University of Minnesota Athletics
One of a Kind; Sophomore All-American Jacob Volkmann
11/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
After the season comes to an end, the summer wrestling camp schedule begins. Many Minnesota wrestlers work at these summer camps on a three-days-on, one-day-off work schedule. Although the job isn't as tiring as daily Golden Gopher wrestling practices, most of the wrestlers that work at the camp are of the opinion that they are overworked and underpaid. Not Jacob Volkmann.
Ask any Minnesota wrestling coach, athlete or staff member what their favorite Volkmann story or memory is and you're likely to receive a big smile and a response such as, "Oh man, there are so many." The best source of insight into the psyche of Jacob Volkmann, a sophomore 174-pounder, is not the 2001 All-American himself. Rather, to truly understand what makes Volkmann tick, one must go to those that spend the most time with him - his teammates and coaches. The stories they relate are enlightening, humorous and sometimes disturbing tales of the son of a pig farmer from the small west central Minnesota town of Henning. But those stories tell volumes of this wrestler that Head Coach J Robinson describes as "methodical, hard-working, focused and extremely diligent."
Perhaps the most common aspect of Volkmann the wrestlers and coaches bring up has to do with his perceptions of what constitutes hard work. Assistant coach Mark Schwab tells a story of a short conversation he had with Jacob following a tough workout. "I was talking to Volkmann after practice one day when he asked me, `So, what's going on tomorrow?' I told him that it was a day off. He turned, and, with a disgusted look on his face, gruffly said, `Too many holidays around here.'"
Two-time NCAA Champion and current marketing coordinator for Minnesota wrestling, Tim Hartung, relates a memory he has of Volkmann from a wrestling camp. "The general consensus among the counselors at camp is that we're working too much for too little pay. On one of our rare days off, I noticed Volkmann looked kind of ticked off. I asked him what was wrong. He fumed, `There's too much downtime.'"
All-American 184-pounder Damion Hahn tells of the time that the team was granted an unusual day off from practice. Instead of enjoying his freetime by lounging in his dorm room, Volkmann came to the practice facility and did dumbbell stairs. Schwab recounts of the day Volkmann did 25 sets of the workout, carrying 40-pound dumbbells in each hand, up and down flights of stairs in the Bierman Athletic Building.
"That's carrying 80 pounds of dead weight. And he did it pretty much nonstop. There's not many people out there that are capable of doing that."
Clearly, hard work is a virtue that Volkmann holds near and dear. The story that best illustrates this fact comes from Robinson. "The guys were doing some landscaping work with fellow wrestlers over the summer. While most of the guys were just kind of going through the motions, putting in just enough effort to get by, Volkmann was tireless in his work. The image I remember is of Volkmann climbing a tree, chainsaw in one hand, hanging from a branch with the other hand, cutting down high limbs. It was unbelievable."
That hard work ethic comes from his time growing up on his family's pig farm in Henning. Heavyweight Mike Flanagan asked Volkmann once how he got such a strong grip. With an exceptionally serious look on his face, he replied, "Carrying pigs, man!" That life instilled in him an ethic of never giving in to difficult situations. It's the ethic that served him well during the 2000-01 season when he proved he would not be outworked on or off the wrestling mat. He entered the year relatively unknown and second or third on the Minnesota depth chart at 174 pounds, and ended the year with a 33-14 record, Big Ten and NCAA fourth-place finishes, and his first All-America honor.
Then there's the oddities of Volkmann the team mentions that bring a smile to the face and a response of, "Really?". The story most commonly referenced as their favorite Volkmann tale truly gives one a sense of the mettle of this grappler. One summer, while working at a J Robinson Wrestling Camp, Volkmann pointed to a nearby mountain and said, "I'm going to go climb that." His teammates scoffed, but Volkmann took off for the summit with a few bottles of Gatorade and some sandwiches. A day and a half later, dehydrated and hungry, and with a full beard and a smile from ear-to-ear, he emerged from the forest. No one questioned whether Volkmann made it to the top. They knew.
They also know to be careful around Volkmann. You see, Volkmann's nickname is "Killer." Certain members of the team and coaching staff (especially assistant coach Joe Russell) were somewhat hesitant to comment on Volkmann for fear of being placed on his "hit list." Nobody knows what being on the list means, but they know they don't want to be a part of it. It's all done in fun, of course. The wrestlers have a great time with it. "We like to give him a hard time about his nickname, Killer," Hahn said. "Somebody's always asking him how many guys he has buried under his porch."
A good student a stand-up guy, Volkmann is somewhat uncomfortable with the moniker Killer. In fact, he has gone out of his way to ensure staff members that it's just a joke. "He made a point of telling me that it's only a nickname, that it doesn't mean anything," academic counselor Brooke Sawyer said. "Now anytime I see him, I call him Killer and he gives me the biggest grin."
It's those quirks that have endeared Volkmann to the Golden Gopher wrestling team. He's respected like no other for the work he puts forth day-in and day-out in his efforts to improve. It's his work ethic that has propelled him to the ranks of the nation's grappling elite at 174 pounds.
But, apparently, he's not working hard enough at the University of Minnesota. According to whom? Jacob Volkmann himself. When asked at the end of the year if the season was all that he expected it to be, Volkmann responded, straight-faced, "I thought it'd be harder." Volkmann is an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a wrestling singlet. He's unique. According to team trainer Nate Houska, "Volkmann is one-of-a-kind in every way."
