Dec. 14, 2004: The Standard Examiner

Wrestling with Family Tradition:
Three Father-Son Duos Find Success On Mat
by Tony Renya

When the arm of Weber High's Shay Warren was raised last spring signifying he had won the state 5-A wrestling championship at 103 pounds, there wasn't anyone more relieved than the person who had the best vantage point in the building, his father Jody, who also serves as the Warriors head wrestling coach.

"I was finally able to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening," Jody said. "It was something he had worked so hard for. It would have been hard to seem him put that much time in and not achieve his goal (of winning a state championship.)"

Shay, a sophomore, admits that being the son of a coach has been instrumental in his progress and achievement of his goals.

"It works out well having my dad as coach because we get to talk a lot about stuff and watch (wrestling) videos at home," Shay said. "If I didn't have my dad as a coach I might be hesitant to tell him what I think. This way we can work things out."

To say that wrestling is an important part of the Warren household would be understating the obvious. Jody comes from Star Valley, Wyo., where wrestling is a way of life. While in high school, he followed in the footsteps of his oldest brother, who won three state championships and another brother, who also won a state crown. In his senior year, Jody won the state title at 145 pounds.

Coaching Shay, however, has been more rewarding to Jody than his individual accomplishments.

"It has been a wonderful thing to be able to coach Shay. At times it's a little difficult, but he's been real receptive to the things I've tried to teach him," Warren said.

"A long time ago, when he was still a kid, we made an agreement that we would always talk things out. That's worked really well."

The Warrens aren't the only father-son duo around. At Fremont, Mark Storey coaches his son, Logan. At Davis, Alan Porter mentors his son, Sean, who is the defending state 5-A champion at 125 pounds.

"I try not to do anything differently especially when he does something wrong," Mark Storey said. "You have to remember they are an athlete first and a son second. We butt heads quite a bit over weight and things he should be doing. We're around each other all the time, while the rest of the kids get to go home."

While Logan, a sophomore, will be getting his first real varsity experience, Storey has had two older sons go through the program at Fremont while he has been the head coach. Cody, the oldest, is currently the head coach for RockWal, the combined Rocky Mountain and Wahlquist junior high wrestling team. Another son, Karson, took third place at 189 pounds during Fremont's state 5-A championship run in 2003.

"It has been rewarding. It's nice to travel with them and to be around them. How many people get to take their kids to work with them?" Mark asked.

"It's tough at times because after practice he has you work out and expects a lot out of you," Logan said. "But without him I wouldn't be as good as I am today."

Alan Porter has also had the privilege of coaching an older son, Neil, who was consistently one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state. Injuries, however, prevented him from ever placing at the state tournament.

Sean, on the other hand, has been able to steer clear from injuries.

"It's been a fantastic experience to coach both of them. I tend to get more wrapped up in their matches," Alan said. "I learned a very valuable lesson when Sean was in fifth grade. We went to a tournament in Uintah, and he wrestled his heart out and lost by a point.

"After the match I'm telling him he should have done this or that and he says, 'Dad, you didn't tell me one thing I did right,' " Alan said. "He taught me a huge lesson. My first objective now is to tell them positive things first."

It's not all about fathers and sons for the Warrens, Storeys and Porters. Each give a lot of the credit to their wives.

"My wife (Kamie) runs our family," Warren said. "She deserves more credit than anyone else. She deserves a ton of credit for just managing the kids and family."

"It's been a family endeavor. My wife (Stephanie) really gets into it. It's hard for her to watch sometimes, but she is very supportive," Storey said.

Lani (Porter's wife) has been very involved. Wrestling is time consuming, but she is always there to help out. She's even helped out by being Sean's coach in junior high when I wasn't able to be there," Porter said.