Commentary; Posted: 2/5/03

A sonís tribute to his father and coach

ï Editorís Note: The following article was written by Travis Dettmer, son of Forest Lake wrestling coach Bob Dettmer. Both are currently in Kuwait as part of the military build up for a possible war with Iraq.

ìON YOUR FEET!Ý TWO MINUTES LIVE!" It's been seven years since I've heard those words coming from Forest Lake Coach Bob Dettmer's mouth during wrestling practice.Ý

"BREAK!Ý REFEREE'S POSITION, LIVE, TWO MINUTES!"

Those were the days; I was in the best shape of my life.Ý Wrestling will do that to you.

"SWITCH!"

Sometimes I wonder where I got that energy.Ý I would practice hard for three hours after school, run two to three miles before dinner, and then run again at 5:30 the next morning.Ý

"ALL RIGHT.Ý LINE UP FOR SPRINTS!"

The funny thing is, I'd be up running with the Coach on those cold, winter mornings.Ý That's what happens when the Coach also happens to be your dad.Ý

Ever since I can remember wrestling has been a tremendous part of the Dettmer family.Ý As a young, big-eared farm kid, coach Dettmer made his mark by starting on the Faribault High School wrestling team as a 7th grader.Ý

His claim to fame was when he allegedly beat Gerry Bakke of Albert Lee in an eighth grade match-up.Ý Gerry, who went on to coach for Buffalo Senior High, claims he was the victor in the match.Ý Regardless, Dettmer, the eventual high school wrestling standout went on to wrestle for the Bemidji State Beavers.Ý

As a member of the NAIA power-house, he earned one individual national championship (1971), two third places (1972, 1973) and multiple national team titles.Ý During his senior year he was awarded the Bemidji State Athlete of the Year for 1972-73.Ý After college he tried out for the 1972 Olympics where he had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dan Gable.ÝÝ

On the wrong end of the lopsided score of 21-3, Dettmer claims he was the only guy Dan didn't pin that day.Ý I guess the definition of "success" depends on the circumstances. In any case, he has merited enough success to show up in various Halls of Fame across the country including the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma (1971), the NAIA Hall of Fame (1985), the Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame (1986), the Faribault High School Hall of Fame (1992), and the Bemidji State Hall of Fame (1996).Ý

It was 1975 when Coach Dettmer took over the head coaching job for the Forest Lake High School wrestling team and began to build his legacy as one of the most consistently successful wrestling coaches in Minnesota history.ÝÝ

In February, 2001, he became the 23rd wrestling coach on record to notch 300 career wins in 27 seasons (his current record is 305-125-2).ÝÝÝ Along the way he has compiled a 6-3 state tournament record which includes a 5th place finish (1987), a 4th place finish (1983), and a 1993 State Team Championship (a team that ranked 7th in the nation according to the USA today top 25).Ý He has coached 12 individual state champions and dozens of individual state place winners for a combined state tournament record of 211-147.Ý

Boasting 14 conference titles and 157 conference champs, Coach Dettmer has many times over proved that his Rangers are a force to be reckoned with.ÝÝÝ

But that's not all. There's another aspect to Coach Dettmer, a side most people never see.Ý In fact, it has nothing to do with wrestling.Ý Coach Dettmer is part of an elite group of underappreciated and often over-tasked American citizens who serve in the United States Armed Forces.Ý

Since he enlisted in the Reserves in 1985, Bob Dettmer has been preparing for a call to serve that was bound to come someday.Ý That fact became evident in late November, 2001, on the brink of his 28th coaching season.Ý Chief Warrant Officer Dettmer is a member of the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade out of Fort Gordon, Georgia.Ý

Under normal circumstances, when a reservist is called to duty he will serve up to a year and return home.Ý Not in this case.Ý Dettmer's MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) is low supply/high demand and, therefore, the Army involuntarily extended him to serve another year.Ý

Not only has he missed one wrestling season, but he will miss another while he serves his extended tour in Kuwait as part of the 297th Military Intelligence Battalion.Ý With the nation gearing up to take on Saddam Hussein, part of his job is the identification and acquisition of targets using advanced satellite imagery and aerial surveillance.Ý At least that's what he tells me.Ý Much of what he works with is top secret and if he told me, well, we won't go there.Ý

Although he'll be the first to tell you he'd rather be home spending his time with the family, teaching high school students, and coaching his team, he has never been one to shirk his responsibility.Ý He has a job to do, whether it be grooming future wrestling champions, or painting targets for US forces to destroy, my dad has always performed his jobs to the utmost.

Ý That's the philosophy he's always held in coaching, teaching, and parenting.Ý Much of the individual accomplishments that my brother and I have achieved are owed to dad.Ý Although we were never state champion wrestlers, it was dad who encouraged us to keep wrestling when we wanted to quit at six-years old.ÝÝ

He pushed my brother and I to apply to West Point, and, much to our disappointment at the time, we were accepted.Ý He had to push us harder to accept the appointment, and even harder when we wanted to quit and attend "regular college."Ý Well, despite all the kicking and screaming, my brother and I did graduate and now are serving our obligation as Army officers.Ý

That brings us back to the present day.Ý Not two weeks after dad received the call to head to the Middle East, my unit was ordered to the same area in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.Ý

Although it looks like we won't be at the same encampment, we will be within a half-hour drive of each other.Ý Sometimes I wish I could stay here in the United States with my wife and kids (cats), but, in many ways, I believe God (the creator of the great sport of wrestling) decided the old man (Coach Dettmer) couldn't do this alone and decided to send a familiar face to look after him.Ý It'll be kind of an odd family reunion, meeting the "Coach" in the middle of a desert thousands of miles away from home.

This just in. . . as I was writing I got the call to go to Kuwait.Ý We're heading out now.Ý See you soon dad.

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