Coaching relationship comes full circle

In today’s world, a person might be hard-pressed to find many successful relationships that span 55 years, let alone a coach-athlete relationship that still is thriving and strong.

In central Wisconsin, though, one would have to look no further than the Granton Area School District to find one such relationship, where Darrell Laschen and Parker Vivoda — whose long friendship began as wrestling coach and student-athlete back in Loyal in 1967 — are coaching middle and high school wrestling side by side all these years later.

Darrell Laschen started his career in education and coaching in 1962 in Peshtigo, where he started the wrestling program. He then moved to Middleton High School, where he taught English and coached wrestling. He determined that he preferred small-town living, and accepted a job in Loyal, where he taught physical education and coached wrestling, among other sports. As a young teacher, Laschen, a man with charisma and humor, charmed kids into not only loving phy. ed., but also for going out for the sports he coached. Parker Vivoda was one of those students.

Vivoda had lived in Loyal, being raised by his grandmother, since he was 6 years old. By the time Laschen came to Loyal, Vivoda was in seventh grade and, in Laschen’s words, already “a little wild.” But, Laschen made gym class a lot of fun, making up crazy games and competitions, and he convinced Vivoda to come out for wrestling and eventually, baseball. One of the things Vivoda most admired — still admires — about Laschen is how he gravitated towards wanting to help kids, and how he took an interest in kids at all levels, with all abilities and from all backgrounds.

Over time, Laschen took Vivoda under his wing and, it’s fair to say, ultimately changed the course of his life. “Lash,” as he is called, always had the goal of helping his students and athletes become a better version of themselves; Vivoda often challenged that goal with some of his behaviors and undisciplined choices. Vivoda often found himself in trouble, at school and beyond.

Still, the two connected and their friendship stuck. Knowing Vivoda lived away from his father, after school Laschen would take him hunting or fishing, sometimes having him over for dinner. When Vivoda was in high school, during his study halls he became Laschen’s student aide, helping with classes of elementary students, planting the seed for Vivoda’s eventual interest in becoming a teacher and coach. The school was aware of the bond that the two had, and Laschen notes that one of the most difficult times in his career was when he was asked by the administration to pull then-senior Vivoda from his English class to break the news that Vivoda’s father, who drove truck for a living, had been killed in an accident.

Vivoda admits he wasn’t much of a wrestler at first, but by the time he was a sophomore, he had grown into the sport. He was a two-time Cloverbelt Conference champion, wrestling heavyweight, and he wrestled freestyle for the Wisconsin National Team. Vivoda became a multisport athlete, playing football and baseball, wrestling, and competing in shot put and discus in track.

Eventually Laschen was instrumental in guiding Vivoda into a college wrestling program at Ripon College, where he also played football. While Vivoda was having success as a collegiate wrestler, becoming a three-time NCAA Division III national qualifier, Laschen was busy continuing to build his team and his own coaching accomplishments.

Laschen had quite a career at Loyal. He taught and coached there for 30 years until he retired. Under Laschen’s guidance, wrestling often was the most successful team sport at the school. Laschen claimed 25 Cloverbelt Conference championships, 14 WIAA regional championships and three WIAA sectional championships, as well as more than 60 individual state qualifiers. Ultimately, Laschen was inducted into the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001.

Laschen also started a fast-pitch softball team in 1978 and, amazingly, took the state title that same year. Laschen’s teams went on to win state championships in 1979 and 1980, and later, he was inducted into the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009.

For some time, Laschen and Vivoda lived parallel lives. After graduating from Ripon, Vivoda took a job as wrestling coach at Glenwood City High School, where he led his team to a conference championship in 1979 after just two seasons of coaching there. In January 1981, Vivoda was offered a job as phy. ed. teacher and wrestling coach at Middleton High School, following in the footsteps of Laschen, who held those same positions early in his career.

For many years, Laschen and Vivoda were both busy building and maintaining their wrestling programs at Loyal and Middleton, respectively. They would communicate intermittently and would see each other at the state wrestling meet, Badger State Games and bi-state tournaments. They remained connected, attending each other’s weddings and some family events, and also attending funerals for some of each other’s family members.

Eventually, Laschen, still living in Loyal, retried. Besides continuing to coach wrestling, first at Abbotsford-Colby and later at Stratford, he also became very active in senior softball, traveling frequently for tournaments. When Vivoda retired after a 30-year career at Middleton — where he built his own legacy and coached his wrestlers to multiple conference, regional and sectional championships and had numerous state qualifiers and placeholders — he moved to Las Vegas, where for several years Laschen would travel to play softball. He would either stay at Vivoda’s home, or Vivoda would come stay where the tournament was held.

Eventually Vivoda left Vegas to move back to Wisconsin, relocating to the Wisconsin Rapids area, where he and Laschen would meet up to go fishing occasionally. One day, Laschen called Vivoda with a potential opportunity: coaching wrestling at Granton. For the past two years, the two have worked to build a program for middle school and high school students there and have enjoyed some success, especially with Granton sophomore Wyatt Karl, who recently took second place in his weight class at the Cloverbelt Conference Tournament.

These recent experiences with wrestling and coaching have brought Laschen and Vivoda back full circle, back to what links them: using sport as a way to help young people develop their potential, and as a means of personal connection, both on and off the mat.

Darrell Laschen (l) and Parker Vivoda first met when Laschen taught and coached a young Vivoda at Loyal. Fast forward a handful of decades later, and the two friends are working together to lead the Granton wrestling program.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO