University of Minnesota Athletics
Rolling with the Punches; Junior Wrestler Damion Hahn
2/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Damion, in a fit of confusion, demanded, "Where's the ring and the ropes?" His mother sighed and explained once again that this was a different type of wrestling. On the verge of a tantrum, Damion cried, "This is dumb! I don't wanna do this!" But she, without yet knowing what a truly wise move it was, persuaded Damion to stay and try it out as long as they were already there. Damion shrugged, obliged and peeked hopefully for at least a folding chair or two-nothing. But, to his surprise, he loved it anyway.
So that's where you can trace it back to. Hahn's ability to take the unexpected setbacks in his life and use them to turn himself into a stronger person. And while overcoming the desire to become a WWE wrestler at age seven is not traditionally "overcoming adversity," it serves as a perfect precursor to how well Hahn today takes obstacles in stride.
Hahn, a junior and two-time NCAA All-American, has his sights set on becoming an individual champion this year. Coming to Minnesota, Hahn said, he had two goals: to be part of a national championship team and to have an individual national title. Having two of the former already under his belt, Hahn is antsy to work on his own championship.
"It's great to win as a team because you are with everyone who has put in all the hours and sweat and that's a great accomplishment for everyone," Hahn said. "But an individual title is on a whole different level-you are the best at that weight, that level, that day. Winning the individual title is only you. It all relies on how you perform."
Living with the team's two returning individual national champions, 149-pounder Jared Lawrence and 157-pounder Luke Becker, increases the pressure Hahn puts on himself to be an NCAA champion.
"It's my personal goal. Having Luke and Jared as my roommates make me want a national title to myself even more," Hahn said. "It's like they are in their own club, and I have got to be part of it."
Last year, Hahn was one takedown away at the edge of the mat from reaching the NCAA finals. This year, Hahn is stepping up to the line, but the question assistant coach Mark Schwab asks, is what will Hahn have to do to step over?
"When he is moving his feet, that is when he's best-he's hard to beat as long as he is moving the whole time and has fuel for it," Schwab said. "He has skills, ability and potential, and everybody knows he is capable of going out and beating everybody if he just does what he does best, and that is moving his feet."
Hahn said that he has been hearing this advice since he was a freshman with the Golden Gophers, and heeds the words. According to Hahn, most wrestlers in his weight class are more stationary, heavier competitors and it is to his advantage to be quicker and more mobile than they are.
"I know that if I'm moving, I have my best chance at beating my opponent," Hahn said. "I believe in my coaches, and I know they believe in me, so I believe in what they say."
At Hahn's new weight class, 197, this style of constantly moving is especially important. Since Hahn's move up from 184 pounds, he said he feels much more comfortable concentrating on improving his wrestling rather than having to keep his weight in check. After becoming tired of having to focus on keeping his weight down, Hahn spoke with his coaches about making the switch, who supported his position as long as he wrestled off for the spot. Now, Hahn said he feels more confident about winning it all at NCAAs.
"The top-ranked wrestler at 197, I wrestled growing up and beat every time," Hahn said. "It is to my benefit to be at 197 pounds. I'm small for this weight and have extra energy and quickness, whereas the guys I'll be wrestling are bigger and having to worry about cutting weight."
But the transition to another weight class this year hasn't been completely seamless-Hahn was out of competition until January this year due to a torn ACL dating back to April of last year. Although he wrestled throughout the summer, ignoring his injury because it wasn't that serious, he was given a loud wake-up call when he woke up one morning and knew it was time to get checked out.
Hahn's entire right leg was swollen, which was exactly what had happened to his father when he found out he had diabetes and kidney failure. The doctor eliminated those possibilities after some tests, but suggested an MRI which found the ACL tear.
"At first I didn't want to have the surgery because I thought I would miss the year," Hahn said. "I'm glad I had the surgery now, my knee is 100 percent and it gave me time to focus on what I needed in wrestling. I was able to work with coaches one-on-one and that got me back on track."
Hahn is no stranger to understanding what recovering from ailments is like. Two summers ago, his father suffered kidney failure and was put on dialysis, but that was hardly the end of his health problems. At a meet the Golden Gophers had in Virginia, Hahn's New Jersey-native parents made the trip, with some heavy news in tow. Hahn's father would be having a triple bypass surgery, which had already been postponed a week so they could come and watch him compete.
After the meet, Hahn returned with his parents to New Jersey and experienced what he calls the longest seven hours of his life while his father was in surgery. Also, Hahn was faced with some additional responsibility. "It was a big reality check for me, because my dad gave me the power of attorney in case anything happened," Hahn said. "That is a big weight to carry around. Thankfully, the surgery went great, but everything with him is always under a close watch."
