Wheaton North wrestler Steve Kaltofen certainly doesn`t lack coaching.
The Falcon senior has had 18 years of coaching from his father Al, head coach at College of Du Page, and more than four years from Wheaton North coach Dale Pierre. The result is an unbeaten 132-pound state championship contender. Kaltofen ran his record to 29-0 Saturday by winning the Du Page Valley Conference championship.
Pierre coached his son Scott to two state championships and his son Mike to a runner-up finish in the state meet. His standout 145-pounder, Brad Farris, is the son of a former wrestling coach. He likes getting the sons of other coaches in his program.
”They are much easier to coach,” Pierre said. ”They have more dedication. They know what it takes to become champions. They have been there before. That`s why they are where they`re at.
”They not only get training from me, but their dads and other coaches, too. You don`t get that many, but they are nice to have. We`ve been blessed.” Pierre has a good situation with the Kaltofens, Steve and Michael, a Wheaton North sophomore who is out with a broken wrist. The elder Kaltofen and Pierre both coached Steve in club competition. Al Kaltofen wants his sons to listen to Pierre and the other Falcon coaches and be open to other ideas.
”Dale and I have coached his sons and my sons in the club,” Al Kaltofen said. ”I`m strong on the feet and Dale is strong on the mat so it`s been a perfect match.
”I`ve told Steve I want him to listen to other coaches so he can pick up something, and he`s been pretty astute. I`ve taught him everything I know and he needs other ideas, new influences, other coaches, other perspectives.”
It hasn`t always been easy. Steve was a promising wrestler in grade school and junior high, but the jump to high school was a shock. As a freshman, he was pinned in his first match. He was unbeaten as sophomore until February and missed going Downstate by one match.
”I just got killed at first,” Steve said. ”It was frustrating and it took me a while to figure out. When I lost my first match, my dad wasn`t upset. I was upset. He talked to me and told me I was a freshman and it was going to happen. He knows how I feel. He`s been through it all. When I`m down, we sit down and talk.”
One of the dangers of being a coach`s son is overcoaching. Kaltofen got a little too fancy last year instead of going back to the basics. He was always looking for the big move instead of using the right move. He often reacted instead acting.
”The biggest thing I have learned in high school is I have to do more on offense,” he said. ”My dad and I went over it and he kept telling me I`d have to do more single- and double-leg takedowns. I like to do upper body
(holds), but against a good wrestler you can`t always do that. You`ve got to change up, use the basics. I used to just go upper body all the time and I won a lot, but you can`t do that every time.”
Kaltofen didn`t feel pressure from his father or Pierre. He did feel it from himself after finishing fifth at 119 in the state meet last year and being undefeated this season. Now, he takes a new approach.
”For the first time, I don`t think about being undefeated,” he said.
”I`m not wrestling to defend my record or anything. My sophomore year I`d get nervous. Now I just think about my next match. Sometimes I lose track of my record and have to ask. It`s what happens in the end that counts. I`m just going out to wrestle and don`t worry about my record. I`m still intense, but I`m more relaxed and having more fun.”
Kaltofen will likely have one more coach before his wrestling days are through. He`ll wrestle in college, but probably not for his father.
”(Dad) wants me to go out on my own and see something else,” he said.
”He taught me everything I know. There wouldn`t be any pressure between him and me. I think it would work out great. He just wants me to do something on my own. I`ve been lucky, picking things up from Mr. Pierre and my dad. Now we`ll see what happens.”
After college, Kaltofen`s career choice is predictable.
”I want to coach,” he said. ”It`s the one thing on top of my list. I think it would be great to coach and teach. Being a captain of the team, I get to do demonstrations and it`s fun to show people what they are doing wrong and help them. I`ve grown up with coaching and I love the sport. I want to be a champion and then I want to help someone else be a champion.”
