“He waited outside my fifth-period class and basically carried me into the wrestling room,” recalls Bradley.
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Shane Bradley weighed less than 100 pounds when Kelly Bowers twisted his then twig-like arm to join the wrestling squad at Bedford Road Collegiate.
“He waited outside my fifth-period class and basically carried me into the wrestling room,” recalls Bradley, who was among the retirees honoured during the 29th annual Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate (SSAD) coaches appreciation breakfast.
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The late Dan Kozun was also honoured, along with Bill Mantyka, Tom Sargeant, Scott Hundseth, Kim Pasloski, Glen Revering and Rob Revering.
“As a lightweight guy, I never thought of wresting at all in my life. I was a basketball guy. That started the journey,” Bradley said.
Indeed, he went on to become a fixture on the wrestling mats, first as an athlete and ultimately as an elite-level coach at the university and international level.
When it comes to his teaching career — and a lengthy coaching career that has spanned more than three decades — Bradley owes it all to the late Kelly Bowers.
Bradley said he’d already started to think about teaching and coaching back when he was a Grade 10 student who was heavily influenced by Bowers.
“It was all attributed to Kelly Bowers, and I think a lot of the people in this room would say that, too, but Kelly was my mentor and he was the guy that got me involved in wrestling and also football, for that matter,” said Bradley.
“He was just a guy that I just watched how he communicated with people. His energy, his enthusiasm, never wavered. I just fell in love with high school sports at the high school level because of him.”
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If not for Bowers, Bradley admitted he “definitely wouldn’t be a wrestler,” and also played football despite his smaller stature.
“I was a little guy but I still played football as a defensive back,” he said. “End of Grade 9, I weighed 78 pounds. By Grade 12, I had massed up to a 123 pounds,” he laughed.
“I was still out there playing and competing at the best of my ability.”
After Bedford Road, Bradley had stops at Centennial Collegiate, where he served as coordinator of the brand-new soccer academy and coached junior football and wrestling, before moving on to Nutana Collegiate, Marion Graham Collegiate and Lester B. Pearson elementary school.
“I think the highlight is just always working with the athletes,” Bradley said. “I mean, having the ability to take athletes and give them the opportunity to play sports in high school and to really be part of the school spirit, I think that was a really important part of my (teaching) career and my desire to continue coaching at the high school level.”
Bradley said he believes sport can enhance the school experience and is a crucial part of students’ overall development.
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“I just think it’s really important to be involved and to really enjoy the experience of being in school and being in sports and just seeing the enjoyment of being involved at the school level and to represent your school and to make those friendships and, as a coach, to really mentor young athletes,” he said.
“Sometimes it gets tough now, in these days, but just being involved is critical. It’s a critical way to make sure that the school experience is really great.”
At age 60, Bradley won’t be slowing down too much. He will continue coaching with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and Jr. Huskies program.
He also works with Canada’s national wrestling teams, coaching nationally and internationally, and serves as the high-performance coach for Saskatchewan Wrestling.
“It’s a great passion of mine and we’ve got a great program here in Saskatoon,” he said. “We’ve built up a great program over the last 30 years. I’m going to continue doing that.”
Bowers, for one, would approve.
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