Kenny Monday is paying it forward.
A coach of Real Pro Wrestling’s Texas Shooters, Monday became one of the most heralded wrestlers in United States history. Now he’s helping others to achieve the same kind of success.
A Tulsa, Okla. native and four-time undefeated state champion, Monday posted a 127-11-1 record for Oklahoma State University. He was a three-time NCAA finalist for the OSU Cowboys, winning the title once and losing twice to Nate Carr (after beating Carr in the finals of the Big 8 Conference).
But that was only the beginning of Monday’s honors. In 1998, he brought home gold medals in freestyle competition from the Olympics and the prestigious Tiblisi tournament in Russia. The following year, he captured the gold in the World Championships. In the 1991 World Championships, he added a silver medal to his collection, and took home silver from the 1992 Olympic Games.
In 2001, he received the ultimate accolade, when he was named a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“I’m a product of a lot of great people,” Monday said, ticking off names of legendary coaches such as Tommy Chesbro, Myron Roderick, Bobby Dougla
s and Dan Gable and wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz.
“I was fortunate to be in environments and able to learn from great people,” he said. “I’m a product of that, and I became a student of the game, watching coaches, parents and wrestlers. It’s an education for everyone involved.”
In the realm of wrestling education, the 43-year-old Monday has now taken the role of mentor. He coaches not only RPW competitors but also young wrestlers from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas (where Monday begins his third year as assistant to Tim Matthews), as well as those on his own Team Monday out of the Dallas suburb of Forney.
As a coach, he’s rapidly finding the same kind of success that he experienced on the mat.
The year before Monday arrived at Bishop Lynch, for example, the team placed 116th in the Prep National Championships. Last season, the squad finished second, with three champions emerging from five finalists.
Team Monday and Bishop Lynch wrestler Ben Ashmore won Texas’ first-ever National Prep Championship in 2004. Ben, who is a senior, won his second title earlier this year.
At the 2005 National Junior Championships in Fargo, N.D., Bishop Lynch’s Justin Wren wrestled his way to only the second national Greco-Roman championship by a Texan. Teammate Luke Ashmore, also a Team Monday alum, took the top step on the awards stand to become the state’s first-ever national freestyle champion.
Team Monday, consisting of nearly 40 5- to 14-year-olds, came about six years ago with the support of Texas businessman Steve Silver, who convinced Monday to move his family to the Lone Star State. Last season, the team crowned three champions at the Tulsa National Championships their way to the title; they also boasted 14 state champs. Among the team members are Kennedy Monday, 7, and Quincy Monday, 5, sons of Kenny and his wife, Sabrina (they also have a daughter Sydnee, 11).
What he enjoys most about coaching kids, Monday said, is seeing them develop — in other words, learn how to participate in wrestling with the highest respect for the sport.
“That means respect for the competitor, respect for the coach,” Monday said. “It’s teaching the kids the right way to be a student-athlete.
“So many get caught up with winning and losing, they miss the real lessons of the sport: sportsmanship, camaraderie, discipline, all those things that make a champion. The thing I try to get across to the kids is that you’re not a champion based on your won-loss record.
“I learned to be as professional as I can with sportswriters, the general public, officials, coaches and opponents, and I think that helped. It’s really come full circle for me to be coaching at this level. It’s a wonderful opportunity I’ve been blessed with.
RPW founders Matt Case and Toby Willis have provided other great possibilities, Monday said.
“It’s exciting to see someone with a vision, the resources and the drive to get this started,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the competitors and the U.S. It was a long time coming.
“I’m excited to be a part of it and hope to continue to be. It takes wrestling to the next level.”
On yet another level, the coach said, he would love to see a RPW team develop out of Texas.
“It’s a sports state, with a lot of incredible athletes and a lot of parents supportive and excited about the kids,” Monday said. “To be able to lay some foundations, to be a pioneer is really exciting.
“Texas is ready for whatever wrestling has to offer.”
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