FREMONT, Ohio — Legendary Fremont Ross High School wrestling head coach and teacher Al Voggenthaler passed away on Saturday at the age of 85 after a battle with cancer.
Voggenthaler coached the Little Giants wrestling program from 1972 to 1991.
In his time with the team, he had numerous district champions and a handful of state qualifiers.
Now with the legend gone, his former wrestlers are not just mourning the loss of their coach, but also a dear friend.
"Coach was always an individual who you always wanted to be around," said former wrestler Jim Smith. "He always had a good, kind word to say and plenty of encouragement, but that was Coach Voggenthaler."
Voggenthaler's coaching style was simple, yet effective. A balance of serious, silly and beyond just basic strategy.
It was more important to build up character, not just champions.
"He always taught us, 'We're not just here to teach wrestling, it's life skills,'" said former wrestler and assistant coach Mike Mezinger. "When life gets hard, you work hard to overcome, and so that's probably what he would say to the wrestlers here today."
Voggenthaler's family plans on having a celebration of life rather than a funeral on March 3 in Fremont, the day before his 86th birthday.
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