COLUMN: "Coach Gano leaves lasting legacy"
http://www.gettysburgtimes.com/sports/high_school/article_b1c118d1-8ebc-5870-8913-fa81b85aae73.html
Posted: Saturday, February 9, 2013 3:08 am
In a town where wrestling has long served as an identity, Gano built the program into a perennial district and state powerhouse, and regularly competed for league titles.
Gano might be stepping down at the end of the season, but he leaves behind a lasting legacy. He never had a losing season at Biglerville, amassing 273 wins to go along with an overall career record of 357-151.
The journey surely wasn't easy.
In fact, when Gano arrived in Apple Town in 1997-98 after rebuilding the Delone Catholic program, he inherited a practice room that was mired in a losing mentality. The once-proud program had slipped into a coma, suffering a dry spell with two straight losing seasons, falling short of the community's expectations.
That's when Gano came to the rescue, along with assistant coach Tony Koontz, a two-time PIAA champion. Gano preached discipline and instilled a winning attitude in the practice room, leading the team to a 10-8 record, and officially launching the resurgence of the Biglerville program.
His arrival marked the beginning of a new era throughout the entire program, and his teams responded. They wore camouflage, but you couldn't miss them, as they were one of the best dual-meet teams in the district, and remain so today.
The return to glory was almost immediate, but not without growing pains.
"When Coach Gano came to Biglerville, he was definitely the right person to get our program back on track, and into the winning tradition that we had in the past," said Mike Smith, a former sectional champion and senior captain on Gano's original team at Biglerville. "My big thing is that I wish I could have been able to wrestle more than just one year under him. He was such a huge team player, and not just a single-person coach."
Gano coaxed, pleaded and sometimes begged wins out of his often-undermanned squad.
He oversaw an exciting brand of wrestling in Biglerville, featuring pins, bonus-points, fireworks, and an overall will to win. Depth was never a luxury, as Biglerville has one of the smallest student bodies in Class AA.
As a result, Gano became a master at mixing and adjusting rosters in order to field the best possible lineup.
"Coach Gano is as good a coach as they come," said Nick Asper, a 2009 graduate. "He's brought great success to the wrestling program over the years and has molded Biglerville into a (Class) AA powerhouse in Pennsylvania. He puts his heart and soul into the sport."
Gano's initial teams responded by wearing camouflage, because they were "going to war" for their team, coaching staff, family, fans and community. They fought for their new coach as if he had taught them wrestling since the day they were born.
"Coach Gano came into a pretty chaotic wrestling room in the beginning, that didn't have a whole lot of discipline, and was able to turn it into a championship-caliber squad," said James Weible, an upper-weight from the 2000-2001 team. "We never had a large turnout in wrestlers, but he was able to get the best out of everyone, from a first year wrestler to the standout."
Members of Gano's first teams at Biglerville fondly recall the "Camo Era" that helped put Biglerville back on the wrestling map. Gano taught his first team how to win, when losing had become commonplace.
"He is one of the greatest and most passionate coaches you could have. He brought pride back to Biglerville, and put his heart into the program from Day One, until the end," says Shawn Whitmoyer, an upper-weight on Gano's first team at Biglerville in 1997-98.
Biglerville alum Logan Bobo remembers a pep-talk Gano gave to his team at the start of the 2006-07 season that was not only a wrestling lesson, but a life lesson. The program hadn't had a losing season in 10 years, however, the coaching staff felt that something was missing.
"Coach Gano made it very clear that we had to restore the honor of the program," recalls Bobo. "He took away the locally-famous 'Biglerville is Wrestling' tee-shirts, and said we could get them back when we earned the opportunity to wear them."
The team earned the shirts back at the conclusion of the season.
"This is just one of the many examples Coach Gano used to challenge his teams, and get the most out of each individual," said Bobo.
Anyone that ever wrestled under Gano, including myself, will tell you that the coach hated to lose. Even if we were going against a vastly superior squad, he prepared us as if we would be the victor.
"One thing I remember the most is how much he didn't like losing," Biglerville alum Jesse Gardner said. "He used to tell us stories about how much he hated to lose in anything, including losing to his kids, Sam and Kaitlyn, in board games. "No matter who we were wrestling, he always had the mentality and confidence that we were going to win the match. Overall, his dedication and 'refuse to lose' mentality led to 16 years of quality wrestling for Biglerville."
Gano spent eight years building the Delone Catholic wrestling program into a contender before leaving for Biglerville in 1997. He was attracted to Canner Country because of the tradition, and the overall interest in getting the program back on track.
It didn't take long.
In Gano's third year at the helm, the Black and Gold won the Mid-Penn Commonwealth title, as well as a Southeast Regional championship.
"Coach upheld the standard for the team. That standard was: have respect for yourself, and for your school," said Kelsey Rebert, a 2000 graduate of Biglerville. Rebert was a member of the 1999-2000 team, practiced with her male counterparts, and participated in female competitions. "It was digging deep when the team was short, being more conditioned than the opposition, and knowing your role in the match," said Rebert.
Gano coached one state champion during his tenure at Biglerville, Shain Leggett in 1999 at 103-lbs. He also coached Laike Gardner to a runner-up finish in 2011 at 130-lbs. There were countless other state medalists under Gano, and a plethora of 100-match winners.
"Coach Gano taught me so much not only on the mat, but off as well," says Leggett. "If it wasn't for him dropping me off five miles from Hershey in Palmyra the second day of the state tournament (in 1999) to make weight, I would have never been in the finals. "He was just an all-around good coach and mentor to the entire Biglerville wrestling family."
The 49-year-old Gano is a multi-time Gettysburg Times "Coach of the Year" recipient. After taking the job in Biglerville, he relocated to the community with his wife, Donna. His 270-plus wins in Canner Country put him in elite category, along with legendary coach Mike Bucher.
"Coach put together a very impressive body of work over his coaching career. A quick look at his records and achievements can prove this, but someone who just looks at the win-loss record of Bob Gano's teams misses the big picture," explained Bobo. "Even though we lost a number of matches throughout my career, it was never because we were out-worked. Every time Coach Gano led a team onto the mat, they were clearly well-prepared and physically tougher. I think this is a testament to the type of coach he was."
Jesse Gardner noted that Gano was committed to "every wrestler, whether it was a state place winner or a first-year" athlete. "He never accepted anything but 100 percent effort," said Gardner. "He was willing to spend as much time as you wanted to make you a better wrestler. There were many times where he gave up his own personal time to help develop his wrestlers."
Don't use the word "retirement" around Gano, a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper and co-owner of G-Force Investigations. He'll stick around wrestling in some capacity, as he plans to coach at the club level in Biglerville, where I'm sure he'll instruct his 6-year-old son, Sam, at some point. Gano also just started a new career in officiating.
As Gano leaves the Biglerville program, the new regime won't be called upon to breathe new life into the program, as he did 16 years ago.
Instead, the successor will be asked to keep Biglerville near the top.
"Biglerville has some big shoes to fill," says Rebert. Indeed.
Thanks to Coach Gano, Biglerville is wrestling - again.
Scot Pitzer is a Times Sports Writer. Contact him at spitzer@gburgtimes.com.