U Sports rookie of the year Logan Sloan surprising himself with stellar results
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Daniel Olver had a good feeling about Logan Sloan.
He had no idea, however, that his rookie wrestler would go on to win a U Sports championship and be named national male rookie wrestler of the year.
“No, I just saw a good kid,” says Olver, head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies wrestling squad.
“I saw a kid that I just got a good vibe from him. I thought, ‘This is a kid I want on my team’ and we went after him.”
After capturing gold at U Sports nationals, Sloan will go after another gold this week when Saskatoon hosts the Canadian junior and senior wrestling championships Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Field House.
Sloan captured gold in the men’s 54-kilogram class at the U Sports national championship while competing in Calgary, his hometown.
“It was very surprising,” said Sloan, a 5-foot-7, 127-pound grappler. “It was not in the cards, at all, at the start of the year.”
Olver says they had “no expectations” when it came to Sloan this season.
“You come in, work hard and see where you get to — that’s the thought process I had with him,” noted Olver. “He kept building and building. He’s the kind of kid that he does extra things at the end of practice (like) climbing the ropes. When people are taking off for a shower, he’s riding the bike for another 15 minutes because that’s what’s appropriate to do, physiologically, after practice. He just did those things, and, over time, he was building on his game and finding the next gear. He’s just a great kid.”
Just by chance, Sloan got himself to this spot. He was going to attend the University of Regina until that school dropped its Cougars wrestling program. Olver gave him a call and got him up to Saskatoon instead.
“I had to scramble after all the admission deadlines had closed,” noted Sloan, who is pursuing an Arts and Science degree in biochemistry with hopes of going into radiology or medicine.
Sloan started wrestling in Grade 7. He’s been doing it competitively since midway through Grade 8 but “compared to others, I haven’t been doing it for too long,” he admits.
His grip strength, he says, is his main asset.
“Oh, I’m not very sound technically. I hang on for dear life and hopefully come out on top. Usually they quit at some point, then it’s my turn.
“I definitely finish stronger than I start.”
There is no wrestling history in the family whatsoever. He just joined his junior high school team one day, then won the city championship and decided he was going to be good at it.
Olver points out that Sloan is determined to get better by recognizing his faults and weaknesses.
“He knows what he’s doing isn’t good enough, so he’s constantly trying to get better,” Olver says. “When I’m coaching with him, I’m saying ‘This isn’t working,‘ and you can tell he’s getting it. He knows he can do better and he’s not blaming other people. He puts it on himself. It’s one of the best things as a coach to see.
“I tell him something to change, and I show him how to do it, and he goes out and does it. We’re going to keep working at it and he keeps on coming back and getting better. That’s a great athlete. He just wants to do it right, and he’s not getting frustrated. I’d love to work with more Logans out there.
“He’s such a fascinating athlete to work with. It’s really great.”
Olver says Sloan simply has that ‘he’s-a-kid-I-want-on-my-team’ character.
“When you get that feeling, you’ve got to go after it, and it worked out,” stressed Olver. “You go with the gut instinct.”
And, now, Olver can stomach much more.
“Once you find that kind of next-level wrestling, or next gear, now we’ve got new expectations compared to some of the other athletes,” admits Olver.
“But, yes, I had a good feeling about him.”
The Canadian junior championship runs Friday starting at 10:30 a.m. Canadian seniors go Saturday at the same time, and Greco Roman will be held Sunday.
In addition to competing for individual titles, wrestlers can take a first step toward qualifying for the 2020 Olympics.
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