By BRIAN FEESIt was the same thing each wrestling season.
Show up to Horseheads wrestling season and you would be greeted by Brett Owen’s huge smile.
He didn’t just coach wrestling, he loved coaching wrestling. He loved every part of the sport, but more than that he truly loved everyone who wrestled for him.
You could see it in practices every time. Whether it was a returning state qualifier, or a kid that had never wrestled before, he’d spend countless amounts of time with every kid, talking to them and encouraging them.
Ask him how it felt to start a new season and every year was the same quote from Brett. “Today is like Christmas Morning.”
But, it wasn’t just a line. It was truly how he felt about the sport, and the kids. He would tell you he couldn’t sleep at all the night before the first day of practice, and you could see it in his smile that he meant it.
Brett Owen passed away this week and his death leaves a huge hole in the Horseheads community.
To say he was successful as a coach is an understatement.
In seven seasons with the Blue Raiders, including a Covid season that lost postseason events, he guided Horseheads to five straight Section IV, Division I tournament championships and five straight Division I dual meet tournament championships.
In that seven years the Blue Raiders won four straight STAC titles and five straight STAC west titles as he went 104-32 leading Horseheads. He also led the Blue Raiders to a sixth-place finish at the state duals his final season.
But, those are just numbers. And numbers will never truly tell the story with Brett Owen.
As a coach he helped build the Blue Raiders into a state power. And, he helped build them into a team with huge numbers year after year.
A big part of those huge numbers were coaches like Brett Owen, and his assistant for many years, and current coach, Troy Monks.
Owen instilled a love of wrestling into the school. He brought an energy that was contagious, and it always seemed to make more kids want to wrestle.
But, Brett wasn’t just a wrestling coach, he was a wrestling father.
His sons Cael and Coleton, and daughter Chloe, have combined to qualify for states seven times. Cruze hasn’t wrestled in high school yet, but Brett would tell anyone who would listen how excited he was for his future. Coleton was a sixth-place medalist at states his senior year.
While Brett was known for his time as the Horseheads wrestling coach, when his kids wrestled, he was a parent first.
He didn’t coach their matches, he would often sit on the mat, phone in hand, recording the match, cheering them on.
And, every match, win or lose, you would see Brett there encouraging his kids.
A few years ago I did a story on the three older Owen kids, all wrestling for Horseheads varsity at the time. Talking to Brett that huge smile got just a little bit bigger every time he talked about one of his kids.
He talked about his favorite part of coaching them. The answer wasn’t about anything they did on the mat. It wasn’t about the doing the sport he loved. His favorite part was the car rides, and spending time with his children.
That’s just who Brett Owen was.
And that will be Brett Owen’s legacy.
The championships are great.
The wins and kids going to states are all special.
State medals, top six finishes at states, all pretty amazing.
But, Brett Owen’s legacy is bigger than that.
Go to the first day of girls’ wrestling practice in the fall and watch Chloe on the mat. You’ll see that huge Brett Owen smile that she has every single time she wrestles.
Watch the passion that Brett’s boys put into the sport. Their love not just for competing, but for the sport itself and you’ll see Brett’s legacy.
The walls of the gym have banners listing all the success during Brett’s time as Horseheads wrestling coach.
What he did will be hard for anyone to duplicate.
But, those who had the privilege of knowing Brett Owen realize that his life can never be summed up by banners and achievements on the mat.
Wrestling will go on at Horseheads and across the state. Teams will take the mat in the fall, for the first day of practice, preparing for a new season.
There will be excitement, and maybe even some too excited to sleep.
But, it will be hard to have it ever feel like Christmas Morning without Brett Owen greeting everyone with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen.
