Girls’ wrestling coach glad for milestone 200th coaching win before retiring

There’s always that milestone most people want to reach before the journey ends.

Last weekend, Sallisaw Lady Diamonds wrestling coach Darrel Hume got his 200th dual coaching victory during the Lady Diamonds participation in the Redskin Rumble Girls Dual Championship. When the Lady Diamonds beat Owasso 30-27, it gave Hume coaching win No. 200.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Hume said about the feat. “I’ve been coaching here for such a long time. I’ve had many opportunities to go to other places, but I’ve always stayed. I’ve been very lucky. I got a lot of wins in those two years (2010 and 2011), so that helped. It just kept building into something else. There’s so many people proud of my accomplishment, so I do really appreciate them for noticing and caring. It really is something else.

“Since our girls program was so small, it took a few years longer to get these (last career) wins, but now we’re back at it. I got it (200th coaching win). I love it.”

It’s a good thing the milestone coaching victory happened since Hume will be retiring after this season ends next month.

“This is ironic,” Hume said. “I started wrestling in 1976 as a kid for Stilwell. Now, (Thursday night), it was our last dual of the year — and we wrestled Stilwell. So, I started my (wrestling) career and I ended my career either wrestling for or being against Stilwell. I’m getting a little bit old and beat up. My wife and I are going to travel a little bit, but I’m not going to coach. When I first started here, we were the worst team in the state. We’ve come a long way since then, with a lot of champions. I never gave it much thought to stay here for 26 years and setting a goal of winning 200 duals (as a coach). We were lucky to win two or three in that first year, but it grew and got better. We went 15 years (straight) of having somebody in the state finals. It’s been pretty good. I’m pretty excited about that.”

Several past wrestlers were extremely happy Hume got 200 wins.

“I’m just glad it happened for him,” Jack Hodge said. “He’s like a father figure to me. I was his first-ever state qualifier. My sophomore year, we were terrible in 1998. We didn’t win one dual. My senior year, we were (Maverick) Conference champions, district champions and qualified for dual state. We’ve just built on that success he’s had from that foundation. When he took over the program in 1998, we didn’t win a dual. To see him have this kind of success is no surprise. The outcomes he’s had is based of the inputs he’s given the children he’s coached and the dedication he’s had over the years. I’m not surprised, but I’m happy I was a small part of that.”

“Being coached by him and wrestling underneath him, you see all the hard work, dedication and passion he’s put into the sport of wrestling and to the kids he coached,” Randy Tonche said. “When he retires, it’s going to break my heart because of the impact he’s made on kids. To see him go out on such a high note and finally get that 200th (dual coaching) win, it’s beautiful. It’s a blessing. I couldn’t be more happy for him.”

“I was very happy to hear about that,” Grant Daffin said. “Coach Hume is still one of my closest friends. The best comment I can give you about Coach Hume is that he is by far the most dedicated and committed coach. This guy would pick me up at my house at 5 a.m. and take me to the gym to run bleachers starting at 5:30 a.m. We did that every day for almost seven years. He was right there with me the whole time running every lap and on the mat with us every day. I don’t know many coaches who would commit to that level.”

All three former wrestlers count it a blessing to have been coached by Hume.

“Obviously from my perspective, I was there at the beginning,” Hodge said. “The first time I met Coach Hume, it was my sophomore year. My freshman year we had a different coach. I was coming in from football, and I was a 16-year-old kid who didn’t know how to drive. The first day I ever met my new wrestling coach, I hit his vehicle in the parking lot. That’s how my experience with Coach Hume started. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I had nine deployments as an Army ranger. I’ve had a lot of great leaders, but every time I’m back in town, I’ll go see Coach Hume. He was a hard leader and a hard coach, but we worked hard. He cared about you as an athlete. To say that I enjoyed my time wrestling and becoming a young man under him would be a significant understatement.”

“Growing up, having that strong father figure and male role model in my life was a blessing,” Tonche said. “It was one thing to teach me wrestling and teach kids how to wrestle. It’s another thing to teach kids how to embrace certain situations and to learn from them. It meant everything to me. Wrestling was a way of life for me. The things I’ve learned, I can now instill in my kids — and to look at life from a different perspective.”

“I wrestled for other teams in high school, and I had some good coaches,” Daffin said. “No one seem to have the same rapport as Coach Hume did. Wrestling for him in high school was an experience for sure. It was very intense, but in a loving way.”

Along for a lot of the ride has been current Sallisaw Lady Diamonds assistant coach LuWella Harris.

“It’s been a wild ride,” Harris said. “I’ve been excited to be a part of it. I’ve loved seeing the growth of the (Lady Diamonds’) program. Coach Hume has taught me a lot. There’s stuff I’ve gotten I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.”

“Not only has she been my assistant coach, but I coached her son (Kaleb) before she ever came in here,” Hume said. “We’ve been around each other for quite a while now. He came from Brushy, and now all of the sudden she’s been my assistant. He came a long way in a short amount of time. He really did do a good job. The family became believers in me, and she came in and helped with the girls. I’ve had her ever since.”

While the journey has had its peaks and valleys, Hume said the ride has been enjoyable.

“I’ve enjoyed the ride, but it’s been a rough one,” he said. “It’s changed me a lot in learning about kids and different situations. I’m so thankful I had a minor in psychology, or I wouldn’t be sane right now. It’s been great. It’s not just the wrestling and the wins. It’s the relationships with these kids. One of my biggest days is Father’s Day. You would not believe the texts and the messages I get, and I’m not even their father. It’s from those who I’ve been their father figure.”