Coach inspires, on mat and off

Bob Levija joins the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

By TERRY JONES, Times Correspondent
Published August 19, 2007

Springstead High School athletic director and wrestling coach Bob Levija was recently inducted into the wrestling hall of fame. Bob Levija founded Springstead's wrestling program.
	[Edmund D. Fountain | Times]

SPRING HILL - Bob Levija, whose Springstead High wrestling teams were easily recognized by the "S" Superman symbol on the front of their uniforms, stepped down as head coach in 2002. But he left a legacy - one that on Aug. 11 put him in the Florida Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Levija, who now oversees all sports programs at Springstead as athletic director, founded the school's wrestling program, posted a 318-30-1 dual-match record and won 18 district and five regional championships while coaching the Eagles. His teams placed in the top 10 in the state 12 seasons. Included was a second-place finish and three thirds.

During last weekend's induction ceremonies at the Lakeland Center, he joined six other longtime Florida wrestling personalities who were enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla.

Even though Levija is known as an intense, skilled and successful coach, it was not his mat prowess alone that attracted the votes from Hall of Fame board members and others already inducted.

His compassion for others, especially youths with home and life issues, was one of the reasons he agreed to start a wrestling program at Springstead.

"Most of our kids were overachievers, and some of them were already in trouble with society and were struggling with juvenile delinquency issues when we located them and encouraged them to wrestle," Levija said.

Working with parents and the court system, he would bring youngsters into his home to live for a time to allow them to work out some of their issues at home and school.

His son Kevin wrestled with the team from 1987 to 1990 and in his senior season placed second in the state championships. Kevin remembers having kids in his house most of the time he was growing up.

"That's my dad," he said. "He was always reaching out to help some kid in need. He wouldn't put up with nonsense, though. They worked hard in practice and pitched in at home. One kid, Tim, wouldn't leave. He stayed two or three years, joined the Navy after school and is doing well now."

There was a time in the midst of it all when some of the frustrations of working with teenagers got to him and he was going to quit coaching. He said they were not putting themselves into wrestling and didn't seem to care or even want to do what was right.

When the team heard he was leaving, they got together and challenged each other to get it right or leave, rather than have the coach leave.

"After practice that day, they lined up and one by one came up to me and the other coaches, and as they shook our hands they said, 'Coach, I am glad to be here,' " Levija said. "They continue to do that to this day with current coach Eric Swensen. After practice and before showers, they line up."

Levija said Swensen, now in his third season, has the energy, commitment and skill to take the program to its next level.

At his induction ceremony, Levija started his acceptance speech by saying, "I am glad to be here," and a group of Springstead graduates and current wrestlers stood and repeated his comment.

Several years before Levija become athletic director, one of his wrestlers helped him make a major change in his life, and he talked of that change during his acceptance speech.

"After practice, one of my wrestlers came up to me and asked if I knew wrestling was in the Bible," he said. "I said no, and he gave me his Bible with the place marked. He gave me his Bible to keep that day, and I began to read, and soon I became a born-again Christian. That helps me a lot now."

In addition to developing a successful wrestling program, Levija used what he refers to as advertising techniques to fill the gym seats for meets.

He had his wrestlers shave their heads, and spectators would come to see what the baldies were doing. He got more than 300 girls in the school to wear T-shirts around town and in the halls of the school with the imprint "Springstead Wrestling."

"I love winning, and I push my wrestlers to do their best, but not at the expense of character," he said. "It would have been great to win a state title, but it wasn't meant to be. Our kids are tough, and they hate to lose, but they know character is more important."

Levija's comments on being inducted into the national Hall of Fame were brief.

"I was overwhelmed and questioned if I really deserved it," he said. "There are so many great people in that hall. It was really unexpected."

[Last modified August 18, 2007, 20:23:32]