Gettysburg Times (012508): "Conover's lessons left a lasting impression"

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER

Times Staff Reporter

The wrestling camp director, on the first day of a week-long summer camp at the Hanover YMCA, quickly browsed over a room full of elementary wrestlers.Then he peered down at his roll-call list.

The camp director was Hanover High School wrestling Coach Terry Conover.

And I was enrolled at camp.

“Scot Pitzer,” read Coach Conover.

He looked up from his list, and saw me – then a fourth grader – with my hand raised.

“Where are you from, knucklehead?” asked the legendary coach.

I paused, before taking a deep breath.

“Biglerville,” I said.

An awkward silence ensued.

“Well,” the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame coach quipped, “I guess that's alright."

The veteran coach, who plans to retire at the end of this season after amassing more than 550 dual meet victories, didn’t seem to mind that a Biglerville kid had infiltrated a wrestling camp that was under his leadership, and largely attended by Hanover area grapplers. Interestingly, he thanked me — as well as the other ‘out of town’ kids — for coming.

“I don’t care where you’re from,” I recall Coach Conover saying. “I’ll teach anyone how to wrestle.”

He didn’t seem to mind that a Biglerville kid was attending his camp, even though, at the time, the Canner and Hanover Hawk varsity wrestling programs were bitter enemies.

He didn’t mind, even though the rivalry between the Hanover and Biglerville wrestling programs was at its peak, with Hanover winning practically all of the battles en route to a record seven straight District titles.

And he didn’t mind that I was there, even though a Biglerville varsity wrestler with my last name gave Coach Conover’s middle-weights a headache the previous season.

Why?

Because the Coach Conover treats all wrestlers equally.

His passion for the sport, and for making every kid as good as they possibly can be, far outweighs any resentment that has developed over the years toward rivaling wrestling programs.

His respect for the sport, and for opposing grapplers, was evident Thursday night at the Canner Dome in Biglerville, where Biglerville middle-weight Lee Starner was dangerously close to running out of his five minutes of allotted blood time, as Starner was unable to halt a leaky nose. During what was the final break in the action, Conover walked over to the Biglerville side of the mat and helped the opposing coaches and trainers wrap tape around the center of Starner’s face, covering his nose to temporarily quell the bleeding. He preferred that the wrestlers won — or lost — the bout on the mat; not via a technicality.

Years after I attended his camp, Coach Conover still practiced what he preached. In my stint as a varsity wrestler at Biglerville, any time I’d square off against a Nighthawk, I made sure to go over to Coach Conover’s corner after the bout and shake his hand.

“Good job, Knucklehead,” Coach Conover would say, recalling our relationship from his wrestling camp.

Many opposing wrestlers, coaches and fans will admit that Coach Conover is an intimidating figure. But that’s a credit to his teams, who over the past 37 years of his tenure, were some of the best wrestling squads that this area has ever witnessed. His teams always came prepared, and it didn’t matter whether he had a state qualifier or a junior varsity wrestler in his lineup — all of his wrestlers were prepared, and every one, in every dual meet, gave everything they had for their mat boss.

Coach Conover leaves the local wrestling scene having established a legacy of perfection. If you were going to beat one of his teams, you had to be nothing short of perfect. And not many opposing teams, during the pinnacle of the Hanover Hawk wrestling era, were.

Coach Conover made opposing teams better, simply just by being on the other side of the mat. Counterparts knew that nothing short of 100 percent would get the job done.

If there’s any question about the level of respect that opposing fans have for Conover, Thursday night’s clash at the Canner Dome in Biglerville was a fitting indicator.

In front of a passionate Biglerville wrestling crowd known for its disdain of arch rivals, when Canner head coach Bob Gano took the microphone before the start of the match and lauded Coach Conover’s career, the home crowd responded with a standing ovation.

The legendary coach, obviously moved by Canner Country’s passionate salute, rose from his perch on the Hanover bench and thanked the Biglerville fans for their classy gesture. It was an emotional moment that even induced tears from Biglerville’s timekeeper, a longtime Hanover nemesis.

The local wrestling scene, quite frankly, is losing an icon.

At least one knucklehead is going to miss him.

Scot Pitzer is a Times staff reporter. Contact him at 334-1131, ext. 247 or spitzer@gburgtimes.com.