THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 29, 1985
39
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very, very devoted."
Originally Cogan looked as if he
Kopsch feels Cogan is the
might become a swimmer. When he
strongest wrestler at Lathrup this
was 13, Mrs. Cogan said, he went to
year, including the heavyweights.
the Jewish Community Center pool in
"He's very personable," the coach
West Bloomfield and they drafted
added. He has a strong respect factor
him for the swim team." He ended up
for his coach. And he's a nice person to
swimming for the Center at the Mac-
be around."
cabiah Youth Games in August 1982
"He's a fabulous athlete, and a
in Memphis, Tenn.
nice boy, too," according to Sandra Co-
"I swam in them and got killed,"
gan. Of course, what would one expect
Cogan said with a laugh. "I was a pre-
a mother to say about her son, any- tty good swimmer, but never great."
way?
So when, during his freshman
Cogan's expectations are bol- year at Lathrup, a friend asked him to
stered by his past accomplishments on go to a wrestling meeting with him, he
went.
the Lathrup team. Last year he had a
It sounded pretty cool," Cogan
– 40-8 record. He won the 105-pound
championship in the Metro Suburban said. "It sounded like a lot of fun and
there was a good group of guys. I went
Athletic Association, was Oakland
to the swim meeting, but wrestling
County champion at 98 pounds, was
second in the district meet and second sounded better."
From the start he went into the
in the regionals, as well as finishing
sport determined to do whatever it
among the top ten in the state meet.
As a sophomore he had a 24-10 took to be the best. "He always has a
record and won the league 98-pound lot of drive, dedication and determina-
tion," Mrs. Cogan said.
title.
"Sol has a plan for whatever he
He has been captain of the team
since his sophomore year — after earn- does. He figured if he did extremely
well he'd get a full-ride scholarship —
ing a varsity letter as a freshman, al-
or at least a partial. I guess that's been
_ though he won only four matches.
"He's probably the best Jewish his goal all along."
Knocking on the door the loudest,
wrestler I've seen come along," said
Kopsch. The only other Jewish wres- right now, according to Cogan, is
' tler (that) good was Bob Budman. He Drake University in Iowa, a state
was the only one with the same dedica- where wrestling rivals the popularity
of football in Michigan. Montana,
tion (as Sol)."
Kopsch trained with Budman for Georgis Tech, North Carolina, Swar-
thmore and Clemson also have ex-
the 1968 Olympics.
Lathrup's wrestling season begins pressed some interest in the Lathrup
Dec. 3 and runs into February, with star, according to Larry Fisher, who
the state tournament the first helps place local athletes in college on
weekend in March. There will be per- scholarship. Michigan schools recruit-
ing Cogan include Oakland Univer-
haps two dozen wrestlers on the team,
sity and Olivet College.
- 13 on the varsity.
"I'd like to get into sports
"I have to practice with the bigger
medicine," said Cogan, who added that
guys," Cogan said, "one weighs 126,
there's a good 119-pounder, and one is his high school grade-point average of
2.8 (C-plus) would be better had it not
a 132-pounder."
Cogan relishes the challenge been for poor grades his freshman
though, and hopes such workouts with year.
"He knows his chance for an edu-
bigger teammates will one day pro-
., duce the same results as those earned cation is through wrestling," said
by another Kopsch protege — Olympic Fisher. "He eats, lives, breathes
wrestling."
gold medalist Steve Fraser of Ann Ar-
"I call him 'Cogan the De-
bor. (The Lathrup coach worked with
stroyer,'
" Fisher jokingly added.
the former University of Michigan
Cogan chuckled when he remem-
star when Fraser was a member of the
Michigan Wrestling Club at School- bered his first year of wrestling. "I was
terrible . . .," he said. "The only reason
craft Community College.)
I was on the varsity was I was stronger
than the other kids my size." He im-
proved, he said, through "good coach-
ing and a lot of work. I worked hard all
summer and the coach helped me out."
Today, Cogan said, he can bench
press 195 pounds — quite a load for
someone who weighs as much as a joc-
key.
Cogan's typical schedule during
the season besins with a workout with
the swim team at 5:30 every morning.
Then he goes to school. After school, he
runs and then he goes to wrestling
practice until 6:30 p.m. He goes home
to eat, do homework, and sleep. That's
the way it is five days a week, except
on meet days (Tuesdays or Thursdays)
when there's no practice.
The wrestler's off-season schedule
is no picnic either. He's up at 5:45 a.m.,
lifting weights at school at 7. Then
there's more weightlifting, running
and other workouts after school.
He goes home for early supper,
then work from 5 to 9 p.m. at United
Electronics in West Bloomfield, a
company which sells satellite dishes.
Cogan said he does telephone work,
calling back tentative customers
based on leads supplied by others.
Cogan's running is a vital part of
his training. He runs between three
and five miles a day, and does addi-
tional sprints.
When her son began wrestling,
Mrs. Cogan said she "sat for the first
year with my heart in my mouth. But
Sol assured me as long as he was in
extremely good condition the chances
of him getting an injury were slim.
(But) I was worried. You see a lot of
kids go off the floor with injuries."
Cogan's older brother, Kevin, did
not wrestle in high school.
Said Kopsch, He seems to have
the wiry strength most people need for
sports."
Mrs. Cogan is her son's number
one fan, cheering him on at Lathrup
wrestling meets.
"There was one meet I didn't yell,"
she said, and you know, he asked me
afterward why he didn't hear me yel-
ling. I guess that is important."
No doubt she is hoping, like her
son, that their devotion pays off with
some 1985-1986 championships and a
full college scholarship.
❑
Today, Cogan said,
he can bench press
195 pounds - quite a
load for someone
who weighs as much
as a jockey.
r.