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| We've just lost a great one. The best. On Friday, April 19, 2002, Zac
Jarzynka, along with his girlfriend, Brittany Smith, stepped out of time and
into eternity, cradled in the loving arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
We, as his coaches, will remember Zac best through wrestling, all that he
came to accomplish through the sport and how he shaped and influenced those
around him, including us. Though we knew Brittany only through the look on
Zac's face when he mentioned "his girlfriend," we consider ourselves richer
for this.
We've coached Zac since the fifth grade and seen him grow from a boy into a
man. We used to sit in his corner on Saturday tournaments as he and his
brother Jakob learned the nuances of this sport. Of course, his mom was
always in the stands cheering him on. Anyone who has ever sat in the
bleachers knows this as you can hear Mom's voice ring out above the din of
the crowd. Dad? Of course, he was in the corner alongside the coaches,
capturing the moment on tape. Later, at home, he would sit with Zac and
Jakob and break down the day's film. We all remember the day when Zac hit
his first 5-point throw because Dad pronounced any such accomplishment a
"pizza throw" with the athlete getting an entire pizza to himself at the end
of the day. Now nearly 5 years later, we still love it when a wrestler gets
his first 5-pointer and we get to explain this Jets' tradition to the new
parents. Thanks, Jarzynka's, for that great memory.
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There was little doubt in our minds as he progressed from elementary
through middle school and on into high school that he would have success on
the mat, the classroom and any other endeavor he decided upon. With a
skilled leg attack from competing four years in freestyle, as a freshmen 103
pounder Zac chewed up his opponents on the road to his first of two
appearances at the FHSAA state tournament. We sat with pride in the stands
that freshman year seeing him get one take down after another with the low
single and post up-Iranian moves he had learned in our club.
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| Fast forward to the fall of 2001. A changing of the guard and a
fortunate set of circumstances meant that now, once his club coaches, we had
the great fortune of working with Zac and his teammates on the high school
level. While we knew we were getting a skilled wrestler in Zac, we didnt
know the man he had become. Having no returning captains from the prior
year, we selected a great group of 4 leaders. Out of that group of 4, one
leader emerged. When we needed something done, we ultimately called upon
Zac. At a tournament, Zac, get the team together, Coach Coffman wants to
talk to them. At practice, Zac, its 2:45, get em up and jogging. And,
most memorable, during several extremely close dual meets, while we were
busy coaching the athlete on the mat and we absolutely couldnt afford to
have one of our lesser experienced wrestlers get pinned, Zac, tell him to
stay off his (insert extremely salty language here) back! Zac, as a
captain, delivered. But we assumed he would. After all, he was Zac.
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At this years FHSAA state meet in Lakeland, Zac desperately wanted to
be among the state place winners. It didnt work out that way, but that is
one of the things that makes wrestling such an addiction, such a great
sport. So close to the goal, just a little more work, almost there. Of
course, he got to work right away in the off season to make that happen,
working out in our room with wrestlers from other Orange and Seminole high
schools and then representing Florida in the national duals competition in
Delaware.
Sometime along the way during this high school season, we began to ask our
wrestlers to plan out a strategy for each tourney. Zac, plagued with chronic
tendonitis in his knees all season long, wrote in his first game plan, after
a detailed plan of attack and success, dont let the pain show too much.
In the second week Zac wrote, dont grimace in pain. By the third week, at
a time when the pain was worse than it had been all season, Zac wrote,
there is no pain. At this time of his loss, we would all do right by Zac
to remember that week-by-week progression from his game plan.
There is a natural want to ask why during a time like this. As coaches,
thats a natural reaction for us. Coaches are supposed to ask why and then
come with an explanation and ultimately, a correction. Of course, right now
theres no explanation, but in closing, the words from this Steven Curtis
Chapman song seem appropriate:
God Is God
Written by Steven Curtis Chapman
From the recording: Declaration, Track #5.
Romans 11:33-36; Psalm 8:3-4; 95:3-6; 103:1322
And the pain falls like a curtain
On the things I once called certain
And I have to say the words I fear the most
I just dont know
And the questions without answers
Come and paralyze the dancer
So I stand here on the stage afraid to move
Afraid to fall, oh, but fall I must
On this truth that my life has been formed from the dust
God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture Hes painting
God is God and I am man
So Ill never understand it all
For only God is God
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We miss you Zac but count ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to
have known you and worked with you.
With much love for you and your family,
The coaching staffs at Oviedo High
School Wrestling
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