Life MAT-ters
When people are asked where they would love to be the most, the average response is a tropical island, beautiful mountains, or within city limits. However, Roger Sanders' response would be a stingy smelling, damp, humid wrestling room with two huge maroon, squishy mats. To him, the Bloomsburg University wrestling room is more than that. Written on the maroon wall in huge yellow letters is, "We expect academic All-Americans and National Champions." This quote is exactly what Roger Sanders is all about.
When Roger was on the hunt for colleges, West Chester University and the University of Maryland showed interest, but Roger chose West Chester University because it was much closer to home. During his years at West Chester, Roger remained undefeated in dual meets. He placed third in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament his sophomore year and was the NCAA Champion his senior year. Roger also was a 3X Middle Atlantic Champion and a 3X All-American. Needless to say, this 5'9 wrestler was very successful throughout his years at West Chester.
Roger's love for wrestling was not quite ready to end. He was offered a coaching position at Palmyra High School in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. He coached there for two years before moving to the next level as the head coach at New York University (NYU). Roger clearly turned NYU's program around, showing his talent of coaching. Before Roger, NYU had lost 33 out of the 36 matches. However, when Roger coached, the team went 50-18 in the five years that Roger coached. "It was the team. I never won any of those matches. Those guys put all their effort into turning the program around." This just shows how humble Roger really is and how he realizes that wrestling is a team sport, not just a group of individuals.
Roger then moved to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where he began coaching what was then known as Bloomsburg State College, for his final destination. To say that Roger was successful in his twenty-one years of coaching is an understatement. As the coach at Bloomsburg, Roger's team had a fifth place finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament, with eight Pennsylvania Conference team championships and two Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) team championships. Roger also coached 47 wrestlers to the Pennsylvania Conference Championships, and 27 wrestlers to the Eastern Wrestling League Championships. He also was the coach of six NCAA Division II All-Americans and nine Division I All-Americans. He was the backbone of some of the greatest wrestlers in the entire country. Out of all the years of Roger's "wrestling life", the moment that stands out to him the most was when Shorty Hitchcock won not only the Division II National Championship as a 177 pounder, but the Division I National Championship as well. This made him the best 177 pounder in the entire nation; he has Roger Sanders to thank for that. Roger was also a very proud coach when Ricky Bonomo became a 3X Division I Champion at 118 pounds. This is an accomplishment that only few people in the country have achieved, even today. Roger was so ecstatic that he got to see two athletes that he really enjoyed and worked so hard on become so successful. Roger glowed with excitement and joy just talking about the two wrestlers, even years later. As a team, Roger was also very proud of the moment that the Bloomsburg Wrestling team defeated Penn State University at home, a tense rivalry where Bloomsburg came out strong.
After 21 years of coaching at Bloomsburg University, Roger knew it was time to come to the end. The wear and tear of his wrestling years were starting to take full effect. He had one hip replacement, followed by three more in the future. Traveling around the country with his team was something he could no longer do. Roger decided to retire from the coaching position and spend time with his wife, Nancy, and two children, Julie and Traci. He pursued teaching at Bloomsburg as a physical education teacher and exercise science teacher for ten more years.
Today, still living in Bloomsburg with his wife, Roger still pops in on wrestling practices, giving his two cents to the team. And you bet that those wrestlers listen to every word that comes out of his mouth, soaking in the years of knowledge. Current sophomore wrestler at Bloomsburg University, T.C. Warner, said, "Roger is very well-respected in the wrestling room. He's demonstrative and he's willing to help anyone. He improves all of our technique within just one or two practices and he gives us a different variety of moves that are out of the norm." Many of the Bloomsburg wrestlers said that he is "just plain-hard."
Current Bloomsburg University Wrestling head coach, Jason Mester, simply recalled Roger, with big eyes and a shake of his head, as "unbelievable". Being the current head coach, Jason Mester knows how hard Roger must have worked to achieve the impossible. He is nothing but grateful that Roger helps out occasionally during practices. He feels that Roger has brought history to the team and meshes the past with the present. "He bridges the gap that I can't." With a smirk on his face, Mester says that Roger "gets things done".
When asked what Roger misses the most about wrestling, he jokingly says "nothing". He doesn't miss the recruiting, fundraising, etc. However, he will tell you that he misses getting the wrestlers ready for a big match and the 1 on 1 aspect. "It's just you, no excuses," he says with a look on his face that truly shows a love for the sport. He misses the rush you get when the referee blows the whistle to start the match, the shake of the hand between the wrestlers, and the full out fight to the finish until the time on the clock has expired. Roger surely did live a full "wrestling life".