Written by Men's Media Relations Wrestling Contact, Kevin Kurtt The collegiate wrestling season is a long and arduous campaign of extreme physical and mental exertion. Two-a-day practices, highlighted by T-shirts drenched in sweat, faces bloodied and beaten, and endless drills, are commonplace for most of the top grappling programs around the country. Most wrestlers wholeheartedly welcome a day off from the draining workouts. Not Jacob Volkmann.
After the season comes to an end, the summer wrestling camp schedule begins. Many Minnesota wrestlers work at these summer camps on a three-days-on, one-day-off work schedule. Although the job isn't as tiring as daily Golden Gopher wrestling practices, most of the wrestlers that work at the camp are of the opinion that they are overworked and underpaid. Not Jacob Volkmann.
Ask any Minnesota wrestling coach, athlete or staff member what their favorite Volkmann story or memory is and you're likely to receive a big smile and a response such as, "Oh man, there are so many." The best source of insight into the psyche of Jacob Volkmann, a sophomore 174-pounder, is not the 2001 All-American himself. Rather, to truly understand what makes Volkmann tick, one must go to those that spend the most time with him - his teammates and coaches. The stories they relate are enlightening, humorous and sometimes disturbing tales of the son of a pig farmer from the small west central Minnesota town of Henning. But those stories tell volumes of this wrestler that Head Coach J Robinson describes as "methodical, hard-working, focused and extremely diligent."
Perhaps the most common aspect of Volkmann the wrestlers and coaches bring up has to do with his perceptions of what constitutes hard work. Assistant coach Mark Schwab tells a story of a short conversation he had with Jacob following a tough workout. "I was talking to Volkmann after practice one day when he asked me, `So, what's going on tomorrow?' I told him that it was a day off. He turned, and, with a disgusted look on his face, gruffly said, `Too many holidays around here.'"
Two-time NCAA Champion and current marketing coordinator for Minnesota wrestling, Tim Hartung, relates a memory he has of Volkmann from a wrestling camp. "The general consensus among the counselors at camp is that we're working too much for too little pay. On one of our rare days off, I noticed Volkmann looked kind of ticked off. I asked him what was wrong. He fumed, `There's too much downtime.'"
All-American 184-pounder Damion Hahn tells of the time that the team was granted an unusual day off from practice. Instead of enjoying his freetime by lounging in his dorm room, Volkmann came to the practice facility and did dumbbell stairs. Schwab recounts of the day Volkmann did 25 sets of the workout, carrying 40-pound dumbbells in each hand, up and down flights of stairs in the Bierman Athletic Building.
"That's carrying 80 pounds of dead weight. And he did it pretty much nonstop. There's not many people out there that are capable of doing that."
Clearly, hard work is a virtue that Volkmann holds near and dear. The story that best illustrates this fact comes from Robinson. "The guys were doing some landscaping work with fellow wrestlers over the summer. While most of the guys were just kind of going through the motions, putting in just enough effort to get by, Volkmann was tireless in his work. The image I remember is of Volkmann climbing a tree, chainsaw in one hand, hanging from a branch with the other hand, cutting down high limbs. It was unbelievable."
That hard work ethic comes from his time growing up on his family's pig farm in Henning. Heavyweight Mike Flanagan asked Volkmann once how he got such a strong grip. With an exceptionally serious look on his face, he replied, "Carrying pigs, man!" That life instilled in him an ethic of never giving in to difficult situations. It's the ethic that served him well during the 2000-01 season when he proved he would not be outworked on or off the wrestling mat. He entered the year relatively unknown and second or third on the Minnesota depth chart at 174 pounds, and ended the year with a 33-14 record, Big Ten and NCAA fourth-place finishes, and his first All-America honor.
Then there's the oddities of Volkmann the team mentions that bring a smile to the face and a response of, "Really?". The story most commonly referenced as their favorite Volkmann tale truly gives one a sense of the mettle of this grappler. One summer, while working at a J Robinson Wrestling Camp, Volkmann pointed to a nearby mountain and said, "I'm going to go climb that." His teammates scoffed, but Volkmann took off for the summit with a few bottles of Gatorade and some sandwiches. A day and a half later, dehydrated and hungry, and with a full beard and a smile from ear-to-ear, he emerged from the forest. No one questioned whether Volkmann made it to the top. They knew.
They also know to be careful around Volkmann. You see, Volkmann's nickname is "Killer." Certain members of the team and coaching staff (especially assistant coach Joe Russell) were somewhat hesitant to comment on Volkmann for fear of being placed on his "hit list." Nobody knows what being on the list means, but they know they don't want to be a part of it. It's all done in fun, of course. The wrestlers have a great time with it. "We like to give him a hard time about his nickname, Killer," Hahn said. "Somebody's always asking him how many guys he has buried under his porch."
A good student a stand-up guy, Volkmann is somewhat uncomfortable with the moniker Killer. In fact, he has gone out of his way to ensure staff members that it's just a joke. "He made a point of telling me that it's only a nickname, that it doesn't mean anything," academic counselor Brooke Sawyer said. "Now anytime I see him, I call him Killer and he gives me the biggest grin."
It's those quirks that have endeared Volkmann to the Golden Gopher wrestling team. He's respected like no other for the work he puts forth day-in and day-out in his efforts to improve. It's his work ethic that has propelled him to the ranks of the nation's grappling elite at 174 pounds.
But, apparently, he's not working hard enough at the University of Minnesota. According to whom? Jacob Volkmann himself. When asked at the end of the year if the season was all that he expected it to be, Volkmann responded, straight-faced, "I thought it'd be harder." Volkmann is an enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a wrestling singlet. He's unique. According to team trainer Nate Houska, "Volkmann is one-of-a-kind in every way."
Written by Men's Media Relations Wrestling Contact, Kevin Kurtt
