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Discussion Topic: Norton Head Coach Doug Turchin
Tony Salisbury added to this discussion on September 7, 2007
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Norton Coach Doug Turchin passed away today. Just wanted to ask everyone for thoughts and prayers for his family. He gave so much to the sport and all the kids he coached, I wouldn't be the person I am today without wrestling and Doug Turchin. Thanks, Tony
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Discussion Topic: Norton Head Coach Doug Turchin
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on September 7, 2007
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Tony, that's very sad. Maybe you could tell a story about him for those of us that don't know him well?
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Discussion Topic: Norton Head Coach Doug Turchin
Tony Salisbury added to this discussion on September 7, 2007
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Doug coached in the Norton system for 30 years. He at one point was the youth, middle, and high school coach if you can even imagine it. He was always the youth coach and took over the high school after his brother Terry stepped down. At Norton we were never a dynasty by any means but we represented our small school pretty well I think. In 1998 I was apart of the team that went undefeated and finally beat Wadsworth after many years of losing to them. Doug really gave everything to wrestling. In Feb. he was diagnosed with cancer and it finally was just too much for him. The tumor was so large it pushed his heart to the side of his chest. One of the biggest goals for many many years at Norton was to get a wrestling room. We practiced in the elementary gym for the longest time and Norton did not have the money to build one. Well Doug and his two asst's went on a campaign and last month they finally finished the wrestling room at Norton! And very proudly dedicated "Doug Turchin Wrestling Room" I copied the article from the Akron Beacon Journal. It's a real good read. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.
nortonyouthwrestling.org has some more info and pics of the room.
July 25, 2007
NORTON HIGH UNVEILS NEW WRESTLING FACILITY
YOUTH COACHES LEAD 18-MONTH FUNDRAISING EFFORT, NAME STRUCTURE AFTER LONGTIME PANTHERS COACH
Author: Nate Ulrich, Beacon Journal sportswriter
DOUG TURCHIN, WRESTLING ROOM DEDICATION,
Norton wrestling coach Doug Turchin emphatically raised the arms of Rich Mehok and Chris Williams as if they had won a match.
But Mehok and Williams had accomplished something much greater than a single victory. The two Norton youth wrestling coaches led an 18-month community effort to raise more than $200,000 and build a wrestling facility attached to Norton High School.
On Monday, the new facility was unveiled before a crowd of about 200 people who attended a dedication ceremony. The structure, which is more than 5,000 square feet and includes two full-size wrestling mats, was named the Doug Turchin Wrestling Room in honor of the longtime Panthers coach.
A wrestling-room open house for the public will be from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday at Norton High School.
The ceremony evoked an emotional response from Turchin, who was diagnosed with cancer in February. He shed tears of joy as he spoke to the crowd about how much the completed project meant to the program that he has been involved with for 30 years.
"They told me a couple days ago that they were going to name it after me, and it took a couple days of crying to get it out of my system," said Turchin, a 1978 graduate of Norton. "If they would have surprised me with it tonight, I would have looked like Jack Frost on the mat. There would have been a puddle from me crying. I wouldn't have been able to talk at all because it's been pretty emotional."
Mehok and Williams said Turchin is more than worthy of the honor.
"He means everything to wrestling in this community because he's been here for 30 years," Mehok said of Turchin. "When there were state champs and when there was nobody making it out of the sectional tournament, he's been there. He has always sacrificed his own personal gains whether it be his job, vacation or his own family time for the wrestling program."
"He is Norton wrestling," Williams said about Turchin. "He took this program when nobody wanted it. We named it after Doug not because of what has happened to him as of late. We knew 18 months ago we were going to name it the Doug Turchin Wrestling Room. We wanted everyone to know that. We wanted them to know that we can build a building, we can have the best looking uniforms, but it wouldn't be Norton wrestling without Doug. He has shown us what coaching is all about."
The ceremony also represented the end of a long journey for Mehok and Williams. The two organized several fundraisers and searched for donations.
The Panthers Parents, a booster club that contributes to all sports at Norton's high school and middle school, donated $40,000.
"It's hard to imagine that this started as an idea that almost seemed unreachable," Williams said. "But with these people and their support, it came true. It really truly was a community project."
Drew Leonard, who is going to be a senior at Norton, said the new wrestling room is a significant upgrade. He said the Panthers' wrestling team had to practice in the middle school's cafeteria in the past.
"We had to move all the cafeteria tables and roll out the mats then roll them back up and bring back the tables," said Leonard, who won sectional and district titles and placed sixth in the 135-pound weight class at the state tournament in Division II last season. "But this one is by far one of the best (wrestling rooms) I've ever seen."
Turchin agreed.
"There is no other facility like it in high school and probably 95 percent of the colleges don't have anything close to it," he said. "We're excited."
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Discussion Topic: Norton Head Coach Doug Turchin
Hank Kornblut added to this discussion on September 8, 2007
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Its a sad story but a nice one. I'm very impressed that Coach Turchin and crew were able to raise the funds to build a room. It takes great dedication to accomplish that task. It's bittersweet that Coach Turchin was there to see it happen but never got to coach his teams in it.
My best wishes to the Turchin family and Norton wrestling.
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Discussion Topic: Norton Head Coach Doug Turchin
Brian Baker added to this discussion on September 9, 2007
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The way I remember Coach Turchin was seeing him at almost every tournament I went to from the time I was 6 as a youth wrestler until last year as a high school coach. He always asked how things were going not only with the team, but with me as a person. He was a great man and the wrestling community will miss him as I'm sure the Norton community will.
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