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| Bloomsburg University Wrestling Room
Roger Sanders was a 5'9, stocky, athletic freshman at Pennsbury High School trying out for the high school basketball team. His days as a basketball player did not last long...until one day a couple of his friends convinced him to try out for the high school wrestling team during his sophomore year. His father, not too fond of the situation, did not want him to try out. He thought wrestling was "all a show". However, on the morning of high school wrestling tryouts, Roger tossed his wrestling bag out of the bathroom window so his dad didn't know he was taking it to school. His secret affair with wrestling ended quickly when a co-worker of his father approached him with an article saying that Roger had pinned six straight wrestlers as a newcomer. "My dad was more mad that I lied to him rather than trying out for the team," Roger said. However, Roger convinced his father to go to a match, and since that day his dad became his number one fan, never missing a match. Throughout his high school wrestling career, Roger only lost one match, winning the district championship twice. Wrestling consists of three, two minute periods in high school. In college, it consists of one three minute period and two, two minute periods. This may not seem like much, but wrestling involves constant determination and stamina and the wrestler must be on their game 100% of the time.
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| Roger (standing), wrestling an opponent at West Chester University |
Roger's love for wrestling was not quite ready to end. He was offered a coaching position at Palmyra High School in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. He coached there for two years before moving to the next level as the head coach at New York University (NYU). Roger clearly turned NYU's program around, showing his talent of coaching. Before Roger, NYU had lost 33 out of the 36 matches. However, when Roger coached, the team went 50-18 in the five years that Roger coached. "It was the team. I never won any of those matches. Those guys put all their effort into turning the program around." This just shows how humble Roger really is and how he realizes that wrestling is a team sport, not just a group of individuals.
Roger then moved to Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where he began coaching what was then known as Bloomsburg State College, for his final destination. To say that Roger was successful in his twenty-one years of coaching is an understatement. As the coach at Bloomsburg, Roger's team had a fifth place finish at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament, with eight Pennsylvania Conference team championships and two Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) team championships. Roger also coached 47 wrestlers to the Pennsylvania Conference Championships, and 27 wrestlers to the Eastern Wrestling League Championships. He also was the coach of six NCAA Division II All-Americans and nine Division I All-Americans. He was the backbone of some of the greatest wrestlers in the entire country. Out of all the years of Roger's "wrestling life", the moment that stands out to him the most was when Shorty Hitchcock won not only the Division II National Championship as a 177 pounder, but the Division I National Championship as well. This made him the best 177 pounder in the entire nation; he has Roger Sanders to thank for that. Roger was also a very proud coach when Ricky Bonomo became a 3X Division I Champion at 118 pounds. This is an accomplishment that only few people in the country have achieved, even today. Roger was so ecstatic that he got to see two athletes that he really enjoyed and worked so hard on become so successful. Roger glowed with excitement and joy just talking about the two wrestlers, even years later. As a team, Roger was also very proud of the moment that the Bloomsburg Wrestling team defeated Penn State University at home, a tense rivalry where Bloomsburg came out strong.
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| Roger coaching at Bloomsburg University |
Today, still living in Bloomsburg with his wife, Roger still pops in on wrestling practices, giving his two cents to the team. And you bet that those wrestlers listen to every word that comes out of his mouth, soaking in the years of knowledge. Current sophomore wrestler at Bloomsburg University, T.C. Warner, said, "Roger is very well-respected in the wrestling room. He's demonstrative and he's willing to help anyone. He improves all of our technique within just one or two practices and he gives us a different variety of moves that are out of the norm." Many of the Bloomsburg wrestlers said that he is "just plain-hard."
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| Roger coaching Ricky Bonomo, a Bloomsburg wrestler then... |
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| Roger coaching Bloomsburg wrestlers now... |
When asked what Roger misses the most about wrestling, he jokingly says "nothing". He doesn't miss the recruiting, fundraising, etc. However, he will tell you that he misses getting the wrestlers ready for a big match and the 1 on 1 aspect. "It's just you, no excuses," he says with a look on his face that truly shows a love for the sport. He misses the rush you get when the referee blows the whistle to start the match, the shake of the hand between the wrestlers, and the full out fight to the finish until the time on the clock has expired. Roger surely did live a full "wrestling life".
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