Dealing with his father's health is something Hahn constantly has on his mind. He says his father is his role model, someone Hahn looks up to and talks to about everything. If his father wasn't around, Hahn said, he wouldn't know what to do.
"My dad tells me that things happen for a reason and whatever happens, I have to stay focused on what I'm doing," Hahn said. "Even though he is always in my thoughts, sometimes I have to try to block all of it out to channel my energy on what I'm doing. It's been hard, but it's an obstacle I have to overcome."
As for Hahn's future, the child in him may dictate its course. A self- designed major of education, youth studies and rhetoric, Hahn hopes to become involved in elementary education. Hahn also hopes to become part of the U.S. national wrestling circuit and possibly train for upcoming Olympics, but he isn't making any surefire predictions yet.
What is certain, however, is Hahn's affinity for pets-specifically reptiles. A previous owner of two snakes, one of which was given to fellow teammate Chad Mentel because Hahn felt he wasn't giving it the attention it deserved, Hahn currently cares for two bearded lizards and a parrot named Bella. He said he can't be sure of her sex, but he assumes it's a girl because she can be a little temperamental. His roommate Brett Lawrence, marketing and development coordinator for the wrestling program, agreed. "I'll tell you what, Damion almost didn't have a bird after this weekend," Lawrence said. "It squawked all day Saturday and I couldn't get any peace and quiet. Then all day Sunday, it did the same thing. He definitely almost lost that bird."
With his father doing well, his knee stronger than ever and a new level of comfort with his weight, Hahn is poised to achieve his ultimate goal this year despite the adversity he has had to triumph over.
"The coaches believe in me that I can get an individual national title this year, and I believe it as much as they do," Hahn said. "The bottom line is I have to work as hard as I can and give everything I've got for it."
For Hahn, that means taking things in stride and rolling with the punches. Not literally, however, as much as the second-grader in him would like.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Kimberly Jackson Damion Hahn tore out of his second-grade classroom, flier in hand, and thrust the sheet of paper into his mom's hand as soon as he got home. "Recreational wrestling program," the flier advertised, and Damion excitedly explained to his mother that he would be dropkicking other kids and jumping off the high rope of the ring. No, his mother said, this isn't the same type of wrestling, but it was too late-little Damion already had sweet visions of kicking and piledriving other boys into the ground. So she sighed and brought him to his first practice. When they arrived, however, all of Damion's dreams of television violence were shattered-simply two lonely square mats sat on the floor.
Damion, in a fit of confusion, demanded, "Where's the ring and the ropes?" His mother sighed and explained once again that this was a different type of wrestling. On the verge of a tantrum, Damion cried, "This is dumb! I don't wanna do this!" But she, without yet knowing what a truly wise move it was, persuaded Damion to stay and try it out as long as they were already there. Damion shrugged, obliged and peeked hopefully for at least a folding chair or two-nothing. But, to his surprise, he loved it anyway.
So that's where you can trace it back to. Hahn's ability to take the unexpected setbacks in his life and use them to turn himself into a stronger person. And while overcoming the desire to become a WWE wrestler at age seven is not traditionally "overcoming adversity," it serves as a perfect precursor to how well Hahn today takes obstacles in stride.
Hahn, a junior and two-time NCAA All-American, has his sights set on becoming an individual champion this year. Coming to Minnesota, Hahn said, he had two goals: to be part of a national championship team and to have an individual national title. Having two of the former already under his belt, Hahn is antsy to work on his own championship.
"It's great to win as a team because you are with everyone who has put in all the hours and sweat and that's a great accomplishment for everyone," Hahn said. "But an individual title is on a whole different level-you are the best at that weight, that level, that day. Winning the individual title is only you. It all relies on how you perform."
Living with the team's two returning individual national champions, 149-pounder Jared Lawrence and 157-pounder Luke Becker, increases the pressure Hahn puts on himself to be an NCAA champion.
"It's my personal goal. Having Luke and Jared as my roommates make me want a national title to myself even more," Hahn said. "It's like they are in their own club, and I have got to be part of it."
Last year, Hahn was one takedown away at the edge of the mat from reaching the NCAA finals. This year, Hahn is stepping up to the line, but the question assistant coach Mark Schwab asks, is what will Hahn have to do to step over?
"When he is moving his feet, that is when he's best-he's hard to beat as long as he is moving the whole time and has fuel for it," Schwab said. "He has skills, ability and potential, and everybody knows he is capable of going out and beating everybody if he just does what he does best, and that is moving his feet."
