Wrestling coach Cooley commits to his profession
Robert Cooley utilizes his experience as a referee in order to enhance his coaching abilities on the mat
More stories from Max Schwartz
Granite bay High has a girls team and a boys team.
Granite Bay athletics have long been characterized not only by the star power on the field, but by the coaches that stand behind them.
Robert Cooley is one of these coaches.
Cooley has been involved on the GBHS campus for years coaching wrestling, but his career with wrestling has been longer.
“I first started (wrestling) around middle school,” Cooley said.
Cooley began to fully immerse himself into the sport in high school.
“I wrestled in Oregon, which was a pretty good state for the sport at that time. I did pretty good. I went to (the state championship),” Cooley said.
Cooley then got into officiating wrestling tournaments after high school, something that peaked his interest.
“I was pretty good at it,” Cooley said.
“I understood how a match should work, calls that had to be made were made no matter who I was officiating for, and now as a coach, those are the refs we appreciate,” Cooley said.
What made Cooley popular as a ref is what also entices wrestlers in the sport now.
“I think what makes a good referee is consistency. They are deciding what happens in national level tournaments. They are very important,” senior Kai Niimi said.
Niimi had been coached by Cooley since his freshman year.
Cooley has coached many great wrestlers through his 15 years at GBHS, one of them being Teague Dilbeck, a wrestler at Colorado School of Mines.
“Cooley coached me for years alongside the other Granite Bay coaches,” Dilbeck said. “He is one of the coaches that has influenced me the most as a wrestler and a person.”
Dilbeck admittance into Colorado School of Mines was largely due to Cooley’s help.
“Cooley won’t yell at you to make you wrestle. He wants you to wrestle because the fact you want to wrestle,” Dilbeck said.
Cooley’s unique coaching style is more effective for his wrestlers than an aggressive approach.
“I have been around a lot of coaches that are really yelling heavily and will just be on your back, which can make someone burn out really fast,” Dilbeck said. “Cooley is just the opposite of that.”
The mentality that Cooley instills into his wrestlers creates the high-win record that the Granite Bay wrestling team is known for.
Now Cooley is just enjoying coaching the sport.
“Things go smoothly now at Granite Bay,” Cooley said. “I love the sport and so do the kids. That’s what makes it great.”
Max is a senior at Granite Bay High School, and is one of five co-editors-in-chief for the Gazette/GraniteBayToday.org in 2018-19. This is his third year...
