(Griswold) Troy Nicklaus spent 19 seasons as Griswold’s head wrestling coach. He’s the latest guest on Why I Coach.
Griswold wrestling was at it’s peak in the 1980’s when Nicklaus was an assistant under head coach Steve Baier. The Tigers won a Class 2A State Traditional Tournament Championship in ’84 and placed 4th at the State Dual Tournament in ’87. “I knew wrestling was a good tradition here at Griswold so I wanted to be a part of it. I interviewed for the assistant job and was Steve’s assistant for nine years and then took over…He taught me a lot. He taught me not only the technique of wrestling, he taught me other little things. He was a perfectionist and he always had moves that helped the kids get the edge when they needed it in big matches.”
One of the keys to sustaining success once Nicklaus took over was a quality youth program. “The teams always had great families. Great dads that took them to meets all the time and that really helped. It’s a wrestling community. It’s a great community and they bought into the sport.”
Nicklaus is originally from Northeast Iowa, but landed a job as a 4th grade teacher, assistant football coach, and assistant wrestling coach at Griswold right out of college. Over 30 years later, he’s never left. “The community is just awesome and really welcomed us. It’s kind of ironic I got married on a Saturday and interviewed here on Monday. We went a way for a few days and they called me on my honeymoon and wanted to know if I’d take the job. I said ‘You bet.'”
Nicklaus is one of several coaches who have gotten into officiating as well. So we asked him which he liked better. “I like the officiating too, but I loved the coaching. I loved Saturday tournaments and I liked getting into practice. You get to roll around with the kids and teach kids life long skills.”
In 19 seasons as head coach of the Tigers, Nicklaus compiled a 314-126-2 dual record. He took the team to the state duals in 2003 and 2005.
https://soundcloud.com/hyoach/troy-nicklaus-why-i-coach
Previous Coaches
John Kesselring, Adair-Casey alum
Eric Maassen, (AHST grad) Sheldon
Jerome Hoegh, Atlantic grad (West Sioux)
Gaylord Schelling, Atlantic and Tri-Center
Dick Strittmatter, Atlantic native
Chad Klein, Audubon Native (Kuemper Catholic and Boone)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Monte Riebhoff)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Steve Ahrendsen)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Scott Weber)
In Memory of Bob Monahan, Audubon (Curt Mace)
Chris Stimson, Elk Horn-Kimballton
Jan Jensen, Elk Horn-Kimballton alum
Seth Poldberg, EH-K grad and Guthrie Center coach
Trevor Gipple, (Griswold grad) SW Valley
Angie Spangenberg, Harlan and Red Oak
Eric Stein (Harlan grad) Iowa Central
Darrell Burmeister, Nodaway Valley
Lanny Kliefoth, Nodaway Valley
