goals as a wrestler. I had a strong support group when I was in HS and I don’t think I was ready to grow up on my own when I first went to college. I decided to learn life the hard way and made a lot of bad decisions. Once I figured out how to juggle school and try to accomplish my goals as an athlete, it was too late. I had some good workout partners and great friends. The people that were there that helped me were people like Sandy Meyer, Dave Hart, John Fritz, Troy Sunderland, Eric Childs, John and Russ Hughes, Chad Dubin, Sonny Abe and Jeremy Hunter. These people are the people I think of when I think of Penn State Wrestling.

When I graduated in 2000, I was offered a job to coach for Penn State and jumped at the chance. I was able to become friends with Dave Hart – one of the greatest guys I have ever met. I was able to meet and learn from Sammie Henson – the best coach in the country right now. Spending 8 years at Penn State was a great time in my life and I will never forget it.

Update us on your life.

My wife Jen and I have a daughter who is 18 months old and her name is Emma. I love being a father and a husband. I have been able to coach at some special universities including Penn State for 3 years, Ohio State for 6 years and I am going on my 2nd year at the University of Oklahoma. This has allowed me to coach with some of the best coaches in the country and work with elite athletes at the same time. I was able to learn a lot of life lessons while I was at Penn State as a student – athlete that have made me a better coach and a better person. My number one goal as a college coach is to develop these young boys into men and help them win a National Title. I have been fortunate enough to coach the 2006 USA Junior Fila World Team and help coach a few World Team Members and an Olympic alternate.

How has the Penn State Wrestling experience impacted your life?

I learned at Penn State that wrestling has a work reward relationship as does life. I have tried to take the good from my experiences at Penn State to help me become a great coach for the athletes that I am responsible for now.

What advice do you have for college wrestlers now?

Being a college coach I try to keep it simple. You have to have a realistic goal and have a true understanding of how to accomplish that goal. You have to earn everything you want and know how to work hard but also smart. Having a plan is everything and understanding how to implement your plan is even bigger. Most young athletes don’t figure this out till they are about to graduate. Lastly, it is important to prepare these student – athletes for the post-wrestling world. My advice for college wresters is to listen, learn and earn what you want. A good friend of mine told me that there are no free lunches in wrestling and I agree with him.

What does Penn State Wrestling mean to you?

Right now in my life it means competition. Away from competition Penn State means a great deal to me. Penn State let me earn a college degree and a chance to coach at the Div. 1 level. I have a career right now because of Penn State. Penn State is a great community surrounded by great people. When I think of Penn State, I think of my friends and I think of the great people who are Penn State to me: Sandy Meyer, Dave Hart, John Fritz and many other people. I will always want Penn State Wrestling to be great, just as long as they finish right behind the Sooners.

My e-mail is rthatcher@ou.edu and my number is 814-769-4694. I think it is important for the new staff to try to keep all of us connected somehow. Since I left Penn State in 2003, I rarely hear anything about Penn State Wrestling. It is important for a program to not only win wrestling matches but to bring the alumni back into the program. It is our responsibility to help grow the program that gave us so much.