Hahn said that he has been hearing this advice since he was a freshman with the Golden Gophers, and heeds the words. According to Hahn, most wrestlers in his weight class are more stationary, heavier competitors and it is to his advantage to be quicker and more mobile than they are.
"I know that if I'm moving, I have my best chance at beating my opponent," Hahn said. "I believe in my coaches, and I know they believe in me, so I believe in what they say."
At Hahn's new weight class, 197, this style of constantly moving is especially important. Since Hahn's move up from 184 pounds, he said he feels much more comfortable concentrating on improving his wrestling rather than having to keep his weight in check. After becoming tired of having to focus on keeping his weight down, Hahn spoke with his coaches about making the switch, who supported his position as long as he wrestled off for the spot. Now, Hahn said he feels more confident about winning it all at NCAAs.
"The top-ranked wrestler at 197, I wrestled growing up and beat every time," Hahn said. "It is to my benefit to be at 197 pounds. I'm small for this weight and have extra energy and quickness, whereas the guys I'll be wrestling are bigger and having to worry about cutting weight."
But the transition to another weight class this year hasn't been completely seamless-Hahn was out of competition until January this year due to a torn ACL dating back to April of last year. Although he wrestled throughout the summer, ignoring his injury because it wasn't that serious, he was given a loud wake-up call when he woke up one morning and knew it was time to get checked out.
Hahn's entire right leg was swollen, which was exactly what had happened to his father when he found out he had diabetes and kidney failure. The doctor eliminated those possibilities after some tests, but suggested an MRI which found the ACL tear.
"At first I didn't want to have the surgery because I thought I would miss the year," Hahn said. "I'm glad I had the surgery now, my knee is 100 percent and it gave me time to focus on what I needed in wrestling. I was able to work with coaches one-on-one and that got me back on track."
Hahn is no stranger to understanding what recovering from ailments is like. Two summers ago, his father suffered kidney failure and was put on dialysis, but that was hardly the end of his health problems. At a meet the Golden Gophers had in Virginia, Hahn's New Jersey-native parents made the trip, with some heavy news in tow. Hahn's father would be having a triple bypass surgery, which had already been postponed a week so they could come and watch him compete.
After the meet, Hahn returned with his parents to New Jersey and experienced what he calls the longest seven hours of his life while his father was in surgery. Also, Hahn was faced with some additional responsibility. "It was a big reality check for me, because my dad gave me the power of attorney in case anything happened," Hahn said. "That is a big weight to carry around. Thankfully, the surgery went great, but everything with him is always under a close watch."
Dealing with his father's health is something Hahn constantly has on his mind. He says his father is his role model, someone Hahn looks up to and talks to about everything. If his father wasn't around, Hahn said, he wouldn't know what to do.
"My dad tells me that things happen for a reason and whatever happens, I have to stay focused on what I'm doing," Hahn said. "Even though he is always in my thoughts, sometimes I have to try to block all of it out to channel my energy on what I'm doing. It's been hard, but it's an obstacle I have to overcome."
As for Hahn's future, the child in him may dictate its course. A self- designed major of education, youth studies and rhetoric, Hahn hopes to become involved in elementary education. Hahn also hopes to become part of the U.S. national wrestling circuit and possibly train for upcoming Olympics, but he isn't making any surefire predictions yet.
What is certain, however, is Hahn's affinity for pets-specifically reptiles. A previous owner of two snakes, one of which was given to fellow teammate Chad Mentel because Hahn felt he wasn't giving it the attention it deserved, Hahn currently cares for two bearded lizards and a parrot named Bella. He said he can't be sure of her sex, but he assumes it's a girl because she can be a little temperamental. His roommate Brett Lawrence, marketing and development coordinator for the wrestling program, agreed. "I'll tell you what, Damion almost didn't have a bird after this weekend," Lawrence said. "It squawked all day Saturday and I couldn't get any peace and quiet. Then all day Sunday, it did the same thing. He definitely almost lost that bird."
With his father doing well, his knee stronger than ever and a new level of comfort with his weight, Hahn is poised to achieve his ultimate goal this year despite the adversity he has had to triumph over.
"The coaches believe in me that I can get an individual national title this year, and I believe it as much as they do," Hahn said. "The bottom line is I have to work as hard as I can and give everything I've got for it."
For Hahn, that means taking things in stride and rolling with the punches. Not literally, however, as much as the second-grader in him would like.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Kimberly Jackson
