(Guthrie Center) Shawn and Seth Danker join the Father’s Day series today. The father-son tandem coached and wrestled at ACGC.
Seth admits he realizes more now that it’s gone just how valuable that time with dad was in the wrestling room. “I look back and I’m really grateful. Anybody in the future, just take the time with your coaches and your dad and love the sport. It’s all about having fun. I’m truly grateful looking back on it now.”
He says the best advice his dad gave him was you’ll miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. “Very positive in every single aspect, especially to all my teammates. I know my teammates loved him as a coach. He’s a very persistent coach on wanting people to do the little things right. That’s in the classroom, in school, and overall in life.”
Seth wrestled for as long as he could remember, but says his dad didn’t push him into it. “When you think about a father that is your coach you expect him to really push you and be on you. My dad wasn’t really like that. He wasn’t going to force me to do anything. I just fell in love with wrestling right away. I wanted to get better at it. My uncle was a really good wrestler so I had that connection as well. My dad and me bonded really well. Once I started to realize I wanted to get better at wrestling and wanted to excel in the sport he took me to meets. He drove me all over.”
Seth describes his dad as a very intelligent coach who doesn’t get enough credit for his wrestling knowledge. “A lot of people come up to me and say ‘That must suck to have your dad as your coach.’ But I would say, ‘No. It actually was amazing.’ I could really connect with someone that I needed to talk to on a daily basis. Just talk and communicate just normally because he’s my dad. He’s always with me. I can go home with him after practice and talk and watch film with him.”
Coach Shawn Danker calls it a great experience to coach his son. “The greatest memories aren’t always the wins and losses. What sticks in your head is watching the growth. From when he was little to junior high starting to see success and doing things the right way, how to train, how to act win or lose, be a good teammate, and be a good leader. Those are the things that stick out the most. It’s how he progressed as a young man.”
Coach Danker was able to draw on his own experiences to help Seth’s career, but admits his son reminded him far more of a different family member. “Steve Swope, my wife’s brother. He looks just like Steve, acts just like Steve, drives me crazy just like Steve. I coached Steve in youth baseball and a little bit in wrestling. Their mannerisms went hand in hand, but also the good with the bad, a lot of good things came along with those traits as well.”
He admits he leaned on his assistant coaches often when it came to determining the line between being a dad and being a coach.
Seth Danker:
