Ron Gonzalez came back to his birthplace of Hay River from his home in Regina to see his parents this month. That would've been a good enough trip by itself.
But when you're home and you're a wrestling coach, why not host a summer camp for the town's youth?
And that's what he did as Gonzalez teamed up with the Hay River Storm sports club for a two-day camp at the Aurora Ford Arena on Sunday and Monday. It was another pretty full house with close to 20 participants hitting the mats at the arena's upper level.
Gonzalez said this was the third camp he's held in the town since last year and that this camp was a continuation of the one held back in April.
"I had a look to see who was around then and I would say about 80 per cent of the kids from last time returned," he said.
The focus of the camp this time was on foundations, he added.
"Working on ground attack, working on tactics and having scrimmages so they could put this all together," he said. "It's obvious they had been working on things since the last time I was here and that's all due to coaches like Michael Craig to help keep things going."
During his last visit, Gonzalez certified several coaches, including Craig, and that's something he said he would like to do more of over time.
"Maybe something with local educators or teachers or any adults who enjoy coaching," he said. "It could be in Hay River or Yellowknife or anywhere. I'm always willing to come back and mentor and teach to make sure we continue growing the sport."
