Coach Luna Teaches More Than Just Wrestling
Coach Scott Luna has been volunteering at Gresham’s Barlow High School and at Gordon Russell Middle School for nearly two decades. He was a wrestler at Barlow when he was in high school. Coach Luna just started helping out, then before you knew it he was in charge of the whole program that runs from October to June each year. He’s our KXL EVERYDAY HERO. He was nominated by Mike O’Malley, who is his boss at his “day job” at O’Malley Brothers Corporation.
Since Coach Luna took the program over, it’s grown from just 11 kids to anywhere between 80 and 100 at a time now. Parents, staff, and students are huge fans of Coach Luna’s style and the life lessons he tries to pass on to the kids.
You can hear his story here:
Coach Luna says HIS HERO is Coach Roy Pittman, who officiated the Olympic Trials in Dallas, Texas and coached over fifty state champions. In 1970 Roy Pittman started the Peninsula Wrestling Club a program for kids 5 years to 20 years of age. Roy estimates he has coached over 30,000 kids from all groups.
In 1984 he coached the Olympics held in Los Angeles as well as the National teams at the Olympic Training grounds. Coach Pittman is a Gold level coach in the National coaches program. He also started the National Mentor Program for Officials and was a part of the Kids Council for the Oregon Wrestling Association and officiates all over the country representing Oregon. Roy was head official for the USA National Tournament and officiated the Olympic Trials in Dallas, Texas.
Pittman is presented the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s “Lifetime Service to Wrestling” award for the class of 2006.