Cole joins Flake in Cal Wrestling HOF
Newcastle resident and former Del Oro High wrestling coach Steve Cole was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame last weekend in Sacramento joining longtime Placer coach Bill Flake in earning the prestigious honor. Cole wrestled at Roseville High (1973) and Sierra College before wrapping up his competitive career at Chico State. As a college freshman Cole began coaching the Sierra Kids Wrestling Club, his first step in what would be a long and successful coaching career. Cole coached the club for the next 17 years until 1991, when he and others formed the Del Oro Eagle Wrestling Club that he coached for 14 more years until 2005. During his 34 years of distinguished service to thousands of the youngest Sacramento area wrestlers ages 5-14, Cole found time to serve as an assistant coach at Sierra College for nine years (1980-89) and assistant coach at Del Oro for 18 years where he coached until 2008. Cole was a wrestler and later coach and host for Japanese Cultural Exchange teams from 1973-1990, and served on the Sacramento Area Wrestling Association board for 21 years. Cole’s dedication to wrestling went beyond just coaching. He helped organize and run 278 wrestling tournaments, not including the countless duals and other wrestling events in which he was involved. Known to many as, “Mr. Head Table,” Cole ran the last seven Sac-Joaquin Section Masters tournaments and ran tournaments ranging from local freestyle events to, nationally recognized four-year college tournaments and everything in between. In February, Cole was inducted into the Sierra College Athletic Hall of Fame. “We don’t know where wrestling in this area would be without Steve’s tireless work for the sport” the California Wrestling Hall of Fame nominating committee wrote.
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This is a very nice tribute to Mr. Cole and he is certainly deserving of this honor. But where's the rest of the story? Both men have done a tremendous job and have elevated their sport in our community for kids in both the Newcastle and Auburn areas. Like Mr. Cole, Bill Flake also has a long and impressive record, earning him the same induction into the Hall of Fame. So why didn't the Auburn Journal sports staff (as bylined in the article) do even just a little homework and write a more complete story that also included Coach Flake's accomplishments and the nominating committee's reason for his induction?
Read the story below, AuburnFan -- it got centerpiece treatment in a Sunday edition of the Auburn Journal. Bill Flake's accomplishments have not gone ignored.
http://auburnjournal.com/detail/113383.html?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=Bill+Flake&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=