<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Bounds finds key to success at Michigan State

Greg Jayne: Commentary

The Columbian
Published: May 16, 2010, 12:00am

Sometimes, you just have to make the most of a difficult situation. Like, for example, if your college drops its wrestling program — and you happen to be a wrestler.

That’s what happened to Kyle Bounds. A three-time state champion at Columbia River, Bounds went to the University of Oregon with dreams of getting an education and being a college wrestler.

Good plan. Until the Ducks decided they didn’t want to have a wrestling team anymore.

“I was pretty angry,” Bounds said. “They didn’t tell us face-to-face that they were going to cut the program. I found out on the news.”

So, two years ago, Bounds suddenly was a wrestler without a team. That can be a difficult situation. Or it can be an opportunity to continue your wrestling career, compete in the NCAA Tournament, earn a college degree, and be lauded for your dedication and contribution to the program.

Bounds accomplished all of that at Michigan State.

“Kyle was impressive,” said Red Wakeham, director of strength and conditioning for Olympic sports at MSU. “He was impressive in every way, his actions, his words.”

And that’s what brings us to the crowning achievement of Bounds’ college career.

No, it wasn’t his 25-15 record this past season, his final one as a competitive wrestler. It wasn’t even his three victories in the consolation round of the 165-pound bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Instead, Bounds’ crowning achievement is his inclusion as a member of the “House of Sparta.”

We’ll let Wakeham explain: “A couple of years ago I set out to create a project that would announce and reward the ‘neck-up’ standards that I felt were most important for our athletes to demonstrate in order to achieve success.”

So he wrote a creed to describe the House of Sparta. You know, because Michigan State is the Spartans.

“We are driven self starters who arrive early with a dominating attitude,” reads a portion of the creed. “We have a steadfast focus to improve, excel and win.”

There are additional attributes, as well. Things such as trust and responsibility and commitment.

And through his two years at Michigan State, Bounds exhibited enough of those characteristics to be inducted in the House of Sparta and receive the ceremonial key to the house.

“I’ve trained about 4,000 to 5,000 athletes over the last 15 years,” Wakeham said, “and about 70 people have qualified for the Key to Sparta.”

Elite company? Sure.

Especially when you consider that MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo needed only six Final Four appearances before being inducted this year. Especially when you consider that Bounds is the only athlete to be inducted after coming to Michigan State as a transfer.

“Every match I went out there and left it out there,” Bounds said. “I don’t have any regrets like, ‘I should have worked harder.’ ”

Which is really all that any athlete can ask of themselves. Bounds might not have won an NCAA title. But if the people who worked with him every day thought he demonstrated uncommon trust and responsibility and commitment, can there really be any higher honor?

Bounds is finished with college, graduating last week with a degree in psychology. He will soon be packing up the car to return to Vancouver, with the goals of earning a teaching certificate and passing along some of those worthy attributes to future generations.

And in sporting culture in which success typically is measured solely by wins and losses, Bounds serves of an example of a greater truth: The real definition of success can be found in how much you make of the situation you’re in.

Greg Jayne is Sports editor of The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4531, or by e-mail at greg.jayne@columbian.com. To read his blog, go to columbian.com/weblogs/GregJayne

Loading...