Recently we were able to talk with Karl Voeck, a captain on the UW- Whitewater team. Karl has a unique story about his progression to becoming a college wrestler while serving in the Air National Guard as a Jet Mechanic.

Name: Karl Voeck
School: UW-Whitewater, Team Captain
Hometown: Madison , WI
High School: James Madison Memorial
Year in College: Junior
Weight Class: This year 184, last year 197
College Career record: 35-18

Tom: First off Karl, thank you for the time you have given up for this country and for all of us. I think it's safe to say that everybody in the wrestling community feels a sense of gratitude towards you, and all of our service people.

Can you give us an overview of your wrestling career leading up to college?

Karl: I wrestled all four years on varsity in high school, but didn't go state. I did make to sectionals twice. Coming out of high school I was a lot more about playing football, but after I didn't get in to college, I went to plan B. I enlisted in the Air Force for four years where I was given the job of a jet mechanic.

I was stationed in Bossier City , Louisiana , at Barksdale AFB.  When I got to Bossier City , I went up to Parkway high school to see if had a wrestling team, which they did. I asked if they needed any help coaching, the head coach was very interested because he had never wrestled. I took over running practices and the next thing we knew we won the Team State Championship.

I believe I learned more coaching for three years than in four years of high school wrestling. It really made me love wrestling more than anything and lit my fire to wrestle in college after my four years was up in the Air Force.

In January of 2004, I applied to UW-Whitewater, and talked with Willie Myers, who was the head coach at the time, but because I applied so late, again I didn't get in.

So, I went to MATC for a semester and then transferred at semester to UW-Whitewater. I started emailing Tim Fader about my situation and he got me more pumped to start college wrestling. After I got into UW-Whitewater I was battling to get back into wrestling shape. The week before the conference tournament I asked Coach Fader if I could challenge for the 197 spot, and he said yes. I won the wrestle off and went on to place 4 th at the WIAC tournament. My freshmen year record was 4-4. Sophomore year a improved my record to 31-14, and placed 4 th again at conference.  

 I am still serving this great country in the Air National Guard. My unit is 115 Fighter Wing, Traux Field, Madison , WI  

Tom: Do you plan to stay in the Air Force once your wrestling career is done? Do you have any future wrestling plans?

Karl: I have two more years of wrestling, this year and next year. I am enlisted in the Air National Guard until 2009. Right now I have a total of seven years in the Guard, I plan on retiring after twenty. 

When I was on active duty I tried out for the Air Force Freestyle and Greco team. I did not have much experience and I was wrestling guys with four years of college experience. I held my own pretty good. I won my first Greco match 9-8, after getting thrown for five. But I had to go back to my duty station because I was taking too long to heal from a couple of broken ribs. I think after college I will tryout for the Air Force team again. It was an awesome experience.

Tom: Has serving in Iraq changed the way you live now that you're back in the USA ?

Karl: I believe that serving in Iraq would change anybody's way of life when they return to the US . There are so many things that people take for granted. I think it is awesome to wake up and go running, then to class, and then to practice. Less than 8 hours after I got back from Iraq I was in Whitewater's wrestling room wrestling, but I had some really bad sun burns. That hurt.  

Tom: Working on jet engines sounds pretty incredible! How did you get into that field? Have you always been mechanical?

  Karl: I have not always been mechanical. When I was growing up I did some work on bikes, but that was about it. I picked the job of jet mechanic because my Dad wanted me to pick something that I could use when I got out of the Air Force. Now I fix anything I can. When I was stationed in Louisiana I worked on B-52s, and now in Madison , I work on F-16s.

Tom: What was the comradery like with the guys over there? Is it anything similar to your wrestling team in Whitewater?

  Karl: I believe the comradery in the service is a lot like a wrestling team. If people don't pull there weight then the job doesn't get done and that can be costly. Everybody must work together to reach the same goals.  

Tom: Did wrestling prepare you in any way for your time served in Iraq ?

  Karl: I believe wrestling did prepare me for Iraq . Like the great Dan Gable said, “After wrestling, everything else in life is easy.” Wrestling is not a comfortable sport, whether it's practicing or running or lifting. If you can handle life without comfort, then you can handle anything. 

Tom: Has dealing with the pressures of being in Iraq helped (or will help) in any way to your mental preparation, or training, going into the beginning of the season?

  Karl: I believe that being in Iraq will help me a lot with wrestling. I read a lot in Iraq . Coach Fader gave me a lot of books about wrestling. I read them all. I believe that my mental game was my weak link last year. However, after reading those books, dealing with life in 120 degree heat, sleeping 4 hours a night, and working out everyday, my mind is a lot stronger.  

Tom: Same question as above, but in regard to your mental perpetration going into a match?

  Karl: What I think about before a match is not whether I am going to win or lose, but about how great it feels just to go out there and wrestle. There are people around this world that don't get those same chances, and that is want gets my fire going.